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this foreplay you promised me?”
    Good. Nothing in her tone to indicate anything but light
amusement. It was all she was willing to reveal.
    Xbal waved an expressive hand, as though subtly brushing the
words aside, and tilted his head a little, his eyes never leaving her face.
    “We’ll get there, but I have a couple of questions for you
first.”
    “Oh?” Cassie tilted her head too, mirroring him, giving back
as good as she was getting. “Like what?”
    “Why me?” Nothing but curiosity in the words, but his eyes
had darkened, his gaze turning sharp and probing. Cassie suppressed a shiver.
Somehow that predatory stare was just so damn hot . “Why now?”
    The urge was to look away, sever the sense of intimacy
suddenly binding them together, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She
was about to lie to him, by omission if nothing else. Breaking eye contact
would be too much an admission of…what? Insecurity? Dishonesty? Vulnerability?
A mixture of all three?
    She shrugged lightly, pushing those thoughts aside.
    “Am I the only one to feel there’s a certain…” She lifted an
eyebrow, drawing out the last word. “Chemistry between us? If I am—”
    Again came that wave of his fingers, less subtle this time.
“You know you’re not. I’ve wanted you from the first moment I set eyes on you,
and you know it.”
    No, she hadn’t really known it. She’d thought it, hoped it,
even dreamed it, but he was such a cool customer she hadn’t been one-hundred percent
sure. Hearing the words gave her an aching thrill she couldn’t—didn’t want
to—fully suppress.
    Arching both brows this time, she shook her head slowly.
“Well, if that’s the case, what more is there to say?”
    “A lot,” came the succinct reply. “Why me? Why now?”
    By Sol , he wasn’t giving up, was he? What could she
say to satisfy him that didn’t involve things like, “You’re on my bucket list”
or “I couldn’t put it off any longer, lest I miss the chance”? The truth would
lead to far more questions and admissions than she was prepared to allow. What
could she say to fend that off and satisfy his curiosity? She settled on part
of the truth.
    “You’re a sexy man and I want to sleep with you.” There was
some satisfaction in seeing eyes widen just enough to show surprise. “As for
why now? It’s the right time for me, as I hope it is for you.”
    His eyes still locked on her face, Xbal leaned back in the
booth and, just from that motion, she knew he wasn’t satisfied with her answer.
Mentally scrambling, she watched him for a second or two, waiting for him to
start digging deeper, before inspiration struck.
    “Of course, hearing you’re a master practitioner of sex
magic doesn’t hurt.” She found herself licking her lips and didn’t stop the
movement, knowing he’d seen the motion by the flicker of his gaze. When she
continued she let her voice fall low, into a sexy whisper. “The combination of
you and atraspa is too much for me to resist any longer.”
    Now she had him.
    Xbal’s stillness was complete, only his eyes flickering
slightly, a big cat sighting his prey. Cassie suddenly realized she could
hardly breathe, so caught up in the intensity of his gaze air seemed
superfluous.
    Foreplay. It occurred to her Xbal didn’t need to
touch her, with hands or lips or magic, to turn her on. It was all in the eyes.
The expression and concentrated focus.
    Sol, he’s sexy.
    There was a part of her wondering why she’d waited this long
to initiate a sexual encounter with him, another urging her to run away. It was
overwhelming, being the object of his attention in a way she hadn’t expected.
    I didn’t expect any of this.
    She’d thought it would have been over by now. The scenario
seemed simple enough. He says yes, or no. They have sex, or she walks away.
Now, mesmerized by the dark, compelling eyes, it all seemed a hell of a lot
more complicated.
    “Are you folks ready to order?”
    Thankfully the