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There was a rustle beside him. He remained still, lying on his stomach as Thea sat up. She leaned across his body, her long hair trailing over his back sending goose bumps of pleasure shivering across his skin. Her warm breath ghosted over his right shoulder blade, before she dropped her mouth in a gentle kiss. Right over where he now had his own tattoo, of a bluebird like hers.
‘Did it hurt?’
‘You’ve asked me this before.’ He felt her smile against his skin. ‘Many times.’ And each time he answered with the truth, she’d kiss all of him better. Inflicting her own kind of agony with her lips and hands. Now, it was his turn to smile. She bent down and kissed the upturned corner of his mouth.
‘Tell me again,’ she murmured, tracing the tattoo’s outline with her clever fingers. He closed his eyes, allowing her to explore for a while, even though his body had other ideas which involved him being far more assertive, and preferably inside of her.
‘Excessively.’ He’d wanted to experience a little of what she’d gone through. Anyhow, the pain had been worth it to honour Thea, and nothing compared to her past hardships. It was also a reminder of what bound them together. The bluebird a symbol of joy, not suffering.
There’d be no more suffering, not if he could help it.
‘My darling, brave husband.’
‘I’m hardly brave.’ He shrugged. ‘My wife leaves me in her shadow.’
‘You have your own fine attributes.’
Christo looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. ‘Well endowed?’
Thea tossed back her head, hair tumbling in unruly waves over her glorious, naked torso. Her throaty laugh sending a lick of pleasure right through him. It was his mission to hear it every day, because of him. He made sure she laughed loud and often. How he loved the sound.
‘Now you’re digging for compliments,’ she said, the laughter warming her voice. ‘When you know the answer to that question.’
Her skin flushed a beautiful pink. She’d perfected the art of looking seductive and coy all at once, and it never failed to intoxicate him. Their lovemaking left Christo in a constant state of deep, bone-numbing satisfaction. But it wasn’t only in bed that his life had reached the status of perfection. It was in the day-to-day. A true partnership of hearts and minds. The simple things like cooking a meal together. Helping raise money for her women’s refuge. Choosing colours for a nursery which wasn’t needed yet, although they’d talked of children. Thea assured him it was good to be prepared and he relished her joy in the task. Who knew there were so many different shades of yellow? He’d come to learn them all.
Having her in his life and in his arms completed him in ways he’d never thought possible. The ultimate privilege. Anything seemed achievable, because of her. ‘Now you’re being elusive about my attributes.’
‘Well,’ she said, looking up at the ceiling as if thinking hard. Nibbling on her plump lower lip in a way which heated his blood. He shifted on the mattress, rolling onto his back. ‘My husband’s protective.’
‘About you, of course.’
‘And dogged.’
‘Mmm...’ His pursuit of her father and brother had been relentless and deserved. He wouldn’t lower himself to even mentioning them in Thea’s presence any more. The legal tangle they were mired in over stolen antiquities filled enough newspapers. The scandal complete. If Thea chose to read about what befell them, that was up to her. He hoped she forgot they’d ever existed.
‘You’re modest too,’ she said. A smile of amusement hinted on her lips. He’d kiss that smile away soon enough. Christo stroked his fingers lazily over the skin of her thigh, her own responding goose bumps teasing his fingertips.
‘Now my wife exaggerates.’
He sat up and wrestled a giggling Thea underneath him, before her body melted soft and pliant on the cool sheets. She wrapped her arms round his neck, threading her fingers into his hair. ‘You’re loving.’ Her eyes gleamed the rich fire of cognac in candlelight. ‘And lovable. Never forget that.’
How could he, when they told each other each day? When they showed it with their bodies and hearts and souls. He believed it now, the ghosts of his childhood well and truly exorcised.
‘I’m loved.’ He brushed his lips across hers as she drew him into a kiss. ‘I love you.’
And Christo relished the lifetime of days ahead, to show Thea exactly how much.
* * *
Revelations of His Runaway Bride is Kali Anthony’s captivating debut for Harlequin Presents.
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Italian in Need of an Heir by Lynne Graham.
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