Her hair trailed tantalisingly across his chest as she laved the other nipple with the hardened tip of her tongue, Hawk’s breathing harsh above her as those kisses moved down his flat stomach, hovering at his full arousal, feeling his tension mounting, finally moving to encase his warm velvet, cupping him beneath that shaft as she heard him cry out his agony of desire.
He lay rigidly beneath her, fighting for control, moist against her lips as that control threatened to break.
His hand was rough in her hair as he dragged her head up and away from him, rising above her to become the aggressor, pinning her arms above her head as he captured first one breast between his lips and then the other in fevered torment, inciting a frenzy of desire that quickly had her writhing beneath him.
‘I want you inside me,’ she choked.
‘Not yet.’ His gaze was heated as it swept over her body. ‘Oh God, not yet!’
His lips were hot against her, his tongue flicking and laving until an aching spasm of completion arched her hips high off the bed.
And still he held her beneath him, the ache becoming an agony that quickly rose up again, sobbing as the fiery completion claimed her once again, but knowing that Hawk still wasn’t satisfied, bringing her to that point again and again until he pushed her legs wide apart and thrust into her with one smoothly fluid motion, her softness claiming all of him as he slowly sank that throbbing shaft full-length within her.
Some of the tortured desire left his eyes as he stared down at her heaving breasts, a fine sheen of perspiration dampening his body. ‘Am I hurting you?’ he groaned.
Leonie lifted her hips high off the bed, her softness moving against the long length of him before gently pulling away, repeating the action, moving up and down as he held himself above her, all the time her gaze holding his.
He gave a choked groan as his mouth swooped down to claim hers, his movements matching hers now as he thrust heatedly within her, arching to kiss her breasts as she groaned her release once more, seconds later pumping his seed hot and fierce within her,
Leonie cradled his head against her breasts as he breathed raggedly, feeling his tears hot against her.
And then she began to talk. ‘Sixteen years ago we lived in a small community on the outskirts of London.’ She felt him stiffen in surprise, slowly raising his head to look at her, satisfied with what he saw as he once again rested against her. ‘My mother liked to get out of London every chance she could—she loved to go down to the coast. At first it was okay, but by the time Laura and I got to ten we considered ourselves a bit old to go on to a beach and play with our buckets and spades.’ She gave a sad smile at the memory of how grown-up she and Laura had considered themselves to be.
‘It was a Sunday,’ she continued flatly. ‘My parents wanted to go for a drive, which we knew would end up at the coast somewhere, but Laura had arranged to go skating with one of our cousins. I wasn’t all that keen on skating,’ she grimaced, ‘so I said I would go with my parents. Mummy thought Laura should come with us, but Laura said she didn’t want to, that she wanted to be with her friends.’
‘She argued?’ Hawk prompted softly.
Leonie gave a ragged sigh. ‘Yes.’
He nodded. ‘What happened?’
‘My aunt said Laura could stay with them for the day, and so reluctantly my parents agreed. It began to rain almost as soon as we set out,’ she frowned at the memory. ‘Rusty was with us, and—’
‘Your dog?’ Hawk guessed correctly again.
‘Yes,’ she confirmed shakily.
‘Leonie, you don’t have to tell me this.’ His hands cradled either side of her face as he gazed down at her intently.
She nodded. ‘If we’re to help Laura, I do.’
‘And what about you?’ he groaned. ‘Is this going to help you?’
She met his gaze unflinchingly. ‘I want to share all that I am with you, Hawk,’ she said huskily. ‘And to do that I have to share the past too.’
He rested his forehead briefly against hers, kissing her lightly before gently resting against her breasts once more.
‘Rusty loved to go to the coast with us,’ she began again. ‘But he hated the rain, and he whined almost continually as it continued to pound on the car.’ She swallowed hard. ‘I don’t know if that distracted Daddy or not, but suddenly the car gave a sharp lurch and we—we’d left the road. The car went over and over, finally—finally coming to a halt on its roof.’
Hawk’s only reaction was the tightening of his arms about her.
Leonie drew in a harsh breath. ‘I’d been screaming and screaming as it happened, and then suddenly there was silence, complete and utter silence, not even Rusty was barking any more,’ she remembered clearly. ‘And then I knew why.’ Her voice broke emotionally. ‘He lay lifeless on the crushed roof of the car, either his neck or his back broken, I’m not sure.’ She shuddered at the memory, her nails digging into Hawk’s back, although he gave no sign of complaint.
‘And then—’ She moistened her stiffly dry lips.
‘And then the silence came to an end,’ she choked. ‘My parents were still alive, trapped by the crushed front of the car. My mother regained consciousness first, screaming in agony—’
‘Don’t go on,’ Hawk groaned, his arms painful about her.
‘I have to, Hawk,’ she choked. ‘I have to tell you all of it so that you understand.’
‘All right,’ he moaned, her pain his pain.
‘Mummy’s legs were trapped in the crushed and ragged metal, I could see she was bleeding, but the way the car was lying and the way the roof had been forced down almost to the level of the seats made it impossible for me to go to her. And then Daddy regained consciousness too. He must have been in just as much pain as Mummy, but he tried not to show it—he spoke soothingly to my mother until her screams faded to a painful rasp, comforting me in the only way he was able, by telling me over and over again how much he and Mummy loved both Laura and me.’
‘Were you hurt?’ Hawk grated.
‘No more than a few scratches,’ Leonie revealed heavily. ‘You’ll never know how much I wished Rusty’s fate had been my own as the hours dragged on and on with my parents dying before my eyes!’ Her eyes were fever-bright with the memory.
Hawk sat up to look at her sharply. ‘No one rescued you?’
She swallowed hard. ‘We always went by a country route, Mu—Mummy always enjoyed the country. It was a wet Sunday morning, a time when most people were still tucked up in bed. No one saw the car leave the road because there was no one else but us on the road!’
‘Oh, dear God!’ Hawk’s pain increased.
Leonie nodded abruptly. ‘My father talked to my mother and me for what seemed like hours—I learnt later it was probably three or four. He talked about everything he could think of to try and keep us calm, he was so wonderfully brave, until—until he realised Mummy was no longer listening,’ she revealed in a choked voice. ‘I don’t know how long she’d been dead, maybe only minutes, but it could have been hours.’ She began to shake, tears falling unchecked down her cheeks. ‘She was only thirty-two, so—so beautiful and kind. And she was dead!’ Leonie began to sob at the vividness of her memories.
‘I don’t want you to go on,’ Hawk told her emotionally.
As she looked at him she knew all the tortures of hell were in her eyes. ‘I have to, Hawk,’ she groaned. ‘Can’t you see that?’
‘Yes.’ His expression was fierce. ‘Yes, damn it, I can!’ He closed his eyes as he crushed her to him with steely arms.
Leonie clung to him. ‘Once Daddy realised—realised Mummy was dead he seemed to lose what little strength he had. He’d lost so much blood, and we’d been trapped down there for so long, I think he just lost hope. I tried to talk to him, to make him see that he had to live for Laura and me, but—They said later that they didn’t know how he managed to survive as long as he had with the way his legs were—were injured.’
‘How long were you alone in the
car with them?’ Hawk prompted softly.
‘About another three hours, I think.’ Leonie moved restlessly at the memory. ‘The windows were completely crushed down, the doors wouldn’t open, and by the time my aunt had raised the alarm because we hadn’t called them as we’d promised to do it had been over eight hours since the accident happened. I was in deep shock—’
‘I’m surprised you survived at all!’ said Hawk with feeling.
She nodded. ‘You can imagine what it all did to Laura, why she—’
‘I understand completely about Laura,’ he assured her. ‘And we’ll explain to Hal so that he understands too. But it’s you who concerns me.’
‘I was all right, in time,’ Leonie dismissed abruptly.
‘How could you be after all that you suffered?’ Hawk said scathingly.
She shrugged. ‘They sent me to an excellent psychiatrist—’
‘Who did?’ he demanded.
‘My aunt and uncle.’
He frowned. ‘The ones you and Laura went to live with?’
She swallowed hard, moistening her lips. ‘Actually—there were two aunts and two uncles.’
Hawk’s frown deepened. ‘You mean you were moved about between your relatives?’
‘No.’ She avoided his probing gaze. ‘Laura went to live with one uncle and aunt and I—went to live with another,’ she revealed in a rush.
‘They split you up?’ he thundered.
‘Try to understand, Hawk—’
‘But I don’t,’ he exclaimed furiously. ‘You and Laura had just gone through the worst trauma of your lives, you had actually lived through that trauma for eight hours, and Laura had been left with such a guilt complex that she’s never got over it—and they separated the two of you!’
Leonie sighed. ‘They didn’t have any choice unless they actually put us into care. And none of them wanted to do that. Hawk, both aunts had children of their own, they couldn’t cope with two emotionally disturbed ten-year-olds!’ she reasoned sharply.
‘So they coped with one each!’ he said disgustedly. ‘And what did that do to you and Laura? Hell, don’t answer that,’ he dismissed harshly. ‘I’ve seen what it did to you! How long did that go on?’
She shrugged. ‘Until we were old enough to move out and get a place of our own together.’
‘Too damned long,’ he rasped. ‘And this was why you wanted to fall in love with Spencer!’
Leonie gave him a puzzled frown, remembering her conversation with Laura before her sister’s wedding. ‘You heard that?’
He nodded abruptly. ‘Not intentionally,’ he defended. ‘And I certainly didn’t want to give you the opportunity to tell Laura how you felt about me!’
She gave a gentle smile. ‘If you had you would have heard me tell her I love you very much. I think I always have. I was certainly filled with an uncharacteristic lust that first night we met!’
His eyes flickered with uncertainty. ‘But you said—’
‘I know what I said,’ she acknowledged softly. ‘But I’d been hurt so many times in the past that I was afraid to trust what I did feel. Especially when a certain man woke me the next morning hurling all sorts of insulting accusations at me,’ she recalled heavily.
* * *
God, he had, hadn’t he, had destroyed the gentle bud of their love before it had even had a chance to bloom.
He recognised that it had been difficult for Leonie to care for anyone again after what she had gone through, first with her parents, the separation from her twin, then her marriage to Spencer and the loss of her son. He felt emotionally moved that he should be the man lucky enough to receive the precious gift of her love. He was also sure that she had never entrusted anyone with the tragedy of her past before.
He wanted to make sure she never knew another moment’s pain, wished he could make that possible for her. They had to get Holly back before they could even think about being completely happy.
It was achieving that that still worried him. He ached at the thought of Leonie being the one to confront Spencer, more concerned than ever now that he knew of all the pain Leonie had suffered in the past, pain that could have totally destroyed a less strong woman.
He had no idea what would happen to that strength if they didn’t get Holly back!
He didn’t even want to think about that, daren’t think about it. And he knew, as he began to make love to Leonie through a night-time of love, that he daren’t give her the time to think about it either.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
LEONIE FELT so conspicuous standing on the busy platform. Not that there was anything about her appearance to draw attention to her; there were plenty of other women getting on and off the underground trains wearing similar outfits to her grey business suit, also plenty of other women carrying briefcases.
But none of them had a million pounds inside their briefcase!
And none of them had been standing on the same platform for almost an hour waiting to hand that money over for the return of their baby.
Five o’clock had been the time for the meeting, and she had arrived here shortly before that time. And she had waited and waited and waited… If Michael was here she certainly hadn’t seen him.
Neither had she seen the police who were keeping a watchful eye on the exchange, but if she couldn’t recognise them she also hoped Michael couldn’t either. He wasn’t likely to show himself if he thought he was about to be arrested.
She hadn’t wanted the police here at all, especially as they doubted, because of the location, that they would be able to work to full efficiency. But Hawk had insisted; he had wanted her to have some protection. Waiting impotently in the background for the outcome of the meeting was almost killing him, she knew. He was a man who always liked to take charge. She didn’t doubt that Michael had known exactly how Hawk would feel about that when he made the condition that she had to be the one who brought him the money.
Another train came into the station, and Leonie anxiously searched the faces of the people getting off and the ones milling about to get on. None of them was Michael.
She glanced up towards the clock; five fifty-seven. An hour late. What had happened? Had something gone wrong, or had Michael just wanted to make her suffer a little longer? She knew that anyone capable of creeping stealthily into her home to take Holly as they had had to be capable of anything.
She had been told that she mustn’t hand the money over until Michael had either given her Holly or told her where she was; she hoped it was the former. Although she couldn’t see Michael carrying a baby about with him.
Her palm felt damp where she clutched tightly to the handle of Hawk’s briefcase, her heart sinking as she realised Michael might not turn up at all.
He had to turn up. None of them could go through this a second time!
But he was an hour late. Where could he be? Why didn’t he just take the money and go away!
She turned sharply as someone knocked her from behind, smiling wanly at the woman with the pink spiky hair and black garish make-up as the woman apologised. For a moment she had thought Michael—God, she was so tense she felt as if she was about to snap in two!
There was another train due in a few minutes, and the people who worked in the heart of England’s capital were hurrying down the stairs to escape the rush and bustle there at the end of the day.
Leonie once again searched the sea of new faces, starting to tremble badly as once again she recognised none of them. Where was Michael?
No doubt this all appealed to his warped sense of humour as he envisaged her rising panic!
How much longer was she supposed to wait? She would wait all night if she had to, but would it do any good? Could it be that Michael had never had any intention of picking up the money at all, that he was just showing Hawk that the threat he had made to bring charges of blackmail against him if he dared to ask Leonie for money again or so much as hinted at any scandal attached to Holly’s birth meant less than nothing to him? Hawk had
told her of his warnings to Michael, with his lawyer as a witness; Michael had made a serious mistake not heeding that warning!
The next train came into the station, but as fast as the platform emptied it filled up again with people waiting for the next train. Wherever the policemen were it had to be virtually impossible for them to even be able to keep sight of her, let alone be able to pick out Michael! He had chosen his spot well.
To ease her tension Leonie thought of her dark-eyed sister as she had looked before she left home. Laura would be all right in time, she was sure of it. Hawk had told Hal the full story of the past, and Leonie didn’t doubt that with her husband’s help Laura would eventually allow her love to flow again.
Once they had Holly safely back home.
Leonie closed her eyes as she envisaged a life without her daughter. She had promised Hawk they would go on together if that should happen, but she didn’t know how either of them would do it!
Hawk had to be going through a worse kind of hell than her right now; at least she had searching for Michael to keep her from going insane.
She felt tears prick the back of her eyes at how futile that now seemed to be. She had arrived full of hope and anticipation; an hour of watching trains come and then go again had shattered almost all that hope.
She could hear another train coming, people were moving forward to take their places ready for boarding. Lights blazed as the train came towards the end of the tunnel, and Leonie once again turned her attention back to the people waiting on the platform, still more coming quickly down the stairs. For a moment she caught sight of a windswept fair head that could have been Michael’s, and then it was lost to her view as the crowd surged forward, vying for a place close enough to get on the train, knowing not all of them would get on, since the train was already crowded from previous stations.
Leonie craned her neck trying to see that blond head once more, but her lack of height and the number of people made it impossible for her to see more than those immediately around her. Maybe she would get a better look once the crowd had thinned out a little.
Just One Night (Presents Plus) Page 23