Sale or Return Bride

‘I’d rather thank him,’ she said, putting the finishing touches to her salad and lifting the bowl. ‘I had no desire to spend any time with you at all. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m planning to go and eat my lunch.’

And phone her mother.

That had been one of the major benefits of Sebastien’s long absence. She’d been in daily contact and was following her mother’s progress anxiously.

‘No.’ His voice was lethally soft as he lifted the bowl from her clutching fingers and returned it to the table. ‘I do not excuse you.’

She made the mistake of looking at him. Stormy blue eyes clashed with smouldering black and instantly the breath caught in her chest.

The look in his eyes was intensely sexual and she could see that his mind most certainly wasn’t on anything as boring as lunch.

His eyes moved from hers, lingering on the full curve of her breasts and then sliding down to rest on her smooth, flat stomach exposed by her hipster jeans. ‘Don’t wear trousers again. You have great legs. I want to see them—’

‘You are such a chauvinist,’ she flung at him, her cheeks flaming with colour at his remark. ‘Do you always tell women what to wear?’

‘Women don’t usually go out with me looking as though they’re about to unblock a drain.’

‘I like my jeans. They’re comfortable.’

‘So is underwear,’ he said silkily, his lashes lowering as he gave her a look of pure sexual speculation. ‘And that would be my preference.’

Knees shaking, she put a hand on the table for support. ‘I’ll wear what I want to wear—’

‘Not in my company,’ he said, his tone suddenly icy. ‘You’ll wear what I want to see you in.’

She bit her lip. ‘That’s ridiculous.’

‘You should have thought of that before you sold yourself.’

She gave him an incredulous look. ‘You want me wander round your house in my underwear?’

‘If I tell you to.’ His gaze was mocking. ‘I pay enough for you. I might as well see what I’m buying.’

She turned her head so he wouldn’t see the tears that stung her eyes. He made her feel so cheap. ‘Fine.’ Pulling herself together, she threw him a tight smile. ‘I’ll wear my jeans when you’re not here, which is most of the time, fortunately. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to eat my lunch.’

Before she could guess his intention, he curved a lean brown hand around the strip of flesh exposed by her top and hauled her against him.

Trapped by the expression in his eyes, her heart began to hammer against her chest and her head swam alarmingly.

He lifted lean bronzed hands and cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. ‘Are you pregnant?’

The question threw her and she gazed up at him in total shock. ‘No.’

‘Good.’ He gave a devilish smile and scooped her into his arms. ‘And you know what they say—if at first you don’t succeed—’

‘What are you doing?’ She started to wriggle out of his arms but then his mouth fastened on hers in the most erotic kiss imaginable and, like a starving man finally facing the prospect of a meal, she sobbed with relief and fell into that kiss.

His tongue delved into her mouth in an explicit gesture of masculine intent that sent her pulse racing and her head spinning. Her arms slid round his strong neck, her fingers tangled with his silky dark hair and she wriggled in his arms just desperate for more.

Mouths locked, they ravaged each other, biting, licking, exchanging gasps and groans, stoking the heat between them to almost intolerable levels.

His mouth still fastened to hers, he lowered her back to the ground and thrust her back against the wall, every inch of his powerful body hard against hers.

Alesia sucked in some much-needed air, her stomach tumbling frantically as she felt the heavy throb of his arousal against her.

A sound in the corridor outside made them both freeze.

‘Theos mou, what are we doing?’ He glanced around him in naked disbelief. ‘This is my kitchen, a room I have only visited a few times in my whole life.’

She closed her eyes in embarrassment. ‘Someone could have walked in—’

‘No chance. If they had I would have fired them,’ Sebastien announced raggedly, closing long fingers around her wrist and virtually dragging her out of the room. ‘I value my privacy above everything else and my staff are fully aware of that fact.’

Hoping the staff in question were nowhere nearby to witness her surrender to caveman tactics, Alesia struggled to keep up with his long stride. ‘Where are we going?’

‘Somewhere I will not have to stare at pots and pans when I have finished with you,’ he said silkily, striding towards the stairs so rapidly that she virtually had to run to keep up with him.