She gaped and then a flush swept up her face. ‘Why? For your secret harem?’
He laughed roughly at her temper and inwardly revelled at the way the colour made her radiance return. She looked so much more alive than the cautious woman of only moments earlier.
‘Stop being so poisonous.’ He stepped closer, unable to keep any distance at all. ‘We slept in separate rooms last night, remember? I’m not about to insist that change. Or is it that you want to be back in my bed?’
Was that what it was? Now they had privacy, she could voice her thoughts. And now that she was beyond provoked, she’d revealed what was uppermost in her mind.
‘What? No!’ But her mouth formed a full-lipped pout and her purple-tinged eyes shimmered with passion.
Sizzling sexual tension pulled him closer still. They’d have separate lives, yes, but maybe clearing this heated fog might be the best thing for them both. He didn’t want to fight. Didn’t want anything else from her... But this? The pull was undeniable.
‘You want to be back there every bit as much as I want you there,’ he muttered.
‘If you think I want you—’
‘You’re not a good liar, sweetheart. You’ve told me that yourself.’ He couldn’t resist a second longer. Reaching out, he cupped her jaw.
‘Theo...’
Satisfaction merged with desire at her soft whisper of submission and the gentle lean into his touch. His need had such power, he was driven to kiss, not her mouth, but that delicate, sensitive skin of her neck. He’d take more, touch more, do everything unexpected and delightful. She shivered, her hands lifted, not to push him away but to clutch his shirt and pull him closer still. This was what he wanted. Her embrace, her smile, her playfulness.
Her soft moan made him giddy with triumph and the diabolical desire to tease her overpowered him.
‘Oh, no,’ he said as he nibbled his way down. He wanted her as tortured as he’d been these last weeks and then he wanted to assuage it. ‘No screaming your ecstasy,’ he softly echoed her taunt. ‘You’ve got to be quiet. If you’re not quiet, I’m going to stop.’
‘You’re not going to start,’ she muttered breathlessly.
‘I already have and you’re already ahead of me.’
‘You arrogant...’
But she trailed off as his fingers traced the neckline of her loose tee.
‘I might be arrogant but I’m not wrong.’ He pulled her fully into his embrace. ‘Be quiet, Leah. Or I stop.’
Leah knew she could say no and he’d stop. She could say anything and he’d stop. But the last thing she wanted was for him to stop. So, instead, she smiled.
He kissed along her cheekbones, then her eyelids so she closed her eyes. His fingertips teased and she moaned again. Her skin was so sensitive to his touch. She heard his muttered oath, a mumble of something hot and ferocious, and then his hands lifted her. He swiftly crossed the floor to the bed and tumbled down onto it with her. She cried out with the powerful pleasure of being with him like this again. Of having him above her, caressing her, pinning her with his magnificent body.
‘You don’t want me to stop, do you?’ he whispered hotly against her mouth.
She kept silent but arched her hips to meet his—uncaring about the layers of clothes between them. She just needed to feel him. She sought him the one way she could—with her body, closing her mind to any more repercussions. His laugh was smothered on her skin as he kissed down her torso, lifting her tee out of his way with his teeth. But he wouldn’t let her touch him back. He kept her too busy squirming, seeking more of his wicked mouth. She shook with need. He traced his hand carefully over her, making her quiver. She gasped as his hand easily slipped beneath the loose waistband of her jeans, then deeper to where she was slick and hot. She heard his harshly drawn breath as he discovered just how much she wanted him. She didn’t care how much she was feeding his ego with her response right now. She didn’t care that he now knew he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, if he wanted. She was too needy.
‘Theo—’ She shivered, desperately biting her lip. She didn’t want him to stop but she couldn’t hold back her cry.
He looked into her eyes. His were filled with tender heat as he stroked her with a firm but gentle touch. ‘Let it out, sweetheart,’ he muttered roughly. ‘I want to hear you, want to see you, want to feel you.’ His groan was soul-filled. ‘I have missed you.’
Any game was forgotten, burned to cinders by the honesty in that scorching whisper. An outpouring of warmth and want flooded her. He didn’t give her a chance to answer, or himself an opportunity to say anything more, because he kissed her—so thoroughly, so passionately, while his fingers teased her to the point of no return. She arched—high and taut, straining for the release only he could bring.
‘Leah.’ He broke free and breathed.
‘Yes!’ She convulsed, her cry echoing as her whole world was obliterated.
She drowned in the tumultuous sensations, utterly, utterly undone. She couldn’t find the energy to open her eyes and she didn’t want to. She wanted to stay in this half-dream-state of delight.
I have missed you.
That whispered secret had felled her. She’d missed him too. She’d missed this closeness. This easiness. But now total exhaustion scrubbed her ability to do anything—to speak, move, think. She wanted to open her eyes but she couldn’t. She felt him brush her hair from her face, then he gently repeated the motion again, then again. Until Leah discovered she couldn’t resist anything any more—not him. Nor the pull of a profound sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LEAH FURIOUSLY SCRUBBED her body, rejecting the lingering warmth from last night and trying not to appreciate the stunning luxury of the gleaming marble bathroom. Despite that wide blue sky and brilliant sunshine outside, her mood was bad because when she’d woken she’d discovered he wasn’t there. It wasn’t the fact that he wasn’t there that made her disgruntled. It was that she’d wanted him to be there. If he’d really missed her, why had he left so early? Or was it just that he’d missed sex?
Had he only touched her because she’d provoked him? Because he was venting the frustrations of a very long day? Except he’d not asked for anything for himself after her release. He’d merely proved his power over her and then he’d stayed and stroked her hair and that was mortifying. She had no idea when he’d left her, only that he had. She’d woken, still half dressed, not even in the bed but on top of it and covered by a light blanket that he must have put over her.
She swiftly towelled dry, pulled on a fresh tee and jeans and then glanced out of the window at that incredible view again. There was a gorgeous lap pool with guest houses on both sides and, beyond that, the crystalline sea stretched for miles. It was the bluest water she’d ever seen.
But now she could see Theo and Angelica seated at a big table on the terrace. Theo was in trousers and white shirt, his sleeves rolled back enough to show off his tanned forearms. She clamped down on that restless ache.
Angelica wore another stunning summery dress, her hair and make-up immaculate. She was clearly at ease with having staff serve breakfast, felt no awkwardness in wondering what to say or how to say it. The fact was, they looked good together. Leah was nothing like that woman. She wasn’t Greek. Or beautiful. Or from the ‘right society’. She was a pregnant nobody, with no qualifications, no real achievements to date. Her black jeans and black tee were too old, loose and casual—they didn’t fit the scene. And nor did the rest of her. She froze, not wanting to go down and join them. She didn’t think she could fake it.
Pull it together.
She had to get over herself. He’d taken her by the hand, he’d introduced her as his fiancée. If she chose not to go down there now, then wasn’t she choosing to be invisible again? For so long she’d wanted to escape that doormat role; she couldn’t revert to it just because she was scared. She had to do better fo
r her baby and make this work.
By the time Leah made it down to the ground floor Angelica was standing ready for departure. ‘It was fascinating to meet you, Leah,’ she said. ‘I’m sure we’ll see each other again.’
Despite that polite farewell, there was no mistaking Angelica’s sharp curiosity. Leah fought the instinct to cover her belly. She turned towards the terrace as Theo guided Angelica to the car. She’d fuel up, ready to face his family.
* * *
Theo watched the car head down the drive, taking Angelica away. No doubt she’d tell everyone about the woman he’d brought back with him. His instinctive need to protect Leah built, but he’d face Dimitri first. Their meetings usually didn’t go much beyond balance sheets and brainstorming business expansions. They lived and breathed the banking business and their unspoken agreement had cemented over the years—they never discussed the past. But while Theo had protected the old man for so long, he couldn’t have him hate Leah.
‘Tell me about her,’ Dimitri said quietly when Theo went to the old man’s study to explain.
Theo thought about the way she supported her ballet friend, her brother, those elderly residents at that home. ‘She’s very caring.’ But he braced—there was no point prevaricating. ‘She’s pregnant.’
Dimitri didn’t move.
‘You’ll make her welcome,’ he added, wondering if that man had even heard what he’d said. ‘I am responsible for her.’
To his total astonishment and total discomfort, Dimitri’s eyes filled.
‘She’s having your child?’ the old man clarified.
‘Yes.’ He still had to steel himself to admit it aloud, let alone prepare for the reaction he was about to get.