Living Together

‘You do?’ he pounced.

‘Not like that.’ She evaded the warmth in his eyes. ‘You had no need to come back. How did you find out what was going on?’

‘I called the flat to see if you’d actually left, and—’

‘But you told me to,’ she interrupted with a frown.

‘After great provocation, if I remember correctly. Anyway, Max told me what was happening over here. It was Sharon, of course.’

‘I presume so. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…"’ she quoted dryly.

‘She wasn’t scorned, damn her! Not enough to make her do something like this, anyway.’

‘Obviously she considered she was.’

Leon watched her with narrowed assessing eyes. ‘None of this bothers you, does it? The publicity you feared so much isn’t even touching you,’ he said disgustedly.

‘Did you expect it to? Is that why you’re here, Leon, because you thought I would just fall into your arms?’

He sprang to his feet. ‘You don’t know the half of it! I knew I shouldn’t have gone to the States, I should have stayed here and made love to you until you were senseless and couldn’t refuse when I asked you to marry me.’

Helen looked away from the powerful magnetism of him in the fitted denims and blue sweat shirt. ‘Even then I would have refused you.’

‘Would you, by damn!’ he snapped. ‘There’s only one way to find out.’ He pulled her against him, arching her body to his hard contours. ‘I’m going to love you, Helen, if it’s the last thing I do.’

‘But, Leon—’

‘Don’t fight me, Helen, not now,’ he groaned against her throat. ‘I’ve been promising myself this all the way home. And you are home to me, darling, no matter where you are.’

‘Leon—’

‘No more talking.’ His lips passed lower to explore the hollow between her breasts.

‘I was only going to say that I have no intention of fighting you,’ she said huskily.

He looked at her with dazed eyes. ‘You haven’t?’

‘No.’

‘Are you serious?’ he asked disbelievingly.

‘Very. Are you going to refuse me again?’

‘Like hell I am!’ he growled, swinging her up into his arms and carrying her through to the bedroom. ‘I’ll only be that kind of fool once.’ He lowered her on to the bed, where he swiftly joined her, the narrowness of the single bed making their proximity very close indeed.

If Michael had shown her all the depths of making love then Leon was determined to show her all the heights. She forgot Michael, forgot everything but Leon loving her

.

Afterwards his head rested on her breasts as he gently kissed her soft creamy flesh. ‘Do you hate me?’ he asked huskily.

‘Oh no,’ she hastened to reassure him. She felt complete, a woman in the arms of the man she loved. It had been such sweet surrender, Leon giving of himself without reserve. ‘I could never hate you, Leon.’ She smoothed his blond hair, loving the firmness of his body pressed close against her in the aftermath of their love.

He raised his head to look at her. ‘I didn’t hurt you?’ he asked gruffly.

Far from hurting her he had bound her all the more to him with his gentleness and passion. Which was going to make it all the harder for her to give him up, as she surely had to. ‘You didn’t hurt me,’ she assured him. ‘You were wonderful, Leon. I—I can’t thank you enough.’ She could feel him shaking and suddenly realised he was laughing. ‘What’s so funny?’

‘You are, darling.’ He kissed her lightly on the lips to take the sting out of his words. ‘I’ve never had a woman thank me for making love to her,’ he explained with humour.