He grinned at her unconcernedly as he wrapped his arms about her and gathered her to him. ‘Delightful. Fun. Loyal. Patient. En-chantingly lovely. Sexy,’ he added huskily.
‘Griff—’
‘Do you think we could move off this step away from prying eyes?’ he murmured against her throat as he nibbled his way down its creamy length.
The only spectator that Sarah could see was a rather bored-looking black and white cat, which she knew belonged to one of her neighbours, sitting at the bottom of the steps.
‘OK, so I just want the chance to get you alone.’ Griff grinned down at her. ‘I admit it.’
Considering that they had actually been living alone together at the villa in France, Sarah knew he was only teasing her. But going up to the privacy of her flat might not be a bad idea; it seemed they still had a lot to discuss.
She could see that Griff liked her décor, the scatter rugs on the floor, huge brightly coloured cushions too, more rugs of different colours and shapes adorning the walls instead of pictures, the only piece of furniture in the room a huge old-fashioned sofa that had seen better days but which Sarah had seen in a junk shop and re-covered, and revarnished the Victorian-style woodwork on the legs and arms.
It was to this that Griff went, pushing the cushions up and down, as if testing their comfort. He grinned as he saw her watching him curiously. ‘It will do.’ He nodded. ‘For me to sleep on,’ he added as she still looked puzzled. ‘Until after we’re married.’ He dropped down on to the plump cushions. ‘I hope you don’t think it’s too old-fashioned of me, but I would rather wait until our wedding-night before we make love.’
‘Griff—’
‘Come on,’ he jumped lightly to his feet, ‘dump your things in your bedroom and let’s get going.’
He was going too fast for her, much too fast!
‘Where?’ She frowned dazedly.
‘Unfinished business to clear up,’ he reminded.
She sighed. ‘You don’t need me for that.’
‘Of course I do,’ he said teasingly. ‘It’s no good going to see him on my own, is it?’
Sarah put up a weary hand over her eyes. ‘Griff, it’s been a long day, and I’m tired, and—’
‘Once this particular piece of business has been dealt with we can relax. I promise.’ He held up his hands defensively. ‘Then I can just spend my time seducing you into loving me.’
She didn’t need seducing for that! Didn’t he know, hadn’t he realised yet, that she already loved him?
‘Griff, I really would rather stay here while you go off and see this business colleague on your own,’ she sighed, suddenly feeling very tired indeed.
He sobered, moving to lightly touch her shoulders. ‘I’m not going to see a business colleague—’
She shook her head. ‘Whoever—?’
‘Simon, I think you once told me his name is.’ He frowned.
‘Simon?’ She stiffened defensively. ‘Why on earth should I want to go and see Simon? Why should you?’
‘So that you can see once and for all that you don’t love him, that you never did,’ Griff told her gently. ‘You couldn’t respond to me the way you do, the person I know you are couldn’t,’ he insisted, ‘if you were in love with another man.’
Sarah shook her head exasperatedly. ‘Of course I don’t love him!’ she agreed. ‘And no, I don’t think I ever did.’ Because loving Griff had made anything she had ever felt for any other man pale into insignificance. ‘I don’t need to see him again to know that,’ she said with certainty.
‘But—’
‘Griff, I love you,’ she cut in impatiently; there—she had said it!
He stared at her for several seconds, searching into the very depth of her. ‘I thought you did,’ he finally murmured. ‘I just didn’t think you had realised it yet.’
‘Well, I have,’ she bit out, so tense now that she felt as if she might break in half.
‘You know I was talking to Paul and Jim this morning?’ Griff seemed hesitant.
She frowned. ‘Of course I do.’
‘Well, I told them I was going to marry you too,’ he revealed with a rueful grimace.
‘Griff!’ She groaned her dismay, easily able to envisage the newspaper headlines in the morning; no wonder the two men had gone away happy. And she had completely misunderstood, obviously, the parts of that conversation she had overheard…
He looked at her with teasing affection. ‘Love me?’
‘Very much.’ She began to smile ruefully.
He held out his arms to her. ‘Then what are we going to do about it?’
She gave a choked laugh as she moved un-hesitantly into his welcoming arms.
Griff loved her…
* * *
‘I have a confession to make,’ he told her a long time later, the two of them entwined on the sofa, Sarah’s cheeks flushed from the intensity of their kisses.
She no longer doubted that he loved her!
‘Another one?’ She looked up at him, not in the least alarmed this time, knowing she trusted this man implicitly.
He grimaced, lightly kissing her on the lips before continuing. ‘You know I’ve told you that things aren’t always what they seem?’
‘Repeatedly,’ she derided affectionately, reaching up to wipe off some of her lip-gloss from his cheek.
He drew in a deep breath. ‘I wasn’t stood up at the altar by Sandra. Oh, I know I waited at the church and she didn’t arrive,’ he conceded at Sarah’s disbelieving look. ‘But the thing is, I knew she wasn’t going to arrive.’ He frowned. ‘It had been pre-arranged that she wouldn’t.’
Sarah frowned. ‘But—’
‘I was the one who broke off our engagement,’ Griff sighed. ‘When Sandra and I first met it was at a time in my life when I felt I had to put down roots, have somewhere, someone to come back to, a family. Sandra’s reasons for accepting my proposal were just as wrong. She liked the idea of being married to someone who was relatively well-known,’ he dismissed his own importance, ‘was away a lot, and so enabling her to continue with the social life she enjoyed so much, someone who was basically not too demanding of her time. We were both at fault,’ he accepted. ‘Because we were both willing to settle for second best.’ The way his arms tightened about Sarah told her that he now knew what—and who—the ‘best’ was.
‘What happened to change that?’ Sarah prompted, realising that something must have done, something had provoked the events of the last week.
He shrugged. ‘I’d had enough of running around the world chasing stories, decided I would like to give all that up and write a book. Sandra was furious at the idea of the lost prestige, having a husband constantly under her feet, getting in the way of “friendships” she seemed to feel she wanted to continue after we were married. That was when I realised that the thought of being around Sandra all the time was a horrifying one for me too! I was trying to find a way to tactfully break the engagement when Sandra went running to her father and got him to refuse to release me from my contract.’ His face was grim at the memory. ‘I’m afraid I was no longer interested in being tactful after that—I just wanted out… of reporting and my commitment to Sandra. David, her father, could see how determined I was, and he…he came up with the idea that I could save Sandra the humiliation of being jilted, and in return he would release me from my contract.’
A gentlemen’s agreement, Sarah realised.
‘What about your humiliation?’ she said indignantly. As far as she was concerned, Sandra Preston was a spoilt little madam.
He gave a rueful shrug. ‘I would go through it all again if I knew I was going to meet you two days later!’
Sarah frowned. ‘I wondered why, if you loved her, you hadn’t chased after Sandra.’
His arms tightened about her. ‘Just you try it and see what happens.’
‘I won’t,’ she said with certainty. ‘I love you very much, Griff.’ She touched his cheek gently.
‘And I
love you, the future Mrs Morgan.’ He kissed her lingeringly on the lips.
She smiled up at him lovingly. ‘As long as I don’t have to drink the “Morgan coffee” too often.’
‘I promise,’ he grinned.
She sobered, suddenly biting her bottom lip. ‘I still haven’t told you about Simon.’
‘Tell me later,’ Griff prompted, his mouth travelling a slow, nerve-tingling path to her lips. ‘Much later.’
If she could even think straight later!
* * *
Sarah turned to smile at Griff as he came down the steps to join her by the pool. ‘How’s it going, darling?’ She held out her hand to him, quivering slightly as he began to kiss her fingertips.
‘Finished,’ he announced with satisfaction. ‘Now all we have to do is send it to the publisher and wait for his reaction.’
She felt sure it would be a favourable one. Griff had sent the first couple of chapters of his novel to a publisher several months ago, and they had been very interested in taking the completed manuscript.
Sarah had read all of it but the last few pages he had just completed, and knew it was good. Griff’s new career was firmly launched she was sure.
They had been married six months now, and Sarah still had to pinch herself each morning to make sure she wasn’t dreaming she was lying next to the man she loved and who undoubtedly loved her.
Griff sat down on the lounger next to hers, her hand still in his, their fingers interlaced. He looked about them appreciatively. ‘I must say, it was very convenient of Virginia to fall in love with Richard on her cruise and decide to marry and move to England with him,’ he drawled teasingly.
They both knew it wasn’t ‘convenient’ at all, that Virginia had met Richard, a widower in his fifties, and the two of them had genuinely fallen in love.
Sarah had got to know her sister-in-law very well the last six months, had found that beneath the cool exterior she was a very warm and generous woman, truly fond of her only sibling.
She had met Griff’s parents too, had found them to be everything Griff had said they were. They were also warm and charming, and had welcomed her into their family like another daughter.
Virginia had sold the villa in the south of France to them as she’d no longer needed it, and they had moved here three months ago, and Griff had been working constantly on his book since then. Sarah was taking some time off from nursing, although she hoped to be able to return to it soon. Her mother had been out to see them for a short visit last month, and, although Sarah hadn’t wanted to ask directly how the Forbes family were doing, her mother had casually told her that the family was all still together. Even that had to be indicative of a certain amount of success on Clarissa’s and Roger’s part.
‘How about celebrating the finished manuscript?’ Griff said now suggestively.
She deliberately pretended to misunderstand him. ‘I suppose we could make arrangements to go out to dinner—-Griff!’ She laughed her protest as he stood up, taking her with him.
‘I had an idea to do our celebrating at home,’ he told her wickedly, swinging her up into his arms.
‘Why, Griff Morgan!’ She pretended shocked outrage.
‘Yes—Sarah Morgan?’ He was striding purposefully towards the villa.
‘Nothing.’ She snuggled against him, her arms about his neck. ‘Absolutely nothing.’
Happiness was in loving this man, and in being loved by him in return.
She was happy.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this story by
USA TODAY bestselling author
CAROLE MORTIMER,
you will love
Harlequin® Presents!
Do you want alpha males, decadent glamour and jet-set lifestyles? Step into the sensational, sophisticated world of Harlequin® Presents, where sinfully tempting heroes ignite a fierce and wickedly irresistible passion!
Look for eight new stories every month!
Recommended Reads for March 2017
Now, read on for a tantalizing excerpt of USA Today bestselling author
Sharon’s Kendrick’s latest book,
SECRETS OF A BILLIONAIRE’S MISTRESS
One Night With Consequences
When one night…leads to pregnancy!
Waitress Darcy Denton isn’t Renzo Sabatini’s type. But unworldly Darcy becomes addicted to their passionate nights. And then she discovers she’s pregnant! Darcy dare not tell Renzo. But it’s only a matter of months before he claims what’s his…
Read on to get a glimpse of
SECRETS OF A BILLIONAIRE’S MISTRESS
CHAPTER ONE
RENZO SABATINI WAS unbuttoning his shirt when the doorbell rang. He felt the beat of expectation. The familiar tug of heat to his groin. He was half tempted to pull the shirt from his shoulders so Darcy could slide her fingers over his skin, closely followed by those inventive lips of hers. The soft lick of her tongue could help him forget what lay ahead. He thought about Tuscany and the closing of a chapter. About the way some memories could still be raw even when so many years had passed and maybe that was why he never really stopped to think about them.
But why concentrate on darkness when Darcy was all sunshine and light? And why rush at sex when they had the whole night ahead—a smorgasbord of sensuality which he could enjoy at his leisure with his latest and most unexpected lover? A woman who demanded nothing other than that he satisfy her—something which was easy since he had only to touch her pale skin to grow so hard that it hurt. His mouth dried. Four months in and he was as bewitched by her as he had been from the start.
In many ways he was astonished it had continued this long when their two worlds were so different. She was not his usual type of woman and he was very definitely not her type of man. He was into clean lines and minimalism, while Darcy was all voluptuous curves and lingerie which could barely contain her abundant flesh. His mouth curved into a hard smile. In reality it should never have lasted beyond one night but her tight body had been difficult to walk away from. It still was.
The doorbell rang again and the glance he shot at his wristwatch was touched with irritation. Was she daring to be impatient when she wasn’t supposed to be here for another half-hour? Surely she knew the rules by now…that she was expected to fit around his schedule, rather than the other way round?
Barefooted, he walked through the spacious rooms of his Belgravia apartment, pulling open the front door to see Darcy Denton standing there—small of stature and impossible to ignore—her magnificent curls misted with rain and tugged back into a ponytail so that only the bright red colour was on show. She wore a light raincoat, tightly belted to emphasise her tiny waist, but underneath she was still in her waitress’s uniform because she lived on the other side of London, an area Renzo had never visited—and he was perfectly content for it to stay that way. They’d established very quickly that if she went home after her shift to change, it wasted several hours—even if he sent his car to collect her. And Renzo was a busy man with an architectural practice which spanned several continents. His time was too precious to waste, which was why she always came straight from work with her overnight bag—though that was a largely unnecessary detail since she was rarely anything other than naked when she was with him.
He stared down into her green eyes, which glittered like emeralds in porcelain-pale skin and, as always, his blood began to fizz with expectation and lust. ‘You’re early,’ he observed softly. ‘Did you time your visit especially because you knew I’d be undressing?’
Darcy answered him with a tight smile as he opened the door to let her in. She was cold and she was wet and it had been the most awful day. A customer had spilt tea over her uniform. Then a child had been sick. She’d looked out of the window at the end of her shift to discover that the rain had started and someone must have taken her umbrella. And Renzo Sabatini was standing there in the warmth of his palatial apartment, looking glowing and delectable—making the assumption that she had n
othing better to do than to time her visits just so she would find him half naked. Could she ever have met a man more arrogant?
Yet she’d known what she was letting herself in for when she’d started this crazy affair. When she’d fought a silent battle against everything she’d known to be wrong. Because powerful men who dallied with waitresses only wanted one thing, didn’t they?
She’d lost that particular battle and ended up in Renzo’s king-size bed—but nobody could say that her eyes hadn’t been open at the time. Well, some of the time at least—the rest of the time they’d fluttered to a quivering close as he had thrust deeply inside her until she was sobbing with pleasure. After resisting him as hard as she could, she’d decided to resist no more. Or maybe the truth was that she hadn’t been able to stop herself from falling into his arms. He’d kissed her and that had been it. She hadn’t known that a kiss could make you feel that way. She hadn’t realised that desire could make you feel as if you were floating. Or flying. She’d surrendered her virginity to him and, after his shocked reaction to discovering he was her first lover, he had introduced her to more pleasure than she’d thought possible, though in a life spectacularly short on the pleasure front that wouldn’t have been difficult, would it?
For a while things had been fine. More than fine. She spent the night with him whenever he was in the country and had a space in his diary—and sometimes she spent the following day there, too. He cooked her eggs and played her music she’d never heard before—dreamy stuff featuring lots of violins—while he pored over the fabulously intricate drawings which would one day be transformed into the glittering and iconic skyscrapers for which he was famous.
But lately something had started to niggle away inside her. Was it her conscience? Her sense that her already precarious self-worth was being eroded by him hiding her away in his palatial apartment, like a guilty secret? She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she’d started to analyse what she’d become and hadn’t liked the answer she’d come up with.
The Jilted Bridegroom Page 13