At Dante's Service by Chantelle Shaw Read Free Book Online Page A

reality of feeling his thighs pressed hard against her soft flesh evoked a molten heat in her pelvis.
    ‘What do you mean?’ she muttered, discovering as she lifted her head to meet his gaze that his mouth was mere inches from hers. She wished he would kiss her. She ached to feel his warm, sensual lips on hers. Unconsciously, her tongue darted out to moisten her lower lip.
    ‘I mean that Vance, and probably every other male in this room, has been fantasising about removing your dress to reveal your delectable voluptuous, naked body,’ he said harshly.
    She gaped at him. ‘Of course no one has been thinking that. You make me sound like a … a siren who men find irresistible—but that’s just ridiculous.’
    ‘Why is it?’ Dante’s voice deepened, no longer coldly angry, but rough with a sensuality that sent a quiverthrough Rebekah. ‘I find you utterly irresistible,
mia bella
.’
    Clearly he was having a joke at her expense, she thought bitterly. ‘Of course you do,’ she said sarcastically. ‘That’s why you barely spared me a glance before we left the house. If you had really thought me irresistible you would have …’
    ‘Been lost for words,’ he said softly. ‘I was completely blown away when you walked into the sitting room. You look so beautiful in your dress. I had no idea that you concealed such delightful curves beneath the shapeless clothes you usually wear. And your hair—’ he lifted a hand from her waist and threaded it through the rippling waves that streamed down her back ‘—it feels like silk.’
    Dante could not control the hunger that clawed in his gut. His arousal strained uncomfortably against his trouser zip, necessitating him to shift his position. He heard Rebekah draw a sharp breath when his hardened shaft nudged her thigh.
    ‘Don’t do that!’ she gasped, shocked by the realisation that he wasn’t joking and unbelievably he really did seem to find her attractive.
    ‘There’s not a lot I can do to prevent it,’ he said sardonically. ‘Sexual desire sometimes manifests itself at the most inconvenient moments.’
    ‘But … you don’t desire me.’
    ‘I think the evidence is pretty conclusive, don’t you,
cara
?’ He looked down at her, his eyes glittering when he saw her confused expression. ‘Why shouldn’t I desire you? You are an incredibly desirable woman.’
    Dear heaven, was Dante flirting with her? Rebekah swallowed and tried to control the frantic excitement that spiralled through her.
    ‘You shouldn’t say things like that,’ she muttered. ‘I work for you, and it’s not appropriate for you to make suggestive remarks.’
    His husky laugh made the tiny hairs on her body stand on end and beneath her ribs she could feel the heavy thud of her heart.
    ‘Are you trying to tell me you don’t desire me, Rebekah?’
    Her head spun. The situation felt unreal—being held in Dante’s arms, their bodies pressed intimately close as they danced and his eyes gleaming with sensual heat that sent a tremor through her.
    Somehow she clung on to her sanity. ‘Of course I don’t,’ she said stiffly.
    ‘Be honest with me.’ He bent his head close to hers so that his words whispered in her ear. ‘I’ve seen the hungry little looks you give me.’
    Mortification scalded her and she felt her cheeks burn. She cringed at the knowledge that he had recognized she was attracted to him. She had felt confident that she had hidden her feelings for him. But he had known, and maybe he had been amused that his frumpy cook had fallen for him.
    She did not know what to say and, to her utter relief, the music track came to an end.
    ‘Excuse me,’ she said jerkily as she pulled out of Dante’s arms and almost ran across the ballroom in a bid to escape him. A waiter stopped to offer her a drink from the tray he was carrying. She took another glass of fruit punch before she stepped through the French windows that had been left ajar and walked across the terrace to rest her