Roslyn rushed to say as she put well-manicured fingers to Chrysander’s arm.
“Of course not,” Chrysander said smoothly. “I did tell you to avail yourself of whatever you liked. Did you set up my office as I requested?”
“Of course. I do hope it won’t be a problem for me to remain one more night? I didn’t arrange for the helicopter to fetch me until tomorrow morning.”
Roslyn’s wide, innocent eyes didn’t fool Marley, and she felt the beginnings of a headache drumming in her temples. She pulled her hand from Chrysander’s and merely walked away, having no desire to listen to the mewings of his assistant any longer.
“You are welcome to stay, Roslyn. I do hope you’ll have dinner with us tonight,” Chrysander said politely as Marley mounted the stairs.
She really had no idea where she was going, but upstairs seemed as good a place as any, and it would put her solidly away from the source of her irritation. She was nearly to the top when Chrysander overtook her.
“You should have waited for me,” he reproached. “I don’t like you navigating the stairs by yourself. What if you were to fall? In the future, someone will escort you up or down.”
Her mouth fell open. “You’re not serious!”
He frowned, clearly not liking her tone of disbelief. “I’m very serious when it comes to your well-being and that of our child.”
She blew out her breath in frustration as Chrysander escorted her from the landing of the stairs down the hall to a spacious bedroom. Clearly this was the master suite. She set aside the protests forming on her tongue and stared at Chrysander in question.
“Is this to be my room?”
“It is our room.”
Heat rose in her cheeks. Her throat suddenly went dry as she imagined sharing the big bed with Chrysander. Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes as he observed her reaction.
“Do you have any objections?” he asked softly.
She shook her head. “N-no. None.”
A slow smiled curved his sensual mouth. A predatory gleam entered his eyes. “That is good. We are in agreement then.”
“I—w-well, not exactly,” she stammered.
He cocked one imperious brow. “We are not?”
She shook herself from the intimate spell he was weaving over her. The one that had her reduced to a mass of writhing stupidity. She lifted her chin and stared challengingly at him. “I don’t need an escort to get up and down the stairs, Chrysander. I’m not an invalid, and I don’t wish to be treated like one.”
“And I would prefer you had someone with you.” His voice became steely and determination creased his brow.
“I will not spend our time here as a prisoner, only allowed out whenever someone can make the time to fetch me back and forth.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared mutinously at him.
To her surprise, his shoulders relaxed and laughter escaped him.
“What’s so funny?” she demanded.
“You are, pedhaki mou. You sound just like you always have. Always arguing with me. You’ve always accused me of being too set on having things my way.” He gave a shrug that said he accepted as much.
“Well, since we’re arguing, what is that woman doing here parading around in next to nothing?”
She hadn’t meant it to come out quite like that. She’d wanted to sound more casual and less like a jealous shrew, but she’d failed miserably.
Chrysander’s expression hardened. “You never liked her, but I would appreciate it if you weren’t rude.”
Marley raised a brow. “Never? And you don’t wonder why?” She turned her back to Chrysander and walked to the window that overlooked the pool and the garden to the left that separated the two swimming areas. “Why is it she is here and seems so comfortable, and yet this is my first visit?”
She tensed when Chrysander’s hands cupped her shoulders. “Roslyn often travels with me. This time I arranged for her to stay in Corinth so she is available if I need her, but her presence won’t be an issue for you.” His lips brushed across her temple. “As to why you’ve never been here, I can only say that it has never come up. When I would return to New York after being away for weeks at a time, I was more interested in spending that time with you, not wasting it traveling.”
Marley turned around and without thinking wrapped her arms around Chrysander and buried her face in his chest. “I’m just so frustrated. I won’t apologize, however, for not liking the fact that my fiancé’s personal assistant is cavorting around with barely a string covering her assets, or that she seems perfectly at home in a place that I should, but don’t.”
“If it makes you feel better, I did not notice her assets.” There was a tone of amusement in his voice, and it only served to irritate her further.
When she tried to wrench away from Chrysander’s arms, he gripped her shoulders and held her fast. His eyes glistened with a need that made her stomach do odd flips. Nervously, she wet her lips, and he groaned just before he slanted his mouth over hers.
She felt as though someone had lit a match as she went up in flames. Oh, yes, her body recognized, craved his touch. His tongue swept over her lips, demanding she open to him. Her mouth parted on a sigh, and his tongue laved hers, hot, electrifying.
She went weak and sagged against him, but he caught her, holding her tightly against him. A low moan worked from her throat, and he swallowed it as it escaped. Her hands scraped across his shoulders, clutching and seeking his strength.
Her nipples beaded and tingled when his fingers skimmed underneath the waist of her shirt, feathering across her belly and up to where the lacy bra cupped her breasts. Before she could fully process what his intentions were, her bra fell loose, and his thumb rolled across one taut point.
Uncontrollable shudders wracked her small frame as his mouth slid down her throat and lower. He blazed a molten trail to the curve of one breast, and when he took the sensitive nipple in his mouth, she nearly shattered in his arms.
“Please,” she begged.
His head came up at her plea, and shock was reflected in his golden eyes. “Theos mou! I would have ravaged you on the floor,” he said in disgust. He quickly rearranged her bra and settled her shirt back over her body.
Her hand shook as she raised it to her swollen lips. Every nerve-ending in her body screamed in want. Her reaction to Chrysander frightened her. It was intense. Volatile. How easily she’d gotten carried away as soon as he’d touched her.
“Do not look at me that way,” he said in a near growl.
“How?” she asked, her voice shaking.
“Like you want nothing more than for me to carry you to our bed and make love to you all night. I only have so much control.”
She laughed, a hoarse and needy sound.
