He lifted one brow, amused by her steady regard. “Like what you see?”
Embarrassment heated Kaitlyn’s cheeks. She wanted to say she had seen better, thank you very much. Instead, she shrugged and turned the question back to him. “Do you? Like what you see?”
“You know I do.” He twirled her around the floor, spinning her effortlessly until she was dizzy. “And I’d like to see more of you. Much more.”
She searched her mind for some witty comeback, but words failed her.
Zack chuckled as he pulled her closer. “I’m sorry if the truth makes you uncomfortable.”
“I guess it does,” she replied with unexpected candor. “A little anyway.”
“I don’t know why. A girl who’s as pretty as you must get compliments from guys all the time.”
“Yes, but . . .”
“But?”
She tilted her head back so she could look into his eyes. “They’re usually after something.”
“Can’t blame them for that,” he replied, his gaze drifting to the pulse throbbing in the hollow of her throat.
“What are you after, Zack?” she asked. “What do you want?”
“You,” he answered quietly. “Every inch of you, in every way possible. I want to start at the top of your head and nibble my way down to your toes.”
“Well, I’ll give you this—you’re more honest than most.” After the image he had painted in her mind, it was an effort to keep her voice steady.
The music changed tempo, going from an oldies song to something slower and more romantic.
Zack held her closer, tighter. Straps crisscrossed the back of her top, leaving parts of her back bare to the touch of his hand. His dark eyes burned into hers, hot and hungry. Kaitlyn’s heart skipped a beat. She had seen looks like that before, in the eyes of her father’s people. But Zack didn’t belong to her father’s coven, or any coven.
Still, the look unsettled her and when the music ended, she told Zack she needed to sit down. She wasn’t tired, but she needed to put some space between them. She couldn’t think clearly when he was holding her, when he was looking at her like that, as if he was a hungry cat, and she a tasty mouse.
He escorted her to a nearby table, held her chair for her. “How about a drink?” he asked, and when she nodded, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called the bar in the casino.
“Why didn’t you just order from the bar up here?” Kaitlyn asked.
“That’s for the tourists. I have my own private stock downstairs.”
Less than five minutes later, a waiter arrived at their table carrying a bottle of Clos Du Mesnil champagne and a bottle of Dom Pérignon Rosé. A waitress arrived moments later bearing a tray with a pair of crystal goblets and a plate of canapés.
Zack dismissed the help with a smile, then gestured at the bottles. “What’s your pleasure?”
“I don’t know anything about champagne.”
“Well, the Clos Du Mesnil costs about seven hundred dollars; the Dom Pérignon about half that.”
“Are you kidding me? Seven hundred dollars for a bottle of champagne?” She shook her head in amazement. “I have got to try that.”
He filled two glasses with liquid that was straw gold in color, then handed her one. “What shall we drink to?”
“Beginnings?” she suggested.
“Beginnings,” he repeated, and touched his glass to hers.
He watched her over the rim of his glass as he sipped his wine, and for one moment out of time, Kaitlyn imagined his lips pressed against the side of her neck, his tongue lightly stroking her skin.
“Katy, let’s go where we can be alone.”
She nibbled one of the canapés, then shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? Are you afraid of me?”
“Yes.”
He sat back, his brow furrowing. “What are you afraid of?”
“The way you make me feel. We’re moving way too fast. I hardly know you.”
“What do you want to know?”
She sipped her drink, then set her glass aside. “Everything.”
“Everything, huh?” He dragged a hand over his jaw. “My parents are dead. I’m an only child. I’m rich and single and I’m crazy about you. What else do you need to know?”
“How old are you?”
“Thirty-one.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“August the fourth.”
“A Leo,” she said, smiling.
He nodded. “You?”
“I’m an Aries.”
“Both fire signs,” he mused.
“Are you into astrology?”
“No, not really.”
“Do you read your horoscope every day?”
“No,” he said, laughing. “Why, do you?”
“No. Well, not every day.”
“How old are you?”
Grinning, she said, “Don’t you know it isn’t polite to ask a woman her age?”
“At least tell me you’re over twenty-one.”
Kaitlyn laughed. “No worries. I turned twenty-one on my last birthday.”
“Just a baby.” He wondered what she would think if she knew how old he really was. “Do you have brothers and sisters?”
“No. My mom wanted more children, but . . .” She shrugged. “I would have liked a brother or a sister, but it wasn’t meant to be. My dad comes from a really large family though, so I have lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. Of course, there was a plus side to being an only child,” she said, grinning. “My parents spoiled me rotten when I was growing up.” She ran her finger around the rim of her glass, her expression thoughtful. “They still spoil me rotten.”
Zack nodded. He would love to pamper her, to give her everything her heart desired, to show her all the wonders of the modern world. To introduce her to the magic between a man and a woman.
“Why did you call me Katy?”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t everyone?”
“No. No one.” She smiled a shy smile. “I like it.”
He leaned toward her, his gaze resting on her face. “Come home with me, Katy.”
“Zack . . . I can’t.”
“Just my luck,” he said with a good-natured grin. “You’re a good girl.”
“’Fraid so.” She couldn’t blame him for having thought otherwise, considering the sexy “come and get me” outfit she was wearing.