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Protecting her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
CRISTIANOPULLEDAshirt on, slowly doing up the buttons, then methodically starting on the cuffs. He stood at the window of his bedroom while he did so, his attention on the garden below, though he wasn’t looking at the view.
He was too busy thinking about what he was going to say to the woman still asleep in the bed behind him. His littlegatita. Though she wasn’t really a kitten. Not after last night. Last night he’d discovered she was a lioness, and he had the scratches down his back to prove it.
It would have made him smile if he’d been in a smiling mood, but he wasn’t.
There were a number of things he wanted to do, and he couldn’t do any of them until he’d told her that he’d known who she was from the moment he’d taken her home. And that he intended to marry her to take his revenge on her father.
She probably wasn’t going to take either of those things well.
Are you sure it’s wise to tell her now?
He frowned at the garden for a moment, then turned around.
Leonie was curled up in the centre of his bed, her hair a scatter of brilliant red-gold across his white pillows. She was fast sleep, with the sheet falling down off her shoulders a little, revealing pale, milky skin.
Last night she’d felt like pure joy in his hands, passionate and generous and honest. Pleasure had been a discovery and she a fascinated explorer. She’d denied him nothing, taken everything he’d given, and now all he could think about was doing it again. And again and again.
He hadn’t had sex like that in years—if ever.
Leonie hadn’t found his passion frightening or uncomfortable, the way Anna had. No, she’d demanded it. And then, when he’d given it to her, she’d demanded more.
His groin hardened, and the decision he’d made in the early hours of the morning, when he’d had to get up and have a cold shower so he could sleep, was now a certainty.
He’d take her back to San Lorenzo, his ancestral estate. There he would have her all to himself. He could certainly tell her about his plans here, but perhaps it would be better if she was at home in Spain. Where he could keep an eye on her.
The chances of her running away or not wanting anything to do with him once she found out about his plans were slim—or so he anticipated—but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Plus, marrying her in the ancient Velazquez family chapel would no doubt rub further salt in the wound for Victor de Riero. A further declaration of Cristiano’s possession.
And if she refuses to marry you?
He would just ensure that she wouldn’t. Everyone had a price, and no doubt so did she.
Finishing with his cuffs, he moved over to the bed and bent, stroking his fingers along one bare shoulder, smiling as she shivered. Her red-gold lashes fluttered and then she let out a small sigh, rolling over onto her back. The sheet fell all the way to her waist, exposing those small, perfect breasts and their little pink nipples.
He was very tempted to taste one of them, to make her gasp the way he had the night before. But that wouldn’t get them any closer to San Lorenzo, and now he’d decided to go he saw no reason to linger in Paris.
‘Wake up, sleepygatita,’ he murmured, unable to stop himself from brushing his fingers over one pert nipple, watching as it hardened, feeling his own hunger tighten along with it.
She sighed and lifted her arms, giving such a sensual stretch he almost changed his plans right there and then in favour of staying a few more hours in bed with her.
Her eyes opened, deep violet this morning, and she smiled. It took his breath away.
‘Good morning.’ Her gaze dropped down his body before coming to his face again. ‘You’re dressed. That’s unfortunate.’
He smiled, the beast inside him stretching again, purring in pleasure at her blatant stare. ‘Hold that thought. I have plans for us today.’
‘What plans?’ Her eyes widened and she sat up suddenly. ‘What’s the time? Am I late for work? Where are my—?’
‘There will be no work for you today. Or perhaps any other day.’
He saw shock, hurt and anger ripple across her lovely face. ‘Why not? I thought I—’
‘Relax,mi corazón. I have another position in mind for you.’ He sat on the side of the bed and reached for her small hand, holding it in his. ‘I’m planning to return to my estate in Spain.’
