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She blinked at the abrupt interruption that hadn’t emerged silky-smooth or sarcastically insulting.

The words that followed had all the hallmarks of compulsion.

‘You are beautiful.’

Their glances connected, obsidian midnight on violet blue.

The trickle of sweat sliding down her back stood testament to the physical effort it took to break the connection. Arms crossed over her chest, she rubbed her upper arms hard to dispel the itch under her skin. The desire that flared between them with no warning was as elusive as it was undeniable. It disturbed her more than she was willing to admit, even to herself.

‘I am hardly the first man to tell you this, but I will be the last.’

She wasn’t at all sure that a stomach-fluttering excitement was the sort of response she ought to be feeling to this uncompromising announcement that smacked of a male claiming his mate.

A man for whom decision-making came easy, Leandro struggled with the idea of explaining himself, but he was a realist and he needed this marriage to work. It wasn’t just his future that was at stake, it was the future of his country.

‘You’re right, Elsie. We do need to talk through my…our plans.’ He was prepared to live with the outcome of his decisions but now he was asking someone else to live with the consequences.

The concession was so unexpected she couldn’t think of a response. She refused to allow herself to soften at the our. Her parents were our—they shared a love based on mutual respect, shared interest and goals. It was the same with Emily; her relationship with Mark had deepened over the years they’d shared hopes and dreams.

Elsie had never wanted to be in a position to share hopes and dreams; this was a situation she had actively avoided. To look ahead required a leap of faith she was not capable of. She had fully recovered from the childhood cancer and had been assured that statistically the risk of a recurrence was no higher for her than any other healthy person. All the assurances in the world could not silence the Maybe I don’t have a future?

That question lived in her head. It had burrowed in and stayed there—logic had nothing to do with it.

During the countless hospital appointments and repeated tests, the ones that tied her stomach in knots for weeks before, she had survived by not thinking too far ahead. Even after she had received the all-clear, the question had not gone away. It had taken root in her DNA because she knew what most didn’t, and she envied them their ignorance because she knew that life could alter in a heartbeat.

She couldn’t think ahead and see a rosy future like Emily did, even though she secretly longed for what Emily had, but she was not brave enough to search for it. Unless love came knocking on her door, she was never going to have it, which made her the perfect wife for Leandro…with one flaw. She would never provide an heir.

There was something between them, call it chemistry, she couldn’t define it. Like fire, it sparked out of nothing. She didn’t trust it, or herself, but the plus was it didn’t carry the risk of loss. Superficial and shallow living in the moment could not hurt when it was snatched away.

‘What are you good at?’

His deep voice grabbed her from her reverie in time to observe his sloe-dark eyes slide, signalling the move with his stare, to her lips.

There was no transition. Her insides quivered. With a look, he could make her feel sexy and vulnerable at the same time. She struggled to cling to the reality that he might make her feel like some sort of sex goddess, but the fact remained that she wasn’t.

Suddenly, suppressing false expectations seemed imperative as she blurted brainlessly, ‘Not that. I’m not good at that, not at all!’

Oh my God, this was why she had been afraid of travelling in the same car as him. If she was this brainless now, imagine how much worse it was going to be without clothes…or better, depending on your viewpoint.

You’re going to be sharing a bed and your body with him, Elsie. The reality of it had been safely boxed in her head; now it was out there. The insidious excitement became an adrenaline rush that sent a rash of heat over her tingling skin.

He waited until her face was hot enough to ignite before responding.

‘I think that says more about the men in your life to this point, querida, than it does you.’

His lip curled in contempt at the thought of the men who had been unable to tap into the passion of this woman, before the savage surge of possessiveness turned from contempt to anticipation. Being a woman’s first, a role he had never coveted, could hardly be more of a turn-on than introducing a woman to the carnal delights of her own body.

The arrogant confidence in his voice was mingled with a hint of husky promise that sent her pulse into hormonal overdrive. Struggling to calm the quiver of warm excitement in her stomach, she turned her head sharply, willing the rain to hypnotise her previously dormant hormones back to sleep as she focused on the individual raindrops sliding down the darkened glass until she felt cross-eyed and dizzy.

* * *

They arrived at the private airport in Leandro’s estimated timeframe. Even traffic fell into line for him, she thought resentfully.

You’d prefer to be stuck in a traffic jam?

She frowned in response to the aggravating voice of logic in her head, then quickly slid into a smile as the door was opened for her.

‘Thank you,’ she breathed to the figure who bowed low, tucking a stray strand of loose hair behind her ear and smoothing her skirt before she turned. Leandro had already exited the vehicle and was deep in conversation with a suited youngish man.