by Maggie Cox
For a long moment she was struck by how sheer outrageous fortune had manoeuvred her into the same amazing sphere as this man.How could a relationship between two people from such diametrically opposite circumstances possibly work? she thought soberingly. It was about time she woke up out of the dream she’d been in and started to get real.
‘Don’t I get a welcome-home kiss?’ Dominic goaded softly, his honeyed voice commanding her attention.
Her stomach churning with nerves, knowing she would have to talk to him about this forthcoming arrangement of theirs again, Sophie stood on tiptoe and planted a deliberately informal kiss on his cheek. A mere peck.
Straight away, Dominic scowled. ‘If that kiss was any true indication of how much you’ve missed me, then I am sorry indeed.’
‘You look tired,’ Sophie replied, latching on to the first excuse she could think of to explain her behaviour.
‘But not so tired that I do not have the strength to show my woman that I have been thinking of her while I have been away…hmm?’
His lips descended on hers before Sophie could turn her head away. They were hungry and warm and sent fire rippling through her veins like the after-effects of cognac. Because she simply couldn’t help it, she opened her mouth and drank the taste of him in, her heart pounding so hard inside her chest that she needed to hold onto Dominic until the dizziness that had overtaken her passed.
When he lifted his head to look down at her, he stroked her chin with the pad of his thumb and smiled. ‘Perhaps youdid miss me a little…huh?’
‘How—how did your work go?’ Standing back from him a little, Sophie smoothed her slightly trembling hand down her coat.
‘Very satisfactory, since you ask. But I don’t want to discuss work with you now, Sophie. All I want to do is go home, have a drink with you and go to bed. You will stay tonight, yes?’
He made it sound like such an easy and simple decision, and yet for Sophie it was as though she had to negotiate a path littered with landmines. The more she allowed herself to be intimate with Dominic, the harder it was going to be to walk away. Whether that would be six months down the road, at the end of their trial arrangement, or whether it would be tonight if Sophie confessed to him her doubts about their relationship—it made no difference. She’d missed him like crazy the whole time he’d been away, but maybe that was all the more reason for her to maintain a little sensible breathing distance between them? At least until she was certain she was doing the right thing.
‘I’m sure you’d much rather just rest. It would probably be best if I just went home. I could come back tomorrow and see you, if you like?’
The distance she seemed to be trying to enforce between them both alarmed and infuriated Dominic. Had she been talking to someone about him while he was away? A friend, perhaps, who’d advised Sophie that moving in with him was a bad idea? If that was the case, then the sooner she moved in the better! Sophie would come to learn that people often had very preconceived ideas about wealthy and powerful men like him, and even friends would not necessarily always have her best interests at heart. Dominic wouldn’t be surprised if some element of jealousy or envy had come into play during any ‘friendly advice’ she’d been given.
‘Nonsense! I have waited all week to see you again, and now you tell me you want to go home tonight and will come back tomorrow? I won’t hear of it. Of course you will stay with me tonight!’
His authoritarian stand immediately engendered resentment in Sophie. As much as she truly desired to be with him, she wouldn’t beordered to spend the night with him—as though she were some sort of powerless serf to his arrogant Lord of the Manor!
‘Dominic…It might be second nature to you just to demand whatever you want and get it, and you might speak to other women that way, but in my book you ask first. This is the twenty-first century, remember? I come and I go at my own free will. I’m not your chattel!’
He sighed heavily and dragged his fingers impatiently through his hair, as though he found her indignation completely tedious.
‘I cannot believe we are having an argument in the first few minutes of seeing each other! All right. I will concede that perhaps I should have asked you if you would like to spend the night. Well, I am asking you now, Sophie. Will you?’
All of a sudden Dominic was too weary to disguise the naked longing in his eyes. His guard down, all pretence fled in the wake of that powerful need. And on the receiving end of that revealing and earth-shattering look, Sophie sensed all her resistance rapidly melt away, like flotsam and jetsam carried off by the tide.
‘If you’re sure you’re not too tired?’
‘I am not an invalid, Sophie. I have only flown home from a business trip.’ His gaze signalling his amusement at the very notion of being tired, Dominic took the liberty of tucking one of Sophie’s tantalising curls gently behind her ear. ‘I am quite happy to demonstrate my vigour to you as soon as we get home.’
Unable to do anything very much except blush scarlet, Sophie allowed him to take her hand and lead her out into the busy concourse that was Heathrow airport.
His bedroom was vast and stylish, the centrepiece a magnificently sumptuous draped four-poster bed. Sophie immediately felt lost inside such an imposing room, confronted as she was by the colossal differences in her own circumstances and Dominic’s and wondering how not to feel intimidated.
But she soon had another challenge to contend with, when Dominic pulled off his tie, fixed her with a devastatingly possessive and sexy grin and then walked towards her with an altogether inflammatory glance that told her it wasn’t their differences he was interested in right now. It was the one thing that theydefinitely had in common: their mutualdesire .
‘What are you doing?’ she asked nervously, as Dominic’s hands settled on her waist and with a forthright little pull brought her right up against his chest.
‘What do you think I’m doing?’ he asked, his hands caressing her back, then sliding down past the waistband of her jeans into her panties. ‘I’m getting to know you all over again, Sophie Dalton.’
Even his voice, honey-rich and sensual, had the power to make Sophie lose all sense of reason. There was already such a primitive ache pulsating inside her that her very bones were restless with it. She forgot all about his status and wealth, and the fact that he lived in a house fit for royalty. When Sophie’s guileless blue eyes met the glinting emerald of his, all they saw reflected back at her was a man—a veryhuman and warm man who needed her touch just as much as she coveted his.
Raising her hand, she traced the outline of his near-perfect lips with her finger. A muscle throbbed in his cheek and he captured her hand, turned the palm towards him and kissed it. Just as Sophie went weak at his touch his mouth took ruthless possession of her lips and made her mindless with longing. Dominic Van Straten wasn’t just a powerful and successful businessman. He was a man who knew how to kiss with the most devastating results. All his passion, all hishunger for intimacy and warmth, was contained in that all-consuming contact, and Sophie sensed a need in him that she hadn’t been acquainted with before. Anemotional need.
So he wasn’t a remote ‘island’ after all? She seemed to have made the totally surprising discovery that his need to be loved was just as prevalent as any other human being’s…just as prevalent asher own . Sophie kissed him back, barely conscious of the fact that they were moving in unison towards the bed, eagerly tearing at each other’s clothes as though they couldn’t wait for skin-to-skin contact.
In the lamplight Dominic’s body exuded muscular strength in abundance, and he appeared like some mythical warrior of old—all golden hair and smooth, rippling biceps. He lay down and urged Sophie to straddle him. Persuasion was hardly necessary, because the primal need in her was swelling like a tide, and she couldn’t wait so much as one minute more before joining her body with Dominic’s. His length filled her with one smooth upward thrust and made her cry out with the pleasure of it.
Then suddenly he st
illed, his hands resting on her thighs, as realisation stole into his hot gaze. ‘Sophie, we need to use some protection. We can’t take the risk of you falling pregnant.’
Even articulating the words, Dominic experienced the strongest and most surprising desire to make a baby with this woman. The awareness all but rocked his world off its axis. But even as he allowed himself the fantasy Sophie was smiling down at him with her enchantingly shaped lips, her fingers sliding up his biceps and stroking them.
‘You don’t have to worry. I’m on the Pill. I take it for…because I have painful periods.’
Even though they were actually in the throes of making love, Sophie’s cheeks heated with embarrassment at having to explain such an intimate reason for being on the Pill to Dominic. But this man was making her push at every emotional boundary she’d ever erected for herself, and she wasn’t going to let embarrassment steal away the joy of being with him like this.
Hardly knowing whether to feel reassured or disappointed at the news, Dominic soon forgot his fantasy about making babies as Sophie slowly but very effectively rocked her slender hips against his, causing waves of volcanic pleasure to erupt inside him as his thrusts became deeper and more demanding. His hands covering her breasts, he stroked and played with the nipples that had hardened into dusky pink pebbles, enjoying her pleasure as much as his own. She started to exhale in breathy little gasps, calling out his name as he rocked into her with one more relentless thrust, and they both came apart in each other’s arms. Sophie fell against him with her lips pressed into his chest, savouring every erotic musky scent that their entwined bodies exuded.
‘Now,that is more like the homecoming I had in mind.’ Chuckling softly, Dominic tangled his fingers into the short, silky strands of her hair, then slid both hands down the side of her face and lifted her head to make her look at him.
‘We are not so different, you and I,’ he told her, as he examined her flushed, aroused features. ‘We are both passionate and fiery. A good combination, don’t you think?’
‘And you like passionate women? I mean, I’m sure you’ve known quite a few in your time, Dominic?’ Feeling undeniably jealous at the thought, Sophie did not smile.
‘A few…but never anyone like you, Sophie.’
‘I’ve only had one proper boyfriend before you. Can you guess?’
‘If you are asking me do I think your lack of experience shows, then, no. You are quite the femme fatale. Your sexy little body is enough to drive a sane man out of his wits with desire. Does that reassure you?’
Women would always look at Dominic and desire him. Sophie knew that. Whether she could handle it or not was another thing entirely. Until Stuart had betrayed her Sophie had never experienced the kind of jealousy that cut through a person’s soul like a knife. For a while she’d despised the girl Stuart had spent the night with. But after a while she’d forced herself to let the hurt diminish and get on with her life. Nevertheless, she didn’t particularly want to experience such pain again, if she could help it.If she allowed herself to fall for Dominic unreservedly wasn’t that the kind of pain she was signing up for? Only probably ten times worse… A man as dynamic and charismatic as he was would always have many admirers. Sophie didn’t doubt that a lot of them would be women.
‘I wasn’t fishing for compliments..really.’
She moved to lie by his side, staring up at the peach silk canopy that draped the sumptuous bed, feeling curiously vulnerable and afraid.
‘I think the sooner we are together the better,’ Dominic announced. He was a man of the world, but he did not particularly want to hear about Sophie’s ex-boyfriend or wonder if she had been as easily aroused by him as she was with Dominic. ‘You might like to spend some time thinking about where you would like me to take you for our first trip away,’ he said, his fingers trailing gently down her cheek. ‘I want us to go soon, so that we can spend a little time getting to know each other.’
Talking about trips away made Sophie’s thoughts naturally gravitate to Diana. Her friend would be back at work for Dominic on Monday. Would she be surprised and pleased for her? Or would she be shocked that Sophie had taken such a U-turn and was contemplating a live-in relationship with Dominic when she’d so vehemently declared herself to be a man-free zone?
‘Sophie?’ Dominic coaxed softly, his glance concerned as she continued to stare up at the canopy without speaking.
‘Soon, you say? Well, I just hope I can get time off school. If it coincides with the Easter break, then it will be fine. Otherwise, I might not be able to go.’
Unable to conceive that the school she worked for might make it difficult for Sophie to have time off, Dominic couldn’t help but feel frustrated. If he had his way then Sophie would be handing in her notice, not pleading for permission to go on holiday!
‘That is ridiculous!’ He voiced his vexation out loud.
‘No, Dominic,’ Turning her head to study him, Sophie felt her heart leap helplessly at the sight of his fiercely handsome face. ‘That’s life. Even supply teachers are thin on the ground these days. And if I’m honest, I don’t particularly want another teacher standing in for me while I’m away, anyway. The little ones get very attached to their teacher, and it takes them quite a while to adjust to someone new. I wouldn’t want them to be upset in my absence.’
‘Do you never take time off?’ Dominic demanded, scowling.
‘Of course! I get the school holidays off, like everyone else. But other than that I try and avoid it if I can. Like I said, the children—’
‘Have you always been so stubbornly dedicated?’
Even as he posed the question Dominic knew he could hardly fault Sophie for a quality he meticulously adhered to himself, but part of him couldn’t help feeling ridiculously jealous that she would put her class of five-year-olds before him.
‘I’ve always wanted to teach. It was my dream career even as a little girl. Why wouldn’t I be dedicated?’
‘Did you never think that one day you might want a family of your own?’
Startled by the question, Sophie stared. ‘I’m not saying that it’s never crossed my mind, but there’s still so much I want to do before—before that happens.’
Now it was his turn to glance up at the ceiling. Putting his arm behind his head, he sighed. ‘I too have thought about having a family of my own one day. My work has really been my life, you know? But of course one must think of the future.’
Uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going, because it was clear to Sophie that when Dominic spoke of his desire for a family of his own he didn’t mean with her, she bit back her hurt and forced a smile.
‘Right now I would rather focus on the present…wouldn’t you?’
‘You echo my thoughts precisely. Clever girl!’
Before Sophie realised his intention he had moved, positioning himself above her, his strong thighs imprisoning her hips, and gazing down at her with a sexy little gleam in his eye that sent wild tingles of excitement racing up and down her body.
‘Dominic…what are you doing?’
‘I’m demonstrating my vigour, darling Sophie. Just like I promised you I would.’
Covering her surprised gasp with his mouth, coaxing her lips into a long, leisurely, extremely sexy kiss that felt like a dream she never wanted to wake up from, he commanded her full and devoted attention with exhilarating ease.
‘I need to sit down.’
Finding one of Sophie’s padded but threadbare armchairs close by, Diana sank down into it, her shocked face turning pale beneath her newly acquired Mediterranean tan.
‘Let me get this straight. You’re telling me that while I was away Dominic and you got it together and now he’s asked you to move in with him? What the hell happened to make all this come about? The last impression I got from you before I left was that you couldn’tstand him!’
Leaving the two steaming mugs of coffee she had made for them on the table, Sophie fingered a softly curling tendril at her ea
r and attempted a smile. ‘I can hardly explain it myself, Diana, if you want to know the truth. It was just one of those crazy things that happen sometimes…Although I never thought it would happen to me.’
‘He must be up to something.’
Her long scarlet nails curling into the faded material on the chair-arm, Diana appeared flustered and distracted. Sophie’s heart thumped at her words, all her instincts immediately on alert.
‘What do you mean, he must be up to something?’
‘Be realistic, Soph! Here you are, an underpaid, overworked, passably attractive primary school teacher, and there’s Dominic—a mega-rich, mega-successful, drop-dead gorgeous hunk who reads the financial pages for relaxation and lives in just one of the most prestigious addresses in London! I mean, wake up and smell the coffee, Sophie! Yes, you’re pretty, and I love you to bits, but you’re no Catherine Zeta-Jones, darling!’