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He closed his eyes briefly and muffled a groan, and she told him huskily, ‘I thought about what you said, and when I stopped calling you all the nasty names I could think of I decided you were right. It’s past time I stopped being afraid of having emotions.’
Her perfect breasts were rising and falling rapidly beneath the light covering which did nothing to hide the tight, hard peaks. She seemed to be having difficulty with her breathing, and when she laved her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue a great shudder racked its way through the entire length of his body.
And still he waited, forbidding himself to ask questions, to ask for more than she was willing to tell him.
‘So I’ll risk it,’ she told him on a note of rising agitation. Her eyes skidded away from his, long lashes swept down to hide them, and she sucked on a corner of her mouth. ‘I’m making a mess of this.’ Her brows drew together in a frown. ‘What I’m trying to do is tell you I agree with your suggestion that we make this marriage a real one.’ She pulled in a sharp huff of breath, then lobbed him a look that was almost ferocious. ‘You’re not making this easy! Can’t you say something? Or join me?’
He noted the bubble of exasperation at the back of her voice and reined back the impulse to climb straight in there with her. He had to know. Had she decided she wanted a lifetime with him, or merely thought they might as well have some fun while they waited for the year of their marriage to pass? If she’d opted for the latter it would tear him to pieces.
‘Why?’ he questioned tightly, his body going very still. So much depended on the way she answered him.
She made a sound that was halfway between a choke and a sob. ‘Ask a stupid question! Why do you think?’
‘I’m not talking about getting into bed with you,’ he said rawly—and God only knew how he was holding back. ‘But why change your mind about trusting your future happiness to me? We are talking about long-term future, I take it?’
She nodded in silent ackno
wledgement of that final, tight-lipped question, her head drooping forlornly. She couldn’t have made a bigger mess of this scene if she’d tried. Then she heard him repeat his earlier query, but more gently this time, as if he knew how her newly found courage was slipping away from her. ‘Why?’
‘Because—’ Her voice faltered. Suddenly she didn’t know how to find the words to tell him how she felt, but the prospect of losing this man before he had really been hers made her push on staunchly. ‘If love means wanting you until my whole body is burning for the touch of yours, or the thought of any harm coming to you sends me into a blind panic, or the prospect of saying goodbye to you and never seeing you again terrifies me, then I guess I can say I love you.’ Her fingers were pleating the hem of the sheet, her knuckles gleaming palely beneath the tan of her skin.
He stood so still, his beautifully proportioned body tense, his golden eyes hooded, broodingly intent on hers, and she was afraid she’d made the biggest mistake of her life.
The memory of how he’d rejected her when she’d implored him to touch her flooded back, shaming her. And now she’d put herself in his bed and he wasn’t interested. Did he have to be the one who made all the advances? Did he find women who did the offering an instant turn-off?
Had he been lying when he’d said he loved her?
A whimper of distress escaped her. She’d tried to hold it back but hadn’t been able to. He moved then, as if the small sound had broken the trance that had held him immobile. The towel he wore was hastily stripped away, flung heedlessly into a corner of the room, as he slipped in beside her in one fluid movement.
His arms enfolded her and he buried his face in the curve of her neck, his breath warm against the petal-soft skin. ‘I’ve been aching to hear you say that. I can’t tell you how much.’ His voice sounded raw in his throat. ‘Say it again.’
‘I love you.’ Just saying the words flooded her with joy, released something inside her that made her feel intensely alive. She said it again, her voice shaking with happiness. ‘I love you, Jethro.’
He propped himself up on one elbow to look deep into her eyes and his voice was rough with passion. ‘I swear to you, you’ll never regret it. I’ll make you happy. I’ll always be with you, loving you, adoring you.’ His gaze swept to her parted lips. ‘I’ve wanted you since I first saw you. You’ve become an obsession, filling my heart and mind. My sweet Allie—’ He bent to kiss her and her willing mouth surrendered to his passion, her hands exploring his hard male body, sliding over his smooth, hot skin, matching his urgency as he pushed a hair-roughened thigh between the melting softness of hers and cupped her breasts in his hands.
He broke the kiss, saying her name raggedly, then pulled in a breath between his teeth. ‘I don’t normally have such a lack of finesse. But you shatter my control. You drive me wild.’
He was breathing heavily, his muscles tight with the effort of holding back, and she swallowed on a hot shaft of jealousy. Of course there had been others. He was a normal, highly potent male, and women would find him irresistible.
But that was in the past, and she wasn’t interested in that, only in their future. She was his wife, and he loved her. She tangled her fingers in the thick dark softness of his hair, the urgent thrust of his manhood against the curve of her tummy making her giddy, the ache of need deep inside her impossible to bear a moment longer. But there was something he ought to know.
‘You might be disappointed. I’ve—I’ve never made love before.’ There, it was said. No need to feel embarrassed or faintly ridiculous. She was glad she’d waited for love. For him.
‘Allie?’ There was a catch in his voice. ‘You’re a virgin? Such a gift you bring me—second only to the gift of your love.’
He pulled her gently into his arms, and the touch of his skin on hers was fire and silk, and the touch of his hands on her woman’s body was sensual, unhurried now, deeply erotic, her shudders of response making his body shake as the slow seduction of her senses had her writhing in his arms.
And when at last he took her into the wild heaven of sheer ecstasy she knew she was fused to this man for ever, body and soul.
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘NOT even heaven could be this good!’ Allie said as they slowly made their way from the honeysuckle-covered gazebo back to the house.
‘No contest!’ His fingers tightened on hers. Soon he would have to tell her who he was, but not just yet. He knew Allie’s gorgeous head wouldn’t be turned when she learned she’d married serious money. His sweet darling loved him for himself, not for the luxurious lifestyle he could give her, so it wasn’t that that was holding him back. He simply didn’t want anything of the outside world encroaching on their private paradise.
Ten perfect days. Day of making love, discovering each other, the people they really were beneath the trappings of success. Two loving people.
His heart swelled inside him and he swung her round, gathering her into his arms, kissing her with all the depth of his passion, and when she surfaced for air she was breathless, clinging to him, her eyes that lovely shade of misty amethyst that told him more plainly than any words that she wanted him.
