As she'd stepped into the little black knickers and fastened the quarter-cup bra behind her, she'd straightened and tried to see what Lucien saw when he looked at her. She'd pinned her hair up loosely and applied a little makeup, added high heels for effect, and then stood back to survey the results.
There was so little to the underwear, yet what there was of it worked so much harder than any other lingerie Sophie had ever owned. Thanks to the cut of the knickers, her waist seemed a little more dipped, her legs a touch longer. The bra was something else again. How could such a scant frippery provide such perfect support? Her breasts rose like pale marble, rose-tipped and suggestively revealed. It was sex underwear, and Sophie wanted to wear it for Lucien. She was his Parisian courtesan for the evening.
He'd made an effort for her too, with his usual unerring instinct. His white shirt fitted his body in all the right places, highlighting rather than hiding the breadth of his shoulders and the definition of his biceps. No tie of course, and sleeves folded back; trademark, laid back Lucien and sexy as hell. His narrow charcoal trousers made Sophie's hands itch to run over his backside. He was beautiful whatever he wore, but like this he was breathtaking. And all the more so because he'd made the effort just for her. Even though it wasn't a date.
He moved alongside her and rested his hand on the curve of her waist.
"Why the serious face?" he asked, his other hand warm over hers on the railings.
Sophie chewed her lip, unsure how to phrase the thoughts that had occupied her mind before he joined her outside. "This place..." she gestured around the balcony, at the flower-laden window boxes and elegantly laid table. "This view..." she looked out over Paris, and then back at Lucien. "And us. It's romantic, whether you like it or not."
She didn't dare look at him.
"I don't see romance. I see sexy." His tone was light, as he ran the back of his fingers down her arm. "I see two people making the most of the moment." His other hand massaged her waist. "I see a woman with curves in all the right places, and a man who wants to eat dinner and then get her out of her dress as soon as possible."
Sophie laughed and shook her head a little wistfully. He had a glib answer for everything, but still, something told her that he didn't always operate on that shallow level in his head. His mouth said one thing, but his body said another. His words said I want you now, but every now and then his body said I'll adore you always.
Or was that the classic mistake of a woman on the rebound, seeing her new lover's actions through rose-tinted glasses? Lucien had certainly never said anything to lead her on or make her think of him in terms of a boyfriend.
Boyfriend. Even the word was alien in this context. Lucien Knight was nobody's boyfriend. He was a man, not a boy, a lover not a boyfriend.
Right now he was a big, beautiful man who had decided it was time for them to eat. He held her chair out as she sat down, then reached towards the candles in the silver candelabra. His fingers hovered near the wicks for a second.
"Will you take it the wrong way if I light these?"
Sophie paused for a beat. "How could I take a candle-lit dinner any other way?"
"I'm lighting them because it's dark, and because they’re there." He conjured the flames into life and sat down opposite her. "But there's no denying that you look even more fuckable by candlelight."
Fine. She'd play it his way. "So do you."
Lucien's confident expression flickered like the flames for the merest of seconds, just long enough for Sophie to observe that he was a man used to giving the compliments rather than receiving them. Or maybe it was just her compliments that he was uncomfortable with.
Frowning slightly, she lifted the silver dome in front of her, more than ready for the distraction of food to distance her from her disturbing thought processes.
And it was distracting. Plump, rare fillet steak, butter-soft and accompanied by golden frites and salad.
"No eggs this time?" she asked, wide-eyed and innocent.
"Would you like there to be?"
Smart guy. She shot him a reproving look. "You were out of order today. The Carmichaels must have wondered what was going on."
"It was product research."
"What, and I was the guinea pig?"
He paused midway through cutting his steak and regarded her, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"You don't fool me. You loved it, Sophie Black."
Sophie considered a denial… but who was she kidding? It had indeed been a massive turn-on, knowing Lucien had control of her body, sharing the intimacy of a sexy secret with him in a public place.
"Okay. Maybe I did love it a little bit. Did you?"
"Are you trying to make me say the L word again, Sophie?" he countered. "Because if you are, then hell yeah. I loved it." Lucien splashed wine into Sophie's glass and then his own. "I loved having you at my mercy. I loved watching you struggle to hide how fucking excited you were." He picked up his wine glass and drank from it, his eyes darkening lustfully. "And I loved knowing that you were naked beneath that dress. I was hard for you most of the way through lunch.”
He set the glass back down. “So. Enough love for you? Or do you want more?"
Sophie was amused, despite herself. "I think that's probably enough love for you tonight. You're in danger of having real feelings."
"Not a chance," he smirked and raised his glass again. "But for the record, I still love your tits."
"Just eat your dinner."
As he laughed softly and looked down at his plate, a sucker punch of emotion hit Sophie squarely in the chest. Cast golden in the candlelight, his easy smile and unguarded laughter was such a rare, beautiful thing. Agitation made the delicious food suddenly unpalatable. Her feelings for Lucien confused the hell out of her. On paper, this should be easy. No strings, no emotions, no heartbreak. So how come he'd managed to take over her mind and her body so completely that she had barely spared a thought for anyone else since they'd arrived here? The man bewitched her.
"Enough?" He laid his cutlery down and nodded towards her half-eaten steak.
Sophie nodded and glanced up at the cloud-scuttled sky. A few spots of rain dampened her cheeks as she shivered a little. There was a definite nip in the air that the food and blood-warm red wine couldn't counter.
Lucien picked up their glasses. "Looks like rain's stopped play. Let's go inside."
Chapter Twenty
His choice of the armchair rather than sofa startled Sophie enough to make her mirror his choice in the opposite armchair. His decision to cork the wine in favour of a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses was equally disconcerting. When he laid down a deck of cards, she was completely nonplussed.