he had yet to discover. Depths they’d never imagined of each other the first time around. And now they had another opportunity. When he’d seen her today he’d been shocked, but instinct had taken over. And while logic had protested, his body had rejoiced.
All of which brought him back to his thoughts of only a moment ago. He couldn’t give in to that powerful pull they had between them. If he kissed her again, the way he truly wanted to, there was no way he’d be capable of pulling away.
Imogene’s face lit up on a burst of laughter as one of her friends said something amusing. Again he felt the knot deep in his gut. He was going to have to do some serious workouts to burn off the sexual energy that had taken his body hostage since seeing Imogene again, because they had to take things slowly this time—to truly begin to know and understand each other better before losing themselves in physical sensations.
“So, having second thoughts?”
Valentin turned to face his brother, Galen. “No, should I?”
“I have to say I was worried there for a while at the beginning. I’d have laid odds that today wasn’t about to go ahead and that my staff would be eating cake for the rest of the week.”
Galen was head of the Horvath chain of resorts and was based here in Washington. Valentin allowed himself a small smile.
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t have to inflict that on them.”
Galen looked at him. “Something’s different. Are you okay?”
“Why?”
“I don’t know exactly. You were looking forward to this marriage, I know that much. But I was certain that when Imogene came down the aisle you would put a stop to it. You both seemed so adamant about it not going ahead. What changed your mind? Don’t tell me Nagy put a spell on you both,” Galen finished with a laugh.
Valentin paused for a moment. With his brother, he’d always been honest. With his cousin Ilya, too. The three men had grown up close. But for some reason he didn’t want to put into actual words what had come over him when he’d made the decision to try to persuade Imogene to go ahead with the wedding.
“Maybe she did.” It was all he would concede. “But it’s early days yet. We have our three-month trial period to get through.”
“You say that as if you don’t believe it’ll be easy.”
“Nothing worthwhile ever is. We both know that, right? And Imogene and I have a lot of work to do. Deep down she still believes I was unfaithful to her.”
Galen spluttered his disbelief. “As if. You are the most loyal man I’ve ever known. So, who does she think you had an affair with?”
“One of the doctors I worked with.”
“Was she hot?”
“Oh, yes, she’s hot.”
Galen stiffened beside him. “As in present-tense hot?”
He could always rely on his brother to be quick to pick up an unspoken thread. “Yes. As in she works for me now as head of research and development in New York.”
Galen let out a slow whistle. “That could prove to be an issue. Have you told Imogene yet?”
“No, and I’m hoping we can overcome that before it becomes a problem.”
“Well, if anyone can, you can, my brother. You deserve to be happy. I just hope that Imogene is the one you can find that happiness with.”
“As do I. As do I.”
The jet was impressive; it even had its own master suite complete with luxury bathroom. Imogene wondered about the wisdom of having a bubble bath at thirty-six thousand feet but then pushed the idea aside. Right now, weariness dragged at every cell in her body and her mind. All she wanted to do was rest. She looked at the wide bed in the master bedroom and the expanse of fine Egyptian cotton that covered it. She knew it was fine because she’d touched it, her fingertips sliding over the silky softness of the high-thread-count fabric in absolute delight.
Valentin entered the room behind her.
“Tired?” he asked as he tugged his cravat loose from his throat.
“Shattered,” she replied, feeling herself physically wilt.
It had been a tough day on so many levels, not least of which was discovering she was still powerfully attracted to her ex-husband. Well, new husband. She would never have believed he could talk her into agreeing to go ahead, but he’d been so convincing, almost making her believe that maybe she’d made a mistake all those years ago. That maybe she should have waited and listened before reacting. But then, given her own family situation, and her vehemence about never being in the same position as her mom, was it any surprise she’d reacted the way she had? Faced with the same situation, heaven forbid, wouldn’t she do the same again?
She looked up at Valentin and saw the lines of strain on his face.
“You must be worn-out, too. I remember you never were one for grand social occasions.”
“You remember correctly. Look, we have just over fourteen hours before we get to Rarotonga. We should get some sleep. Try to be fresh when we arrive at the Cook Islands.”
“Did you want to take the bed?” she offered. “I can sleep in the main cabin.”
“No, you take the bed. While you remember my discomfort with large social gatherings, I remember how you need to be comfortable to sleep.”
Imogene felt her cheeks color at his words and the images that rapidly filled her mind. Of the two of them in a narrow double bed doing anything but sleeping. Or when they did, and despite the intense heat of equatorial Africa, they curled so close together it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. She’d grown used to sleeping with him so quickly after they’d met, and it had taken her months before she’d stopped reaching for him in the dark after she’d returned to New York.
She averted her gaze before she suggested something stupid, like sleeping together again. After all, they were married and had a common goal of creating a family together. But even as she thought it, she knew she wasn’t ready to take that step. Not yet anyway.
“Thank you,” she finally managed. “Would you like to use the bathroom first?”
Valentin laughed.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Us. We sound so damned civilized.”
She giggled. “Yes, we do. Surprising under the circumstances, when you think about it.”
“Shows we’re better people than we were before.” His eyes grew dark and serious. “I meant what I said back in that office, Imogene. Even more than the vows we exchanged. You won’t regret this.”
Imogene swallowed against the lump in her throat and gave
