an initial encounter, but also the last one.
But that made the immediate future no easier to contemplate as she lay beside him, staring rigidly at the ceiling. It shouldn?t be like this, she thought as tension knotted inside her. Not her first time. She should be with someone who?d treat her with tenderness and consideration.
Instead, she was about to be possessed by her family?s enemy, a man who despised her and would make no allowances for an innocence he didn?t believe existed.
She sank her teeth into the inner softness of her lower lip as she remembered the things he?d read to her from that vile letter. Was that what he?d want from her, and, if so, how could she bear it?
Then, just as her taut nerves approached snapping point, Alex Mandrakis touched her at last, his fingers hardly more than a whisper on her skin as he pushed her hair back from her forehead, before winding one silken strand round his hand, and lifting it to his face as if to inhale its fragrance.
It was the last thing she?d anticipated, and, in spite of herself, she turned, startled, to look at him, and saw his smile, crooked, almost rueful.
Then he bent, putting his mouth very precisely on hers and caressing it softly, coaxing her silently and with insidious gentleness to part her lips and allow him the deeper intimacy he sought.
This was not the brutality she?d expected to defy, but deliberate temptation.
And for an instant, as his lips moved on hers, Natasha was aware of an odd, tingling warmth deep in the pit of her stomach, and realised just how much on her guard she would need to be.
She closed her eyes, staying motionless, her mouth tightly compressed against him, forbidding any closer access. At the same time, she was unable to prevent him moving ever closer, so that the warmth of him seemed to be permeating the chill of her own flesh, while the musky scent of his skin filled her consciousness like an intoxicant.
Eventually, the insistent sensuous pressure on her mouth halted and she was aware that he?d lifted his head. He said, ?Look at me.?
Slowly she raised reluctant lids, staring up into his dark face with cool antagonism.
?You do not include kissing in your repertoire?? He sounded little more than mildly curious.
?Perhaps I merely have no wish to kiss you , Kyrios Mandrakis.?
?The possibility had crossed my mind,? he murmured. ?And are you also unwilling to call me by my given name?? His hand cupped her breast, his fingertip teasing the nipple, rousing it to a proud, aching life that she realised with horror she could not control. ?Although such formality in the circumstances is strangely erotic,? he added with faint amusement.
?Circumstances that are not of my making.? To her chagrin, her own voice sounded slightly breathless.
?And that you are trying to ignore.? The amusement was open now, his hand still moving on her in devastating purpose. ?Your mind may have decided you no longer harbour your former overwhelming desire for me, Natasha mou, but your body seems to have other ideas.? He added softly, ?Instead of a certainty, you have become an intriguing challenge.?
Natasha turned her head away. She said bitterly, ?Have you no shame??
?I could ask you the same question, my little cheat,? Alex Mandrakis retorted. ?After all, you were my would-be wife?the one making all the promises that were supposed to blind me to your family?s real purpose.
?No doubt they guaranteed you would never have to keep any of them,? he added scornfully. ?Well, now you know you are wrong, and they will know it too.?
He altered his position slightly, significantly, making her suddenly, shockingly aware of the heated potency of male arousal against her thigh, then bent his head and put his mouth to the scented mound of her breast, his tongue stroking its taut, rosy peak with lingering appreciation.
Sensation, sudden and unwanted, lanced through her. She pushed at his shoulders. ?Don?t??
He raised his head and looked at her, his gaze quizzical. ?It
But that made the immediate future no easier to contemplate as she lay beside him, staring rigidly at the ceiling. It shouldn?t be like this, she thought as tension knotted inside her. Not her first time. She should be with someone who?d treat her with tenderness and consideration.
Instead, she was about to be possessed by her family?s enemy, a man who despised her and would make no allowances for an innocence he didn?t believe existed.
She sank her teeth into the inner softness of her lower lip as she remembered the things he?d read to her from that vile letter. Was that what he?d want from her, and, if so, how could she bear it?
Then, just as her taut nerves approached snapping point, Alex Mandrakis touched her at last, his fingers hardly more than a whisper on her skin as he pushed her hair back from her forehead, before winding one silken strand round his hand, and lifting it to his face as if to inhale its fragrance.
It was the last thing she?d anticipated, and, in spite of herself, she turned, startled, to look at him, and saw his smile, crooked, almost rueful.
Then he bent, putting his mouth very precisely on hers and caressing it softly, coaxing her silently and with insidious gentleness to part her lips and allow him the deeper intimacy he sought.
This was not the brutality she?d expected to defy, but deliberate temptation.
And for an instant, as his lips moved on hers, Natasha was aware of an odd, tingling warmth deep in the pit of her stomach, and realised just how much on her guard she would need to be.
She closed her eyes, staying motionless, her mouth tightly compressed against him, forbidding any closer access. At the same time, she was unable to prevent him moving ever closer, so that the warmth of him seemed to be permeating the chill of her own flesh, while the musky scent of his skin filled her consciousness like an intoxicant.
Eventually, the insistent sensuous pressure on her mouth halted and she was aware that he?d lifted his head. He said, ?Look at me.?
Slowly she raised reluctant lids, staring up into his dark face with cool antagonism.
?You do not include kissing in your repertoire?? He sounded little more than mildly curious.
?Perhaps I merely have no wish to kiss you , Kyrios Mandrakis.?
?The possibility had crossed my mind,? he murmured. ?And are you also unwilling to call me by my given name?? His hand cupped her breast, his fingertip teasing the nipple, rousing it to a proud, aching life that she realised with horror she could not control. ?Although such formality in the circumstances is strangely erotic,? he added with faint amusement.
?Circumstances that are not of my making.? To her chagrin, her own voice sounded slightly breathless.
?And that you are trying to ignore.? The amusement was open now, his hand still moving on her in devastating purpose. ?Your mind may have decided you no longer harbour your former overwhelming desire for me, Natasha mou, but your body seems to have other ideas.? He added softly, ?Instead of a certainty, you have become an intriguing challenge.?
Natasha turned her head away. She said bitterly, ?Have you no shame??
?I could ask you the same question, my little cheat,? Alex Mandrakis retorted. ?After all, you were my would-be wife?the one making all the promises that were supposed to blind me to your family?s real purpose.
?No doubt they guaranteed you would never have to keep any of them,? he added scornfully. ?Well, now you know you are wrong, and they will know it too.?
He altered his position slightly, significantly, making her suddenly, shockingly aware of the heated potency of male arousal against her thigh, then bent his head and put his mouth to the scented mound of her breast, his tongue stroking its taut, rosy peak with lingering appreciation.
Sensation, sudden and unwanted, lanced through her. She pushed at his shoulders. ?Don?t??
He raised his head and looked at her, his gaze quizzical. ?It
Similar Books
