HELEN BIANCHIN – Australia: Gorgeous Grooms: The Andreou Marriage Arrangement / His Prisoner in Paradise / Wedding Night with a Stranger (страница 19)

‘Yes.’ As proof she sought his mouth with her own, and held on as he took possession in a kiss that made her forget everything except his touch, the hunger … and the innate knowledge she didn’t want him to stop.

With care he eased off her sleep trousers, taking his time as he trailed gentle fingers over the surface of her skin, then he cupped one ankle and lowered his head down to brush his lips over the delicate arch.

Slow, he wanted slow and easy, building the tension, stoking the passion until he filled her sensual world.

It became a voyage of discovery, learning what caused her breath to hitch, the pleasurable sigh as he explored her breasts, savoured the sensitive curve at the edge of her neck … the way her body arched when he palmed the highly sensitive place between her thighs.

He felt the faint sting of her nails as her fingers bit into his shoulders, and he reciprocated with a teasing bite to the soft underside of one breast.

Naked, he saw her eyes widen as her hand brushed his arousal, and he glimpsed her brief panic, then it was gone as he took possession of her mouth in an erotic kiss that brought a purr of pleasure.

It was then he trailed his mouth in a slow caress down her throat, felt the slight vibration as he lingered there before he began grazing a sensual tasting towards her navel, circled his tongue round the diamond pin, then traced an evocative path to the intimate folds guarding her sensitive clitoris.

He felt her tense, then utter a faint sob as he bestowed the most intimate kiss of all, taking infinite care as her tension built, urging her high until she reached the brink … then he held as she fell.

And glimpsed the tears well in her eyes, the soundless movement of her lips as she struggled to find the words, and he trailed gentle fingers over each cheek, dispensing the warm moisture.

It was more, so much more than she believed it possible to experience, and she cradled his face and urged it towards her own as she sought his mouth in a kiss so expressive there was no need for words.

She felt mesmerized by the darkness in his eyes, the passion clearly evident as he moved over her, and she managed a strangled plea to turn off the light. Only to have him shake his head.

How could she explain that in the darkness she hadn’t had to witness the hatred of the man who’d only married her for material gain? A man who had used sex as a punishment.

‘Loukas—’

‘Open your eyes,’ he chided gently. ‘I want you to see me, only me, and know who and what I am, and the pleasure I can give you.’

‘Please. I—’

‘Trust me, agape mou.’ His mouth closed on her own as he positioned his length and eased in, careful to ensure she could accommodate him before filling her completely.

At first he didn’t move, almost as if he sensed she needed to absorb his possession, and her eyes widened as he shifted his weight and began to withdraw, only to increase the pace as her vaginal muscles caught his rhythm and matched it, until he took her high … so high she could only cling to him and experience the ride.

She felt alive. Acutely sensitive to every nerve in her body. This … this was how it was meant to be.

Not just sex … something so much more.

Body, mind, and spirit coalesced into one entity to provide a sensual magic.

Electrifying, primitive, exquisite.

She wanted to thank him, except she couldn’t find the words for what she wanted to say.

Instead she lifted a shaky hand and placed it against his cheek, then brushed his mouth with her own.

She expected him to withdraw, and she gasped as he caught her close and rolled onto his back, taking her with him.

A slow smile curved his lips as he eased her into a sitting position astride him, and he took in her pink cheeks, the gleaming brown eyes dreamy with lingering passion. The softly parted mouth swollen from his kisses, the tousled hair framing her face.

His hands clasped her waist, and he used each thumb to trace a light pattern over her stomach … and felt her quiver beneath his touch.

This is the aftermath? Alesha mused as she felt him swell inside her. A spiral of sensation curled deep within and rose through her body … sensuous, consuming, witching.

His eyes held hers, and she was unable to look away as he began to move, taking her with him as she held on and joined him in a ride that held her spellbound with intense pulsating pleasure.

It was almost more than she could bear, and he drew her trembling body close and pressed his lips to her temple.

He murmured words she didn’t quite catch as he nestled her head into the curve of his shoulder, and she lay there, too emotionally spent to move.

She must have slept, for she became aware of a warm body close to her own and the drift of fingers trailing a light path over the slender curve of her waist.

Her eyes flew open, and for one agonizing second her body tensed … then she recognized the bed, the room, the man who held her.

She lay perfectly still as memory of the night filled her mind, and she swallowed the sudden lump that rose in her throat.

‘Look at me,’ Loukas commanded gently, and when she did he captured her chin, giving her little option but to hold his dark gaze.

Her mouth quivered, and he brushed the pad of his thumb over its sensitive fullness.

‘What do you want from me?’

‘Whatever you choose to give.’

It wasn’t the answer she expected. ‘Last night—’

‘Was beautiful,’ he completed, and saw the soft pink colour her cheeks.

It had been all about her … her pleasure, her orgasm. What would he say if she told him it was her first?

A sudden thought swept her eyes wide. Ohmigod … he couldn’t know, surely? She’d been blind with ecstasy, totally out of herself. Had she cried? Please, dear heaven, she didn’t scream?

Was this where they conducted a post-coital report?

Should she thank him?

For what?

A miraculous melting of her frozen emotions?

Like one sexual encounter would do it?

Staying here quiescent was madness. He’d take it as an invitation for more, and, besides, daylight filtered through the shutters.

His hand slid to her stomach … her bare stomach. A touch that made her aware she wore nothing beneath the bedcovers, and she shifted as he traced her ribcage, only to pause as he encountered a small hard lump on one rib, followed by another.

Alesha uttered a distressed sound as Loukas discovered the scar lesion beneath her breast, the legacy of a vicious bite.

‘Don’t.’ Except she was too late to prevent Loukas from peeling back the bedcovers, and any move she made to escape from the bed was easily stalled.

‘Are these it?’ Loukas demanded in a dangerously soft voice. ‘Or are there more?’

More. Cracked ribs, long healed.

Her eyes met his, hardening to obsidian shards. Anger rose from the deep well in which she’d buried it. She drew in a shuddering breath. ‘Let me go.’

And let her escape to curl into a foetal ball alone? ‘No.’

Only her father knew she’d summoned a lawyer from a hospital bed and filed for divorce. And paid Seth to get out of her life so she could rebuild her own.

‘You want me to admit I was a blind fool and should have listened to my parents’ caution?’ She was like a runaway train, unable to stop. ‘That I should have realized much sooner that it was the Karsouli wealth he wanted … not me, and that the entire engagement and lead-up to the marriage had simply been an act?’

Loukas wrapped his arms around her slender form and drew her in against him, sheltering her even as anger against the man who’d hurt her consumed him. To think of her as the victim of one man’s uncontrollable rage almost undid him.

A shiver shook her slender frame as she felt his muscles tense. ‘Please.’ She couldn’t remain where she was, naked and vulnerable.

‘Stay,’ he said gently.

What of her own emotions? He’d awakened something inside her she hadn’t known existed. Feelings that tugged her heartstrings and made her think of the impossible.

And that would never do.

She’d given her heart once, only to have that love blow up in her face. There was no way she’d risk gifting her heart again.

Yet it felt good to be held curved in against him. His warmth surrounded her, the beat of his heart solid and even against her back. His arms offered a protective haven, and on an early Sunday morning there was no need to rise, shine and prepare for a day in the city.

Alesha spent the morning at her apartment, checked with Reception for any mail, made a few phone calls, one of which enlisted the continued services of her cleaning lady … another to Lacey suggesting they spend the afternoon at Darling Harbour.

The day was cool, the skies grey with the threat of showers, and she chose to don designer jeans, a tee shirt over which she pulled on a thigh-length knitted jacket, and she fixed a belt low on her hips. Knee-length boots completed the outfit.