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‘In terms of...?’
Holding the sheet firmly against her aching breasts, she stared at him and all her determination to stay strong began to falter.
In terms of are you even going to bother kissing me, or does that only happen as a precursor to sex?
‘I’m naked in your bed, Theo.’ Mia paused, enjoying the sudden flash of fire in his eyes, which was the only chink in the cool mask he’d worn since entering the bedroom. Pushing her curls away from her face, she saw the flash in his eyes intensify. ‘So naturally I’m wondering if anyone is around to see me going back to my own room, which is some distance away. Sofia, or Dimitra, for example.’
‘And if they do see?’
‘You must admit, it would be slightly awkward.’
‘I agree, it might have been.’ He paused, his jaw firming. ‘Had I not gathered all the servants together after my swim and informed them of your true identity.’
Did he mean to make it sound as if she’d been taking part in a police line-up? Mia blinked. ‘You’ve told them I’m your wife?’
‘I did. We aren’t intending to keep it secret, are we? My new maid actually giggled and, when I asked her why, told me she’d already guessed—apparently, she’s friendly with someone who used to work for your grandfather back in the day.’
‘Oh.’ Mia stared at him blankly and the strangest thought stole into her head. That here she wasn’t alone and anonymous. Here people actually knew her—or knew of her. That feeling of being rootless and disconnected briefly evaporated and she felt a brief burst of connection.
‘So why don’t you borrow my robe and get ready?’ he continued, his velvety voice disrupting her introspection. ‘After breakfast we’ll go and see your grandfather to reinforce ourtogetherness. Strike while the iron is hot, as my English teacher used to say.’ His eyes glittered. ‘How does that sound?’
It sounded like a timetable. It sounded like Theo taking control just the way he always used to, but in this instance she was happy to let him. She needed to get her head straight and to work out the best strategy, going forward. Because obviously they were both coming at this marriage of convenience from different places. She had hoped for a kiss, or an echo of the enchantment they’d shared during the night.
But he had been...
She sighed.
He wasn’t being unkind, no, but certainly nobody could mistake his matter-of-fact attitude for romance. And the only reason that might upset her was if she cared about him, and she didn’t. She mustn’t. That was the only thing she needed to remember. Because if she allowed herself to care for him, she was going to get hurt all over again.
‘Great idea!’ she said brightly, climbing out of bed to make her way across the room, glad her back was to him so he couldn’t see her look of discomfiture, because she was acutely aware of her wobbly bottom.
Alone in the bathroom she was shocked by the face which stared back at her from the mirror. Those wide, dark eyes and kiss-bruised lips which indicated just how thoroughly she had been ravished—not to mention the wild disarray of her hair. She took a moment to untangle her curls and brush her teeth, finding a bathrobe and knotting it tightly around her waist before returning to the bedroom, hoping Theo might have gone downstairs and spared them another awkward encounter.
But he hadn’t gone anywhere. He was standing exactly where she had left him—as motionless as the glass statue on the other side of the room. The only thing which moved were his eyes and they flickered as they glanced at the robe which covered her—way too big and flapping around her ankles—as if drawing attention to how much taller and bigger he was.
‘Mia,’ he said, his voice suddenly growing rough.
‘I’m off to my room to have a shower,’ she informed him as she passed him by, but he stalled her by catching hold of her wrist and encircling it within his own big hand. It was loose enough for her to break free, so why didn’t she? Why was she revelling in the warm brush of his skin against hers, which was making her heart race as if she’d been sprinting for the bus?
‘I don’t think you want to go anywhere,’ he contradicted silkily.
‘Theo!’ But the word was more of an incitement than a protest. She really had to stop saying his name like that because it was giving him the wrong idea. Or should that be the right idea? She swallowed, her eyes fluttering to an infuriatingly close as he bent his lips to her neck.
‘Theo, what?’ he murmured, the feel of his mouth against her skin inciting her even more.
‘I th-thought...’ she stumbled, before her sentence faded away.
‘Mmm?’ His tone was careless as he untied the oversized bathrobe and Mia’s knees threatened to buckle as he began to play with her breasts. ‘What did you think, my beauty?’
But it was impossible for her to remember. Her brain had turned to mush and so had her body, especially as he was manoeuvring her over towards the bed and, oh, she wanted that. She wanted thatso much. His lips had now moved to her mouth, that first taste causing him to pause.
‘Did you use my toothbrush?’ he questioned huskily.
Mia’s eyelids snapped open and the sight of the raw desire on his face at last gave her the courage of her own convictions. ‘Why shouldn’t I?’ she declared, ribaldly repeating what she’d heard some of the bolder chambermaids say at work. ‘We’ve shared more than a bit of saliva during the night, surely.’
His corresponding laugh was low as he unzipped his trousers and let them fall, before sitting on the end of the bed and pulling her towards him. Mia moaned. She was wet for him. So hungry that she could barely wait until he had stroked on a condom. And then she was straddling him, gasping as he pulled her down onto the velvet-steel of his erection. And he was groaning as she tilted her hips and shifted her weight towards him, feeling him going deeper and deeper, until they were both choking out their pleasure at exactly the same time, and he muffled the sound of their cries with the hard press of his lips.
Her head lay heavy on his shoulder and reluctantly Theo loosened his hands from around her waist, though he could have stayed like that all morning, with the soft fan of her breath against his skin.
