A Stormy Spring
Page 1
A Stormy Spring - Introduction
She didn’t want a man. She didn’t want love. She wanted to forget.
Though her name is synonymous with success, Becca Wainwright isn’t interested in fame or celebrity. All that matters to her is choreography and how alive she feels when she creates....
Famously single, Lucas Del Garda’s passions are wealth, celebrity and power.
The electrifying attraction between the dancer and PR Guru is instantaneous.
But after a stormy night in the strong arms of Lucas, Becca finds her life has changed, for ever....
A Stormy Spring
By C C MacKenzie
A Stormy Spring
Copyright © C C MacKenzie 2012
Published by More Press
ISBN: 9781909331013
The right of C C MacKenzie to be
identified as the author of this
work has been asserted by her
under the Copyright Amendment
(Morals Rights) Act 2000
This work is copyright.
Apart from any use as permitted under
the Copyright Act 1968, no part
maybe reproduced, copied, scanned,
stored in a retrieval system,
recorded or transmitted,
in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission
of the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places and
incidents are either a product of
the author’s imagination or are
used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual people
living or dead, events or locales is
entirely coincidental.
Cover design by: K Carmichael
About the Author
C C MacKenzie is a wife, and mother of three, based in South Cheshire, U.K.
Since childhood, she dreamt of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on her family and her careers in banking, fitness, interior design and construction.
C C MacKenzie is currently working on more contemporary romances due for release this year and in 2013. She is also working on a vampire paranormal saga set in a cataclysmic urban future since she loves those suckers!
Contact Me
Email: mailto:ccmackenzie56@gmail.com
Website: http://ccmackenzie.wordpress.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/christineauthor/
Facebook Author Website http://www.facebook.com/CCMzie
Amazon Author Pages:
amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007WKC36A
amazon.co.uk - http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B007WKC36A
Dedication
For Hugo
Who’s given me plenty of support over the years. Love you.
Acknowledgements
As ever I’m deeply indebted to the following for their help and support:
My husband, Hugo – for tolerating the crazy woman and for cooking, shopping, being a domestic God and stepping up to the plate (no pun intended) with the technical stuff.
Critique partners; Cynthia M Bristow, Cathy Lennon and Joanna Terrero – your talent and unconditional support has been awesome.
To my beta readers, Lynne, Sue and Mags.
To the wonderful and talented writers, Jane Wenham-Jones. India Grey who’s been an awesome inspiration and support and who told me not to ‘over think it.’ Tessa Radley who phoned me from New Zealand – I wouldn’t have got this far without your encouragement.
And to all the readers of Reckless Nights In Rome and those who contacted me and told me they loved the story – this one’s for you!
Thank you.
Table of Contents
Contents
A Stormy Spring - Introduction
About the Author
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
EPILOGUE
OTHER LUDLOW HALL STORIES
Reckless Nights in Rome - Book 1
A Stormy Spring - Book 2
Run Rosie Run - Book 3
The Trouble With Coco Monroe - Book 4 -
Due 2013
ADVENTURE ROMANCE
Desert Orchid - Excerpt - Due 2013
ADVENTURE AND PARANORMAL ROMANCE
The Vampyre Legal Chronicles
Contact Me
CHAPTER ONE
Where were her panties?
On her hands and knees, and naked as the day she was born, Becca’s fingers fluttered around the floor, under the bed and found a scrap of silk she realised was her bra. Further exploration found a single shoe.
With hair streaming across her face she wondered where the hell was the other one?
A deep rumbling voice muttered words in Spanish and brought her head up with a jerk. Tucking a curl behind her ear, she peered through dawn’s early light at the man the glossy magazines had crowned one of the world’s most celebrated bachelors. He slept amid tousled white cotton sheets in a bed the size of a lake. Sheets she’d tangled and a bed she knew every single inch of.
What a night. She ached in places she never even knew existed.
The things he’d done to her had been truly...
Becca froze as a muscled arm flopped over the side of the bed missing her by a whisker. She let out a shaky sigh in relief as he murmured again before pressing his face into the pillow.
The spiked heel of her designer shoe dug into her knee, how she managed to contain the hiss of agony she’d never know.
On shaky legs, dangling her shoes in one hand she got to her feet.
With short panting breaths, she tip-toed to the door and slid into the sitting-room of the luxurious hotel suite.
Her eyes widened as a table lamp shed an intimate glow on the evidence of the night before.
Amongst the debris her dress lay in a heap of red silk. Along with his shirt and tie and hastily toed off socks and shoes. No sign of her panties.
She desperately tried to remember the sequence of last night’s events.
Not a good idea.
Don’t think.
Get out.
Struggling into her dress Becca wondered what she’d been thinking. She never did things like this. Things like having a one night stand with a perfect stranger. And he was perfect all right, in every conceivable way. The society pages didn’t do him justice. They couldn’t begin to capture his height, his broad shouldered strength or the sensitivity of that amazing mouth.
One look was all it had taken, one dance, and she was the one who’d asked him to touch her, to kiss her, to...
Stop it.
Don’t think about his mouth.
Frantic fingers zipped up her dress.
Shoving the bra into her bag, she thrust her feet into sky high heels.
Running away was sheer cowardice. She knew it, but it couldn’t be helped.
The whole thing felt surreal.
>
She was way, way out of her depth. Perhaps she should leave him a note? Thanks for having me?
An erotic little shiver ran up her spine and she knew she’d never forget last night.
Her hand reached for the door handle.
‘Going somewhere, Becca?’
The deep voice husky from sleep held the musical lilt of Spain. It vibrated up her spine and brought jumpy nerves to her throat. The gentle tone, filled with humour, stopped her from acting on her initial instinct and making a run for it.
She turned. Eyes the colour of dark chocolate slammed into hers. Once again their impact left her reeling, off balance.
It was such a cliché but how on earth could one look across a crowded room have led to this?
He was naked except for black trousers, unbuttoned and unzipped. Her physical reaction, the shortness of breath as her heart ricocheted into her throat and the weakness in her legs couldn’t be blamed on a couple of glasses of champagne. She was stone cold sober this morning.
Those immense shoulders leaned against the doorframe. She’d pressed her mouth against that marvellous chest, clutched those dark tousled locks as he’d kissed her intimately. Heat rushed into her cheeks. By his broad grin he’d read her mind.
Her brain soaked up the sight of him. He was ridiculously handsome with the light of fun along with a smouldering desire in his eyes as they stayed on hers.
Attack Becca firmly believed was the best line of defence.
She frowned. ‘Don’t look at me like that.’
Narrowing his eyes at the combative tone of her lovely voice, Lucas Del Garda recognised panic when he saw it.
Her hair, the colour of burnt toffee, tumbled in slippery curls around slim shoulders. Beautiful blue eyes glittered into his.
She hadn’t sounded like that a few short hours ago with those high little moans panting in her throat as she’d begged him to take her. She’d been wild for him and he’d loved it. He had no idea how many times he’d made her come since he wasn’t the sort of man who kept score. But she’d twisted and turned under him and almost burst his eardrums with her screams of completion.
If she thought he was prepared for her to leave without so much as a telephone number then Becca was sorely mistaken. He had no idea of her surname, what she did or where she came from.
This had been a first for him. He never indulged in sex with a beautiful woman without covering the preliminaries.
Her eyes were spectacular, blindingly blue, as they stared into his he read embarrassment, despair and a mounting alarm that tickled his antennae. Hmm, it seemed Becca had regrets and wanted to escape. Interesting. Most women were more than happy to snuggle after sex. He wasn’t a snuggler, never had been and usually managed to extricate himself without any trouble. But last night had been the first time he’d held a woman close. It felt natural with her. It felt right.
Lucas didn’t analyse his feelings but accepted them for what they were. He’d known the instant she left his bed and listened to her hunting for her clothes. It had been wrong of him to play with her and he almost laughed as he remembered her little whimper of alarm.
Intrigued, he studied her. No, Becca did not look happy to see him.
For a moment he toyed with the idea of seducing her back to bed but those big eyes staring at him in silent appeal held him back.
He stepped towards her, zipped up his pants and sent her an intimate smile.
Much better to play it cool. Keep it friendly and relaxed.
‘The least I can do after such a wonderful night is to offer you breakfast.’ He picked up the telephone and kept a sharp eye on her. With a little frown wrinkling her smooth forehead she moved towards the centre of the room.
He indicated the couch. ‘Please, Becca, sit down. We can be civilised about this.’
Becca kept a wary eye on him as he ordered enough breakfast to feed a family of four.
Her stomach growled and she took a breath.
Okay, be an adult, you can do this. Eat, do small talk and then leave. No problem.
‘Would you like to shower or have a bath?’
His voice vibrated along her nerve ends. Deep, gravelly and sexy as hell, he could make a fortune as a voice over. She imagined him modelling Speedos lounging on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Those dark sinful eyes curling the toes of every female who watched TV wishing she was there with him. Well, that’s how advertising agencies sold expensive cologne for men. They appealed to the women in their lives. And Becca knew Lucas would appeal to any female with a pulse.
She blinked as he raised a dark brow and she realised she hadn’t answered his question.
‘Thank you.’
He pointed her in the direction of another bedroom.
She wandered through and found an en-suite in black granite with a huge walk in shower.
Stripping down to her skin she wondered again where her panties had gone.
Becca piled her hair on top of her head, suddenly breathless as water shot from six different jets. The designer liquid soap smelt wonderful and she slathered it over her body, stifling a groan as the purely feminine part of her throbbed with desire and an aching need that scandalised her in its intensity.
What on earth was happening to her?
A gasp of shock escaped from her throat as large hands slid gently but possessively over her flat belly and small breasts. How did he know which parts of her were too tender this morning? His fingertips lingered with exquisite care on nipples so delicately sensitized to his touch they were hot-wired to that yearning pulse between her legs.
‘If you want me to stop, querida, I will,’ Lucas whispered into her ear.
The man, Becca decided with a low moan, had magical fingers.
She knew she should tell him to stop, but heat scorched over her too sensitive skin wherever he touched her. Her breath caught as his tongue licked her throat and his arousal, thick and hard, pressed into the small of her back.
Lust detonated between her legs as he turned her in his arms, pressed her back against black granite and captured her mouth with his even as her nipples grazed his chest. She parted her lips to allow his thrusting tongue access. God, he tasted fantastic. This time there was nothing gentle in the kiss. There was power, possession and a relentless hunger. That hunger called to her and she answered it with a desperation that verged on insanity.
Was she making those high, keening moans? Her ardour matched his, kiss for kiss, touch for touch.
When his fingers slipped between her legs, slid around that screaming little pearl of nerve ends, her legs gave way as the climax took her breath.
‘Put your legs around my waist,’ he muttered in her ear, his voice was deep the tone harsh as he caught her mouth with his and she did as he asked.
Then, thank God, he was inside her.
She clung to him, legs around his waist, and arms around his neck as he pumped his hips, thrusting into her, gasping desperate words in Spanish into her mouth. Together they soared higher and higher to a place she’d never known existed before last night. The muscles contracting her centre clutched him again and again. Then the world went black as her mind splintered into a thousand stars.
Their hearts hammering as one, Becca realised Lucas was bearing her weight as well as leaning a hand against the wall for support.
Their panting breaths mingled before he groaned into the soft spot under her ear. Pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder, she clung to him and blinked as the water, cool now, battered their skin.
Lucas flicked hair from his face and those dark eyes framed with wet lashes studied her carefully.
He grinned as a hot flush rose from her toes to flood her neck and cheeks.
‘Now that is how I want you to look at me, querida, not like a scared little rabbit.’ Although his voice was soft, the tone was of a man used to command.
His fingertip stroked a burning path down the curve of her breast to a bullet hard nipple.
Then reality gave her a hard s
lap.
Becca caught herself and blinked furiously to hide the emotions that flooded her throat and stung her eyes.
Blindly and on legs that were far from steady, she moved out of his arms, out of the shower. With a shudder she pulled on the complimentary thick white cotton bathrobe and wound a towel around her head.
Rolling up each sleeve she refused to look at him as he dried himself.
A quick glance told her his eyes had tightened and his intense gaze made the nerves clutching her stomach grow claws.
She turned away from him.
A firm hand on her arm pulled her back.
Those eyes were not so gentle on her now, but edged with suspicion.
‘I see we have a problem.’ Lucas gripped her other arm and gave her a non-too-gentle shake. ‘Are you in a relationship? or...’ Those dark eyes searching hers narrowed into slits. ‘Are you married?’
Becca went very still, needles of tension prickling up her spine.
His eyes went ice over steel and she trembled.
‘Answer me!’ His voice was a whip lashing across raw emotions.
In her head the last ten hours had assumed a surreal quality, almost like an out of body experience. He shook her again and the cold reality of her situation gave her another slap. This time yesterday she hadn’t set eyes on this man. The way she’d danced with him, kissed him, touched him, in the nightclub had shame burn a scorching path up her neck and into her cheeks.
The way she’d gone to his hotel without a second thought for her personal safety had common sense demand now what the hell had she been thinking.
She’d let a total stranger take liberties with her body. Do things to her; touch her in ways she’d never been touched before... even by... Guilt incinerated her cheeks.
Becca blinked up into a face she didn’t recognise now. He looked too big, too wide, too male. His eyes were cold, hard and absolutely appalled.
How could she have been so stupid to put herself at risk and behave in a way that was so alien to her nature? Humiliation warred with self-reproach and utter fury.
The toxic mix of emotions burned in her throat and Becca hung on to anger like a lifeline.