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burning in him for days.
‘I want you with me, Talia—wherever in the world I go. Will you come with me? Stay with me?’
He paused, levering himself up on his elbow, looking down at her. Waiting for her answer.
For a moment there was absolute silence. Then, with a cry, she flung her arms around him.
‘Yes! Oh, yes. Oh, Luke, yes! Yes, yes, yes!’
Her voice was full of a joy that blazed like the sun, and Luke’s heart felt suddenly whole for the first time he could remember.
* * *
Talia was floating on air. She was ten feet up, soaring with happiness. There were things she would have to sort out first—she knew that. Before she could take off for her very own personal paradise with Luke. But with Luke now committed to her she felt no apprehension about explaining to him about her poor mother, how she must ensure she was safely settled and secure in her future. Surely Luke would see that? Surely he would let her mother stay on in the Marbella villa for as long as she wanted, once she told him about her health condition?
She would take Luke to meet her when they were back from the Far East. Luke would reassure her, and she knew her mother would be overjoyed that her daughter had found love and happiness.
It’s the happily-ever-after that I’ve always longed for!
All day she continued floating on air, even though she saw little of Luke. He’d incarcerated himself in his office, telling her he had work to get on with, but he had said they would celebrate that evening, and asked her to confer with Julie and Fernando to lay on a suitable celebratory feast for dinner.
Talia didn’t mind that Luke was working, because she was, too. Gathering all the samples she’d collected the day before in the island’s capital, she settled down on her bedroom balcony to produce her colour board, happily humming away to herself as she did so, referring back to her sketches and annotating everything with the costing notes she’d made and the calculations she’d run.
She was kept busy all day on the internet, researching for furniture, window treatments, and bed linens, and all the other myriad requirements that would be needed, whittling them down to a shortlist before she printed out photos and added copious notes and yet more costings.
As the sun was setting they shared a late swim in the pool—Luke vigorously ploughing up and down, Talia contenting herself with some gentle breaststroke. Then she left Luke to it while she headed back upstairs to get ready for the evening ahead.
She all but floated up the stairs. And back down again, some two hours later.
She had dressed with exceptional care, her heart beating fit to burst, and knew that she looked as beautiful as it was possible for her to look.
Julie, emerging from the kitchens, clapped her hands, and Fernando smiled benignly and ushered her through to the terrace, where Luke was waiting for her.
For a moment he did not speak, and then he came up to her, reaching for her hands. ‘How can you be so beautiful?’ he breathed, his eyes warm upon her, lighting up her face, her eyes, her smile, like the moon and the stars.
She was wearing another of the new gowns he’d bought for her the day before, this one more formal than the one she’d worn the previous evening. It was in pale blue silk, with a very fine plissé texture, and it cupped her breasts almost like a strapless bikini top, then fell in graceful folds to her ankles.
He himself was in a tux, but he had slung his jacket and tie over a chair in the close warmth of the evening. He looked elegant, roguish, and—Talia gave a little gulp of sheer attraction—unbearably gorgeous...
He handed her to her seat at the table, which had been beautifully set by Julie, with scented flowers rioting all over, candles sheltered by glass containers, crystal and silver sparkling in their light. Beside the table champagne nestled in ice on a stand, already opened and smoking gently.
Luke hefted the bottle out, filled their glasses.
‘To us,’ he said. His gaze was lambent, rich with expression.
* * *
Much later, Talia rested her cheek against Luke’s bare chest. Her heart rate was easing, her breathing slowing. Yet her whole body was still glowing, flushed with the aftermath of her physical ecstasy.
How can it be so incredible? Every time!
Wonder still filled her at what Luke could arouse in her—an explosion not just of the most intense pleasure possible, but of an intense joy that flowered in her heart.
She felt her soul soar, turning over and over in ecstasy.
I love him so much. How can I love him so much?
She did not know—only knew that she did. And that giving herself to him with all that she possessed, with all that she was, had transformed her life utterly and completely.
