AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Yours.
Her heart ached, and Thane stared into her eyes as if the secrets of her soul were nothing more than words on a page.
Oh, Lord. She was in so much trouble here.
She was supposed to be reassuring herself that her secrets were better kept buried. Ensuring that Thane rued the day they’d ever met. Yet here she was, reminiscing about ‘the good ol’ times’ and trying not to think of the damage they could do to the bed. They had busted a frame or two in their time…
What she wasn’t supposed to be was more confused than ever. But within the space of ten minutes all her carefully erected defences were crumbling down around her, leaving her brain reduced to chaos and rubble.
And she hated it. Hated that the semblance of control she’d been hanging on to was as precarious as her future.
Luciana had to remember who he was and how exactly she came to be standing in his bedroom. Instead of musing that underneath, where it counted the most, he might still be the man she’d fallen for. And if that was true they were all in a bigger mess than she’d ever imagined. A wealth of pain at her hands. Because she was a mother and if her son could have a father who was a good man, hell would freeze before she kept them apart any longer.
Insides shaking, she tore her gaze from his. And as soon as that powerful connection was severed the fog began to clear.
Remember who he is, how you got here. How he once tried to assassinate your father. Don’t forget that you’re enemies.
She had to stop listening to the longing of her heart. Get through the next two days unscathed, then run as fast as she could. Before she started doubting her own mind and cracked under the pressure. Told him the one secret that would change their lives for ever. The one secret she would never be able to take back.
CHAPTER SEVEN
DESPITE THE CLOAK of aloofness that suddenly settled over her, Thane had an incredibly light, airy feeling. Much like the five-foot dazzling iridescent aqua dolphin balloon he’d once bought Luciana. She’d adored the garish spectacle and, seeing that same gorgeous smile on her face moments ago—the one that made his heart kind of…stop—he’d known he’d played the perfect pitch by bringing her here.
She’d visibly relaxed since speaking to her sister—he’d heard her softly spoken goodbye and made a mental score to thank Seve for unearthing her case and bag pronto. By dusk today she would fall into his arms like a sweet ripe apple tumbling from a tree.
Already she was unravelling more by the second—nothing like the Princess who’d slid so gracefully into his car only yesterday. Rumpled. Tousled. Looking sublimely natural and sexed-up. No show or lipstick or pristine dress, she was sexier than anything he’d ever seen or, he suspected, would ever see in his lifetime.
He growled inwardly. Wanting her under him. Beneath him. Surrendering to him. Insane, she made him insane with want. But, as much as he knew she desired him with equal wanton abandon, something held her back, so he refused to rush this or lose his head.
Velvety rich, the scent of coffee and pastries wafted on the sultry breeze, and when Luciana’s stomach grumbled Thane satisfied himself that he could at least pacify one of her cravings this morning.
‘Breakfast,’ he said. ‘Then you can choose where you wish to go today. Si?’
Her head jerked up where she stood, hastily zipping up her case, and he was smacked with the suspicion that the contents were something she’d rather he didn’t see. Not that it mattered. By the time he was finished her every secret would be unearthed.
‘Wow, Thane. Colour me surprised—you’re giving me a choice?’
For now. ‘Si, of course. The first of many. Come and sit with me—let me feed you.’
As if she were an antelope and he a great ferocious lion, she approached him warily. Such an astute character, she was. Then he heard a canine sniff from behind him and accepted that he wasn’t the only predator in the vicinity.
‘Ah,’ she said. ‘Now I get why you were throwing sticks. Why are they smacking their lips as if I’m on the menu? Good Lord, they’re huge. What are they?’
Slipping his arm around her waist, he tugged her to him and murmured in her ear. ‘Rhodesian Ridgebacks. Maybe they find you as delicious as I do. Must be all those round American chocolatey…’
With a long-suffering sigh, she rolled her eyes and pushed past him. ‘Yes, yes—all right, Romeo.’
