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lifting her hair up off her neck.
    A delicious shiver skittered down her spine, and he was holding her so close that she couldn’t help letting him feel her very physical response to his gentle kisses. Trying to hold her body stiff and straight in denial of how she was feeling was pointless—he knew her well enough to know that she was suddenly yearning for him to make love to her.
    But it was not love, she reminded herself. That made a difference. That had to make a difference.
    But then why was her body slowly melting into his embrace? Why was she becoming pliable in hisarms, as he arched her backwards and brought his mouth down on hers?
    He kissed her with devouring heat, ignoring her feeble attempts to pull away, as he plundered her tender mouth in an overwhelmingly sexual onslaught. His body was big and strong, but it wasn’t his sheer physical size and strength that overpowered her. It was the fervour of her own response to him that left her defenceless.
    Her eyelids slid down and she was lost in a moment where only she and Lorenzo existed. She was aware of his potent virility with every inch of her body. His tongue moved against hers, making her want more—so much more that she trembled with pure, naked desire. Her blood was singing in her ears and her whole being was buzzing with longing.
    His hands skimmed over her, then suddenly he swept her right off her feet and up into his arms.
    Her eyes flew open in surprise, and her conscious mind plummeted mercilessly back to the cold light of day. Her body was still yearning for Lorenzo, muddling her grip on the situation, but she knew she had to stop him before things went any further.
    Intimacy was not love. Chloe knew that she was fooling herself if she let herself believe a true connection could form between them, when Lorenzo felt no love for her.
    ‘Put me down,’ she gasped, pushing her handagainst the powerful wall of his broad chest and staring up into his face.
    He stood still, as solid as a rock, and held her gaze with his own. She knew what he must see in her eyes—after all, she could see the same thing glowing in his: smouldering arousal.
    ‘On the desk—or the sofa?’ he asked, his voice dangerously deep and loaded with sexual intent.
    Chloe swallowed reflexively, trying to stop her mind replaying the many times they’d made love on his desk. And on various bits of furniture, and in other unusual places. During the time they’d been lovers they’d often been so wrapped up in their passion for each other that they failed to make it to the comfort of their bedroom.
    At the time she’d found it thrilling. And she’d taken it as proof of the depth of his feeling for her. Now the knowledge that Lorenzo wouldn’t hesitate to get physical in almost any location filled her with a mixture of excitement and panic.
    ‘Three months is a long time,’ Lorenzo said, lifting her slightly so that his face was only inches above hers. ‘I’ve waited long enough.’
    ‘You waited…’ Chloe drew in a shaky breath and stared at him, lost for words.
    Somehow, over the months they’d spent apart, it had never occurred to her to think of Lorenzo with another woman. Now that suddenly seemed naive. She knew what a hot-blooded alpha male he was,and she knew he had never spent long without a woman in his bed.
    ‘Did you think I’d taken another lover?’ he asked, his voice harsh with an emotion she couldn’t identify.
    ‘No, I…’ She hesitated. ‘I never thought about it until now.’
    A sudden flare of anger crossed his face as he dumped her back onto her feet.
    ‘You never thought about it!’ Lorenzo exploded. ‘You didn’t care enough about the man you professed to love to wonder whether he’d replaced you in his bed?’
    She stared up at him, suddenly feeling cold away from the warmth of his arms, despite the huge and intimidating way he loomed over her. But she realised her words had been an affront to his masculine pride.
    ‘It wasn’t like