Mmm … broad shoulders, slim hips, wavy dark hair that brushed the collar of his jacket, a sexy smile, and a sexier laugh. And that tux? The tailor was a genius. It hugged those rippling muscles and covered a great ass. Probably. Who knew? Who wouldn’t want to know? She smiled again. Thoughts, at least, were safe.
Alexandre looked up from the conversation he was having with Maurice when Kalia joined them. He caught and held Kalia’s gaze. Just for a moment, but a moment was intense enough. She felt a flush rise on her cheeks at the interest in his eyes.
“Bonsoir, Ms. Beck,” Alexandre said as he reached for her hand. “I’m Alexandre Sinclair. We’ve said hello briefly, but I wanted to introduce myself.”
“Oh, I’m very pleased to meet you,” Kalia replied, slightly flustered. “Please call me Kalia. I enjoyed your talk today. You have a way of making the complicated sound simple. Even for a non-scientist like me.”
He laughed. “Thank you. I enjoyed giving it. Although, I’m not sure describing yourself as a non-scientist would be accurate. I’ve listened to several of your translations throughout the past week, and they are excellent. This is the first year they’ve done this, and I hope they continue. It is invaluable.”
“I’ve really enjoyed myself. Everyone has been very patient,” she said with a smile.
“Come, please join me,” he said as he pulled a chair out for her.
“Thank you.”
She sat down and took a moment to greet Maurice and his wife and the other committee members at the table. It gave her a chance to try to slow her racing heart. And to thank the angels who aligned the stars to have her sit with Alex Sinclair for dinner. She admired his graceful movements and charming manners as he greeted others at the table.
The waiter came to offer them wine. As Maurice handled the sampling and approval, Alexandre leaned over to Kalia. “Which language are you most comfortable speaking?”
“Depends what I’m doing,” she said with a hint of a smile. “English or French. And you?”
“The same. I grew up with French but studied in English.” He spoke close to her ear. “May I say how lovely you look tonight?”
“Thank you.” A shiver of pleasure ran down her spine at the sound of his deep voice. “This a wonderful way to end the conference. And judging by the turnout, a popular tradition.”
What should have been an interminable evening flew by with Alexandre for company. He chatted with the rest of the table with an easy elegance.
He had it all. Charm, intelligence, wit, and an easy smile with a sexy body to match. He listened, and when he focused those startling blue eyes on her, her heart stuttered. She made an excuse to touch his arm, just lightly. And had a craving to taste him.
Dinner finished and the waiters moved silently through the room, collecting the dishes. Alexandre took Kalia’s hand and led her outside to the terrace. The evening was clear and warm, and the stars brilliant in the sky. The faint sound of the string quartet carried in the breeze and mixed with the quiet noises of the night.
Kalia sighed at the romance of it. “What a beautiful night,” she said quietly.
Alexandre squeezed her hand. “I’m honored to share it with you.”
The tables were shifted to make room for dancing, and the music began. Soft and romantic, it wafted through the ballroom to the terrace. Pale blue lighting illuminated the dance floor and spilled out to them.
“Would you like to dance?” Alexandre asked.
“I’d love to.”
Alex led her inside and gathered her close. Kalia leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder. We fit, she thought, like two pieces of a puzzle. She loved the strong feel of his hand on her back. The gentle pressure gliding her around the floor. Her breasts against his hard chest and her hand just at the nape of his neck, tickled by his hair. She wanted to run her hands through it and down his chest. Craved his touch. She took a deep breath and told herself to savor the moment. Enjoy the sensations. Slow down and breathe.
One song melded with another, and they didn’t break away. They hardly noticed as the crowd grew thin around them, as the moon rose higher into the sky and the temperature started to dip.
When the band paused for a break, Kalia and Alexandre slowly broke apart.
“Thank you. For the invitation to stay and dance. It was wonderful,” she said with a sigh.
Kalia had always wondered how it would feel to fall in love. She had dated in the past and had questioned, was this it? Was this love? But her feelings never scratched more than the surface. It was easy to enjoy the moment and then walk away. She thought falling in love would be long and lovely, like a gentle ride down a lazy river. They would spend time together, enjoy common interests, become best friends and better lovers, and slide lazily into love.
Totally wrong.
She hadn’t known Alexandre Sinclair for more than ten days, had really only just met him, and she knew. It wasn’t a long, lazy ride. It was more like a wild toss down white rapids. It was fast and intense and a little scary. But she knew. Her heart was gone, and she was done.
She turned to him. “Could I ask you a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Would you walk me back to my hotel?”
“It would be my pleasure. Do you have a jacket?”
“No, I didn’t bring one. But the night is warm, and it isn’t far.”
Alexandre guided Kalia out to the street. They strolled in silence, hand in hand, under the soft glow of old-fashioned streetlights. The palm trees lining the street swayed in the breeze.
Do I dare ask him? Kalia thought. Was it too bold? Or crazy? Would she regret it in the morning? Or regret not taking that leap? They would return to their own lives tomorrow, his a million miles away. But the night had gone by too quickly. Kalia felt a sharp pang in her heart and shivered.
Alexandre peeled off his jacket. “You’re shivering, slip this on,” he said as he placed it on her shoulders and hugged her close.
“Merci.” She breathed in the trace of his musk cologne as she pulled the jacket tighter. She leaned into him, trembling again as his body pressed close to hers. “Here’s my hotel. Alexandre, when I went tonight, I thought I’d go to dinner and have an early evening. But now, I don’t want this night to end.” She paused. “Will you come up?”
Alexandre hesitated, then reached out and gathered her close. “Kalia, love, there is nothing I want more.”
Excitement swept through Kalia until she leaned back and looked in his eyes. “I sense a but,” she murmured.
“I want you,” he repeated, holding her gaze. He rubbed her arms. “I want to be with you. But I can’t promise you more than one night. I want to, Kalia, but I can’t. I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t make promises for tomorrow.”
Her chest tightened. “Are you married? Is there someone else?” He didn’t wear a ring, but some men didn’t.
His eyebrows drew together, and he looked off in the distance.
“Don’t answer,” Kalia said, raising her hand. She didn’t want to know. If she could have one night, she’d take it. To love Alexandre, to show him, to touch him. “I don’t want us being together to hurt someone else. But I want you to stay. Please.”
Wordlessly, Alexandre framed her face in his hands and touched his lips to hers. “Kalia,” he whispered. He parted her lips and deepened the kiss as she responded in his arms.
“Too many clothes.” She groaned.
He chuckled. “I’m luckier there.” He slipped his hand under the jacket, tracing the line of her dress down the bare skin of her back.
Fighting the urge to press closer, she nipped his lips, grabbed his hand, and led him to her room. Her hands shook. He covered hers with his and unlocked the door.
As they tumbled into her hotel room, he threw his jacket aside. She untucked his shirt and started on the buttons, trailing kisses down his chest as each one came undone. After peeling off his shirt, she ran her hands down the ripples of his abdomen. Her heart po
unded. Smooth skin and firm muscles. She wiggled closer and reached for his belt.
Alexandre caught her hands and led her into the bedroom. He stopped at the edge of the bed and turned her to face him. Kalia’s heart swirled at the desire in his eyes. He bent and nipped at her earlobe, moved along her jawline, and trailed kisses along her shoulder. She tilted her head to expose her neck, her muscles melting at his touch.
He brushed the slim straps of her dress and drew them down. Her perfume filled the air as her gown floated down to puddle at her feet. His gaze followed it, over full breasts, narrow waist, and long, lean legs.
“You take my breath away,” he whispered in her ear, his fingers tracing circles over the sensitive peaks of her breasts. She strained closer to fill his palms. An aching need to feel him, skin to skin, rose in her throat.
She undid his belt, lowered the zipper of his trousers, and reached in to fondle and tease him. At the catch of his breath, she moved closer, her soft breasts against his hard chest. Muscular arms around her. Her breasts tingled at the contact, and her heart skipped a beat. When she writhed against him, he pressed her back onto the bed.
“I want to touch and taste every inch of you,” he whispered against her lips. He circled her nipples with a feather-light sweep of his tongue and roamed lower, tickling the skin of her belly. Lower, lower, her muscles rippled at his touch.
She groaned and opened, wanting him closer. Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Pumping her hips and arching her back, she fought the wave that overwhelmed her. “Alexandre.”
His tongue danced, the tempo building. Sliding, tasting, darting, swirling.
She bucked as the orgasm ripped through her. Weightless, suspended in time for a moment, she floated back through space.
Alex moved to her side and pulled her close when she reached for his hand.
She locked her fingers in his and turned to look at him. “More.” She smiled. “Please.”
He kissed her lips. “Protection. We should use a condom.”
“There’s an ‘intimacy kit’ in the kitchen.” She grinned. “Isn’t that handy?”
She admired his very fine form as he left the room, and her heart trembled when he returned. Lying beside her, he ripped open a condom package and sheathed himself.
Kalia ached to touch him. He reached for her and kissed her deeply, his tongue playing, swirling in and out, his lips tasting hers. She shifted and he moved on top of her.
She hooked her legs around his waist and ran her hands over the sculpted muscles of his chest. When she moaned and pressed against him, he lifted her hips and slid inside. Soft and silky. Filling her completely, finding the sensitive spot. Her hips came up to meet him, and she tightened around him. Sensation built. Her heart soared. She tried to hold on, but emotion swirled in her chest and left her breathless. It stayed just out of reach until spasms rocked her. Alexandre braced himself and followed close behind.
Kalia clung to him, holding on as the waves subsided, sighing deeply at the luxurious feeling.
Alexandre moved to shift away, but she stopped him. “Stay, please. I love your weight against me.”
“I’m not too heavy?” he asked as he nibbled at her lips.
“No, not at all.”
She could feel him harden inside her and smiled against his lips as their tongues danced. She ran her hands lightly down his back, enjoying the feel of rippling muscles.
She rolled him over to his back and, sitting astride, enjoyed the view and feel of his naked torso.
“If I only get one night, I’d better make the most of it.” She smiled as she arched and offered her breasts for his caress.
He chuckled. “I’ll do my best to multi-task.” And then added, with a twinge of sadness, “Let’s see if we can make time stop.”
Dawn approached and Alexandre lay awake listening to Kalia’s deep, even breathing as she slept beside him. He wondered, at what point had he fallen in love? Was it watching her during the conference in her sexy business suits, conversing easily in any language presented to her? Or was it listening to her voice as she translated complicated neuroscientific papers? Hearing her laugh? Holding her close on the dance floor? Or last night, making love? Even as he thought about it, his body stirred.
His last night. He hadn’t slept and wouldn’t now. He wanted to stay but knew he couldn’t. His flight to Paris was at six a.m., and this afternoon he was expected to be at the hospital for his first chemotherapy treatment. His nightmare was about to begin.
He gently brushed his lips against her forehead and silently said good-bye.
Kalia woke to sunlight streaming in the room. She felt alive and limber and, remembering the night, a tingling down to her toes. Sex with Alexandre would spoil her for anyone else. Amused at herself, she opened her eyes and reached out, but the bed beside her was empty.
“Alex?” she called out, not wanting to believe he was gone.
She got up, shrugged into the robe that had been thrown over the chair, and padded into the sitting area. She stopped at the sight of a single rose on the table and the note with it. Slowly, she picked it up and read.
Kalia,
I wish this could be au revoir rather than good-bye.
Know that you will be in my heart forever.
Je t’aime,
A
“Oh.” A heaviness settled in her chest. “I didn’t get to say good-bye,” she whispered. You’ll be in my heart forever too, Alex.
He had warned her. Just one night. But still, she’d hoped. Hoped that he’d change his mind come morning. Hoped that she’d have a chance to try to change it.
Didn’t he feel what she felt? How could he leave her? Didn’t he want to be together? Pick me. Pick me, she thought, as her eyes filled.
The night had been magical. It had never been like that for her. So intense, so deep, so … perfect.
Tears ran down her cheeks. How could he walk away?
She rubbed her heart to ease the ache, then picked up the rose and inhaled its deep fragrance. She brushed the petals against her cheek.
If she’d known, she wouldn’t have wasted their time together with sleep. There were so many things she would have said, so many things she wanted to know. She hadn’t told him how she felt. Would that have made a difference? Tipped the scale, shifted the balance, made him stay? If only …
Stop, she told herself sternly, wiping away the tears. Enough. You knew what you were getting into. Alex had been clear.
No regrets. It had been a beautiful night – an unexpected gift. Her heart would have to heal.
If it could.
Taking a deep breath, she read the note again. Je t’aime. Her vision blurred. I love you too, Alexandre. She’d always have the memory and would cherish it.
She glanced at the clock and squared her shoulders. The organizers had requested one last meeting to go over the remainder of the translations. Then she had a plane to catch. Tomorrow, she’d be back home, and life would carry on.
And hopefully, time would help.
Chapter 5
“Hello?” Kalia asked, distracted, as she picked up the telephone. Two and a half weeks had passed since the conference, and she was knee deep in a new project. One phrase had her stumped as she worked on translating a legal report.
“Congratulations!”
“What?” Kalia thought the voice sounded familiar but couldn’t quite place it.
“Congratulations! You’re pregnant!”
Kalia sat up straight and banged her knee on the desk. “What?”
The voice laughed. “This is Stephanie from Dr. MacMillan’s office. I’m just calling to let you know that your pregnancy test came back. It’s positive.” She clucked her tongue. “My husband and I would love to get this phone call. We’ve been trying to get pregnant. When this result came in, I called right away. I love sharing good news. I am so excited for you! Dr. MacMillan suggested you book your first prenatal appointment within the next couple of weeks. Would you like to do that now?�
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Kalia slumped back in her chair, shaking. “Ah, no, not really.” It couldn’t be true.
“Okay, no problem. Just give us a call back, and we’ll set that up for you. You could also book your appointment online. That might be more convenient. Do you have the number or the website, or do you need that information? Oh,” she said with a laugh, “of course you have it. You were just in a few days ago. Well, don’t leave it too long. There are some things Dr. MacMillan would like to go over – what’s best for the baby, and all. Oh, this is so exciting for you. Congratulations again!”
“Yeah, thanks.” Please stop talking.
“Okay, then. Bye now, and see you soon.”
Kalia disconnected and sat back. Pregnant? Tears gathered behind her eyes. She couldn’t be. She was on the birth control pill and took that little sucker religiously every day.
At the same time.
Every day.
She dropped her head in her hands. Except once. Just one time, she thought sadly. She didn’t remember missing it, but on the final Saturday of the cycle, there was still one left.
Kalia stood up and paced. She had called Dr. MacMillan’s office to make an appointment to have her prescription refilled because she had been on her last pack of pills. Dr. MacMillan had been on holiday and had a locum covering her practice. The locum had written the prescription, and Kalia had mentioned that her period was late. It had been right around the time when she’d returned from the neuroscience conference, so she hadn’t thought much of it. She’d chalked it up to traveling across time zones and her normal rhythm being out of whack. And it didn’t really matter because she mainly used the pill to keep her periods regular and light. She’d only had sex once in the past six months.
Once.
She groaned, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
So, she’d asked if she should go ahead and start the new pack of pills anyway. When the locum, who didn’t really know her, had insisted they do a pregnancy test, she had argued that it was a waste of time. Really, she wasn’t careless, and she wasn’t promiscuous.
Well yes, she may have missed one pill, but they’d used a condom. For two of the four times that night, she had admitted sheepishly. So, ah yes, perhaps they had had unprotected sex. And, hmmm, her period was late. So, reluctantly, she had agreed.
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