Forbidden Surrender

‘So are you,’ she told him shyly.

‘You haven’t seen all of me yet.’ He firmly sat her down on the bed, his hand going to his belted waist. ‘But you will.’

Sara felt that she stopped breathing as he stepped out of his trousers, a pair of navy blue briefs now his only clothing, his thighs powerfully muscled. At the last moment her courage deserted her and she turned away to climb beneath the covering of the sheets, their coolness soothing against her heated flesh.

‘Do you want the light on or off?’

She looked up, then quickly looked away again, her face fiery red, that one brief glimpse of Dominic’s naked flesh showing her what a truly magnificent body he had, strong and powerful, clearly wanting her as badly as she wanted him. ‘Off, please,’ she croaked, hoping she wouldn’t prove a disappointment to him.

The room was instantly put into darkness, temporarily blinding Sara, and making Dominic a mere shadow. The bedclothes were thrown back as he joined her on the bed, his mouth instantly claiming hers. She relaxed against the hard demand of him, gasping as his hand moved to claim her breast, caressing the nipple to hardness with the tip of his thumb, moving slowly down her body to claim her other breast with his pleasure-giving lips and tongue.

Excitement such as Sara had never known existed coursed through her body, as Dominic’s leg moved over hers to trap her to the bed as she would have struggled against that pleasure. It was too much, driving her into ecstasies, making her gasp, cry out as it became unbearable.

Dominic raised his head, his expression one of puzzlement. ‘It’s all right, darling,’ he soothed, sweeping her hair back from her face. ‘Calm down, sweetheart.’

She swallowed hard, the tension easing as he gently caressed her. ‘I—I’m sorry, Dominic,’ she bit her lip. ‘I’m just—It’s—–’

‘You’re a virgin, aren’t you!’ he realised tautly.

‘It’s obvious, is it?’ she asked with dread.

His answer was to get off the bed, pulling on a towelling robe before switching on the light. ‘Yes, it’s obvious,’ he confirmed abruptly.

‘It matters, doesn’t it?’ She held the sheet up over her breasts, still throbbing from the touch of his lips.

‘Of course it matters!’ The lover of minutes ago was completely erased.

‘But why?’ she cried out her puzzlement. ‘When we’re married—–’

‘Married!’ he repeated harshly. ‘We aren’t getting married, Sara.’

‘We—we aren’t?’

‘I’m engaged to Marie!’

‘Yes, but—–’

‘And I’m going to stay that way,’ he told her coldly.

‘But you said you loved me!’

‘And I do,’ he groaned.

She blinked dazedly, as she felt her world collapsing about her. ‘But you’re still going to marry Marie?’

‘Yes!’ he hissed. ‘I wish I could make you understand—–’

‘You can’t,’ she choked, getting out of bed to dress hurriedly. ‘I’ve been a fool. I thought loving me meant you wanted to be with me, for all time. But I guess Eddie was right about you from the first,’ she added bitterly, leaving her hair loose in her hurry to leave.

Dominic’s eyes were glacial. ‘Eddie?’ he echoed sharply.

‘Yes,’ her head went back challengingly. ‘That first evening we met, when you thought I was Marie, I asked Eddie about you. He told me then exactly what sort of man you are.’

‘Considering he’s never met me that’s quite something!’

Her look was contemptuous. ‘People like you don’t need to be known. He told me then that one day you intended owning all the business, and that by marrying Marie you would have it. And now you’ve proved that. You say you love me—–if you even know what that word means—and yet you still intend to marry Marie, my father’s heiress.’

Dominic had gone white beneath his tan, his eyes blazing. ‘You’re forgetting something,’ he snapped harshly. ‘Your father now has two daughters.’