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‘Wh-what?’ she stammered.
The small puff of air produced by her demand washed over his member, making him groan again. ‘You heard me. And don’t stop,’ he growled.
Even as her brain grappled between elation at what he’d said and the reality that it could never happen, she was tempted to keep on caressing him.
But loosening the hold on her emotions was what had led to this in the first place. And every moment she spent in this false nirvana was another moment she’d have to account for later.
Imogen told herself she was glad common sense won out. That things had gone too far too quickly. ‘No.’
The air stilled around them. Neither of them breathed after that firm rejection.
His fingers disentangled from her hair. She realised she was still gripping him when he took hold of her wrist and decisively pushed her away.
And it shamed her that she mourned the loss of him as he withdrew from her, his face hardening as he stood and tugged his bottoms back on.
He took a single step from her and Imogen barely stopped herself from swaying towards him, a pliant flower straining towards the sun’s warmth.
‘No?’ The query was as icy and forbidding as his set jaw.
She swallowed, scrambled for some semblance of shattered control. ‘No, that’s not going to happen. You seem to think any objection I have is a challenge or an affront. Have you stopped to think I may not want the same thing as you?’
His mouth twitched with empty humour. ‘Here’s your chance, then. Tell me what’s so objectionable about remarrying your husband.’
Snatching her robe off the bed, she fought her way into it, cinching the belt tight. ‘Among other things? You’ve been back less than twenty-four hours!’
He jerked out a nod. ‘Granted. If time is what you need we can discuss it. What are the other objections?’
‘Are you serious? We shouldn’t even have done...what we just did,’ she said, waving a frantic hand at the rumpled bed.
‘For a woman with a healthy appetite such as yours, you seem hell-bent on self-flagellation at the earliest sign of displaying desire. Hide behind obstacles if you wish, but I still want an answer.’
Words crowded on her tongue. Words she couldn’t speak without bringing down this precarious house of cards they’d built to maintain the status quo.
‘I’m waiting, dear wife. Why did you bother to keep looking for me? From what I’ve seen since my return you were the only one actively doing so,’ he stated bitterly. ‘While you’ve given me glimpses of what this marriage of ours entailed, your attitude goes against everything rational. You could’ve left me to rot, forgotten on that sleepy island. Why didn’t you?’
‘Because I didn’t want to wait seven years!’
He stilled at the words that ripped free without her permission, his whole body a frozen column of marble, like one of those celebrated Greek gods. Eyes like the ocean’s depths pinned her where she knelt. ‘Explain,’ he demanded, his tone still gruff but cooling at a fast rate. ‘Now.’
Mildly nauseous at what she’d let slip, Imogen sagged onto the bed. But reminded of just who she was dealing with, she immediately straightened her spine. She wasn’t quite ready to look him in the eye though, so she focused her gaze on some middle point in the room. ‘The general consensus from the lawyers was that if you weren’t found I’d have to wait seven years to have you declared dead. I... I didn’t want that hanging over my head.’
‘Again. Why? You already have an exulted place on the board and my billions at your disposal—’
‘It wasn’t about money or my place on the board! It was about my life. My freedom.’
That marble effect encompassed his face. Abstractly, Imogen marvelled at how breathtaking he looked.
‘Yourfreedom? From me?’
Numbly, she nodded.
He inhaled sharply. ‘So let me see if I have this right. Your plan was to find me,and then divorce me?’ he breathed.
There was disbelief in the query. But also rumbling fury.
Which thankfully kicked up her own resistance.
She scrambled upright, ignoring the trembling in her body that was the residue of the lustful acts they’d committed on each other. Well, almost in his case. She grimaced inwardly and pulled in a long breath. But when she opened her mouth, she was reminded of the doctor’s admonition and hesitated.
