her now to reassure her that her concerns about their relationship were groundless.
* * *
‘Marnie?’
The gravelly voice infiltrated Marnie’s dream and she opened her eyes, blinking in the bright sunlight streaming through the open curtains. ‘Leandro?’
‘You sound surprised to see me, cara. Didn’t you get my message that I was on my way home?’
‘No, I’ve been asleep.’
She glanced at the bedside clock and wondered why she was in bed at three-thirty in the afternoon, before the mist clouding her mind cleared and she remembered. Last night her brother had stayed at the house, but this morning when she had got up for work she’d discovered that Jake had left without saying goodbye.
Leandro threw his jacket carelessly onto a chair before he sat down on the edge of the bed. Marnie’s pulse quickened as she inhaled the familiar musk of his aftershave mixed with his unique male scent. She could see the shadow of his black chest hair through his white shirt, and the dark stubble on his jaw added to his raw sex appeal.
‘Why were you sleeping in the daytime? Are you ill?’
‘I fainted at work.’
She recalled that she’d felt nauseous while she had been serving coffee to some customers, and when she’d returned to the kitchen she’d had the weird sensation that the floor was rushing up to meet her and suck her down into a black hole.
‘The head chef thought I might be suffering from heatstroke. Maybe it’s a good thing that the weather is supposed to break and a storm is forecast.’
Leandro frowned. ‘I think you should see a doctor. It seems unlikely that the heat would cause you to faint. Maybe you have a vitamin deficiency.’
‘Nonsense, I’ve got the constitution of an ox.’
She was also becoming the size of an ox, Marnie thought dismally, conscious of Leandro’s gaze roaming over her body. One of the waiters at the cocktail bar had driven her home and she’d felt so tired that she’d taken off her dress and lain down on the bed wearing only her bra and knickers.
‘You’ve got colour in your cheeks,’ Leandro noted, watching a rosy blush spread across her face and neck and stain the upper slopes of her breasts. ‘But why are you wearing a bra that is at least two sizes too small? It’s no wonder you felt faint when your breathing is restricted.’
He reached behind her and unsnapped her bra. His grey eyes gleamed like molten silver as he stared at Marnie’s lush breasts, as inviting as firm, ripe peaches that he longed to taste.
Leandro traced his finger over the red line on her skin where her bra had cut into her flesh. ‘Buy some new underwear with the credit card I gave you. I enjoy seeing you wearing sexy lingerie, cara.’
‘I don’t expect you to pay for my clothes,’ Marnie muttered.
She was finding it hard to concentrate on their conversation when all she could think about was the insistent ache between her legs. She felt embarrassed that Leandro only had to look at her and she was on fire for him. Her nipples hardened and she drew a sharp breath of longing when he stroked his thumbs over the swollen tips.
Desire swept through her with the force of a tidal wave, consuming her and obliterating her uncertainty about the state of their relationship. It was more than two weeks since they had last made love and it seemed like a lifetime. She held her breath as he lowered his face closer to hers.
‘Do you really feel okay?’
There was genuine concern in his voice, but also a husky sensuality that made every nerve ending on Marnie’s body quiver.
‘I could get you something to eat. Are you hungry?’
‘Hungry for you.’ She gave up trying to fight her weakness and gave in to her yearning to touch him, to trace the slashing lines of his hard cheekbones and run her fingers through the springy softness of his hair. ‘Kiss me,’ she begged.
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