Once her family found out they were seeing each other, there would be pressure from them to take things to the next level. There would be pressure from the public because everyone loved a celebrity romance. The press had already taken an avid interest in Julius’s engagement to Holly. What would they do with the news of Leandro and Miranda’s involvement?
‘Miranda...’ He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. ‘I know I’ve said this before, but you do realise we can’t continue this when we go back home, don’t you?’
She didn’t quite meet his gaze. ‘Are you worried what Julius and Jake will say?’
Leandro raised her chin so her eyes met his. ‘It’s not about what your brothers think. It’s about me. About what I can and can’t give.’
‘But you’d make a wonderful partner,’ she said with an earnest expression. ‘I know you would. You’re so caring and kind and considerate. How can you think you wouldn’t be happy in a long-term relationship?’
‘But you don’t want a long-term relationship,’ he said, watching her closely.
Her eyes went back to his chin as if that was the most fascinating part of his anatomy. ‘I wasn’t talking about me per se... It’s just I think you’d be a great person for someone to spend the rest of their life with. To have a family with and stuff.’
He let out a heavy sigh. ‘It’s not what I want.’
She pressed her lips together for a beat or two of silence. ‘I suppose you think I’ve fallen madly in love with you.’
‘Have you?’
Her eyes still didn’t quite make the full distance to his. ‘That would be rather fickle of me, given this time last week I was in love with Mark.’
Leandro brushed her cheek with his fingertip. ‘You’re twenty-three—still a baby. You’ll fall in love with dozens of men before you settle down.’ The thought of her with someone else made his chest ache. What if they didn’t treat her right? She was an incredibly sensitive person. She could so easily be taken advantage of. She was always over-adapting to accommodate other people’s needs and expectations. Even the fact that she’d settled for his ‘thing’ with her was evidence of how easily she could be exploited.
Not that he was exploiting her...or was he? He had been as honest as he could be. He hadn’t given her any promises he couldn’t keep. She had accepted the terms and yet... How could he know for sure what she had invested in their relationship? She acted like a woman in love, but then anyone looking in from the outside would think he was madly in love with her. Being physically intimate with someone blurred the boundaries. Was it lust or love that motivated her to be with him?
How could he tell the difference?
His own feelings he left in the file inside his head labelled ‘Do Not Open’. It served no purpose to think about the feelings he had for Miranda. He would have to let her go. He couldn’t hold her to him indefinitely. Over the years he had taught himself not to think of the things he wanted—the things most people wanted. He had almost convinced himself he was happy living the single-and-loving-it life. Almost.
Miranda slipped off the desk and smoothed her hands down her jeans. ‘I should leave you to get on with your work...’
Leandro captured her hand and brought her close to his body, watching as her pupils flared as his head came down. ‘Work can wait,’ he said and pressed his mouth to hers.
Desire rose hot and strong in him as her mouth flowered open beneath his. He stroked his tongue against hers, a shudder of pleasure rocketing through him when her tongue came back at him in shy little darts and dives. He spread his hands through her hair, cupping her head so he could deepen the kiss, savouring the sweet, hot passion of her.
Her small dainty frame was pressed tightly against him, her mouth clamped to his as her fingers stroked through his hair. Her touch sent hot wires of need through his body. The slightest movement of her fingers made the blood surge in his veins.
He wondered if he would ever forget her touch. He wondered if he would ever forget her taste. Or the way she felt in his arms, like she belonged there and nowhere else. He wondered how he would be able to make love to someone else without making comparisons. Right now he couldn’t envisage ever making love to anyone else. How could someone else’s touch make his flesh tingle all over? How could someone else’s kiss stoke a fire so consuming inside him he felt it in every cell of his body?
‘Make love to me here,’ Miranda said, whisper-soft, against his mouth.
Leandro didn’t need a second invitation. He was fighting for control as it was. Every office fantasy he had ever had was coming to life in his arms. Miranda was working her way down his body, her hands shaping him through the fabric of his jeans, then unzipping him and going in search of him. The smooth, cool grasp of her fingers around his swollen heat made him stifle an animalistic groan. She read his body like a secret code-breaker, stroking him, caressing him, taking him to the brink, before pulling back so he could snatch in another breath. ‘Let’s even this up a bit,’ he said and started on her clothes.
She gave a soft little gasp as he uncovered her breasts. He brought his mouth to each tightly budded nipple, rolling his tongue around each one. He drew on each nipple with careful suction, delighting in the way she responded with breathless sounds of delight. He moved to the underside of her breast where he knew she was most sensitive. He trailed his tongue over the creamy perfection of her flesh, his groin hard with want as he felt her shudder with reaction.
Miranda wriggled her jeans down to her ankles but he didn’t give her time to step out of them. Leandro didn’t step out of his either. He eased her back against the desk, deftly sourcing a condom before he entered her with a deep, primal groan of satisfaction. Her tight little body gripped him, milking him with every thrusting movement he made within her. He had to force himself to slow down in case he hurt her or went off early. But she was with him all the way, urging him on with panting cries. He worked a hand between their hard-pressed bodies to give her the extra stimulation she needed. It didn’t take much. She was so wet and swollen he barely stroked her before she came hard around him, making it impossible for him to hold on any longer.
He shuddered, quaked, emptied. Then he held still while the afterglow passed through him like the gentle suck and hiss of a wave.
Miranda’s legs were still wrapped around him as she propped herself on her elbows to look at him, her features flushed pink with pleasure, a playful smile curving her lips. ‘Should I have told you first I was a desk virgin?’
He pressed a kiss to the exposed skin of her belly, letting his stubble lightly graze her flesh. ‘I would never have guessed.’
She shivered as he went lower. ‘I haven’t done it outdoors either.’
Leandro thought of the timeframe on their relationship with a jarring sense of panic. There wasn’t time to do all the things he wanted to do with her. In a matter of days they would go back to being friends. There would be no making love under the stars. No making love on a remote beach or in a private pool. No making love on a picnic rug under a shady tree in a secluded spot. He hadn’t done those things with anyone else for years. Some of those things he had never done. How had he let his life get so boring and mundane?
The sound of his phone ringing where it was lying on the desk confirmed how much he had hemmed himself in with work. It rang day and night. He had forty emails to sort through, ten text messages to respond to and fifteen calls to make before he missed the time zone differences.
Miranda reached for his phone to hand it to him and then blushed as she glanced at the screen. ‘It’s Jake,’ she said in a shocked whisper, as if her brother could hear without the phone even being answered.
Leandro took the phone off her, turned it to silent and put it back on the desk. ‘I’ll call him later.’
She slipped off the desk and pulled up her jeans. Her teeth were savaging her bottom lip, her eyes avoiding all contact with his as she went in search of her top and bra.
He pulled up his own jeans be
fore he took her by the hand and drew her close. ‘There’s no need to feel ashamed of what we’re doing.’
Miranda glanced at him briefly before lowering her gaze to his chin. ‘I’m not... It’s just that... I don’t know...’ She slipped out of his hold and ran a hand through her hair like a wide-toothed comb. ‘What if he finds out?’
‘He won’t unless you tell him.’
She gave him a worried glance. ‘But what if Jaz tells him?’
Leandro gave her a wry look. ‘Jaz talking to Jake? You seriously think that’s going to happen any time soon?’
She chewed at her lip again, hugging her arms around her body. ‘Will you tell him or Julius?’
That was the other file inside Leandro’s head—the ‘Too Hard’ file. The conversation with her brothers about his thing with Miranda wasn’t something he was looking forward to. It would have to happen at some point. He couldn’t hope to keep it a secret for ever and nor would he want to in case they heard about it later via someone else. He suspected Jake and Julius would guess as soon as they saw him and Miranda together at a Ravensdale gathering.
Like at Julius and Holly’s wedding next month. He couldn’t get out of going as he was one of the groomsmen, along with Jake, who was best man. Miranda was one of the bridesmaids. Maybe he would have to decline all future invitations. But then that would only increase speculation. ‘They’ll have to know eventually,’ he said. ‘I’ve kept enough secrets from them as it is.’
Her brow was still puckered with a frown. ‘I know, but...’
Leandro rubbed his hands up and down her upper arms in a soothing motion. ‘But you’re worried what they’ll think? You don’t need to be. I reckon they’ll be happy you’re finally moving on with your life.’
The trouble was she would be moving on with her life with someone else, he thought with another sharp dart of pain in his gut. He would have to stand to one side as she walked up the aisle to some other guy. He would have to pretend it didn’t matter because it shouldn’t matter.
Miranda lifted her toffee-brown gaze to his. ‘But what about you?’ she said. ‘Will you move on with yours?’
Leandro gave her a crooked smile. ‘I already have. You’ve helped me with that.’
‘I have?’
‘Sure you have,’ he said. ‘You’ve helped me understand my father a little better.’
She touched a gentle hand to his face. ‘I’m sure he loved you. How could he not?’
Leandro captured her hand and pressed a kiss to the middle of her palm. ‘I’d better call your brother back. You want to hang around and say hi to him?’
Her eyes widened in alarm as she started to back away. ‘Not right now... I—I think I’ll have to take a bath.’
‘Leave some hot water for me, okay?’
She nodded and scampered out of the room.
Leandro let out a breath and pressed the call button on his phone. ‘Jake, sorry I was busy with something when you called.’
‘So, what’s this about you doing my little sister?’ Jake said.
Leandro felt a chill tighten his skin. ‘Where’d you hear that?’
‘Joke, man,’ Jake laughed.
‘Right...’
‘You okay?’
‘Sure,’ Leandro said. ‘Been busy sorting out my father’s stuff. Now, about this Braystone account—’
‘So have you introduced Miranda to any hot French or Italian guys over there?’ Jake said.
‘No,’ he said, trying not to clench his jaw. ‘Not yet.’
‘Not that it’d work,’ Jake said. ‘But it’s worth a try.’
‘I’m sure when she’s ready to date again she will,’ Leandro said. ‘You can’t force people into doing stuff until they’re ready emotionally. You and Julius shouldn’t be giving her such a hard time about it. It’s probably why she’s been pushing back for all this time. Give her the space to recognise what she needs and stop lecturing her. She’s not a fool.’
‘Whoa there, buddy,’ Jake said. ‘No need to take my head off.’
‘I’m just saying you need to back off a little, okay?’
‘Okey dokey,’ Jake said. ‘Point taken. Now, about this Braystone account. It’s a humdinger of a puzzle, isn’t it?’
Leandro mentally gave a deep sigh of relief. Work. Now that was something he was comfortable talking about.
CHAPTER NINE
THERE WERE ONLY two days left before Miranda was to fly back to London. How had the last few days gone so quickly? It seemed like yesterday when she had arrived and walked into the villa with Leandro to all the dusts and secrets inside. Now the villa was all but empty apart from the kitchen, the bedroom they’d been sharing and Rosie’s room. He hadn’t done anything about that yet and Miranda didn’t want to push him. She knew he would do it when he was ready. He had a couple more days here after she left before he flew on to Geneva for a meeting over the big account he was working on for Jake.
Miranda looked at the date on the flight itinerary on her phone with a sinking feeling. Forty-eight hours and it would all be over. She and Leandro would go back to being friends. Platonic friends. They would no longer touch. No longer kiss. No longer make love. They would move on with their lives as if nothing had happened. She would have to interact with him at Julius and Holly’s wedding, maybe even dance with him and pretend they were as they had been before—distant friends. How was she going to do it? Wouldn’t everyone see the chemistry they activated in each other? She didn’t think she would be able to hide her emotions or her response to his presence. She had no control over how he made her feel. He had only to look at her and she felt her body tremble with need.
He wasn’t in love with her. She was almost sure of it. He certainly acted like it but he had never said the words. Every kiss, every caress, every time he made love to her, she wanted to believe he was doing it out of love instead of lust. But if he loved her why hadn’t he changed his mind about the time frame of their involvement? He hadn’t even mentioned it since the evening in his office. Had it been her imagination or had he been distancing himself since that night? She knew he was worried about the account he was working on. There were lawyers involved and a court hearing scheduled. Every spare minute when he wasn’t sorting out his father’s stuff he worked on his laptop with a deep frown etched on his forehead. She had tried to give him the space he needed to work in peace, even though it had been more than tempting to interrupt him and have him make love to her the way he had before.
But at night when he finally came to bed he would reach for her. His arms would go around her; his mouth, hands and deliciously male body would pleasure her until she was tingling from head to foot. She would sometimes wake and see him lying on his side looking at her, one of his hands idly stroking her arm or the back of her hand.
How could that just be lust?
The date blurred in front of Miranda’s vision. How could she leave without telling him how she felt? But how could she tell him when he had warned her from the start about moving the goal posts? She was supposed to be an adult about this. Do what everyone else her age did—have flings and ‘things’ with no strings. She wasn’t supposed to fall in love. Not with Leandro. He had always been so honest with her. He hadn’t made any promises or misled her in any way. She knew what she had been signing up for and yet she had broken the first rule.
The love she felt for him felt completely different from what she had felt for Mark. More adult. More mature. She loved him with her body and her mind. She couldn’t separate the two, which was part of the problem. She couldn’t separate her desire for him from her love of him. They were so deeply, inextricably entwined, like two parts of a whole.
Something about that date on her phone calendar began to niggle at the back of her mind.... She was as regular as clockwork. She should have had her period two days ago. She couldn’t be pregnant...could she? But they had used protection. Condoms were fairly reliable, weren’t they? She wasn’t on the pill because she hadn’t neede
d to be.
Surely it was too early to be panicking? Periods could be disrupted by stress and travel—not that hers had ever been disrupted before. They were annoyingly, persistently regular. She could set her watch by when the tell-tale cramps would start.
Miranda put a hand on her abdomen. Could it be possible? Could Leandro and her have made a tiny baby? The thought of having her very own baby made the membrane around her heart tighten. How could she have thought she could go through life without experiencing motherhood? Of course she wanted a baby. She wanted to be a mother more than anything. She wanted to be a wife, but not just anyone’s wife. She wanted to be Leandro’s wife. How could she live the rest of her life without him beside her? He was everything to her. He had shown her what she was capable of feeling as a woman. He had unlocked her frozen heart. He had awakened the needs she had suppressed. He was The One. The Only One. How could she not have realised that before now? But maybe a part of her had always been a little bit in love with him.
Would the prospect of having a baby change his mind about them having a future together?
Miranda gnawed at her lip. It would be best to make sure she was actually pregnant first. She would have to slip out and get a test kit and take it from there. There was no point in mentioning it until she was absolutely sure. Her mind ran with a spinning loop of worry. How would he take it if the test was positive? She couldn’t imagine how she was going to find the courage to tell him. ‘Hey, guess what? We made a baby.’ Like that was going to go down well. How would she explain it to her family? Or Mark’s family?
Leandro was tied up with the gardening team who were sorting out the garden in preparation for selling the villa. Miranda told him she was going to do some shopping for dinner, which was fortunately partially true. She was the world’s worst liar and didn’t want to raise his suspicions. Luckily he was preoccupied with the gardeners, as he simply kissed her on the forehead before turning back to speak to the head gardener.
Awakening the Ravensdale Heiress (The Ravensdale Scandals) Page 13