He slipped the key into the lock and pushed the door inwards, stepping back to allow her to precede him.
As she stepped into the room, she heard a noise, and angled her head towards it. “Beatrice?” She squeaked, freezing in shock as the sight of her best friend met her.
“Peter?”
Beside her, Leonardo was removing his jacket and hanging it behind the door.
“What are you doing here?” It took Aurora a moment to galvanise her body back into action. She ran across to Beatrice and threw her arms around her best friend’s neck, not caring now that she was wet with perspiration. “What the hell are you doing here?” She repeated, her face a picture of puzzlement.
“Leo said you were beside yourself,” Beatrice answered, her voice tinged with a slight formality. “That you were upset we hadn’t spoken.”
“Well, of course.” Aurora straightened, and looked at Peter with a self-conscious smile. “We haven’t spoken since your wedding. Did you not get my calls? I’ve been ringing?”
“I know.” Beatrice held up a hand. “I know. I got your messages.”
“Oh.” Beside Aurora, Leonardo came to stand. He put an arm around her waist, pulling her to his side.
“Beatrice, Peter, it’s good to see you. I have to be up early tomorrow. I presumed you were coming here to smooth things over with Aurora. If you have any intention of creating difficulties for her, I would prefer you leave it until after the race, when I can give the matter my attention.”
Peter stuffed his hands in his pockets. “This isn’t our business, Leonardo. With all due respect.”
Leonardo stiffened, though Aurora was probably the only one who felt it. “With all due respect, Peter, everything that concerns Aurora is my business. Her happiness is my greatest priority, so if either my sister or you intends to jeopardise that, then I have every right to intervene.”
Aurora angled a look at him, her face a mask of surprise. “Leo,” she said quietly, putting a hand on his arm.
He turned to face her, his dark eyes glittering in his face. “I do not want Beatrice to berate you for something that you had every right to do.” He looked at his sister. “Aurora and I fell in love. We chose to keep our relationship private for many reasons. I can tell you, from personal experience, that Aurora found it almost impossible to be dishonest with you anyway. In some parts, it tore her apart. If either of us were less high-profile in our careers, it perhaps would not have been necessary. You cannot carry a grudge for a decision we made years ago, that was in our own best interest.”
Beatrice cleared her throat. “I know. You’re right.”
Aurora switched her gaze from Leonardo to his younger half-sister. “Huh?”
Beatrice’s green eyes were earnest. “I’m sorry, Rors. I was… shocked. I felt… side lined and surprised. All our friendship, I thought we shared everything. To learn that you’d had a serious relationship, with Leo of all people, was totally overwhelming. I felt betrayed at first. But none of this is really about me.” She looked at Peter, a small smile on her face. “I’ve got my own relationship to think of. That’s my concern. Not what you two do. All I care about is that you are both happy, in your own ways.” She cleared her throat again. “I should have called you sooner, but… I’ll admit I was a bit mad.”
Aurora nodded. “Leo’s right. Lying to you was a nightmare. I hated it. I hated keeping such an important part of my life from you.”
Beatrice shrugged. “I don’t get how you did. I mean, you and I were together all the time. I looked back at my diary, and we had dinners with Leo in those two years. I knew you guys sort of fancied one another, but that was it.” She shook her head. “You totally had me fooled.”
“How did you find out?” Aurora asked the question that she’d been thinking since the wedding.
Peter stepped forward, his hands still thrust deep in his pant pockets. “That would be Alec. A man scorned, etcetera, etcetera.”
Leo swore softly, and turned away from them. Aurora ran a hand through her hair. “I told him from the beginning that I was still in love with Leo.” She shook her head. “I never meant to lead him on.” Beside her, Leonardo was very still, his body completely unmoving.
“He knows that. He’s not angry. He’s disappointed though.” Peter winked. “We’ll just have to find him another supermodel, I guess.”
“That’s not what I am,” Aurora inserted without thinking.
“Do you guys have dinner plans?” Beatrice asked, her reserved nature fading swiftly, and her normal cheery self re-asserting itself.
“Oh…” Aurora looked at Leonardo. “Leo has some team thing on, don’t you?”
He nodded, staring out beyond them at the twinkling lights of the enormous city. “You go with Beatrice, S.B. You’ll have much more fun.”
Aurora grinned. “Only if you’re sure?”
His smile was loaded with dark emotion. “That’s the happiest I’ve seen you since we left England. Of course I’m sure.” He kissed her forehead.
“Great.” She grinned at the newlywed. “I’ll meet you in the lobby in, shall we say, an hour? I just need to get the humidity layer off.”
“Perfect.” Beatrice blew a kiss as they departed.
And Aurora felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. As soon as they were alone, she pressed a hand against Leonardo’s shoulder. “How come you didn’t tell me they were coming?”
His expression was grim. “I wasn’t sure they would until we walked in the room.”
Aurora was quiet. “I don’t understand?”
“Don’t you?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Did you organise this?”
“You weren’t happy.” He shrugged. “Beatrice was being unreasonable. It was not difficult to realise I could make you happy by getting her to be more reasonable.”
“I don’t understand. She’s stubborn. She hasn’t returned any of my calls. What did you say to her to get her to back down?”
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I told her that you deserved better.”
She frowned. “That’s it?”
“More or less.” He ran his hands over her dress, until he found the zipper at the back. Slowly, he eased it down. “I’m going to shower before the meeting. Join me?”
He pushed the dress aside, so that it slipped off her shoulders and fell to the floor. She was not wearing a bra beneath, just a pair of black lace underpants. Leonardo groaned at the sight of her and buried his face against the soft skin of her shoulder. “Though I would much prefer to be staying here with you all night.”
She pushed aside any thoughts of Beatrice and lifted Leonardo’s shirt over his dark head. “Me too. Let’s cancel our plans.”
His laugh was a low rumble. “Very, very tempting.”
“Not tempting enough though?” She let out an exaggerated sigh. “I guess I’ll just have to try harder.” She pushed away from him and walked towards what she presumed would be the bathroom. The door opened into an enormous space, housing a spa, a separate shower and a heavenly view of KL. In line with the hotel’s décor, much of the coloring was ochre and golden, with ornate tribal patterns etched into the tiles.
“The spa does look fun,” she said, looking wistfully at the huge tub. “But in the interest of expediency…” She moved to the shower and flicked the switch on. A jet of warm water began to flow from the central showerhead. Aurora slipped her fingers into the waistband of her underpants, but Leonardo’s hands stilled hers.
“Allow me,” he rasped, as he pressed his now naked body against her back. He slid her thong down her long legs, then came to kneel in front of her. He kissed the smooth flesh of her stomach, then, as he stood, ran his mouth towards her breasts. She arched her back instinctively as he took one of her nipples in his mouth and circled it with his tongue. She lifted one leg against his side, needing him to be closer. He made a sound of wild pleasure as he manoeuvred them beneath the jet of water.
Her hai
r plastered to her face, but she didn’t care. Her body was moved by a primal need for his; a need that she suspected would never be diminished. Would never be lessened. “Leo...” she murmured, running her hands along his back, seeking flesh and fulfilment.
He grunted in response, and gripped her other thigh, so that he could lift her around his waist. They became one in an effortless fusing of bodies; as the water pounded their flesh, they stoked one another’s fires until the inevitable explosion tore them apart.
“Leo!” Aurora screamed, pressing her face against his chest as sensations rippled over her. She held onto him as though she were being dragged out to sea and he was her lifeline. “I love you.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly, as he slowly eased her unsteady legs back down. Out of nowhere, Aurora wondered at the unfairness of male and feminine beauty. While the water had made her feel like a drowned rat, with mascara smudged beneath her eyes, Leonardo had never looked better. His dark hair was slicked away from his handsome face, and his muscled body glistened in the water.
She watched as he squeezed some body gel into the palms of his hands and began to rub it over her skin. Starting with her shoulders, moving down her arms, to the sensitive skin beneath her breasts, and lower, to between her legs. No stone was left unturned as he sudsed his way across her flesh.
By the time she stepped out of the shower, her skin was tingling with sensations, and she had hardly any time left to dress for dinner. She threw him a look as she quickly dried off her hair.
“Problem?” He asked, coming to stand behind her, with his arms hooked loosely around her front.
“Yes.” She switched off the dryer. “You take two minutes and look like that.” She gestured toward his jeans and designer shirt, and combed back hair. “I’m going to be late, and still look a mess.”
“Nonsense. You could never look like a mess.” He grinned and pressed a kiss against her cheek. “I’m going to miss you tonight.”
Aurora’s heart turned over in her chest. “You know, I think you’re sweeter now than you were when we were first together.”
His eyes darkened. “Perhaps.”
“Why?”
He kissed her lips lightly. “Isn’t it obvious?”
She shook her head from side to side.
“I’ve lost you once. I don’t want it to happen again. If that means telling you every five minutes that you’re the damned sexiest woman I’ve ever known, so be it.”
She laughed quietly. “You’re not going to lose me again. I promise.”
“Do you?”
She frowned. “Do I what?”
He lifted her hand and kissed her ring finger. “I mean, do you really promise? Would you swear, in front of all our family and friends, that you’re going to love me, for the rest of my life? That no matter what happens, you’re sticking around this time, to have and to hold as long as we both shall live?”
Her breath caught in her chest as she looked at him with eyes that were wide. “I…. I … do you mean…?”
He nodded. “I’m deadly serious. The more I think about it, the more I think we were wrong to keep things secret last time. Whenever I’m with you, I want to scream from the rooftops how totally I worship you. I don’t want to hide our relationship. I want everyone to know. I want the whole world to get it. I want you to be Mrs Fontana.” He grinned. “Forever and ever.”
Aurora had the sensation that she was falling through the thick waves of time. Her body was limp, her mind slow. She blinked at him, and frowned. “Are you…” She shook her head. “It’s crazy.”
Leonardo’s expression flickered with a dark emotion, but he smothered it quickly. “Why is it crazy?”
Aurora’s heart was hammering hard against her rib cage. She looked at him, surprise making her head hurt. “We’ve never even talked about marriage.” She swallowed, but the lump in her throat made it difficult. “I mean, we’ve only been together a month.” She shook her head. “And before that, we had a lot of problems.”
Leonardo took a step backwards, his expression thunderous now. “Jesus Christ, Aurora. What the hell are you saying?”
What was she saying? “Nothing. Don’t be mad. I do love you, Leo. Isn’t that enough?”
“You love me? But you won’t marry me?”
She bit down on her lower lip and shrugged. “I’m twenty four.”
“So? I’m twenty eight. What’s your point?”
“I don’t know if I ever want to get married. Especially not at my age.”
“So you’re just wasting time with me until you are ready to get married?”
“No!” She crossed the distance to him and stood before him, careful not to touch him. “Stop being so dramatic. I have no intention of being with anyone else. I just think we should let this play out for a while.”
“All this sounds like to me is that you’re not sure. Not sure about me, and not sure about how you feel.”
She shook her head. “You’re wrong.” Her eyes were beseeching. “I have never loved anyone but you. And I don’t intend to ever love anyone but you. I just don’t think marriage necessarily makes our relationship any stronger. I’m happy with the way things are.”
“Because you can walk away again at any point? Like you did last time?”
She felt nausea bubble inside her. “And you’re so afraid that I’m going to leave you that you want to tie me down legally. That’s not healthy, Leo!”
“It’s not about tying you down legally. It’s about your willingness to make that commitment. A willingness you obviously don’t have.”
Aurora straightened her spine, and crossed her arms across the chest. Despite the fact she was naked except for her matching underwear, she managed to look impossibly fierce. “I am not going to spend my life trying to prove a point to you, or anyone. I’ve told you that I love you. That I want to be with you. That should be enough.” She walked past him, stalking towards the bedroom that housed their luggage. She grabbed the first thing her hands landed on; the Prada dress she’d bought just for him. With an angry expression, she unhooked her bra then pulled the dress on.
“Breaking yet another promise?” He asked scathingly, when she emerged a moment later. “I bought it just for you,” he mimicked, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and snapping the lid off angrily.
“I changed my mind,” she replied impishly.
“Goddamnit!” He exclaimed, slamming the bottle down on the counter so that water sloshed out of it. “What the hell is going on?”
“You’re pressuring me to do something I’m not ready for. That I don’t really care about. Marriage is just a certificate. What matters is how you and I feel, and how you and I treat each other. And right now you’re treating me like shit.”
“Oh, I am, am I?”
“Yes! Why do you think it would mean anything if I said ‘yes’ now? After you’ve brow beaten me into it?”
He reached for his jacket on the back of the chair. “Forget I even asked.” He shook his head as he walked towards the front door of the apartment. He yanked it open then turned to fix her with one last look. “If you wear that dress, you’re going to have every man in the place trying to grope you.”
He left without waiting for a reply, slamming the door behind him. Aurora jumped. She wore the dress to spite him, and wished she hadn’t as soon as she emerged into the lobby. He was right. The dress was sinfully revealing, especially on someone of Aurora’s proportions. Legs that went forever were showcased to their best by the flimsy material. By the time she met Beatrice and Peter, she was half wishing she could go upstairs and change. But she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. So she suffered through dinner feeling miserable, and self-conscious. The end of the evening couldn’t come soon enough.
10
Aurora stared out at the twinkling lights, a darkly brooding expression on her face. Leonardo would be back any minute, and she still couldn’t make sense of her reaction to his proposal.
<
br /> Why hadn’t she been thrilled?
Why hadn’t she jumped into his arms and screamed ‘yes’ at the top of her lungs?
She shook her head and tried to focus on the blog she was drafting. But all she could think about was his expression, when she’d hesitated. The hurt she’d seen briefly. The surprise. The disappointment.
She lifted her water and sipped it thoughtfully. The last time she’d loved him with all she had, she’d been crushed. She’d thought she’d died, when he had his accident. It had taught her an impossibly difficult lesson. That being independent and lonely was better than being enslaved by a love that could prove devastating. Except it wasn’t. She’d opened herself back up to risk again, so what was holding her back now? She did love him. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
There was no such thing as magic. No such thing as a fairytale ending. There was simply making the best of each day, as it came. And being in a relationship with Leonardo was doing that. Why did he need more? Why could this not be enough?
She tapped her fingers over the keyboard, squeezing out another twenty or so words before making a strangled sound of frustration and opening a new web browser. She surfed to one of her favourite gossips sights, telling herself it was technically working, as she was looking for inspiration for a ‘best and worst’ article.
And there, at the top of the page, set against the hot pink background, was a photograph of her. That very night, in the dress that might as well have been transparent. She winced, as she scanned the accompanying text.
Once Upon A Time IT girl, Aurora Jones, out and about in Kuala Lumpur with glamorous heiress bestie and newlywed Beatrice Beaumont (with newly minted husband Peter). Aurora is rumoured to be dating the hunk of the F1 racing circuit, Leonardo Fontana, though he was nowhere to be seen. Don’t know if I’d let Aurora out of my sight dressed like that, phwoooaaaar!
Aurora clicked out of it, her skin tingling with a sense of panic. Any idea of concealing their relationship evaporated. It was now, apparently, a matter of public record.
Clare Connelly Pairs: Warming the Sheikh’s Bed & Love in the Fast Lane Page 26