‘You what? Say that again? I think... I think I must have missed something...’
‘I’ve been an idiot.’ Theo looked at her steadily. ‘And I don’t know how long I would have carried on being an idiot. I just know that the past ten days have been hell and, when you told me that you wanted me out of your life just now, my world felt like it was collapsing. Becky...’ He searched to find the words for a role he had never played before. ‘I realise you don’t consider me the ideal catch...’
‘Stop.’ Her head was buzzing from hearing stuff she’d never in a million years thought she’d ever hear. She was on cloud nine and now the distance between them seemed too great when all she wanted was to be able to reach out and touch him. She saw the shadow of defeat cross his face and her heart constricted.
‘I did think that you weren’t the sort of guy for me. I’d always made assumptions about the sort of guy who would be for me and you didn’t fit the bill. There was so much about you that I’d never come across in my life before.’ She smiled, eyes distant as she recalled those first impressions when he’d appeared on her doorstep in all his drop-dead, show-stopping glory. ‘But you were irresistible,’ she confessed. ‘And it wasn’t just about the way you looked, although it was easier for me to tell myself that. Everything about you was irresistible. I was hooked before I even went to bed with you, and then you disappeared without a backward glance.’
‘Not so,’ Theo murmured. ‘If only you knew.’ He patted his lap and she obediently and happily went to sit there. She sighed with pleasure because this was where she belonged. Close to him. If this turned out to be a dream, she was hoping not to wake any time soon.
‘When you got in touch, I was so excited, then I realised that you’d only got in touch because you wanted something from me. That I was the only woman who could deliver that something, because I was plain and average and the sort of girl boys don’t mind taking home to their mothers.’
‘You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever known,’ he assured her with a seriousness that made her smile again. ‘The bonus is that you’re also the type of woman I was proud to introduce to my mother.’
‘I put down that “no sex” clause,’ Beckie said thoughtfully, ‘but I was still excited to be seeing you again. Through it all, even when I was so angry—because some of the things you said, like me having to buy a whole new wardrobe to be a convincing girlfriend, were really offensive—I was still excited. It was like I could suddenly only come alive in your company.’ She sighed. ‘Which brings us right back to where we started. With the cottage and your reasons for showing up.’
‘I think there’s something my mother wants a lot more than a cottage.’ He dropped a kiss on the side of her mouth and then, as she curved into him, looping her arms around his neck, the kiss deepened and deepened until he was in danger of forgetting what he wanted to say. Eventually he drew back and looked at her. ‘She wants a daughter-in-law and I’ve realised that there’s nothing more I want, my darling, than a wife. So...will you marry me?’
‘You called me your darling...’
‘And will you let me call you my wife?’
‘My darling husband-to-be... Yes, I will.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from A DI SIONE FOR THE GREEK’S PLEASURE by Kate Hewitt.
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A DI SIONE FOR THE GREEK’S PLEASURE
by Kate Hewitt
“Talia…” Angelos’s voice broke on her name, and then, before she could even process what was happening, he pulled her towards him, his hands hard on her shoulders as his mouth crashed down on hers and plundered its soft depths.
It had been ten years since she’d been kissed, and then only a schoolboy’s brush. She’d never been kissed like this, never felt every sense blaze to life, every nerve ending tingle with awareness, nearly painful in its intensity, as Angelos’s mouth moved on hers and he pulled her tightly to him.
His hard contours collided against her softness, each point of contact creating an unbearably exquisite ache of longing as she tangled her hands in his hair and fit her mouth against his.
She was a clumsy, inexpert kisser, not sure what to do with her lips or tongue, only knowing that she wanted more of this. Of him.
She felt his hand slide down to cup her breast, his palm hot and hard through the thin material of her dress, and a gasp of surprise and delight escaped her.
That small sound of pleasure was enough to jolt Angelos out of his passion-fogged daze, for he dropped his hand and in one awful, abrupt movement tore his mouth from hers and stepped back.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice coming out in a ragged gasp.
“No…” Talia pressed one shaky hand to her buzzing lips as she tried to blink the world back into focus. “Don’t be sorry,” she whispered. “It was wonderful.”
“I shouldn’t have—”
“Why not?” she challenged. She felt frantic with the desperate need to feel and taste him again, and more importantly, not to have him withdraw from her, not just physically, but emotionally. Angelos didn’t answer and she forced herself to ask the question again. “Why not, Angelos?”
“Because you are my employee, and I was taking advantage of you,” he gritted out. “It was not appropriate…”
“I don’t care about appropriate,” she cried. She knew she sounded desperate and even pathetic but she didn’t care. She wanted him. She needed him. “I care about you,” she confessed, her voice dropping to a choked whisper, and surprise and something worse flashed across Angelos’s face. He shook his head, the movement almost violent and terribly final.
“No, Talia,” he told her flatly. “You don’t.”
Copyright © 2016 by Kate Hewitt
ISBN-13: 9780373134847
Snowbound with His Innocent Temptation
Copyright © 2016 by Cathy Williams
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Snowbound With His Innocent Temptation Page 17