His soft laugh was full of scorn. ‘The police aren’t too fond of street kids, Eleanore. They sometimes hit the hardest of all.’
God, her childhood had been a fairy tale compared to his, Eleanore thought. Yes, she’d felt ignored at times and often not as good as her sisters, but she’d always known she was loved. Deep down. And yes, things had changed after her mother had died; her father had become remote and married another woman but he hadn’t deserted her. He hadn’t packed her off on a train to fend for herself.
‘That’s why you’re building a school,’ she murmured half to herself, remembering a conversation she’d had with Petra earlier in the week.
She’d come across a brochure for the St Petersburg Street Kids Foundation with a lot of photos of Lukas posing with a bunch of kids. At the time she’d thought it was promotional jargon playing to his vanity. A sort of look at me—aren’t I a great guy? type thing.
Petra, of course, had waxed lyrical about how Lukas volunteered one morning a week when he was in St Petersburg and how he was currently trying to find a location to start a school that the kids could freely come and go from without recrimination. Somewhere they would feel safe, she had said.
Naturally she had assumed that Petra had exaggerated to make Lukas sound like a prince. Now she wondered if in fact he wasn’t one.
‘What do you know about it?’ he asked gruffly.
‘Only what Petra mentioned.’
‘That woman has been with me for far too long.’
‘So it’s true?’
‘Kids are usually on the streets because they have nowhere to go. Or at least nowhere safe.’ He shrugged. ‘I have the means and the resources to help and the inside knowledge on how they think. It was a logical decision.’
Logical my foot, she thought. He cared. He really cared.
She gazed across the table at him. She felt terrible that she had pushed him to tell her about his childhood, pushed him to dredge up those dark times, and she just wanted to go to him and wrap her arms around him and tell him that if she’d known him back then she would have found a way to take care of him. A way to keep him safe.
As if reading her mind he scraped back his chair and stood up. Eleanore gazed up at him, very afraid that the evening was over.
‘Enough with the morbid details of my life.’ Lukas saw the pity in Eleanore’s eyes and didn’t like it. It was way past time he stopped talking about things he’d all but forgotten about. He reached out his hand for her. ‘I want a tour of the Krystal Palace.’
‘Now?’
‘Why not?’
‘Well, it’s empty, for one.’
Lukas smiled. ‘Hopefully the last time it will be with any luck, and the perfect time to go through it. Wouldn’t you say?’
Eleanore didn’t know what to say. She only knew that she didn’t want the night to end just yet.
CHAPTER TEN
THE HOTEL LOOKED majestic as they approached. The large construction fence had been removed and the ice building glowed with a mystical energy set off by well-placed blue, pink and golden lights that phased in one after the other.
When they pulled up in Lukas’s black Ferrari two warmly dressed security guards greeted them but other than that the hotel was silent in the freezing night air as they went through the double glass doors and into the empty foyer.
Eleanore snuggled deeper into her overcoat and pulled her ushanka down over her ears. Lukas smiled and placed his hand in the small of her back.
Everything was softly lit and the ice sculptures of unicorns and snow wolves and nymphs that Eleanore had commissioned stared down at them as they passed.
‘So maybe not quite alone,’ she murmured.
Lukas chuckled and glanced at the domed roof. ‘There’s your glass-topped ceiling.’
‘Yes. And that wasn’t easy. It’s held up by reinforced steel inserts at the top. I’d like to take all the credit for its construction but really it was your engineer who worked out how to keep it safely in place.’
Lukas gave her a look. ‘I think you’re too modest, Miss Harrington.’
Eleanore shrugged. ‘Anything like this is a team effort.’
He didn’t say any more but followed her through the maze of corridors that led to the various rooms.
Still having the master keycard Eleanore was able to access all of the guest suites.
Lukas made all the right noises when he spotted the tropical fish tank over the top of the ice futon and Eleanore could tell that he particularly liked the Bedouin tent set in a desert oasis with a heated outdoor spa that was completely private. He was equally impressed with the fifteenth-century Louis XV boudoir and the Australian bush shack but his eyes took on a particular light when they reached the captain’s cabin of an old pirate ship.
Stepping back, Eleanore let him go in ahead of her.
This was still her favourite room with its large porthole-shaped windows, antique desk carved from ice with a treasure map etched into the top, the admiral’s chair covered with lamb’s wool and the large ice globe of the world that could be spun. The pièce de résistance though was the elaborately carved four-poster ice bed with real red velvet drapes that dominated the room. Lukas walked over to it. ‘Sturdy.’
Eleanore held her breath. There was no missing the expression on his face and it took her breath away.
‘Do you imagine being tied to it?’ he asked her softly.
‘No!’ Yes. Maybe... Her heartbeat picked up and heat raced through her blood instead of oxygen. She didn’t think she was a prude but tied up? She hadn’t even had sex yet!
Her pulse beat fast beneath her skin. They were all alone in the hotel. Just the two of them, and a deep sense of inevitability swept over her. She wanted this man. She had wanted him even before she had met him and it seemed that he wanted her too.
‘You don’t sound convinced,’ he said softly.
Eleanore stared at him. Would it be so bad to give in to the desire coursing through her? Her career was on track—she hoped—and it wasn’t as if one night with a man was going to derail her long-range plans. And anyway, who made the rule that she couldn’t temporarily deviate from her goals now and then? Just because she hadn’t before didn’t mean it would be catastrophic, did it?
‘I’ve told security I’ll be staying here tonight.’ His deep voice brought her back to herself. Back to him.
‘You did?’
He came toward her. ‘I believe an hotelier should always try out his hotel to make sure it’s up to standard.’
Eleanore couldn’t take her eyes from his. ‘That’s very forward thinking of you.’
‘I’m a very forward-thinking kind of guy.’ He stopped directly in front of her and Eleanore could feel the heat coming off him. Absently she wondered how the ice sculptures around them were still standing.
‘For instance.’ He took hold of her gloved hands and pulled her slowly closer. ‘I’ve already imagined you without the overcoat and that soft-as-butter sweater beneath. Without those figure-hugging jeans.’
Eleanore stared up at him. He was seducing her. And, oh, she wanted him to...she wanted... ‘Lukas...’
‘I missed you.’
She’d missed him too, but she was scared. He made her feel so much. Too much, maybe. She’d tried to forget about him these past two weeks. When that hadn’t worked she’d tried to hate him. But she didn’t hate him. She didn’t know what she felt but she knew she might never have another chance to be with a man who fired her blood the way he did and if she didn’t seize this moment she might be left wondering what she had missed. And wasn’t that a tragic thought?
She shivered.
‘Are you cold?’
She shook her head. She wasn’t cold. She was hot. Burning hot.
Seizing the momen
t Eleanore reached up and wound her arms around his neck, fitting her body to his. Lukas groaned and tore his thick gloves off with his teeth. They fell unseen to the floor, along with her ushanka, and then his warm fingers were in her hair and his mouth was on hers and, oh, it felt so right.
Eleanore kneaded the strong muscles in his neck and pulled him in close. The kiss went on and on before he wrenched his mouth from hers.
‘Tell me you want me,’ he said, his hands unbuttoning her overcoat before running over her torso and back, moulding her closer.
‘Is this some ego thing?’ she asked, her hands slipping beneath his puffer jacket to stroke his lean waist. She moaned as his mouth skimmed down the side of her neck and bit down gently on her flesh.
‘Da. Most definitely.’
‘I want you,’ she said as he pushed her coat to the floor and followed it with her jumper. She shivered, both at the cold air on her skin and the heated gaze from Lukas’s blue eyes. He lifted his hands and traced along the edge of her simple bra before palming her breasts in his big hands and strumming over her nipples with his thumbs. ‘Oh, I want you.’
And she did. Desperately, all thoughts of pulling back from the fire she was afraid might consume her driven out by searing lust and overriding passion.
Desperately she clutched at his shoulders and would have fallen if he hadn’t pushed his thigh higher between her legs and cupped her bottom to hold her against him. She whimpered this time and forked her fingers through his thick hair. ‘I really want you.’
His chuckle was husky and sexy and before she knew it he had scooped her up and carried her to the big bed. ‘We’re going to have to do this under covers or you’re going to catch a chill.’
He whisked back the luxurious crimson fleece blankets and laid her on the soft fleecy layers below that were designed to be sealed together like a cocoon. Right now though she didn’t want a blanket on top of her, she wanted Lukas, and she reached up and pulled him down to her.
‘Soft,’ he murmured as he captured her lips again.
‘All the beds are designed for comfort,’ she said.
‘Not the bed.’ He leaned up on one hand and tugged her bra cups downward before reaching around to release the catch to get rid of it altogether. His lips lowered and he blew a warm breath over her chilled flesh. ‘You.’
He drew one of her tight nipples into his warm mouth and Eleanore arched up off the bed. Thinking became almost impossible but she knew she wanted to see him this time.
Her hands went under his sweater and met firm, hard skin and he went still as she explored the thick layer of muscle that covered his back. Then she brought them forward to his wide chest and his big body shuddered above her.
Eleanore felt a wicked thrill that she could affect him so much and trailed her fingers along the downy hair that bisected his abs.
Lukas swore and reefed his sweater off over his head. Eleanore gazed up at him avidly. If possible he was even more beautiful with the mat of dark blond hair covering his lean muscles.
‘Lukas...’ She didn’t know what she would have said but he distracted her when he flicked open the buttons on her trousers and yanked them down her legs.
He took a second to admire her silky underwear and then they were gone as well.
Eleanore didn’t have any time to feel embarrassed because he came over her again and brought his mouth first to hers and then to her breasts and then lower.
She couldn’t do anything else but grip his shoulders as he nuzzled and kissed his way around her belly button. Every one of her senses was attuned to where he was going and then finally she felt his light kisses on the outside of her thighs before he moved inwards.
Stunned by the petite beauty of her body Lukas moved his hand between her thighs. ‘Open your legs for me, Eleanore. I want to see you.’
An almost shy expression crossed her face and he had a moment of remembering how he had watched her sleep that first night and thought her so innocent. Like now as she gazed up at him in wonder as if no man had ever touched her like this before. And deep inside it disturbed him to realise that he wanted that to be the case.
‘Lukas...’
Realising he had become caught up on thoughts he’d never had before, he placed his hand on the flat of her belly and moved it lower. ‘Is this what you want, moya Eleanore? Do you want me to touch you here?’
He curved his hand over the neat centre of her femininity and just revelled in the shape and feel of her.
‘Yes, oh, yes. I want...I want...’
Lukas didn’t wait for her to finish telling him what she wanted because he wanted it too and he lowered his head and teased her with the tip of his tongue.
She gripped his hair and Lukas succumbed to the taste and feel of her. Never before had he nearly come from going down on a woman but he was about to now and he lathed her with his tongue one last time before climbing back up her body.
She was whimpering and going crazy beneath him and Lukas quickly lost his trousers and donned a condom with shaky hands. Then he resettled himself in the cradle of her thighs and nudged at the entrance of her body. This...this was heaven and nirvana and paradise and everything a man could ever ask for in life.
‘Eleanore...’ He didn’t know what he’d been about to say but as her silky wetness covered him and prepared him for her body he gave into the force of a need he’d never felt before and drove smoothly into her warm centre.
She stiffened instantly and so did he when he realised that her body was fighting the invasion of his rather than welcoming it. ‘Eleanore.’
‘I...’ Clearly stunned she stared up at him with unfocused eyes.
‘Eleanore, please tell me you’ve done this before,’ he begged hoarsely, knowing that she hadn’t.
‘I... Oh, Lukas.’ She wrapped her arms around his back and groaned softly as she tried to pull him in tighter.
‘Don’t move, moya lyubov’.’ He cupped his hands either side of her face and eased his bulk off her just a fraction. ‘Let your body adjust.’
‘It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt now.’
Now!
In a state of amazement that Eleanore had never taken a lover before Lukas didn’t know whether to continue or to pull out. He knew what he wanted to do but this wasn’t just about him. To say that he was shocked was an understatement. ‘Do you want me to stop?’
She shook her head and he reached down and released her ponytail. She shook her hair out and her lower body gripped him hard.
Lukas bit back a groan and nearly spilled himself inside her there and then.
‘Pull your legs up around my waist,’ he instructed roughly.
She did, her eyes watching him as he started to move in and out of her body with long smooth strokes. ‘Tell me if I hurt you,’ he said, gritting his teeth.
She sighed his name and he felt her tight sheath relax enough to take him all the way into her body. Slick with perspiration and unable to control himself any longer Lukas gave into the animal inside of him and moved more powerfully inside her, watching her face the whole time for any sign that she wanted him to stop.
Fortunately that didn’t happen and when her orgasm gripped hold of her Lukas did something he’d never done with any other woman as his body joined hers in an exquisite release that went beyond the realm of normal: he looked into her eyes and kissed her.
* * *
The first time Lukas woke it was to find Eleanore snuggled into his side, her head on his shoulder and one leg draped over his, both of them buried beneath thick fleecy blankets that kept out the icy coldness of the room.
There was just enough early-morning light being filtered in through the ice bricks that Lukas could make out her sweet profile and see the warm puffs of her breaths as they met cooler air.
Lukas lay on his back and sta
red at the red velvet drapes cocooning them in a secret world. He gently pulled the fleecy blankets more firmly over Eleanore’s shoulder and tried to figure out how he felt.
His head seemed to be full of emotions he wasn’t used to feeling and he couldn’t decide if he should get up and leave or hold her tighter.
He pressed his nose to her hair and inhaled apples. A smile formed on his lips. He’d never eat an apple again without thinking of her. His hands drifted to her hair and he gently twirled a strand around his finger. He didn’t want to wake her. She looked so peaceful. So beautiful. So innocent.
Or not so innocent any more.
He frowned. She’d been a virgin. The realisation still shocked him. He never would have expected it and yet he should have because the sense of pureness about her was one of the first things he’d noticed. He released a shaky breath. Had he hurt her? He manoeuvred his stiff shoulder out from under her head just a little so he could look down at her.
She sighed and shifted closer, curling her hand into the hair on his chest.
Giving in to an urge he couldn’t quite understand he bent forward and kissed her. Softly. Not enough to disturb her but...she lifted her chin when he drew back as if even in her sleep she couldn’t help seeking him out. He smiled again.
‘Lukas...’ Her voice was a sleepy whisper of silk in the quiet room.
‘I’m here.’ His was more like a rumble. He cleared it. Pressed his lips to her again in a feather-light kiss.
‘Mmm, that was nice.’
She still hadn’t opened her eyes and Lukas bent to her again and kissed her sweetly. He didn’t need to have sex with her. He was content just to touch her but then she arched into him like a cat and before he knew it he had rolled her onto her back and was poised over the top of her.
‘Are you sore, moya krasavitsa?’
‘No.’
* * *
The second time he woke it was panic stations.
‘Oh, Lukas, Lucky!’
Dressed in her jeans and sweater she hopped around on one foot as she pulled her boot on. Lukas’s gut tightened with a sense of urgency to right whatever was wrong. He frowned. ‘What’s lucky?’
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