Seduced by the Stranger (Billionaires & Babies, #2)

by Alyssa J. Montgomery

  She nodded. ‘I’m sure he or she can sense I’m in the happiest place I’ve been since I emerged from the coma.’

  ‘Good.’

  She pulled a face and shifted away from the spot she’d been enjoying against him. ‘Speaking about the baby, as much as I’d love to lie naked with you, I’m going to need to put on a t-shirt because our little one presses against my bladder in the middle of the night and I get cold when I get out of bed to use the bathroom.’

  ‘Being naked would be great, but I’ll settle for having you all night in my arms.’

  When she’d thrown on a long, faded grey sweatshirt he lay back against the pillows and motioned for her to lie back in his arms.

  There was an amazing sense of peace to have her body entwined with his after their lovemaking. It was as though they were wrapped in an intimate cocoon and she was soothed by the rhythmic beat of his heart from where her cheek was cushioned against his chest.

  The heavy weight of his leg over hers was welcome. It even added to her sense of security.

  ‘About the baby …’ She broke off with another yawn.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘We need to start getting ready for it. I know there’s a lot going on but I’m starting to enjoy the anticipation of it now. Will you come to prenatal classes with me and be at the birth?’

  ‘Definitely. I’ve been trying to pick the right moment to broach the subject with you.’

  She shifted her head to look up at him and was thrilled because he was smiling as though a shot of undiluted happiness had just been injected into his veins.

  ‘Okay, this will test your commitment,’ she teased. ‘Would you like to do some shopping with me for all the baby gear we’re going to need?’

  ‘Huh! Just try to hold me back. We should probably pick a room to decorate as a nursery as well.’

  ‘We’re going to be busy getting the nursery ready.’

  ‘And getting married,’ he reminded her.

  Getting married.

  Jenna frowned. ‘Max …’

  ‘Mm.’

  ‘About the wedding …’

  ‘Don’t you dare think of making me wait another three months. I want us to be husband and wife before our baby’s born—as soon as it can be arranged.’

  ‘I don’t have a problem with marrying you tomorrow if it’s possible, but I’d like a private ceremony.’ Before he could comment, she rushed ahead with her explanation. ‘I don’t care what I would’ve wanted prior to the accident. What I want now is just you and me and the minister or celebrant. I don’t want to be married in front of a whole congregation of people who might’ve been my friends once but who I don’t even recognise. That would make me feel like our wedding was a show, and I don’t want that.’

  ‘We’d need two witnesses.’

  ‘I’m sure you’d like to invite your mum and dad. They can be our witnesses.’

  ‘They’d be delighted.’ He paused before he asked, ‘No friends?’

  ‘How about we celebrate with them at a party a few weeks later? The reason I’d rather keep our wedding private is because at a reception, it’ll be like I’m meeting all the guests for the first time. I don’t want our wedding to be about re-establishing links with the past and feeling bad because I don’t remember who all the people are. I want it to be about us—about our future and creating new memories.’

  He didn’t answer straight away, seeming to consider her point of view. ‘You’re right. This is about us. We can celebrate with everyone else at a later date. All our friends will understand.’

  ‘Mrs Parson’s told me I had a phone call from my friend, Diane, today. I didn’t take it, but I’ve sent her a text explaining that I’m not up to meeting friends yet. I asked her to be patient with me while I try to figure everything out.’

  ‘She’ll appreciate hearing from you.’

  ‘I might even write an email to send out to anyone else who’s making enquiries,’ she said on another yawn.

  ‘We didn’t get around to putting in the application to be married when you agreed to be my wife last time around. It takes twenty-eight days here in the UK. If you’re sure you’re happy to marry me with only my parents as witnesses, I have a suggestion.’

  She laughed. ‘Why am I not surprised?’ It was one of the things that made him so attractive to her—his ability to take command of the situation and make things happen.

  ‘We post the paperwork to Jersey tomorrow, fly out there and spend three days—because we need three days to have the paperwork completed—and marry there on the island.’

  ‘Bliss,’ she agreed. ‘So, I’ll be Mrs Max Bennett in less than a week?’

  ‘Hell, yes.’

  The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was his hands caressing her body in soothing strokes. It was the most natural thing in the world to lie with him. Now she’d acknowledged her love for him and they’d committed to a future together, she smiled at the thought of welcoming their son or daughter into the world in a few months.

  Chapter 15

  Max awakened from the best sleep he’d had in months, to the sensation of strands of Jenna’s hair tickling his chest as she sat astride him and lowered her mouth to tease one of his nipples.

  ‘Mm. What a way to wake up—or am I still dreaming?’

  She placed the tip of her index finger against his lips. ‘Shh. Lie back and enjoy.’

  How could he not?

  Before she could move, he parted his lips and drew her finger into his mouth, nipping at it with his teeth before sucking it in deeper.

  ‘Uh-uh.’ She chastised before clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. ‘That, my darling, is my move.’

  Her hair trailed down over his stomach and …

  Max groaned as she took his morning arousal in one hand, while the fingernails of her other hand played over the rest of his groin. The sensations were exquisite as she played erotically with his erection—gripping him firmly and moving her hand up and down his shaft over and over while those fingernails continued to wreak havoc on his control.

  Then, she grabbed a handful of her silky hair and wrapped it around his length before resuming her stroking again. The added texture made him grasp for the bed linen, his fingers curling around the sheet as he was encapsulated in a sensual haze.

  It was ecstasy when she put her mouth on him. But she didn’t close her lips around him. All she did was breathe out. The warmth of her breath and the heat from her mouth made his toes curl and he thrust his hips up, urging her to take him fully—to close her mouth and suck before she drove him completely mad with desire.

  She knew. The minx knew exactly what effect she was having on him.

  ‘Do it,’ he rasped.

  He felt her smile before she teased some more, barely touching her lips to him then pulling back. If she didn’t—

  ‘Yes.’ He released the word on a hiss of satisfaction and again thrust up as she finally closed around him and encased him fully in the warm, wet interior of her mouth.

  But the torture wasn’t over as she toyed with him like a cat with a mouse. She used her tongue in long, slow glides along his length, strong circular swirls around the base of the head and then in quick, darting flicks over his sensitive tip. The humming moans she made as she enjoyed herself, created vibrations through her lips that almost sent him off.

  Jenna had never been one to fumble. The very first time she’d taken him like this her innate sense of seduction had driven him to the point of insanity.

  This bold confidence was a marked contrast with the shyness she’d displayed their very first time together. When he’d stripped her naked and she’d stood trembling half with excitement and half with uncertainty of what was to come, she’d blurted that she’d never been naked in front of a man before, was still a virgin and hadn’t found anyone she wanted as much as she’d wanted him. He’d been so very humbled by her admission.

  The magic of remembering their first time together, coupled
now with the sorcery of her mouth and hands, had Max hurtling towards the edge of his completion. Moving decisively, and keeping a tight rein on his orgasm, he flipped Jenna over onto her back. His knee nudged her thighs apart.

  A matter of seconds later, after he’d run his finger along her seam and found her wet and ready for him, he plunged into her softness.

  Jenna looked up at him, hazel eyes wild and wanton. Her hands gripped at his backside, digging into his flesh. She urged him to pull out and thrust back into her, setting a pace and intensity he wanted, but wouldn’t have yielded to in the fear it might be too much for her after their lovemaking last night, and in her pregnant state.

  He claimed her mouth with his, his tongue duelling with hers in mimicry of the rhythm of their lower bodies. She was so sweet he could go on kissing her forever.

  Breaking contact with his lips, each of her breaths was ragged. ‘Harder,’ she rasped as she lifted her calves up around his waist and started using her feet as well as her hands to make him thrust more forcefully. ‘Give me all of you.’

  Max got the message. This morning she didn’t want his gentle, reverent lovemaking, she needed the physical release of hot, heavy sex.

  What his woman wanted, his woman got.

  ‘Ahhh,’ she cried out as her inner muscles started squeezing hard and erratically around him, pulling him deeper with incredible strength and milking him until he couldn’t contain himself.

  ‘Jenna!’ Her release triggered his own, making him pump harder and deeper as wave upon wave of rapture shot from his shaft and pulsed through his entire body. His mind flooded with pleasure and the sense that he was exactly where he belonged.

  ‘Oh.’ She panted near his ear as his body covered hers, with only his forearms keeping his weight off her frame.

  Max rained kisses across her forehead, over each eye, and down her cheeks before he kissed her mouth deeply. ‘I adore you, Jenna Sinclair.’

  ‘Mm. The feeling is mutual, Max Bennett.’

  He grinned at her. ‘You have permission to wake me up every morning.’

  Her eyebrows rose and fell as she shot him a look of pure flirtation. ‘I could get used to having my breakfast in bed.’

  Max laughed and rolled off her, onto his side. Lifting the fingers of one hand while the other propped up his head, he let one fingertip trace the beauty of her profile. He loved her cute, pert little nose, the lushness of her mouth and what could only be described at times as her very stubborn chin.

  Flirtatious little dimples appeared in her cheeks. ‘Was I dreaming last night or did you ask me to marry you?’

  ‘Not only did I propose, but you accepted. I’m going to whisk you off to Jersey in the next day or two and marry you three days later. There’s no way I’m going to let you change your mind.’ Which reminded him …

  ‘If I did, you’d have every right to have a doctor pronounce me as certifiable,’ she told him as he got up from the bed and started getting into his boxers and trousers.

  ‘Wait here, Jen.’

  ‘You don’t really have to bring me breakfast in bed, you know,’ she flirted while she propped herself up against the pillows. Then, she added, ‘But a hot chocolate would hit the spot!’

  ‘Give me a few minutes.’ But it didn’t take that long for him to cross the hall into his room and find what he wanted.

  ‘Less than a minute and you’ve returned but forgotten the hot chocolate. Which one of us has a memory problem?’ Her scolding tone was clearly exaggerated and she shuffled across the bed to make room for him as he sat down. ‘Really, Max, at this rate …’ Her eyes widened and she stopped mid-sentence as her gaze fixed on the small box he held out to her.

  ‘I think you might appreciate this more than a hot chocolate.’ He winked at her because she’d told him before her accident that every time he winked, it was as though a thousand butterflies had been released inside her. He hoped it still had the same effect.

  ‘Oh, my goodness. Is this what I think it is?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ he teased. ‘What do you think it is?’

  She bit down on her lip as though she hardly dared hope, then she reached tentatively for the box. Opening the lid, she let out a huge, appreciative gush of breath. ‘Oh. It’s beautiful.’

  ‘And, unless your ring size has changed since your accident, it should fit perfectly.’

  ‘I love you.’ Jenna’s arms were around his neck as she drew his head down. ‘Thank you. It’s perfect.’

  She seemed to have all but forgotten the ring as she kissed him with such ardour that rivers of fiery need began to flow through him. His body craved hers again, but he tempered his need, drawing his head back from hers. ‘Let’s see how it fits.’

  He put down the paperwork he’d also brought in with him, took the case out of her fingers and the ring from the cushion. The large, heart-shaped diamond was surrounded by bead-set diamonds and the yellow-gold band also had inset diamonds. The heart shape was perfect on her hand and a true symbol of his love for her.

  He had another present for her. Should he talk to her about it now?

  ‘This is going to be a fabulous day,’ she declared. ‘Absolutely nothing is going to stress me out or spoil it.’

  Okay. Now wasn’t the time to talk about his other present because it was bound to stress her, albeit temporarily.

  ‘What’s with all the papers?’ she asked.

  ‘These are the forms we need to complete to be married in Jersey.’

  ‘You really are masterful. I’m really happy you’ve already got all this underway.’

  ‘I’ve been waiting most of my life to marry you, Jenna.’

  ‘And I can’t wait to wear the gold wedding band that matches this diamond ring and will proclaim I’m your wife,’ she said with a beaming smile. ‘I’ll have to choose a wedding band for you too. Is there a pre-nuptial agreement as well in all this paperwork?’

  ‘No.’

  Despite his decisive answer, Jenna said, ‘I don’t mind if you want me to sign an agreement.’

  He shook his head. ‘Everything I have is yours. Not only am I one hundred per cent certain neither of us will ever want to separate or divorce, I worked my butt off and amassed my wealth because of you. It was always about you and wanting to provide for you.’

  ‘Everything you tell me blows me away. I think my hot chocolate is going to have to wait a little longer,’ she murmured against his ear.

  ‘It sounds like a good plan to me.’

  Chapter 16

  ‘Max, have you got time to take a walk down to the stream?’ Jenna asked him a couple of hours later as he sat working at his laptop. ‘I’m keen to see if it’s the spot I pictured when I remembered skipping stones.’

  ‘Can you give me ten more minutes?’

  ‘Sure.’ She wandered around the room he’d claimed as his office. Apparently, it was the one Charles and her father had both used. It was largely uncluttered—one book shelf spanned an entire wall, another whole wall was lined with filing cabinets, and there were a few comfortable chairs set around a coffee table in front of the huge desk.

  A telescope was strategically positioned behind the desk to afford the viewer an unhindered view of most parts of the estate and the countryside beyond. It, and the heavy looking antique globe in the other corner behind the desk, stamped the room as very masculine.

  Jenna had yet to visit her office. At the moment she’d feel like a fraud to set foot back inside when she didn’t feel capable of resuming any specific role in the operations of the estate. Maybe she’d tackle that visit tomorrow.

  Max flicked through some papers then looked back at the screen.

  Her eyes focused on his hands. Her inner muscles tightened when she thought about how much pleasure those hands had wrought on her body last night and this morning. Remembering the intensity of their shared ecstasy made her aware of the deep, aching void inside her. God, but she wanted him there to ease the tormenting need and bring her sweet relief ag
ain.

  Making love to Max had been like being in the grip of a powerful tornado. She’d been rendered helpless, her senses tossed about as he expertly rediscovered and exploited every single erogenous zone she possessed. He’d made her reel until she’d been mindless with incoherent need. Now, the memories of his hands running over her body, cupping her breasts, and smoothing over her thighs made her shift restlessly on her feet.

  It was hard to believe it’d only been a couple of hours since they’d left her bed.

  ‘The rest can wait.’ He closed the laptop, stood and moved so he could put his hands on the spots that had once been her waistline. ‘You had a good swim?’

  ‘Yes.’ Stop thinking about making love with Max. ‘It was strange knowing there was a bodyguard standing over me as I did laps.’ She shrugged. ‘She seems nice enough.’ The woman who’d been assigned as her personal bodyguard looked super fit, super alert and more than capable of protecting Jenna if the need arose.

  ‘You’ll get used to having Charlotte shadow you. Since the attack on you, Nick and Luca talked me into having a bodyguard too. When I’m moving about in public, Jonas is my constant companion.’

  ‘I’ve never noticed.’

  ‘We haven’t been anywhere together in public, except the day I marched into the church and for our picnic. He’s very discreet, but never too far away.’

  Jenna felt her eyes widen. ‘Oh! I’ve just placed her. Charlotte was at the picnic ground with us. Was the guy she was with Jonas?’

  Max nodded. ‘I told you, I’ve had you protected. Now, as much as I’d like to stand here talking and stealing a kiss or two, we should get going. They’ve forecast showers for this afternoon.’

  ‘But what if the kisses aren’t stolen? What if I give them to you?’

  ‘Behave.’ His hand connected playfully with her backside. ‘I really do want to take you around the park.’

  Sadly, he was right. It was more important than ever to her now to regain her memory and give the police the information they needed.

  ‘Did you manage to contact your parents and ask them to come to Jersey with us for the wedding?’ she asked as they made their way through the house.