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‘You think?’ Her eyebrows arched but she shook her head. ‘No. We should get back to London and get the application under way.’
‘My lawyers are already gathering advice and information to prep us both. And it’s the weekend—we could stay until tomorrow night and still be back in time for that meeting first thing Monday morning.’
For a second, temptation turned her eyes smoky, then she blinked. ‘I meet Lily on Sunday afternoons.’
Of course. He’d forgotten. As had she, and he knew she felt guilty for that small lapse. But she needn’t. It was okay to have been distracted. He smiled at her reassuringly. ‘Then we’ll stay today and return to London early tomorrow so you’re home in time to meet her face-to-face.’
Her expression softened but there was wariness still there. ‘Are you sure?’
Was she worried about disappointing him? He really didn’t want that. ‘Absolutely.’ He wanted to please her and he’d take what he could get. ‘We can laze by the hotel pool, eat luscious food, literally do nothing for the day.’
That sly amusement sprang back into her eyes. ‘It’s not within your capability to donothing.’
‘That’s very true.’ He grinned at her. ‘I guess I’ll have to entertain myself withyou.’
Twenty-four hours later Elias strode through the airport distracted by the memory of his adorably dishevelled wife struggling to fasten her safety belt in time for landing back in London. He’d quite deliberately stunned her with his attentions as they’d flown over the Atlantic, feeding that edgy need within him. The need that was determinedly refusing to abate in any way. But now the sultry, flushed smile she’d rewarded him with was stuck in his mind and all he wanted was to do it all over again.
‘I’ll drop you to your visit with Lily and pick you up after,’ he said absently. It would give him just enough time to ensure everything was as he’d requested and, yeah, he was a little wary of how she was going to react to what he’d done.
‘You’re driving? Where’s Olly?’
‘I thought we might deal with the rest of the world tomorrow.’ He didn’t want to have to share her yet. One more night of this sensual bliss and then reality would return.
Darcie struggled to rein in her excitement as she played with the building bricks Lily favoured. It was only an hour, but the first face-to-face visit they’d had in a while.
‘I’ll see you next week?’ Lily asked.
Darcie nodded. ‘Of course.’
She couldn’t promise the little girl anything more even though she desperately wanted to. But she would never promise Lily something she couldn’t come through with because she knew all too well how it felt to have those promises broken. Repeated disappointments slowly destroyed a person.
But now the precious hour was up and she found Elias double-parked outside the building. She couldn’t hold back her smile as she walked to the car. The man had so much more to him than she’d imagined. He wasn’t only a workaholic billionaire, he was a playfultease. The way he’d sparked stunned her. As for his physical skills...sensations still tumbled inside her from the way he’d toyed with her on the jet. Appallingly, there was apparently no end to the neediness that surely should be eased after a weekend in which they’d barely left that big bed...all she wanted was for him to kiss her again. Now.
He was watching her as she struggled to fasten her seatbelt. Amusement curved his mouth, and heat shone in his eyes. ‘You okay?’
She nodded jerkily.
‘It was a good visit?’
‘Yep.’ She stared out the window trying to find a better distraction for her inappropriate brain. Then she realised their direction. ‘This isn’t the way to your penthouse.’ They were moving out from the central city, not towards it.
‘I know.’ His hands tightened on the steering wheel. ‘We’re going to our new home.’
‘Our what?’
‘Home.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I thought it would be better for our chances with Lily if we had a house that’s secure and warm and has everything she could want.’
‘I didn’t know you had an actual house.’
‘I didn’t.’ He pulled into a quiet street in London. He got out his phone and tapped something on the screen. The large gates of a big property at the end of the street opened automatically. He turned into the driveway and the gates smoothly closed behind them.
Darcie gazed at the beautiful brick building. It was big, private, in a sheltered quiet street in a leafy, wealthy suburb. ‘So you’re renting this, just for now?’ She swivelled in her seat face him.
He shook his head. ‘Bought it.’
‘How?’She gaped. ‘Even for you, that’s a fast deal.’
His grin flashed. ‘It’s been a busy few days. Come on, let’s go exploring.’
