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Suddenly, she was pathetically grateful to hear a tap on the door. ‘Who’s that?’ she questioned hoarsely.
Theo tensed, not wanting to be disturbed and sorely tempted to demand that the caller go away.‘Ela,’he said tersely and the door opened to admit Dimitra, his maid, the daughter of his gardener. She was new to the job and very nervous as she deposited Mia’s suitcase in the centre of the room, before scuttling out again. Almost immediately, Sofia appeared, carrying a jug of lemonpresséand two frosted glasses on a tray, which she placed on a table beside the window, correctly interpreting his almost imperceptible shake of the head, before slipping quietly from the room.
And then he and Mia were alone again—facing each other like strangers and acting as if there weren’t a huge bed within tumbling distance. Theo stared at the woman he had married—at the curves of her firm flesh, which were drenched with golden sunlight—and felt the beat of something he didn’t recognise. Was it frustration? ‘You will have something to drink?’ he questioned, finding himself in the unfamiliar position of waiting on someone.
She nodded. ‘Sure.’
Ice cubes chinking, he carried the cordial across the room to her, watching her mouth pursing as she sucked a long draft ofpresséthrough the glass straw, leaving her lips gleaming and wet. She wasn’t being deliberately provocative—at least he didn’t think she was—but there was something about her fresh beauty which made watching her feel like a necessity rather than a choice. As she took another gulp, her head was bent, showcasing those snaky spirals of copper which had always given her that faintly wanton appearance—which was ironic, given that she had been so innocent. Six years on, she was unlikely to have remained a virgin and the thought of her being with other men was unendurable. He tensed as a fierce pain twisted darkly at his heart.
As she raised her eyes and caught him watching her, something in the air seemed to shift and change. Something raw and powerful which, when Theo thought about it afterwards, had seemed inevitable from the moment she had set foot inside his house.
He moved towards her and, taking the half-drunk glass from her unprotesting fingers, heard her sharp intake of breath. Her eyes were unblinking and her lips tremulous as he stared at her for a very long time, as if mulling over his options—and hers—before pulling her into his arms.
And she let him. Actually, that was a lie. She didn’t justlethim—she melted into his waiting embrace as if she was powerless to stop herself. As if she had been waiting for this to happen for as long as he had.
How long was that?
Since he’d walked into that cramped and muggy room in London and found her looking hot and crumpled, with sweat gleaming like polish on her clammy skin? Or when she’d arrived here this afternoon with that summery dress swirling around the undulation of her hips and her curls glinting like bright fire in the sunlight. His lips flattened. Or maybe this was the same seed of hunger which had been planted a long time ago. Planted and then left to wither and die.
But it hadn’t died. It must have been growing stealthily inside him all this time and now it was all-consuming. It was heating his blood and making his senses raw. It was hardening his groin. Unbearably.
He moved his face closer to hers and saw her eyes grow dark—two pools of fathomless ebony fixed on his. Her lips were parted and even though those plump, pink cushions had always tantalised him, he did not kiss her immediately, even though invitation was screaming from every pore of her body. He allowed himself a heartbeat longer, seeing the sudden confusion on her face. A wave of something like satisfaction washed over him as he welcomed the familiar mantle of power—of being the one in the driving seat. Thank God for his legendary control, he thought grimly. That steely control which he had never needed more than he did right now.
‘You want this?’ he said, his question almost careless.
Those Aegean eyes narrowed and she seemed to hesitate before she nodded—as if she wanted to demonstrate that she had power, too. But he saw the capitulation in her eyes the moment it happened—and the hunger, too. The sharp, intense hunger which easily matched his own.
‘Yes,’ she answered, almost angrily.‘Yes.’
CHAPTER FOUR
THEREWASNOfinesse in Theo’s kiss. No build-up, or teasing, or provocation. His lips were urgent and hungry and although Mia instantly responded to the hot, hard pressure of his lips, she couldn’t stem the frantic questions which rushed into her mind.
Why was she letting this happen?
Why?
But it was a long time since she had kissed anyone and it seemed that sexual frustration was a powerful driver. Much too powerful to resist—and she had never had much luck resisting Theo anyway. With a little moan she opened her lips, kissing him back with clumsy need but also with a kind of despair. Because she didn’twantto feel like this. As if he were consuming her and dominating every single one of her senses, until all she could think about was him and only him. She didn’t want to make those swooning little sounds as he flicked his tongue inside her mouth, as if heownedit or something. Or squirm with frustration as her breasts met the rocky resistance of his chest. And she definitely didn’t want to part her legs to allow one powerful leg to slide between her trembling thighs.
But she did all those things. She did them with a fervour which shocked her, no matter how loudly her conscience was clamouring in her ears. Already she felt out of control, while Theo seemed in total command of himself. He whispered his fingertips all the way down her back and then tangled them proprietorially in her hair, cupping the back of her head with his hand so that he could increase the pressure on her mouth.
How could a kiss be so incredible, she wondered dazedly, and how long did it last? She couldn’t tell. Not when time seemed to be playing tricks on her. Suddenly she didn’tcareabout the lack of romance and affection. It didn’t seem to matter, because a kiss could make past and present merge into one blissful whole and make you feel happy again, couldn’t it? It could make you remember what it felt like to be alive and in love. Was that why she pressed her breasts so brazenly against him? And why his palms cupped her buttocks to bring her up against the cradle of his pelvis, so that she could feel the unashamed outline of his arousal.
‘Oh, God,’ she breathed in wonder as he circled his hips against hers very deliberately.
‘I want you,’ he said, with cool calculation as he drew away from her. ‘Can you feel how much?’
His words should have shocked her, but they did no such thing. They thrilled her. They made her want more. ‘You kn-know I can,’ she answered brokenly. ‘Y-you’re so big. So h-hard.’
Was it her stumbled response which made him shudder like that?
‘Mia,’ he said, breaking the kiss to suck in a great gulp of breath, as if to replenish his oxygen-starved lungs.‘Evge...!’
That Greek exclamation she knew—an expression of praise she’d heard him use in the past—but the other words which were falling from his lips were a mystery. Not just because of her lack of fluency but because his rough tone was making them almost incomprehensible. Was he flattering her, or damning her? It sounded like a mixture of both.
But she didn’t care. How could she care about anything other than this...?This.The thumb which was grazing over her cotton-covered nipple was unsteady and the groan he gave as he buried his mouth in her hair made him sound as if he had temporarily lost control.
So what if he had?
