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He slid his hand into her glossy hair and tilted her head back to expose her pretty neck. Her soft lips parted and emotion glittered in her eyes. Emotion he refused to analyse. He didn’t know how. He certainly didn’t stop to examine his own. He was only seeking her consent—to lose them both in that fiery desire. And he got it—there in her crystal, cloudless eyes.
She might appear vulnerable, but she was strong. He could see her energy pulsing in that soft space at the base of her neck. He bent his head and kissed her hard and deep, releasing all the passion and lust into her, until that weight blocking his chest eased and heat swirled in its place. She was so intoxicating, he sank to his knees, determined to gift her every ounce of pleasure he could. Nothing else mattered. Nothing but now. Here. Her pleasure. Her sighs.
He cupped her full breasts, knowing they were tender and more sensitive, teasing until he felt her need deepening, until he heard her breathy little pleas. Then it was that sweet, wet, secret part of her that he couldn’t resist baring, touching, tasting.
‘Lean on me,’ he muttered as he felt her trembling response.
She was hot and lush and he craved every inch, every lick of her. She pressed her hands on his shoulders for balance, her legs spread as wide as they could against the constraints of the panties he’d pulled halfway down her thighs. He revelled in her quivering, in her desperate cries. His blood flowed freely now—warming him, releasing him from that tight, painful pressure. This was what he wanted. He pressed closer still and destroyed her.
* * *
Ettie woke late and saw the fresh juice, plain crackers and sliced fruit on a tray beside the bed. She smiled ruefully. Leon was unfailingly attentive and good at anticipating almost every one of her needs. She could hardly bear to think of those insane moments last night when he’d knelt at her feet and made her mad with desire. In that dangerously seductive stance, she’d felt like his queen, as if he couldn’t exist in that moment without touching her. He’d made her feel wanted in a way she’d never felt wanted before. And he’d made her feel such thrilling, intense pleasure, such total exhilaration, that she’d screamed until she was hoarse.
In the aftermath she’d been so dazed she could barely stand. Her wits had been too scrambled for her to be able to lighten it at all, to even think of reciprocating. He’d straightened her clothing and told her to go and tidy herself quick-smart, because their restaurant booking was soon.
Once more, it wasn’t just any restaurant and it wasn’t pizza. It was award-winning, exclusive and so expensive they didn’t bother putting the prices on the menu. There was no choice as to what they got to eat either. That was because the food the world-renowned chef prepared was so exquisite, no one sane would ever think to complain or argue with the selection. Pure perfection. And absolute decadence.
She’d been so tired she’d fallen asleep on the drive home. She’d woken as he’d carried her up to his bed. And once there, she’d realised she wasn’t quite as sleepy as all that. He’d laughed, indulging her again in that searing, soul-destroying sex. Again. And then again.
Just sex, Ettie. Good sex. Stupendous. But just sex.
But thank goodness he seemed to be as hungry for it as she.
Now he’d gone to work and she had another day to herself before the weekend. Another day to come to terms with the fragile future they were building.
But there was imbalance between them and it wasn’t their bank balances. He knew everything. Her stupid mistakes of the past. Even her sorry childhood dream of becoming a musician. Every little secret. Furthermore, he’d done so much for her—the ring, the home, the job...and things so much more intimate than that. He turned her inside out, made her mindless with pleasure. He’d given her pretty much everything.
But what had she given him? What had he let her give him—other than her body? He didn’t open up, didn’t let her in. She breathed out and reminded herself it was very early days. He didn’t trust her yet and he had a thing about people always wanting things from him—he’d joked about it but there’d been a tiny truth there.
What if she was to give him something?
Problem was, it wasn’t as if he needed her to buy him anything and it wasn’t as if she had vast amounts of money to splash out either. And it wasn’t about a thing, it was about doing something thoughtful, to show that she was invested in making this work the same way he was. That she could be attentive too. But she knew so little, she couldn’t think of what to do or get, and she was good at getting things for privileged people.
With a sigh, she got out of bed and returned the plate and glass to the gleaming kitchen. She caught sight of the shiny new dog bowls sitting uselessly on the counter. She paused, her gaze fixed on them. Leon said he’d never had a puppy, but he’d been surprisingly willing to take Toby. She’d had a feeling that he’d been more keen on that than he’d expressed. It hadn’t all been about getting her up to that penthouse in Cavendish House. She remembered how he’d gently patted the dog.
Her heart pounded as she turned over the wisp of an idea in her mind. It would be a huge risk. But instinct told her it would be worth it. It would be right.
Go with your instincts; they’re good.
She turned her back on the lists she’d left on the table and ran back upstairs to get dressed.
Ettie Roberts had a mission.
CHAPTER NINE
LEON TRIED TO stay at work. Tried to concentrate. Tried not to think about the weekend ahead. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her there, he did, but it felt as if the ground was shifting and he couldn’t quite hold his balance. In the end he gave up resisting and let the weight coiling within push him home.
‘Ettie?’ He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease that tension as he shucked off his jacket and shoes.
‘Leon?’ Her answering call was pitched high.
‘Who else?’ he asked drily, following the direction of her voice to the kitchen.
He fought to restrain the urge to go straight up and kiss her until the tightness in his chest eased again. Not two nights running—he had more control than that, right? But in the doorway he paused to draw breath. She looked amazing to his hungry eyes—jeans, T-shirt, hair twisted out of the way and secured with a pen again. His again.
‘I wasn’t sure what time you’d be home... You’re early.’ Her face was flushed but it wasn’t that usual blush of sensuality.
And she couldn’t quite maintain eye contact, which initially intrigued, then concerned him. He strolled closer, trying to take it easy, but his instincts were firing. Something was off. ‘What’ve you been up to today?’ he asked. ‘No more lists?’
The table was scrupulously tidy.
His pulse began to pound. Why couldn’t she look at him? Why was she so flushed? Why so silent?
At that exact moment, he heard a strange scratching coming from behind him. Ettie froze, her eyes wide. He cocked his head and narrowed his gaze on her. ‘What’s that?’
‘Hmm?’ she mumbled.
‘Ettie?’
The noise sounded again and there was no hiding the guilty look in her eyes—her face was far too expressive.
Now she pressed her lips together in an oddly nervous manner. ‘I’ve done something,’ she blurted. ‘I got you a present.’
He stilled. ‘You what?’
‘I got you a present. I hope you don’t mind.’
Why would he mind? He actually couldn’t remember the last time anyone had got him a present. He didn’t have a bunch of friends he did birthday celebrations with and his parents definitely didn’t send him anything. Not at Christmas either.
There was another scratching sound. And then a high-pitched yelp. Not Ettie. Not human.
Leon spun around. ‘Ettie?’
She scuttled past him and he watched her hunch down by a box he’d not noticed before because he’d only had eyes for her. Leon couldn’t
move. It was a big box.
Then Ettie stood and walked towards him and she was holding—
‘He was the runt,’ she said all in a rush. ‘I don’t know quite what breed he is...a mix of many, and I know he’s not handsome like Toby, but he wasn’t going to have a chance otherwise.’
Leon stared at the creature in Ettie’s arms. ‘You got me a puppy?’
His heart beat too fast; his lungs felt as if they were in a swiftly tightening vice.
‘You have space here.’ She sounded as breathless as he felt. ‘You could train him to go to the office with you, or he can stay here and play in the garden, or he could come to the Cavendish with me...we can make it work. I just thought you’d like him.’ She stepped closer and literally shoved the puppy into his arms.
Leon instinctively grabbed the animal but inside he’d frozen.
‘You said you’d not had a dog, but I thought you’d quite wanted Toby. I thought...’ She trailed off as she finally looked up at him. ‘I don’t really know what I thought.’ She stared into his eyes, her own growing more concerned by the second. ‘Do you mind?’ It was a whisper.
Leon couldn’t move. He couldn’t actually breathe. That pressure crushing his chest was too heavy on his lungs.
‘He’s about four months old, they think,’ she said. ‘All vaccinated. If they couldn’t rehome him they were going to—’
‘He’s a rescue puppy?’ he croaked, determinedly pushing past the immobility to glance down at the puppy who’d settled so quickly in his arms. Small, with bottomless brown eyes that had a heart-wrenching hint of sadness, mostly black hair but with patches of silvery white...he was ridiculously cute.
‘Yes.’
