It was dawn when she stirred, and she crept into bed to sleep until the alarm woke her. She checked her cell-phone, but there were no text messages, and she showered, ate cereal and fruit for breakfast and washed it down with tea, then she dressed ready for work.
Her emotions were in an ambivalent state, swinging from nervous anticipation to excitement, then dipping to doubt as the morning progressed.
At ten her cell-phone buzzed with an incoming text message, and she counted off the seconds until the message registered before hurriedly accessing it.
‘Returning late-afternoon flight. Be ready 7 pm. We’ll dine out’.
Tasha quickly text messaged back ‘OK’.
Thank heavens. Relief washed through her body, followed by slow, tingling warmth.
With conscious effort she focused on the day’s work, took and kept appointments, and willed the hours to pass.
During her lunch break she visited a nearby florist and purchased a single red rose.
At five she shut her laptop, collected her briefcase, and walked out to the bank of lifts. Given peak-hour traffic, she should reach her apartment within half an hour.
She made it in less, and headed straight for the shower, washed and blow-dried her hair, then dressed with care, choosing an elegant black lace dress with a scooped neckline, elbow-length sleeves and a hemline halting an inch above the knee. Black stilettos, minimum jewellery, and skilled use of make-up completed the outfit, then she caught up an evening purse, the long-stemmed rose, and exited the apartment.
Jared’s image was a constant, and the nerves inside her stomach went from a slow waltz to an energetic tango as she took the lift down to the lobby.
It was precisely seven when she emerged on the ground floor, and she saw Jared standing beside his car waiting for her.
Within seconds she reached his side, her gaze raking his features for any visible sign of injury.
‘Where are you hurt?’ It was the most pressing question she had, and surpassed ‘hello’ by a mile.
He tunnelled his fingers through her hair and lowered his head to hers to take possession of her mouth in a kiss that was hard, hot and hungry. Then he eased off and went back for more, this time with a gentleness that melted her bones.
Tasha felt the need to touch him, to hold on and never let go, and she sank in against him, loving the physical feel of him, knowing he was flesh and blood, alive.
‘Are you really OK?’
His lips brushed her cheek, then settled at the edge of her mouth. ‘A couple of scratches, a few bruises. I was one of the lucky ones.’
‘Thank God,’ she said with undue reverence, and saw his mouth curve into a warm, musing smile.
‘My sentiments, exactly.’
She had to ask. ‘Soleil?’
‘A broken arm, several fractured ribs. She’s staying in Melbourne until she feels sufficiently comfortable to travel.’
She touched the hard planes of his face, lingered there, then traced the curve of his mouth, and caught her breath as he pressed a warm kiss to her palm.
‘I take it you want to eat?’
His teasing query brought forth a smile. ‘I am hungry.’ For food, as well as you, she added silently. But the waiting wouldn’t go amiss, and anticipation was good for the soul.
He threaded his fingers through her own, then moved to open the passenger door, waiting until she was seated before crossing round to slide in behind the wheel.
The restaurant was situated in the suburbs, distant from the trendy boutique restaurants populated by the city’s café society.
Tasha doubted she’d ever been quite so nervous, and she wondered if Jared was aware her pulse was racing at a rapid beat.
Her heart felt as if it was thundering against her ribcage as they entered the softly lit interior. The maitre d’ greeted them, she gave her name, and then preceded Jared to their table.
She set the rose down, then slid into the seat the waiter held out for her.
Jared indicated the delicate red bud on the tablecloth. ‘I assume this has some special significance?’
‘Yes.’
Did her hands shake as she perused the menu? She hoped not. Cool, calm, collected, she reminded silently.
Her gaze strayed to his elegant suit, and saw the male frame beneath it. The powerful musculature in those broad shoulders, the taut midriff, trim waist, lean hips, and…better not go there, she decided shakily. She was in such an emotionally fragile state any thought of his sexual prowess would bring her undone.
She was way too nervous to eat, and she ordered a small salad as a starter and followed it with an entrée-size main.
‘Was the mediation meeting successful?’
Jared cast her a piercing look. ‘I’m pleased with the way it went.’
Polite, she was being way too polite. Oh, what in hell was the matter with her? Confidence had subtly changed to doubt, she acknowledged silently.
Yet the same stubborn resolve which had been responsible for her moving out of his apartment had motivated her to pose a question.
Sure, she mentally derided as she refused dessert and ordered tea. But would he say yes?
Except she’d come this far, and she wasn’t about to wimp out.
Now, do it now, an inner voice commanded.
It took only seconds to retrieve the carefully written card from her evening bag. She met Jared’s gaze with deliberate equanimity as she transferred the rose onto the table beside his plate and added the card.
‘A gift,’ she offered in explanation. For him, only him. The gift of herself and their unborn child.
Would he accept? Dear lord, she hoped so. A cold hand clutched hold of her heart, and squeezed.
Even thinking of rejection sent her tumbling into a downward spiral towards emotional despair.
There was nothing evident in his expression to indicate his reaction. She’d expected quizzical amusement, maybe a few bantering words in response.
She knew the words by heart. She’d used up a few cards getting the words right.
You are the love of my life. Will you marry me?
She waited, the breath locked in her throat. How long did it take for him to read the words? Assimilate…answer them?
It seemed forever before he lifted his head and met her gaze. ‘Is there anything you want to add?’
Tasha swallowed painfully. ‘This isn’t because of the child. It’s about you.’ She gathered courage, and tried to ignore the way her fingers worked the linen napkin on her lap, pleating and re-pleating it in sheer nervousness. ‘About not being trapped into something you didn’t want,’ she said quietly.
‘Am I to surmise you don’t think that any more?’
How could she? When the lovemaking had been so exquisite, so soul-shattering it had been all she could do not to splinter into a thousand pieces. ‘Yes.’
Was she aware of the impact such a simple word had on him? How he’d suffered these past few weeks, wanting, needing, aching for her? Unable, helpless to do anything about it?
He hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since she moved out of his apartment. The world, as he knew it, had turned upside-down and become a place he didn’t want to be if she wasn’t there with him.
He looked at her, saw the woman she was, what she’d become…her strengths, values, her integrity. And knew that he’d never take her for granted again. Love was a gift, given from the heart.
‘Are you going to tell me what changed your mind?’
So many things, but she revealed the most important of all. ‘You could have walked away, but you didn’t,’ she continued simply. Was that her voice? It sounded impossibly husky.
Something shifted in his eyes, a momentary darkness she couldn’t define. ‘Not entirely alone.’
She retained a vivid memory of their night together at the Gold Coast when passion had overcome them both.
Tasha managed a slight musing smile. ‘No.’
He hadn’t given her an answer. Was he
stalling? Putting off the moment when he would regretfully decline?
Dear heaven. He couldn’t…wouldn’t…No. The word was a silent scream of despair. The ache of unshed tears filled her eyes, dimming her vision.
‘I love you.’ Her mouth shook a little, and she sought for control. ‘Only you.’ Oh, God, she was going to lose it completely. ‘When news of the bomb blast broke…the thought you might have died…’ She couldn’t continue for a few seconds, then she took a deep breath and released it. ‘My life would be worth nothing without you.’
Something sighed deep within, effecting a subtle shift in his emotional heart as everything fell into place. The blood coursed through his veins, sang a little.
He’d almost lost her. Thought for a while that he had. Yet he’d fought back, aware nothing came with any guarantees…not even love.
The most precious gift of all, beyond price.
He leant forward and trailed his fingers along the curve of her cheek. ‘Yes.’
Yes? Did he mean—?
‘I accept your proposal.’
Relief, elation were only two of the immediate emotions she experienced, and he watched as her expressive features lit with a joy so intense it made his heart ache.
‘Soon,’ Jared added softly. ‘Very soon.’ He wanted his ring on her finger, not as proof of his ownership, but as visible evidence they belonged to each other.
The waiter appeared at their table and laid a red rose on the tablecloth. ‘For you, ma’am.’ He cast Jared a smile. ‘From your gentleman.’
She was so touched by the gesture she had to fight to hold back the shimmer of tears, and she picked up the rose and admired the soft velvet-like petals curving protectively layer upon layer in perfect symmetry.
‘Two minds,’ Jared said gently, indicating the rose she’d placed on the table earlier. ‘In perfect accord.’
‘It’s beautiful,’ she murmured, and absently stroked the bud with a forefinger. The delicate perfume was much sought-after by the world’s top perfumeries, and she could understand why.
Jared summoned immense will-power in order to prevent himself from hauling her into his arms. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
Her gaze shifted to lock with his, and her eyes darkened at what she saw reflected in those mesmerising depths. ‘You haven’t finished your coffee.’
He summoned the waiter, settled the bill, then led Tasha out to the car.
She threaded her fingers through his own, and didn’t relinquish them as they reached the Jaguar. There was just one last thing she wanted to say, and the words came easily as she met his dark enquiring gaze.
‘You let me go. Allowed me time and space alone. I want to thank you for that.’
‘It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.’
But worth it, he assured silently, to have what they now shared…no doubts, no shadows. Just everything he’d hoped, prayed for—and prayer wasn’t one of his strong points, except he’d been so desperate he’d have resorted to anything that might give him an edge.
He held her close, and adored the way she sank in against him. They were so completely in tune, so much a part of each other, he could only reflect with regret how he’d loved and cherished her, but had been so far entrenched in a comfort zone he’d neglected to provide the reassurance she needed.
‘Your place, or mine?’ It was one or the other.
She spared him a musing look as he opened the car door for her. ‘Your choice.’
‘Mine,’ Jared said with satisfaction as the car sped towards the city. ‘It’s where you belong.’
And where she’d stay. He’d make sure of it. Not that it was the where that mattered, as long as she was with him for the rest of his life.
Jared drove with controlled care, the image of her sharing his bed…beneath him, her moist heat, the way her eyes went blank the moment she climaxed. It was enough to almost suspend his breathing.
He reached the underground car park and felt a measure of satisfaction at the faint squeal of rubber on concrete as he eased the Jaguar into its allotted space.
They both slid out at the same time, and joined hands en route to the lift. He lifted her hand to his lips during the rapid ascent, and almost drowned in the liquid warmth evident…her soft smile, the almost tremulous quiver of her mouth. A mouth he intended to take with his own the instant they were inside his apartment.
They barely made it. Tasha wanted the feel of skin on skin, the warmth, the heat and heart of him, and she wanted it now.
She slid her hands inside his jacket and pushed it over his shoulders, then her fingers tore at the buttons on his shirt, pulled it free from his trousers, and went for snap, the zip fastener.
Oh, dear heaven, his clean scent was heady like potent wine, and she savoured it with her lips, her tongue, running from shoulder to chest, where she teased the hair curling there, then laved a male nipple before sliding lower.
Jared hauled her up against him, and she wound her legs around his waist, then angled her mouth against his and took him deep, plundering until he held fast her head and savaged her mouth in a hard, hungry kiss that was nowhere near enough to slake their need.
It became his turn to dispense with her clothes, and he did so with economy of movement, then feasted on her breast, suckling, using the edge of his teeth to take her to the brink between pleasure and pain.
The bedroom. The bed. He wanted both, and he made his way there, tumbling her onto the mattress and following her down.
The rest of their clothes were tossed onto the carpet, and his fingers sought the moist heart of her, stroked, then dug deep and felt her go up and over as she groaned his name.
‘Please. Now.’
He entered her slowly, relished her slick heat, and the breath husked from his throat as she enclosed him, moved with him as he set the rhythm, urging a pace he consciously controlled to a lesser degree.
It was good. Dear heaven, it was better than good.
Afterwards he supported his body above her own, and trailed his lips across her forehead, lingered at one temple, then began the slow slide down her cheek, paused at the edge of her mouth, traced its curve, and settled in a slow, erotic open-mouthed kiss that almost made her weep.
‘Not fair,’ Tasha murmured, and pushed him to lie on his back as she straddled him.
‘Want to play, huh?’
His eyes gleamed as she bent low and nipped at the curve between his neck and shoulder.
‘My turn.’ She wanted to taste him, absorb his essence…most of all, she wanted to drive him wild. With want, need, and desire for her. Only her.
She succeeded, with each indrawn breath, each hiss between clenched teeth, a husky groan adding to her euphoria.
There was a tremendous sense of power in pleasuring a man. Taking him to a place where he was no longer in control and completely at her mercy.
The ultimate in surrender. Absolute trust. Man at his most vulnerable.
She loved the way his stomach quivered at her touch, the clench of muscles as her lips teased and tantalised.
It became a glorious sensual feast from which they both emerged satisfied, sated, and emotionally spent.
They slept for a while, then woke through the night and sought each other again. And again.
It wasn’t enough, would never be enough, and as the sun rose above the horizon Jared carried her into the en suite, ran the shower, then stepped into the large cubicle and picked up the soap.
Tasha simply closed her eyes and went with the intimate luxury of having him administer to her.
He was so incredibly gentle it almost made her weep, and she swayed slightly as his hand splayed over her stomach and lingered there.
When he was done, she took the soap from him and returned the favour, her eyes narrowing as she glimpsed bruises forming over his ribs, the edge of one shoulder, on the curve of his hip.
‘Turn around.’ When he didn’t budge, she stepped round behind him and examined his back, found evid
ence of more bruising, and gritted her teeth. ‘You should have told me.’ A soft curse fell from her lips. ‘Dammit, Jared. You should have been more careful when we—’
‘I didn’t feel a thing at the time.’
His voice held humour, and she lightly slapped his butt. ‘I love it when you get physical.’ He reached out and closed the water dial, then his eyes darkened as he felt the press of her lips against one bruise, and he stood still as she gently caressed each bruise in turn.
When she reached the last, he hauled her close and kissed her with infinite tenderness. Then he caught up a towel and gently dried her before applying the towel to himself.
He carried her back to bed, curled her in close, and pulled up the covers.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THEY rose late, dressed, and went into the kitchen to cook breakfast. Jared took care of the eggs, bacon and hash-browns, while Tasha tended to the toast, tea and coffee.
There was no rush, and they took their time, sampling toast, offering each other a succulent piece of bacon, then lingered over tea and coffee.
Together they cleared the table, rinsed dishes and stacked them in the dishwasher.
‘There’s something I want to show you.’
Tasha closed the dishwasher and turned towards him. Attired in jeans and a black T-shirt, he looked ruggedly attractive and vaguely piratical. Absent was the formality of a barrister at law, and her stomach executed a slow somersault at the way the T-shirt emphasised his muscular breadth of shoulder.
She had a vivid memory of how she’d clung to him through the night, over and over again, in a sensual dance that had been without equal.
Jared crossed to her side, caught hold of her hand and threaded his fingers through her own. ‘Let’s go.’
She lifted her face to his, saw the purposeful gleam apparent, and offered a warm laugh. ‘Do I get to ask where?’
He bestowed a brief, hard kiss to her mouth, then softened it with a slow sweep of his tongue. ‘No.’ He led her into the lounge, collected his keys and slid them into his pocket. ‘I want it to be a surprise.’
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