She sighed, smiling faintly. “As if I could.”

“Lucky me,” he said. “You’re not wearing a bra,” he added in a cooler tone, jealous of every man who came near her. “You must have made Johnny Chen very happy.”

“Everyone’s not like you, Dominic.”

“Any man likes big tits,” he murmured. “You must have given Johnny a hard-on a dozen times a day. Whenever you’re ready, Katherine.” He opened his sports coat slightly to expose his prominent erection. Maybe power wasn’t irrelevant after all, maybe the thought of Johnny Chen looking at his tits required payback.

She dragged in a breath, flushed rosy pink.

“You can have this as soon as you get undressed.” His voice was blunt, exacting.

“I shouldn’t.” An automatic response when Dominic spoke as though he owned the world and everyone in it.

“Just so we’re clear, Katherine. I play this game only because you like it.”

“You do too.”

He shrugged faintly. “I don’t dislike it, but I like lots of things. It doesn’t have to be this.”

“So I could choose something else?” Her lips twitched impudently. “I could tell you what to do?”

“Perhaps.” Had Johnny Chen seen that impudent grin? Had she been playful or flirtatious with him?

“That sounds like perhaps not,” she said with a flicker of a smile.

“Did he touch you?”

A look of surprise. “You mean Johnny?”

“Unless there were more men you’d like to tell me about,” he said gruffly, the blue of his eyes suddenly cold.

“Stop it, Dominic. Right now.”

“Did anyone touch you?” he asked, ignoring her, jealous for the first time in his life. Not entirely sure he knew how to deal with it civilly.

“You don’t own me, Dominic,” she quietly replied. “We’ve been through this before. If that’s what you want, I’m leaving.”

“Not tonight you’re not. It’s too dangerous.”

“Jesus, Dominic,” she muttered. “You haven’t changed one single bit. I’m here whether I want to be or not? You’re in charge of every goddamn thing. Orders every fucking second.”

“And you’re still fighting me every inch of the way,” he retorted brusquely. “So tell me, which one of us hasn’t changed?” He shut his eyes for a second, slid down on his spine, then blew out a breath and looked at her from under his long lashes. “I told myself I wouldn’t do this—piss you off, argue, lose my temper. But I’m jealous of every man who looks at you. Every. Single. One. I wish I didn’t give a damn. I wish it didn’t matter to me. I wish you weren’t in my thoughts and dreams every minute of the day and night. So don’t tell me to stop feeling the way I do,” he growled. “I can’t.”

“And you wish you could.” She grimaced. “I know the feeling.”

“We are truly fucked,” Dominic said with a sigh. “On the other hand, you’re here, I can see you and touch you”—he smiled—“maybe. So things could be worse.” He slid upright again. “At least I don’t feel like drinking every minute. That’s good.”

“And I don’t feel like crying every minute.” Kate smiled back. “That’s a relief. Still,” she said with a little flutter of her fingers, “do you think the sex is worth all the angst?”

“You’re kidding—right? The sex is fantastic. Fuck the angst.” The warmth in his eyes could have illuminated Singapore for a decade. “You make the world livable, Katherine. And at the risk of pissing you off again, I should know. Look,” he said gently, “we’re not going to solve the riddles of the universe tonight or maybe ever. All I know is I’m happy when I’m with you and miserable when I’m not. That’s gotta mean something.”

“I suppose,” Kate murmured. “I’ve never felt so rotten before either.”

“So fuck it. Who cares if we’re clueless about the reasons. How about I make you happy now?”

“And I’ll make you happy back.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

He was suddenly tired of talking, but then he had a one-track mind when it came to Katherine. And his flight across the world to get here had only increased the anticipation of touching her, tasting her, possessing her. “It’s been a long month for both of us,” he said, rising from his chair in a smooth, supple, deceptively easy motion. “It’s about time we had some fun.” Closing the distance between them in three strides, he lifted the table with the silver coffee service aside while her heart drummed in her ears, the hard, steady pulsing between her legs beat a wild, welcoming tattoo, and her frenzied carnal cravings reminded her that it had been a very long month.

Shrugging out of his jacket, he dropped it on the white marble floor and gracefully knelt at her feet. “Let me help you with your buttons, then with another orgasm. After that we can debate our options.” Without waiting for a reply, he gently spread her legs, leaned forward, and unclasped the first pearl button on her blouse.

Issues of submission and independence, of temptation and willingness, were no longer relevant. Dominic was impossible to resist. And at the moment, with lust hammering her brain, with sharp-set desire ravishing her body, she was willing to do anything to feel him inside her. She reached for the zipper on her slacks.