by Неизвестный
behavior fell short of what was expected of a newly married man. And especially one who had wed for
the sole purpose of making his partner pregnant. But the truth of the matter was, he hadn’t expected the
intensity of his reaction to Haley when he’d watched her walk down the aisle toward him or the
emotions that he’d experienced during the ceremony. Wearing a simple, sleeveless white dress and with
her hair in that curly style he’d liked the day he stopped by her apartment, she had been absolutely
stunning. And he still had a hard time believing that in the five years she’d worked for him, he hadn’t
once taken notice of how beautiful she was.
But it was when she’d looked up at him with those trusting turquoise eyes, that a need to protect and
take care of her threatened to overwhelm him.
And if that wasn’t enough to throw him for a loop, the kiss they’d shared at the end of the brief
ceremony was. When he’d kissed her the night before, it had been quite promising and more than a little
pleasant. But it couldn’t compare to the kiss they’d shared to seal their vows. The feel of her soft, sweet
lips beneath his and the need to possess her had been staggering. He’d never in his entire thirty-six years
experienced anything even close to that with any other woman.
That was what sent him rushing off to meet the Laurel people. He’d needed the distance to regain his
perspective on the matter.
Unfortunately, the meeting ran a lot longer than he anticipated, then he’d learned of a labor dispute that
threatened to shut down work on several job sites. By the time he’d straightened out the problem so that
the jobs could resume the next week, it was well after midnight. And if missing the wedding dinner he’d
arranged for them and not being there to make love to Haley on their wedding night didn’t lock up the
prize jerk award for him, he didn’t know what would.
He sighed heavily as he started up the steps to the front door of the lodge. As he keyed in the security
code and opened the door, he wondered if she would honor their agreement of having his child. But as
he walked through the great room on his way to the master suite, he shook his head. There was no doubt
in his mind that Haley would hold up her end of the arrangement. If there was one thing he knew about
his executive assistant, it was that her word was as good as any signed contract. And he’d known from
the minute she’d outlined her conditions that if he accepted her criteria, she’d go through with it.
Still, that didn’t change the fact that she probably expected a lot more from him on their wedding day.
Luke narrowed his eyes at the sight of his big empty bed. The comforter was still in place, indicating no
one had been in it. He looked around the room and noted that her overnight case was nowhere in sight.
Where the hell was she?
His strides purposeful, he crossed the great room and taking the stairs two at a time, went in search of
his wayward assistant. There were seven other bedrooms in the place and Haley had damned well better
be in one of them.
By the time he got to the door at the end of the hall, Luke was already planning to call the housekeeper
and put the woman through the third degree about when Haley had left and if she’d indicated where she
was going. But when he glanced in the last bedroom, his irritation instantly disappeared at the sight
before him.
The moonlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows bathed the room in an ethereal light.
Haley looked like a golden-haired angel curled up in the middle of the king-size bed. Walking over to
wake her and ask her why the hell she wasn’t in his bed in the master suite, Luke stopped short at the
iridescent trace of tears on her flawless cheeks.
She’d been crying?
Without warning the protectiveness he’d experienced at the wedding chapel began to spread throughout
his chest and he didn’t think twice as he quietly shrugged out of his suit coat and began to loosen his tie
and unbutton his shirt. Tossing them on the chair across the room, he removed his shoes and socks, then
unzipped his trousers and added them to the growing pile of clothes. Careful not to wake her, Luke
pulled back the covers and stretching out on the bed beside her, reached out to take Haley into his arms.
As he pulled her against him, he thought he heard her murmur his name in her sleep, but he didn’t have
time to dwell on what that might mean when she moved to snuggle against him and placed a delicate
hand on his bare chest. The feel of her slender body aligned with his and her soft palm against his hairroughened
flesh sent heat streaking at the speed of light down the length of him and he concentrated on
drawing in his next breath.
Suddenly, and completely without warning, the memory of their wedding kiss came rushing back and
his body hardened so fast it left him feeling light-headed. The memory of the feel of her perfect lips
against his had him wondering what the hell he’d been thinking. Why had he put work ahead of what he
knew for certain would have been one of the most exciting nights of his life?
Luke glanced down at Haley’s head cradled on his shoulder. He’d like nothing more than to wake her
and make love until they both collapsed from exhaustion. But all things considered, he doubted she’d be
overly receptive to the idea of sharing her body with the man who had abandoned her in favor of work.
Tightening his arms around her, he forced himself to relax and concentrate on getting some much
needed sleep. The first thing in the morning, he’d let her know he regretted the way things had gone the
evening before. And once she was in a more congenial mood, they could spend the rest of their stay in
the mountains on the pleasurable task of making her pregnant.
Trying her best to prolong her tantalizing dream, Haley moved closer to the warm, hard masculine body
lying next to her. But one by one, as her senses woke up, she became aware of several things at once.
The feel of crisp hair beneath her palm, the light woodsy scent of a man’s cologne and the sound of soft
snores chased away the last traces of sleep and opening her eyes, she found herself face-to-face with
Luke.
Her sharp intake of breath must have wakened him because the corners of his mouth slowly curved up in
a sleepy smile a moment before he opened his eyes. “Good morning, sweetheart.”
“What are you doing here, Luke?”
His low chuckle caused a wonderful fluttering sensation deep in the pit of her stomach and made every
one of her feminine instincts come to full alert.
“If you’ll remember, we got married yesterday. This is where I’m supposed to be.”
“Oh, I remember.” She shook her head and started moving away from him. She wasn’t letting him off
the hook that easily. “But I was under the impression that you had forgotten all about that.”
The smile on his handsome face faded and before she knew what was happening, he reached out and
pulled her back to him. “I really regret that I missed having dinner with you last night.” He used his
index finger to brush a strand of hair from her cheek. “But during my meeting with the Laurel office
staff, I learned about a labor dispute with the work crews which had to be resolved immediately or there
would have been a walkout on Monday.”
Her skin tingled everywhere he touched her, but Haley tried her bes
t not to notice. As far as she was
concerned, no matter what the reason for their marriage, there was no excuse for a man to completely
ignore a woman on what was supposed to be one of the most important days of her life.
“There’s always going to be something that needs your attention.” She tried to wiggle out of his grasp,
but his arms were like two steel bands holding her firmly against him.
“That’s true,” he said, confirming her suspicion that she would always come in a distant second to
Garnier Construction. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Would you like to know what’s going to claim
my attention today and tomorrow?”
“Not particularly.” She wasn’t interested in hearing about labor problems or another meeting with office
managers. All she wanted to do was take a shower, get dressed and pack for their return trip.
“That’s too bad because I’m going to tell you anyway,” he continued as he ran his hand down the
outside of her thigh, then back up, bringing the tail of her nightgown to her waist. “Today and tomorrow,
you will have my complete and undivided attention.”
Haley wasn’t sure if her heart skittered to a stop because of what he’d said or from the feel of his hand
slipping beneath her gown to caress her lower back. “B-but I thought…I mean, you said we would be
going back to Nashville early this morning.”
“I’ve decided that we need time to rectify the situation you brought to my attention the other day at the
office. We need to get to know each other on a more…personal level,” he said, giving her a smile that
warmed her all over and left no doubt about what he had in mind. “We’ll head back home in a couple of
days.”
“Home? Meaning your mansion?”
He nodded as his finger traced the lace edge of her panties. “Didn’t you inform the complex that you
would be moving? Surely you didn’t think you’d be returning to your apartment, did you?”
She shook her head. “I…still have to…move my clothes.” How was she supposed to think with his
fingers dipping beneath the scalloped trim?
“Don’t worry. I had some of my staff move your personal effects after we left yesterday,” he stated, his
voice low and intimate.
Haley froze. “You did what?”
He kissed her shoulder. “Everything will already be unpacked and put away by the time we get back on
Tuesday.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Your arrogance has no bounds, does it?”
“What do you mean?” He had the audacity to look truly puzzled.
“Did it ever occur to you that I might not like someone else handling my underwear?”
He smiled as he continued to touch her and every stroke of his warm palm on her suddenly sensitive skin
increased the heat building deep inside of her. “I don’t…know what surprises me more…your arrogance
or…you taking a day off from work,” she explained, struggling to catch her next breath and trying
desperately to remember she was irritated with him.
“Why would my taking time off surprise you?” he asked, his warm breath close to her ear.
“The only time I’ve ever known you to take a day off from the office was when your sister graduated
from college,” she retorted, trying to concentrate on something besides his hands moving steadily over
her body. She was definitely losing the battle.
“I’m not all work,” he insisted, slowly easing her to her back. When he leaned over her, his smile and
the gleam in his vivid blue eyes told her in no uncertain terms exactly what he meant when he added,
“Believe me, I do know how to play, sweetheart.”
“I’m, uh, sure you do,” she hedged, staring up at him. “But I don’t think—”
“That’s all right. I’ll do the thinking for both of us,” he interrupted as he brought his mouth down to
cover hers.
His lips teased and caressed, making Haley forget anything she’d been about to say. Wrapping her arms
around his broad shoulders, she gave up trying to think and lost herself to his tender exploration.
How could she even begin to form a rational thought when she was lying in bed with a half-naked man?
The very man she’d fantasized about for over five years? The man who was kissing her like she was the
most desirable woman he’d ever known?
When he used the tip of his tongue to trace the edge of her mouth, she couldn’t deny him entry. She
wanted to once again experience his taste and the feeling that Luke was claiming her for his own.
Her pulse sped up and she wasn’t entirely certain it would ever return to normal when he slowly slid his
hand from her back to her abdomen, then up to the underside of her breast. Never in her wildest
imaginings could anything have felt more sensual as when he cupped the soft mound and began to
relentlessly tease the puckered bud with the pad of his thumb.
“You’re so sweet,” he said, breaking the kiss to nibble his way down her throat to the top of her
nightgown. When he raised his head, he gave her a smile that heated her all the way to her soul at the
same time he used his finger to trace the delicate lace edging at the neckline. “Let’s get you out of this.”
Before she could respond, he tossed the comforter back and propping himself up on one elbow, used
both hands to rip the thin cotton garment from the top all the way to the hem.
Gasping, she reached for the sheet. “Good heavens, Luke, you didn’t even give me the chance to take it
off.”
He was not the least bit apologetic when he shoved the sheet farther from her grasp. “I didn’t want to
waste the time.”
“That was the only gown I brought with me…I didn’t expect to be staying more than one night,” she
explained, covering her breasts with her palms.
Taking her hands in his, he moved them to her sides. “Don’t try to hide from me, Haley. We’re married.
There’s no reason for you to be embarrassed or shy with me.”
“But couldn’t we learn about each other on a more personal level with our clothes on first?” she asked as
a fiery flush heated her cheeks.
She knew he thought she’d lost her mind, but that couldn’t be helped. To have their relationship go from
strictly business with no contact outside of the office one day, to being married and naked in bed
together the next was more than a little intimidating. And even though she’d dreamed that one day he’d
notice her as a woman instead of just his competent assistant, in her fantasies, things between them had
never progressed this far this fast.
“I told you before that there’s no better way for a man and woman to get acquainted than making love,”
he reminded, lowering his head to kiss the tip of her breast. “Besides, the sole reason for our getting
married was for me to make you pregnant.” Laughing, he traced the valley between her breasts all the
way down to her navel. “And that would be hard to do with clothes on, sweetheart.”
When he lowered his mouth to her overly sensitive nipple, a swirl of heat gathered in the very core of
her and Haley forgot about everything but the way Luke was making her feel. Shamelessly threading her
fingers through his thick black hair to hold him to her, it took a moment for her to realize he’d slipped
his hand below the band of her silk panties.
Inch by slow inch, he caressed his way to her most secret parts, and she thought she’d melt from the
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br /> delicious heat threading though her veins. The intense longing he created was like nothing she had ever
known and she didn’t even try to stop her moan from escaping.
“Look at me, Haley,” he said, raising his head from her breast. When she did, his smile sent another
wave of tingling sensations straight through her. “In the past few minutes, I’ve already learned several
things about you that I wasn’t aware of before.”
“R-really?”
Smiling, he nodded. “You like the way I make you feel when I touch you here.” When he moved his
fingers to dip inside and stroke her intimately, every fiber of her being hummed with pleasure.
“I…oh…y-yes.”
“And you really like for me to do this,” he added, nipping at the tip of her breast with his firm lips.
When he took the bud into his mouth to draw on it deeply, exquisite feelings flowed to every nerve in
her body and her will to resist became nonexistent.
Unable to make a sound, she nodded as Luke continued his gentle assault on her senses. Completely lost
to the feelings he was creating within her, she didn’t have the slightest clue when he’d removed her
panties and his boxers. But the feel of his bare body against hers and the solid strength of his arousal as
he pressed himself to her thigh, brought back some of her sanity and she shivered from nervous
anticipation.
“I’ve gotten to know you quite well already, sweetheart,” Luke informed, kissing her. “But now it’s time
you learned something about me.”
“W-what…would that…be?” she asked, finding oxygen in extremely short supply.
“I want you,” he said, nudging her legs apart with his knee. “I want to be deep inside of you. Right now.”
As he moved to cover her, she closed her eyes and lay back against the pillows. The electrifying
excitement he’d built inside her was undeniable, but so was a fair amount of nervous apprehension.
He’d said that making love was a good way to get to know each other on a more personal level. And
there was something very important that he was about to find out about her. Something that she was
fairly certain he would have never guessed.