The Platinum Collection: A Diamond Deal: The Flaw in His Diamond / The Purest of Diamonds? / In the Brazilian's Debt

‘What are you doing?’ She barely got the question out before she reacted fast and violently to the touch of his tongue and his lips and his hands and his—

‘And again?’ he suggested.

‘Definitely.’ She was still panting for breath, but instead of feeling sated she was gasping for more.

Her eyes shot wide as Roman slipped one finger inside her. ‘Does that hurt?’ he whispered.

She needed a moment before she could speak—a moment to get used to the sensation...the invasion, the shock. And during that moment Roman began to stimulate her with his other hand, so in seconds she had forgotten why she had been frightened.

‘Good?’

Like she never wanted it to end good. ‘Yes...’

‘And now?’ he said, slipping another finger inside her.

‘Yes... Oh, yes.’

While Eva gained in confidence and grew used to the new sensation, he kept her arousal high. He was in no hurry. They had all night. She soon forgot her fears and rose against him, seeking more, and as she did so his free hand slipped round her back to support her and he felt the scar. It wasn’t small, and it wasn’t deep, but it was a ragged expanse of damaged skin that didn’t strike him as the result of falling out of a tree as a child, or even a more serious accident that would have required treatment in hospital. It was perhaps a burn, or a severe grazing episode that had been coped with at home. He wondered about it, but said nothing. This wasn’t the time, not for either of them, but it gave him another piece of the jigsaw that was Eva Skavanga.

Perhaps the scar answered everything. Eva was a beautiful woman who was neither completely innocent nor experienced. She had kept the world at bay, maybe because she had been hurt badly at some time. Whatever else he had discovered about her tonight, she brought out his protective instincts.

Was this the start of a relationship?

Forget that. He would have to learn to care long-term—to risk his heart, his pride, his slumbering emotions—and he just wasn’t cut out for that.

‘What are you doing?’ Eva exclaimed when he reached into a bedside drawer.

‘Protecting you,’ he said, ripping the foil. ‘Would you like to—’

Her face turned grey.

‘Would I like to what?’ she whispered.

‘Would you like to put it on for me?’ he offered, pressing the packet into her hand.

‘I don’t think so.’

Her confidence died a little more as he threw back the sheet.

He waited. And waited. Finally she huffed a laugh, but it sounded brittle to him. She didn’t want to take things any further. He didn’t need it spelling out. He doubted she had taken things this far in the past. His concern for Eva took a huge leap. If a man took her at face value Eva could find herself in serious trouble at some point down the line. ‘Don’t know how to?’ he suggested.

‘Don’t be so ridiculous,’ she flashed, pulling the sheet tight around her. ‘You really are one arrogant piece of work, aren’t you?’

‘I am?’ Sitting up, he reached forward and took her hands in his, forcing her to look at him. ‘You’re playing a very dangerous game, Eva.’

‘How so?’ she demanded.

‘You’re lying naked in a bed with me.’

‘I didn’t notice you fighting me off.’

‘When I have sex with someone, I have to be sure.’ As he spoke he was swinging off the bed and standing up. ‘Call me old-fashioned, but sex is a mutual pact, as far as I’m concerned, requiring absolute trust between two people.’

‘Are you sure you wouldn’t like to draw up a contract first?’ she suggested, pulling the sheet tighter still.

‘It is a contract. It might be unspoken and unwritten, but it’s a contract all the same.’

‘So sex is just another form of business for you—a cold-blooded operation. Have I got that right?’

He shook his head. ‘You know I don’t think that.’

‘So it’s an enjoyable pastime that you indulge in with women who know the score?’

His lips pressed down as he considered this. ‘Women who are looking for the same thing from me I am from them,’ he agreed.

‘Meaningless sex, you mean?’

‘Mutual pleasure,’ he argued mildly. ‘Don’t go on fooling yourself, Eva. Don’t live a lie—’

‘Is that your homily for the day over and done with?’ she interrupted.

‘Don’t be sarcastic, either. It doesn’t suit you. And you know I’m right.’

‘Do I?’ she said, grimacing.

‘You can’t live your life based on a lie.’ As he should know. ‘At some point you have to come clean and admit who you really are to yourself. So you’re not experienced? Do you imagine I think any less of you for that? Regular sex isn’t some sort of pre-qualification in the game of life. Some people remain virgins for ever, and are quite happy to do so. You can’t force these things, Eva. If it happens it happens. If it doesn’t—’

‘You’d know all about that, I suppose?’ She’d grown tense.

‘Look—why don’t you just lock your door tonight if that makes you feel better?’ he said, moving away.

‘And what about your mixed signals?’ There were tears in her eyes now. She couldn’t understand what had happened. Neither could he. He had wanted this as much as Eva—more, probably.

‘You kissed me,’ she said in a small voice that tore at his heart.

‘I did,’ he agreed.

‘Was it so terrible?’

He couldn’t stand this any more and dragged her into his arms. ‘It wasn’t terrible at all.’

‘I’ve never met anyone like you,’ she said angrily, pulling away. ‘First you tell me I’m coming on too strong, and then you do exactly that. How do you expect me to take that in my stride?’

‘I don’t expect you to,’ he said frankly, raking his hair with frustration. ‘The trouble, Eva, is that you’re not just a good actress—brilliant sometimes—you’re as hot as hell.’

She shook her head as if trying to understand what he was saying. ‘You think you know me, but we’ve only known each other five minutes.’

‘How long should it take?’ he said quietly.