a nice feeling.
Nice? Oh, please. The word didn’t even begin to cut it. It felt so good, so right, there was a part of her that wanted to remain where she was, curled in against him.
Safe, secure, here where she was meant to be.
Where she wanted to be.
To touch him, lightly, with her lips, the tips of her fingers … to watch him stir, become aware, awake. And see his mouth curve into that sensual smile he did so well, the soft gleam appear in those dark eyes … and have his mouth close over hers in the prerequisite that would lead to early-morning sex.
Whoa. What was happening here?
Being held in his arms was one thing … sex, a whole different ball game. One she didn’t feel sufficiently equipped to play. At least, not yet. But just for a moment, while he slept, she savoured the luxury and let her mind wander to possible maybes … until reality surfaced.
So, just shift his arm, and move. What’s the big deal?
But what if …? Oh, hell.
‘I can almost hear your mind working.’
So much for thinking he still slept.
‘Then you’ll know I want out of this bed.’
She was almost certain she sensed his soft laugh. ‘I can’t persuade you to stay?’
‘No.’
‘Pity.’ He removed his arm and rolled onto his back as she escaped from the bed, taking pleasure in watching her cross the room.
A beautiful young woman, who came alive beneath his touch, wondrous at the measure of her response, yet tentative about losing her inhibitions.
There was a part of him that wanted the opportunity to physically thrash the man who’d treated her with such deliberate mercilessness.
Except there was a better, more subtle way to inflict pain. He had the resources, the influence, the knowledge.
All he needed to do was set the wheels in motion.
CHAPTER EIGHT
PEAK-HOUR traffic into the city seemed more hectic and hazardous than usual, and Alesha silently cursed her independence in refusing to ride in to the office earlier with Loukas.
It set the day on a wrong foot; her laptop refused to boot up, her PA called in sick, and almost anything that could go wrong … did.
Worse, her BMW developed a puncture en route home at day’s end and the spare happened to be flat. Enlisting the help of an automobile service took wait time, together with the need to have the car towed to an approved workshop, where she called for a taxi to take her home.
Loukas arrived as she paid off the driver, and she grimaced a little.
‘Don’t ask,’ Alesha declared as he reached her side. ‘You really don’t want to know.’
He examined her pale features, the tenseness apparent as he cupped her chin and tilted it. ‘You weren’t in an accident?’
Her eyes met his with fearless disregard. ‘No.’ Without preamble she relayed the puncture, the flat spare.
‘You should have called me.’
It simply hadn’t occurred to her to do so. ‘Why? I took care of it.’
He touched a light finger to her lower lip. ‘Next time, call.’
He’d been concerned about her?
‘Maybe.’
‘Do it, Alesha.’
He cared? Really cared enough to worry about her safety? No other man, with the exception of her father, had shown such concern.
Loukas managed to surprise her, when she least expected it, and whatever frustration the day held dissipated to nothing.
‘Okay, I will. I promise.’
Standing so close to him was beginning to affect her, and she moved around him, entered the foyer and ran lightly upstairs.
She thought wistfully of the spa-bath, a scented candle or three, and muted soothing music. Except it wasn’t going to happen. Instead she’d settle for a leisurely shower.
On reaching the master suite she discarded her outer clothes and entered the en suite, loosened her hair, set the water dial to medium, then she shed bra and briefs and stepped into the large tiled stall.
Heaven, she determined as the water cascaded over her body, and she reached for shampoo, lathered her hair, rinsed and applied conditioner, then she reached for the scented soap … only to freeze as the glass door opened and Loukas joined her.
Splendidly naked … as if he’d be clothed, a wicked imp taunted … he loomed large in the confines of the shower stall.
Shocked surprise didn’t cover it. Without conscious thought her hands moved to act as an automatic shield.
‘Modesty, agape?’ Loukas drawled with musing humour as he caught up the soap and began smoothing it along her arm.
‘Why are you doing this?’ Her voice sounded strangled, even to her own ears.
‘Sharing your shower?’ He turned her away from him and tended to her back, using long strokes that eased over her bottom and slid down to her knees … then crept up to encompass her shoulders. When he was done, he caught hold of her shoulders and turned her to face him.
‘Don’t.’ It was a heartfelt plea he chose to ignore as he shifted her hands and palmed her breasts, lightly examined their soft fullness, then slid to the curve at her waist before slipping to the intimate vee between her thighs.
The brush of his fingers caused her body to arch, and she balled one hand into a fist and aimed for his chest.
Except he deftly fielded it before it could connect.
For a wild moment her eyes seared his own, and her lips formed a soundless gasp as he brought her fisted hand to his mouth and lightly brushed his lips across her knuckles.
His eyes were dark, heavy with lambent warmth, and she gave a startled cry as he clasped her shoulders and began to massage the taut muscles, easing in to loosen the kinks.
It felt so good, and she sighed as he rendered a similar treatment to her back, easing up to her neck to knead and soothe until she relaxed completely beneath his touch.
Not content, he massaged her head, and she closed her eyes and let her mind drift until he shifted her beneath the beating water to rinse the suds from her hair, her body.
Alesha turned to face him and swept her hands over her face to dispense the excess water.
‘Better?’
‘Much,’
