Harlequin Presents--July 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Natalie Anderson

  LEO FLOATED, SHOCKED by his uncontrolled thoughts. He was actually jealous of the attention she was giving a book. But he wanted her to look at him instead. He wanted her to talk to him some more. To lead him on another stroll along the beach and point out small insects no one else would even spot. He’d had to take himself for a run to burn some of the insane sexual energy he was struggling to contain.

  He ought to be worrying about work. About the deluge of emails probably overflowing in his inbox. Instead he was focused entirely on Rosanna. Right now, all he wanted to see was that heat in her eyes that he’d seen that night all those weeks ago. But the uncertainty and shyness she’d shown since being here? That had made him think. What she’d told him of her upbringing—she’d spent long tracts of time alone when recovering, she was a dreamer, not a party creature. She’d liked to draw and read books. Now the creeping suspicion built into a whisper of certainty. She wasn’t just shy, she was inexperienced. Not just sexually but with emotional intimacy too. In that last the pair of them were alike.

  She finally turned the page of her book. Now he thought about it, she was making surprisingly slow progress with it given how much time she’d had her nose in it. He cocked his head as another suspicion entered his mind. Was she even reading it?

  ‘What’s it about?’ he called to her from the pool.

  ‘Hmm?’

  ‘The book. What’s it about?’

  ‘Oh...um...’ She flicked to the back.

  ‘No, don’t read me the blurb,’ he teased. ‘You tell me.’

  She sighed. ‘I don’t know. I can’t get into it.’

  Yet she’d been staring at it so studiously for ages. Which meant she couldn’t concentrate on anything either.

  It more than tickled him. It gave him hope.

  * * *

  The way their fingers brushed when he handed her a glass of sparkling water. The way his arm pressed against hers when they were seated together in the small boat when out exploring. The way he focused on the small things she pointed out to him. The way his gaze lingered on her when she walked past him. Every instance was so tiny yet so hot and so intense. And every one felt as though it was leading her to something that was inevitable. The chemistry was drawing her closer and closer to him. She shivered with need for more of his touch. It was as if she’d succumbed to an illness and there was only one cure. The only thing that saved her from total humiliation was that he seemed to feel it too.

  ‘Dance with me,’ he invited after they’d eaten a sumptuous dinner of fresh baked fish and verdant salad.

  She eyed him warily.

  ‘Please,’ he added.

  It was an echo of that first night together. When they’d danced another way entirely.

  ‘I don’t dance.’

  ‘Nor do I,’ he said simply. ‘But I’m tempted to now.’

  A warm spurt of amusement trickled through her. She liked his honesty with her. ‘Are we going to stand on each other’s feet, then?’

  His expression warmed. ‘We have better rhythm with each other than that, as well you know, Ms Gold. I think we can do okay.’

  He picked up the remote for the entertainment unit. A second later music floated through the hidden speakers. He had that unpractised, uneven smile that she found irresistible. He knew the effect he had on her, didn’t he? She studied him, saw the intent in his eyes as he approached her.

  ‘Do you think it’s wise?’ she muttered.

  ‘Are you afraid I might overstep the boundaries?’

  She shook her head. She wasn’t afraid of him but of herself. ‘No. You can tell me over and over that work is wonderful, but it is still work and there must have been times when you’ve wanted to do something else but you haven’t let yourself,’ she said. ‘Which makes you a master of self-control. So I think not overstepping will be very easy for you.’

  Impossibly his gaze intensified. ‘I guess the difference is I don’t want to deny myself the pleasure to be had with you. I don’t want to waste all that effort and energy when it could be used on something so much better.’

  From just his words another blush burned through her. It wasn’t fair. He knew she couldn’t resist his touch. She racked her brains with increasing desperation for some way to put a barrier between them—make him turn away from her.

  ‘You know I kissed your half-brother,’ she muttered huskily.

  ‘My half-brother has kissed most of the women your age in the whole damned country, as far as I can tell,’ he replied lazily.

  He didn’t seem jealous at all. Now she felt miffed because the thought of Leo kissing another woman made her want to stab something.

  ‘Don’t forget to dance, Rosanna,’ he chided softly, that smile audible now.

  She closed her eyes and felt him draw her closer.

  ‘Rumour has it Ash is a renowned lover,’ Leo muttered idly. ‘What did you think?’

  She stilled and glared up at him.

  He stopped moving too. ‘You just said you kissed him.’ His tone was all innocence yet there was sharpness in his eyes. Maybe she’d been wrong about that lack of jealousy?

  ‘That was all,’ she said.

  ‘Oh?’ Leo asked, still with that dispassionate tone, yet the angularity of his features tightened. ‘Why not everything else? I mean, his reputation is—’

  ‘I didn’t want to,’ she mumbled, completely regretting ever mentioning it. The truth was Ash hadn’t wanted to sleep with her either.

  ‘And yet with me,’ Leo said quietly, ‘a complete stranger, you wanted everything.’ He pressed her waist closer against his. ‘You, who—as far as I can tell—hasn’t really dated anyone, let me have you in almost an instant.’

  She suddenly felt his tension—he held his big body in check but he was wired.

  Fraught, she was vulnerable and exposed. ‘That’s not something worth discussing.’

  ‘I think it is. I’d like to know why.’ He gazed into her eyes. ‘Or are you not up to trusting me yet?’

  ‘I do trust you,’ she said. Truthfully she always had.

  ‘Then tell me why you let me touch you that night.’

  The flush of heat over her body was appalling. She didn’t really know why Leo was the only one to press her buttons—only that once he’d pressed them there’d been no off switch. ‘I think I was tired,’ she mumbled.

  ‘Tired?’ He chuckled. ‘No.’

  ‘Leo...’ A wall of heat enveloped her.

  ‘It’s okay.’ He cupped her cheek, feeling for himself the way her skin scalded. ‘At the risk of coming off like a complete jerk, I’m pleased I’m your only lover, Rosanna,’ he said huskily. ‘That I’m the only one to have entered your body. The only one who knows how hot you truly run. How silken and snug your gorgeous body is. The only one who’s heard those little moans you can’t hold back because you’re about to come.’

  She was appalled that he’d guessed her secret and appalled at the heat washing through her now—it was so intense, so sudden, that she was almost about to come again now. His touch tossed her back into the heated swirl of bliss that only he’d summoned within her.

  ‘Stop it,’ she mumbled.

  But she didn’t mean it. She wanted more—she ached for that easy obliteration of every damn thought, care, worry...all burned in the heat of ecstasy that he could give. She could feel the tension within him. The arousal. It mirrored her own. She was so close to kissing him.

  It was overwhelming. And frightening. Because everything was different now. This wasn’t one magic moment, one night that could be kept a secret for always. They had complications to deal with. But she couldn’t back away from him the way she knew she ought to. She couldn’t cope with the intensity of his magnetism. Why was this so immense? Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones making her so sensitive—was that a thing? Or was it a biological urge to cling
to the nearest big, strong male because she was pregnant...a primitive need to seek security? Leo was big and strong and powerful. He was also the most handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on. He was also holding her in a way that made her feel everything.

  ‘I’m right, aren’t I?’ he added almost hoarsely.

  She turned her head slightly. ‘It shouldn’t matter.’

  ‘But it does. To you. To me. What’s going on, Rosanna?’ He shook her gently. ‘You didn’t think that was something I should’ve known?’

  ‘How could I tell you?’ She looked up at him, her heart burning. ‘I didn’t think it would matter. You were very courteous. Very...careful to ensure I was having a good time.’

  His hold on her tightened. ‘I could’ve made it better,’ he growled.

  Rosanna stared. As if that were even possible?

  His dimple suddenly appeared and the indigo in his eyes lit. ‘You don’t think it could’ve been better?’

  She shouldn’t admit anything more. This was so mortifying. Yet it didn’t seem to matter that he knew—and so, yet more of the truth slipped out. ‘It was like a dream to me.’

  One that had devastatingly real consequences. But now he smiled at her. A full, devastating, gorgeous smile that rendered her spellbound. She was utterly entranced and she couldn’t regret that night. Not then, not now, not ever. Not even though they now faced a complicated future because of it. She had to get hold of herself to be able to think. Summoning her last speck of resistance, she pushed him. He immediately stepped back.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he asked as she raced indoors.

  ‘Getting your phone for you,’ she muttered.

  ‘Why?’ He stood in the doorway. ‘I don’t want it.’

  He began to laugh as he watched her furiously stabbing the numbers on the hotel safe.

  ‘Sure you do,’ she argued. ‘You want it. You’ve been missing it. Aching for it. I bet your fingers are itching.’

  ‘My fingers are itching,’ he conceded. ‘But not to touch my phone.’

  ‘Stop it.’ She all but begged him.

  His smile was slow and so infuriating and a glint that reeked of smug satisfaction lit his beautiful eyes. ‘You can’t handle this. You’re looking to take me out,’ he said. ‘I’m winning.’

  He was not winning. She finally got the safe open. Ignoring her own phone, she snatched up his and turned to face him, holding it in front of her like the temptation she knew it was.

  ‘Rosanna.’ His voice was low and gravelly but it wasn’t a warning.

  There was delight in his eyes and it fired a playfulness within her. She would catch him out, wouldn’t she? Distract him with the thing most important to him.

  ‘Don’t you want to come nearer?’ she teased him.

  ‘I think it’s best if I don’t answer that.’

  He remained in the doorway. Didn’t venture so much as a step closer. Which meant she had to move closer to him again.

  She pressed the button to light up the screen and held it up before her like a weapon. ‘Look at all those notifications. All those emails. Missed calls and everything.’

  ‘Rosanna...’ The gleam in his eye turned feral with the promise of retribution.

  A low burn deep in her belly, a strength coiling within her. A hunger. ‘Take it, Leo,’ she tempted him with a soft sultry tone. ‘You know you want to.’

  She stopped walking, holding the phone so he could just reach it—but not the rest of her.

  ‘Oh, I know exactly what I want.’ He grabbed the phone but didn’t so much as glance at the screen before turning to throw it away. It whipped through the air and splashed into the pool behind him.

  ‘What?’ Rosanna shrieked and ran past him to the edge of the water. ‘What did you just do?’

  She stared at the spot where the phone had splashed into the pool and immediately sunk. Then she slowly turned and stared at him.

  ‘You did not do that. You did not just do that.’ She was stunned. That was him, wasn’t it? A man of action. Not passive. She needed to be more like him in that respect and now anticipation scalded her insides. ‘Aren’t you going to go in and get it? It’ll be ruined.’

  He had the widest, wildest smile. And she couldn’t cope—nor could she tear her gaze from him and that ferociously playful expression in his eyes. His phone was at the bottom of the pool and he was...smiling?

  ‘It’s waterproof, right?’ she checked. ‘It’s new and fancy and waterproof.’

  ‘Don’t know. Don’t care.’ He stepped towards her. ‘But what’s very interesting is that you’re so keen for me to be distracted by something other than you.’ He stopped the merest inch away from her and whispered, ‘Can’t you cope with my attention, Rosanna?’

  Her heart pounded as sensual energy scurried around her body. She was so close to surrender and he knew it.

  ‘Don’t be mean,’ she breathed.

  ‘I’m not being mean, I’m being honest. Why don’t you give it a go? You might find it a relief.’

  She gazed, lost in his eyes.

  His attention terrified her. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was afraid of...getting hurt? In this situation, hurt was inevitable. They were tied to each other for the rest of their lives. They were having children together. That didn’t mean they were going to be together. But they’d be connected. Their lives intertwined—through custody arrangement, meeting for handovers, both attending school concerts. It saddened her—which she knew was stupid. Because all of that could be okay. People handled that just fine all the world over. And from far worse situations. At least she actually liked him. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? And from where her fear actually sprang was that she would want more. Always more. And he didn’t want to give it to her. He’d already said, hadn’t he? That once he had enough of something, he didn’t want it any more.

  But at least she’d have had this.

  Finally, she appreciated that this might be her one chance. She was doing herself a disservice by denying herself, wasn’t she?

  ‘Are your fingers itching, sweetheart?’ He laughed softly. ‘Shall I tell you again?’ he tempted softly. ‘How badly mine are? How much I ache to touch you properly again?’

  She closed her eyes as he stepped closer still, that one last pace until he was pressed against her. His arm went around her waist, holding her close. She refused to listen. Refused to feel.

  ‘You have another phone, right?’ she muttered, her eyes still closed, desperately fixating on the phone horror in a final last attempt. ‘A secret one hidden in your bag somewhere. You’ve probably been working while I’ve been asleep.’

  ‘Oh, Rosanna.’ His breath gently stirred the hair at her temple. ‘What a highly active imagination you’ve got. I’m absolutely innocent of all those charges. I have been awake though, with my imagination working overtime.’

  And he’d needed to dip in that cool water in the middle of the night. She’d seen him.

  ‘Are you going to open your eyes and look at me?’ he asked.

  The tiredness that had pervaded her mind and limbs over these last two weeks evaporated. It was as if a mist lifted from her and revealed a deep well of energy that wanted to be burned in one way only. Her weak mind presented her with all kinds of temptations. Suddenly she didn’t know why she’d felt such a strong need to resist him. Was she mad? Why wouldn’t she want to experience this again? It would all be fine. As she opened her eyes he smiled. It wasn’t full of satisfaction. It was full of genuine reassurance.

  ‘You look so serious.’ He touched her cheek again.

  Her lips were horribly dry, her throat tight. ‘That’s usually you.’

  ‘What’s holding you back?’ he asked.

  The last scrap of truth escaped. ‘Because I’m not good at this.’ Being intimate in any way with anyone.

  ‘
You’re good at it with me.’

  Heat flushed through her. It scared her how much he affected her.

  He cupped her face in both his hands. ‘It’s just sex, sweetheart.’

  She badly wanted to believe that but, considering how overwhelming she found him...

  ‘It won’t complicate things any more than they already are,’ he promised. ‘And it might help us both think more clearly.’

  ‘You can’t think clearly either?’ she asked. Because thoughts and doubts and dreams endlessly swirled in total confusion in her mind.

  ‘You’ve been the only thing on my mind for months.’

  His admission melted her. In the end there was only the certainty of feeling and the simplicity of truth. She wanted him. She wanted this.

  ‘Kiss me.’ Her lips were dry, her skin stretched tight, she was sure he ought to be able to hear the hum in her blood.

  ‘Rosanna?’ A broken check for reassurance.

  ‘Please.’

  The second he touched his lips to hers she was incinerated by the intensity of their connection. The determination on his face ought to have terrified her. Instead she felt a welcome relief, a burgeoning satisfaction of her own because she understood he intended to please her entirely.

  He set out to shatter her into total oblivion. She relished being that challenge for him. As he was hers. He advanced on her with nothing but success in his mind. The mantle of respectability was gone, revealing raw lust. The desire to give and take pleasure—the thing one and the same. As inexperienced as she was, she knew there was something about her that pushed his buttons. And as temporary as it might be, there was no denying it now.

  ‘You’re so bloody beautiful.’

  ‘You say that as if it’s a bad thing.’

  ‘You bewitch me. You did that night. A sprite in amongst the greenery. Like a garden nymph, stealing what she wanted.’

  ‘You still think I’m a thief?’

  ‘I know you are.’ He touched her. ‘Dangerous and beautiful and utterly irresistible.’

  ‘I’m not dangerous.’

  ‘Oh, but you are so dangerous to my peace of mind.’ His expression tightened.