She hated the distance between them, and it took tremendous strength of will not to sink into him. This, after all, was the one level of communication at which they excelled.
Sex. Really great sex.
She’d thought it was enough. She’d even managed to convince herself that love didn’t matter. But it did, and a little part of her had slowly died with each passing day.
Sensation flared, spiralling through her body, filling it with a sweet sorcery only Miguel had the power to wield.
A faint sob rose and died in her throat, a slight compulsive movement he felt rather than heard, and he sensed the way her hands rose, then fell again as she sought control.
The long slow sweep of his tongue against her own almost caused her to lose it, and she began to shake beneath the emotional weight of resisting him.
He sensed the moment she ignored her mind and went with her heart, felt the first tentative touch of her hands as they crept to his shoulders and twined together round his neck.
Something within him convulsed, and a deep shudder raked his powerful frame as he drew her close in against him.
His kiss deepened, possessing with shameless hunger as he led her down a path towards sensual conflagration.
Hannah lost track of time and a sense of place in the need to be part of him. The rest of his clothes, hers, were an unwanted intrusion, and her fingers sought the buckle fastening the belt on his trousers, only to have him shift slightly and cover her hand with his own before gently placing her at arm’s length.
Her eyes widened and seemed too large in her face. Uncertain, she edged the tip of her tongue along the swollen curve of her lip. The gesture was unbidden, and she saw his eyes flare, then become incredibly dark.
He placed a finger over her lips, felt the faint tremble, and cupped her jaw.
‘You are my life,’ Miguel said gently. ‘Amada, the very air that I breathe. Everything.’ A finger traced the pulsing cord to the base of her throat and settled in the sensitive hollow above the rapid beat of her pulse. ‘You have my heart, all that I am.’ His smile held a warmth that made her breath hitch. ‘Always.’
Hannah wasn’t capable of uttering a word.
‘From the beginning,’ he added. ‘I took one look, and there could be no one else. Only you.’
She found her voice with difficulty. ‘But we—’
‘Married to please our respective parents, ensure the business stayed in the family?’ He brushed a thumb along the curve of her lower lip. ‘Do you really believe that?’
Her mouth quivered. ‘You said—’
‘I asked you to marry me.’
‘I thought—’
‘You think too much,’ Miguel chastised gently. ‘I love you. You,’ he emphasised. ‘For everything you are.’
‘You loved me?’ she queried as hope began to unfurl. ‘From the beginning?’
‘Do you really believe I’m the kind of man who would tie himself legally to a woman, contemplate making her the mother of my children—’ He broke off, and shook his head. ‘Querida, haven’t you come to know me better than that?’
Yes, she had. Or, at least, she’d thought she had before Camille had begun playing her games.
‘Camille—’
‘I barely refrained from strangling her. As to Luc—’ A muscle tensed at the edge of his jaw, and his eyes took on a dangerous gleam. ‘The temptation to break his jaw was never far from my mind.’
Something that had been evident on occasion, Hannah reflected. Although at the time she’d thought Miguel was simply playing the part expected of him.
And Camille?
‘Notice that an interim apprehended violence order would be filed against Camille was issued yesterday. I understand she chose to take the option of dropped charges if she remove herself from the state and the country within twenty-four hours,’ Miguel informed her, reading her mind.
His words were so clipped and hard, Hannah didn’t doubt he had delivered the ultimatum in a manner Camille couldn’t fail to understand.
‘I see,’ she said slowly.
One eyebrow slanted with musing humour. ‘What do you see, amante?’
She lifted a hand, then let it fall to her side.
‘Where do we go from here?’
‘Now?’ Miguel pulled her gently back into his arms, and nuzzled the delicate curve at the base of her neck. ‘I’m going to make love with my wife.’ He drew the soft skin into his mouth and grazed it with his teeth.
A tremor shook her slender frame as liquid fire flooded her veins, heating her body to fever pitch.
‘Show her how infinitely precious she is to me.’ Slowly and with infinite care, he freed the buttons on her blouse, then slid it from her arms and discarded it. Next came the zip fastening on her skirt, and he skimmed slip and briefs over her hips in one easy movement. Hannah stepped out of her heeled shoes as he unfastened the clip of her bra.
‘And ensure she never has reason to doubt my love for her.’ He traced the curve of one breast, then brushed his fingers back and forth across a rosy peak, watching as the bud protruded before lowering his head to capture it in his mouth.
Her body arched as he suckled, and a gasp emerged from her throat when he rolled the tender bud with the edge of his teeth, leaving her teetering on the brink between pleasure and pain.
‘This isn’t fair,’ she inclined, reaching for the buckle on his trousers, then the zip, and seconds later he kicked aside his trousers and briefs.
‘Better?’
‘Much.’
‘I intended to take you to dinner,’ Miguel informed her as she began a subtle exploration that soon promised to have dangerous consequences.
‘Maybe later.’
‘With champagne,’ he added for good measure, then drew in a deep breath and held it as she enclosed him.
‘Room service,’ Hannah offered an instant before he carried her down onto the bed.
THEY did eat, well after the witching hour of midnight.
The lovemaking had been hard and fast, then afterwards they’d indulged themselves with a sensual feast that surpassed anything they’d previously shared. Vibrant, erotic, it was sensual magic at its most primitive.
Following
