of…predatory.
His senses were on instant alert as he got in beside her, noting the tense atmosphere inside the tinted interior of the car. He could see that she’d floated up the soundproofed and darkened screen which separated them from his chauffeur, so they were in a private world of their own. As the powerful vehicle pulled away she leaned forward to kiss him, guiding his hand up her skirt to illustrate the fact that she wasn’t wearing panties. Before too long she had unzipped him and was straddling him, easing herself slowly down onto his rigid length and riding him as if they were in some kind of erotic rodeo. He felt compromised and manipulated but his desire for her was so intense that he had no choice other than to submit to her sexy ministrations. Even when inside her he tried to hold back—to make her wait for what he knew she wanted—but suddenly his seed was pumping out and he was moaning softly against her mouth.
It was undoubtedly the most stimulating homecoming he’d ever experienced—possibly because it was so unexpected. It was hard to believe this was the same blushing virgin he’d seduced on his Mediterranean island, and that disturbed him almost as much as this sudden reversal of control. He’d chosen her for her suitability and purity. Didn’t she realise that he had chosen her because he had wanted a mother for his son? If he’d wanted a vamp, he would have married one.
‘So what was all that about?’ he demanded, once he’d got his breath back.
She paused in the act of smoothing down her rucked skirt before looking up, and he was caught in the teasing crossfire of her bluebell eyes. ‘You didn’t like it?’
He didn’t respond to the feigned innocence in her voice. ‘I didn’t say that. I just wondered if there was any particular reason for such a mind-blowing homecoming and whether this is something I should expect every time I take a flight in future?’
Something in the repressive tone of his voice sent a shiver down Lucy’s spine. He was looking at her with a stony expression in his black eyes, which somehow contradicted his passionate response, and she felt a worm of worry wriggling away inside her. Should she tell him the truth? Should she confess she’d been concerned he might find too much domesticity and fatherhood stultifying and she wanted to reassure him that she intended to remain as exciting a lover as possible? But that might let too much light into her occasionally paranoid thoughts and make what had just happened seem almost…predictable. Surely it would be better to allow a little mystique to prevail. To keep her gorgeous husband on his toes and ensure he’d never get bored and want to walk away from her, because that was something she couldn’t bear to contemplate.
Still a relative novice to the game-playing of romance, she flicked him a smile. ‘You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?’
‘I guess.’
But her attempt to engage him again fell disappointingly flat for he picked up his briefcase and began rifling through it, effectively dismissing her. Quickly Lucy looked out of the window, terrified her gaze would betray her feelings, though he wasn’t actually looking at her. But if he was…
She swallowed. If he was then mightn’t he recognise that she was falling in love with her Greek husband, even though she knew there was no way he would ever return those feelings? Even though he now seemed to be in a strange kind of mood after she’d plucked up enough courage to travel to the airfield to seduce him. She never knew what was going on inside his head, because he rarely told her. Sometimes she felt as if they were growing further apart rather than closer, despite their cohabitation. Yet when he relaxed enough to let his guard slip…didn’t she adore the man who existed behind the brittle exterior he’d formed to protect himself? The man who’d suffered such a loveless childhood, which meant he kept all his emotions locked away. And didn’t she cherish a hope that his feelings for his son were growing—and would continue to grow if she could help facilitate that?
But it was hard to communicate with someone who was increasingly absent and Lucy’s growing sense of insecurity was fuelled by Drakon jetting off again. This time he was travelling to Indonesia with Amy and communication filtered down into the usual snatched phone calls, squeezed in around the time difference. Lucy kept herself busy with Xander and that was always a pleasure. A growing pleasure. With every day which passed the baby was growing more and more aware and when she went in to him each morning, she was rewarded with the sunniest of smiles. Sometimes he nuzzled his silky little head against her neck, and Lucy felt a pure joy which was almost painful in its perfection. He was just gorgeous. The most gorgeous little baby in the world.
She had just put Xander to bed, sung him a small medley of lullabies and was standing beside the crib watching him when she heard an almost imperceptible sound by the door and glanced up to see Drakon standing silhouetted there. Lucy’s heart leapt with instinctive longing but when he made no move to join her, she crept from the nursery to find him waiting for her in the corridor. After days of absence, his powerful body looked especially muscular and virile, though the expression on his dark face seemed much sterner than usual.
‘How long have you been standing there?’ she whispered.
‘Long enough.’
‘I wasn’t expecting you back until Friday.’
‘I know. I tried to ring a short while ago, but you didn’t pick up.’
‘I was bathing Xander.’
‘So I see.’ He smiled then. ‘Your hair is damp.’
Self-consciously, she patted the dishevelled strands. ‘I’d better go and tidy up. Don’t you want…to say goodnight to Xander?’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t want to risk waking him. I’ll see him in the morning.’ There was a pause. ‘Would you like to go out for dinner tonight, Lucy? Just the two of us. I thought we could try that new Italian restaurant in Knightsbridge.’
‘I’d love to,’ she said, a little breathlessly. ‘I’ll go and get changed.’
‘Why don’t you wear that green dress you had on the other night?’ he suggested carelessly, his words fading away as he walked towards one of the dressing rooms.
Lucy hurried away to get ready, wondering if she was just imagining that Drakon’s mood seemed…different tonight. Had something happened during his business trip to Indonesia? Had he met a woman and realised how constrained his life was by marriage to someone he was only with because it happened to be convenient? Was that why he had asked her to wear her admittedly on trend but least sexy dress, with its high ruffled neck and knee-length skirt?
She was silent in the car on the way to the restaurant but Drakon seemed too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice. And it wasn’t until they were seated at a table at the far end of the discreetly lit eatery in Knightsbridge, with two Bellini cocktails sitting in front of them, that she plucked up courage enough to ask him. Because hadn’t he seemed more distant than usual, ever since that time when she’d surprised him at the airport in the back of the car? Moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue, she stared into the dark gleam of his eyes.
‘Is something wrong, Drakon?’
He paused for long enough to magnify all her unspoken fears. Long enough for her heart to begin pounding painfully hard in her chest. But what he said next made Lucy’s heart pound even louder.
‘I
