did this workshop in a school and I realised that music isn’t only about that one perfect solo performance. It’s about sharing and creating.’ She frowned. ‘That’s when I accepted that I wasn’t going to have the life I’d planned. But I was going to have a life that mattered.’ Meeting his gaze, she smiled weakly. ‘Or at least one that wasn’t as boring and lonely as lying in a hospital bed for weeks and weeks.’
He was staring at her intently and she fell silent. Malachi was unlikely to be familiar with the concepts of boredom and loneliness, let alone understand them. But after a short, stilted pause, he nodded slowly.
‘That’s why I started playing cards. Boredom.’ He shifted, staring past her, his eyes suddenly cloudy. ‘I must have been about seven. We were in Europe, visiting friends of my parents’.’
Abruptly he picked up his glass and drained his wine.
‘I was always the only child, and my parents liked to party hard. Often they didn’t surface until the afternoon, and I used to get so bored and then one day one of the valets at the hotel where we were staying taught me how to play patience. Then blackjack and then poker.’
His face tightened.
‘I got real good, real quick.’ He gave her a small, taut smile. That’s the upside of living in hotels—there’s always a bunch of people going on and off shift and a lot of them play cards.
Addie stared at him, trying to fit his words into the image of the Malachi she knew.
‘I thought your dad must have taught you,’ she said slowly.
He shook his head. ‘No. He taught me other things, but I think those will keep for another day. Shall we have coffee?’
She said nothing, but her mind was buzzing with questions. Why had they never talked about his childhood before? And why were so many subjects off limits? Was it something to do with his father? Had they argued? Was that why his parents hadn’t come to their wedding?
Pushing his chair back, Malachi stood and held out his hand.
Coffee was waiting for them in the lounge area.
Addie took a sip and frowned. ‘What is that flavour?’
‘Cardamom. If you don’t like it I can get them to bring some different coffee.’
She shook her head. ‘No, I like it. It’s kind of spicy.’ His eyes narrowed and she felt her stomach clench. ‘M-maybe not spicy,’ she stammered. ‘More...hot without the heat.’
His gaze locked on to hers and she felt a shiver run down her spine as he reached out and ran his hand up and down her arm, grazing her breast with his knuckles.
‘Hot without the heat? Sounds interesting.’
Heart pounding, she forced herself to meet his gaze. ‘I’m talking rubbish. And I haven’t even had that much wine. It must be all that oxygen earlier. I’ll probably be seeing mermaids next.’
His hand stopped moving. It felt warm and steady on her arm, matching the warmth and steadiness of his gaze.
‘I’m already seeing them. Or one, at least.’
Her breath felt suddenly thick and hot in her throat. ‘It’s just the dress...’ she said hoarsely.
‘No. It’s this as well.’ Gently he slid his hand up into her hair, threading it through his fingers. ‘And these...’
Tilting his head, he brushed his lips across hers gently, so that her head was swimming.
‘You’ve bewitched me,’ he murmured and, lowering his mouth, kissed her again more deeply.
It was the closest he would get to expressing any feelings of tenderness.
‘So how come I’m at the bottom of the ocean in your submarine?’ she whispered.
He smiled—a long, slow, curling smile that made her stomach disappear. ‘Do you want me to take you back up to the surface?’
His eyes were huge and dark above her face, so that she felt as though she were drowning in them.
Slowly she shook her head. ‘I want to stay down here for ever.’
‘That could be arranged.’ His voice was hoarse, his eyes burning into hers.
She stared up at him unsteadily. ‘Wouldn’t we run out of air?’ she asked. She felt his fingertips graze her collarbone and slide slowly under the chin, lifting her face.
‘Eventually. But we’d use it up slower if we shared.’
Her pulse was racing. ‘How do you share air?’
‘It’s easy,’ he murmured. ‘You just do this.’
And, lowering his mouth again, he kissed her. She gasped, her lips parting, heat flooding her body. Clutching on to his arm, she felt her pulse jerk as his tongue probed her mouth. Heat, sharp and raw, flared up inside her, and suddenly her fingers were pulling at his shirt, tugging clumsily at the buttons.
Tangling her hands through his hair, she kissed him fiercely, pressing against the hard muscles of his naked chest. She felt him respond, deepening the kiss, his hand sliding around her waist, pulling her up against him. It felt so, so good. So right. No other man could make her feel this way. Only Malachi.
He broke the kiss. ‘Are you sure?’
His face was tight with concentration, his arms shaking with tension and desire. The raw need in his voice reached inside her. Heart thudding, Addie breathed in shakily. Her eyes lifted and locked on to his and she saw that he was holding himself back, his muscles straining, his longing spilling over her skin like molten lava.
Dry-mouthed, Malachi held his breath. The last few days and nights his mind had been tormented by erotic images of Addie, but none had come close to how mind-blowingly sexy she looked right now. With her long red hair tangling around her shoulders, that incredible blue dress clinging to every curve like a second skin.
For a moment she stared at him, her eyes narrow blue slits, and then she nodded slowly and he felt his self-control slip away.
Pulling her to her feet, he scooped her into his arms. The blood was pulsing in his head. She was so soft in his arms, her body curving against his in obedient response to the heat of his lips and the touch of his hands. Striding across the floor, he pushed open the door to the bedroom and, kicking it shut, let her feet drop to the floor.
His fingers threaded through her hair, twisting and tugging it up from the nape of her neck. Whole body shaking, he pulled her against him, the sweet taste of her mouth tearing at his senses, and then he was walking her backwards, nudging her with his body, his knuckles scraping against the wall as they banged against it.
Lowering his lips, he licked her throat, tasting the salt on her skin as he grabbed her arms, stretching them high above her head, trapping her wrists with one hand, sliding the other down over her throat to her breast, his fingertips pushing beneath the satin, brushing lightly against a nipple.
Addie shuddered, her body straining helplessly
