by Kendrick, Sharon; Lawrence, Kim; Crews, Caitlin; Milburne, Melanie
Draco picked Allegra up, carried her to the living area and laid her on one of the leather sofas. He removed the rest of his clothes and came down beside her, his mouth coming back to hers in a kiss that sent incendiary heat throughout his body. Her tongue wrestled and writhed with his, her lips soft, supple and playful. Her teeth got into the action with little kittenish bites that made the blood thunder through his veins.
It had been a long time since he’d worried about losing control but, with her mouth working its mesmerising magic on his, he seriously wondered whether he would go the distance. Need pulsed, powered and panted through him. Allegra’s body beckoned to him, her legs opening, her arms around his neck as tight as a vine.
Draco put his hands to her wrists, encircling them like handcuffs, but she was so slender his fingers overlapped. ‘I should get a condom.’
She pushed herself back against him, her breasts cool and soft against the wall of his chest, her eyelids lowered to half-mast like a sexy siren’s. ‘I’m on the pill. Make love to me. Now.’
That was another thing he hadn’t done in a long time and then only the once: gone bareback. But in the context of their exclusive relationship he didn’t have the usual list of reasons why he should halt proceedings to access protection. Allegra was taking contraception, in any case. He cradled her face in his hands, locking his gaze with hers. ‘Are you sure?’
Her pupils were wide with desire, her mouth plump and pink from kissing him. ‘We’re married. And we’re not going to sleep around, right? I’m clean, but if you need to get test—’
‘Done,’ Draco said. ‘I was tested six months ago when I ended a fling. I haven’t been with anyone since.’
Her eyes widened in surprise. ‘No one? No one at all?’
He brushed an imaginary strand of hair away from her face. ‘Seeing you that night reminded me of the chemistry we’ve always had. We have a passionate connection that’s not just physical but intellectual. I decided that night I wanted you and, with your father’s business worries taking centre stage, I soon came up with a plan to have you before someone else did. I had already been drip-feeding him money. What was a bit more to get what I wanted?’
Allegra rolled her lips together, her eyes shifting out of reach of his. ‘It sounds a little…clinical…’
He brought up her chin with his fingertip. ‘Does this feel clinical to you?’ Draco kissed her softly, lingeringly, allowing her time to respond with the fervent passion he knew she couldn’t contain. Her mouth flowered open, her arms going back around his neck, her soft little moan of acquiescence as sweet as any music he’d ever heard.
He moved from her mouth to kiss a pathway down between her breasts to her belly button, swirling his tongue around the tiny whorl of flesh before going lower. Allegra gave another whimper—part excitement, part nervousness.
He calmed her by placing a palm on her belly. ‘Relax, glykia mou. I won’t hurt you.’
She drew in a breath and he separated her tender folds, discovering her all over again. The secrets of her body, the scent and softness, the thrill of feeling her respond to his lips and tongue, was intoxicating to him. She arched up and shuddered as the orgasm powered through her in waves he could feel against his tongue.
She flopped back against the sofa cushions and he came over her, gliding into her with a long, deep thrust that made the hairs on his head shiver and shudder at the roots. Draco cut back a groan, but he couldn’t slow down. Not now. Not now this urgent, desperate need was on the run. It broke free from his body, exploding out of him in a hot rush of relief that rained goose bumps all over his quivering flesh.
He was floating…floating…floating…all of his senses dazed into somnolence.
Draco stroked a lazy hand up and down the slim length of Allegra’s thigh as if he were stroking a purring kitten. ‘I hope I didn’t rush you. Things got a little crazy just then.’
She shifted against him, her head tucking underneath his chin like a dormouse preparing for hibernation. ‘No, it was…wonderful.’ Her voice was as floaty as he felt. ‘Truly wonderful.’
Draco looked down at her, pleased to see a curve of a smile on her mouth. He played with her hair, freeing it from its elastic tie, lifting it up and letting it tumble back through his fingers. ‘We’re good together, Allegra.’
She peeped up at him. ‘The best?’
He gave her hair a teasing tug and then brought his mouth back down to hers. ‘The best is yet to come.’
* * *
Allegra woke in the quietude a little while before dawn. The only sound she could hear was the gentle wash of the water against the sides of the yacht. Draco was sleeping spoon-like behind her, one of his arms over her waist, his legs entwined with hers. She had never spooned anyone before. It was such a cosy, intimate feeling to be curled up together, skin to skin. She listened to the sound of his breathing, feeling each rise and fall of his chest against the naked skin of her back. She glanced down at the band of his tanned, hair-roughened arm around her waist, the contrast of his darker toned skin against her creamy white making something tingle and shiver deep and low in her belly.
The curtains weren’t drawn as they were so far away from anyone in the private cove they’d anchored the yacht in the night before. The stars were like handfuls of diamonds flung over a dark velvet blanket, twinkling, winking, existing in a timeless and spectacular array. It struck her how long it had been since she had seen the stars in such magnificence. Her life had become so busy with work she rarely saw the night sky, other than in the city, where the light pollution all but wiped their brilliance out, apart from a stubborn handful. Allegra hadn’t even taken holidays lately…not since her father had his cancer scare and she had used up all her leave, so the occasional star-gazing she did while taking a break had gone by the wayside.
Draco sighed and shifted behind her, his arm tightening around her body. ‘Are you awake?’
Allegra felt the stirring of his erection against her bottom, sending a rush of physical memory through her body. ‘I hope that’s not your idea of foreplay.’
He chuckled and turned her so she was facing him. His dark eyes glittered as brightly as the stars outside. ‘Here’s the rule. You don’t get to leave my bed until you’ve had a good time.’
Allegra traced the line of his smiling mouth with her fingertip. ‘I’m having a very good time. Better than I thought possible.’
He captured her finger and kissed the tip, holding her gaze with the ink-dark steadiness of his. ‘Not sore?’
She surreptitiously squeezed her legs together but wasn’t quite able to disguise her wince when the overused muscles gave a faint protest. ‘No…’
One black brow rose, demanding the truth. ‘Not at all?’
Allegra caught her lower lip in her teeth. ‘Well…maybe a little bit. That was quite a workout for me, given I’m a little out of practice and all.’
Draco stroked her forehead with such exquisite tenderness it made her chest feel strangely tight. ‘I’m sorry. I should’ve thought and taken it more slowly.’
She lowered her gaze and went back to tracing his mouth, lingering over his lower lip and the rich coating of stubble below it. ‘I guess I must seem a bit of a pariah, getting to this age without a healthy sex life.’
He inched up her chin again, his eyes lustrous and dark. ‘I have enough female friends and colleagues to know how hard it is for a career woman to juggle work and relationships. Some men don’t like not being the centre of a woman’s world. Some careers are more demanding than others.’
‘Yes, well, I had to fight hard to get where I’ve got,’ she said. ‘And, in spite of all the sacrifices I’ve made, I’ve still not made partner in the firm, nor will I be.’
‘Is that what you want? To be made partner?’
For years, it was all Allegra had wanted. It had co
nsumed her—the drive to achieve, to be recognised as competent and capable amongst her peers, especially the more senior ones. But lately her motivations had undergone a change. She still loved her job, but it didn’t feel as satisfying as it once had. She found herself thinking of all the bad things about her work instead of all the positive things. ‘I don’t know…maybe it’s time I shifted firms or something. I seem to have come to a bit of a career dead-end.’
‘The glass ceiling?’
‘That and other things…’ Other things such as that niggling sense she was missing out on something. Something far more important than a partnership in a law firm.
Draco threaded his fingers through hers and brought her hand to his chest. ‘Ever thought of working over here in Greece? You could set up a consultancy of your own. You could help women like Iona.’
Allegra had always resisted the thought of working in her homeland. She had been so determined to be independent of her father. But she knew there were opportunities over here that would be career enhancing and personally satisfying. ‘I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to juggle my London job without taking on anything else.’
‘I’m not expecting you to quit your job to cater to my needs,’ Draco said. ‘You have the right to work where you please. I have business commitments in England too. I’m just putting it out there in case you’d like to think about it.’
‘What would be the point of setting up a legal practice I will then have to close once our marriage is over?’
His gaze suddenly seemed to be darker than normal. More intense. His brows were drawn slightly together in a small frown. ‘Wouldn’t you have had to leave when you wanted children, in any case?’
‘Whoa there, buddy.’ Allegra pulled her hand out of his and got off the bed to put some distance between them. ‘How did we get from clever career moves to kids? You know my feelings on this.’ Even as she was saying it she was feeling the opposite.
I want kids. I want them with you.
How had it taken her this long to recognise that niggling sense of dissatisfaction with her life was because she wanted a child? She had never seen herself as a mother, but since she’d been with Draco she couldn’t get the thought out of her mind. But her pride wouldn’t allow her to express it openly. How could she talk of her longing for a child when Draco had married her for all the wrong reasons? A child deserved to be born in love, not convenience. A baby was a blessing, not part of a business deal.
Draco left the bed and slipped on a bathrobe, the twin of the one Allegra had shoved her arms through and tied around her waist. ‘What’s the matter? I’m not insisting we have a child together. I’m just putting it out there for discussion. There’s no harm in that, is there?’
‘Why discuss it at all?’ Allegra threw him a brittle glance. ‘We’re not staying married for ever. That was the deal, wasn’t it? Why are you shifting the goal posts now?’
A muscle moved like a tic near his mouth. ‘Let’s drop the topic. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. Forget I said it.’
‘No. Let’s talk about it,’ Allegra said. ‘It’s obviously been playing on your mind. I thought you were only teasing when you first mentioned it. But you have no relatives to speak of. Most Greek men want an heir, especially men as wealthy as you. Were you teasing?’
He released a long, slow breath as if he were regulating his response. ‘I was. But now I’m…wondering.’
Allegra wasn’t sure she wanted to discuss it when she already knew what the outcome would be. They could have a child together but it didn’t mean Draco would fall in love with her and stay married to her for ever. ‘It’s all right for you men,’ she said. ‘You don’t have to interrupt your career to have a family. You don’t have to give up your body for nine months, and longer still to breastfeed, and then spend years putting your aspirations on hold. You want the joy without the hard work.’
She was on a roll but she was spouting forth stuff she no longer believed the way she had even a few days ago. But she didn’t want him to think her so willing to give up everything for him.
Not when he didn’t love her.
But you don’t love him, so why does it matter?
Allegra sidestepped the prod of her conscience. She didn’t want to think about her feelings for him. It was dangerous to think about how he made her feel. She was confusing good sex with love, just like so many of her clients did. A couple of good orgasms and she fancied herself in love? Ridiculous. It was oxytocin—that was what it was. The bonding hormone tricking her into thinking she was falling in love with him. She was in lust with him. That was all. Lust. Lust. Lust.
‘I’m aware of the commitment it is for a woman to have a child,’ Draco said. ‘But you’re in a much better position than most women. With or without a husband, you could hire any necessary help, so your career wouldn’t be compromised.’
‘A nanny, you mean?’ Allegra knew all about nannies. Nannies who came and went, who pretended they loved you and then moved on with barely a moment’s notice after their affair with the husband of the house came to light. Nannies who made you feel wonderfully secure, only to rip that rug of security from under your feet so you were left in the inadequate care of a mentally unstable mother. ‘No way would I allow a stranger to raise any child of mine.’
She turned away to straighten the bed for something to do with her hands, pulling up the sheets with a vicious tug as if she was putting the subject to sleep once and for all. She sensed him watching her and tried to relax her jerky movements, to control her body language.
But then she felt Draco come up behind her, his hands going to her shoulders and gently turning her to face him. His dark brown eyes were full of concern, not criticism, disarming her completely. ‘This is a painful subject for you, ne? Then we will leave it alone. I don’t want to upset you. I want to spend this week enjoying your company.’
Allegra was enjoying his company a little too much. How was she going to keep her heart out of this when he was so damnably attractive? She blew out a long breath. ‘It is a painful subject. I hated being brought up by nannies. I would only just get used to one and then she would leave unexpectedly—mostly because her affair with my father had ended. He went through three or four that way. I’m sure that’s why my mother didn’t protest about me being sent to boarding school so young. She figured it would keep my father’s affairs off site, so to speak.’
Draco squeezed her shoulders. ‘Was boarding school tough on you?’
‘It wasn’t a picnic, that’s for sure,’ Allegra said. ‘I didn’t feel I belonged there. I was half-Greek with an accent that was nothing like all the upper-class English girls. I got rid of the accent as soon as I could and tried to fit in. But going home for holidays was just as hard. It was like culture shock. My mother couldn’t cope with a child underfoot. I reminded her too much of Dion.’
His frown was so deep it drew his eyebrows into a single bar of black. ‘Why do you think your parents didn’t divorce?’
‘I don’t know… I guess because my father would have felt bad about leaving her after Dion died,’ Allegra said, moving out of his hold to fold her arms across her middle. ‘In the end she left him. I thought he’d bring home a love child well before this. But he didn’t seem interested in marrying again until Elena got pregnant.’
‘Elena seems happy with her situation.’
‘Yes, well, she would be, wouldn’t she?’ Allegra said. ‘She has a beautiful baby boy and she’s married a man she loves. What’s not to be happy about?’
His frown deepened. ‘I thought you liked Elena.’
‘I do—a lot,’ Allegra said. ‘She’s sweet and caring, and has a lot of sensitivity, and heaps of integrity too. I just worry she might not be able to hold my father’s interest in the long term.’
The same worries I have about you.
�
��Your father might finally settle down now he has his son and heir,’ Draco said. ‘But I see why you’d be concerned for Elena.’
Allegra rolled her lips together for a moment. ‘You don’t see the similarity?’
A flicker of puzzlement passed over his features. ‘What similarity?’
‘Between our situation and theirs.’
A muscle tightened in the lower quadrant of his jaw. ‘No, quite frankly, I don’t. It’s a completely different situation. I’ve told you our marriage has a time limit. I promised to remain faithful during that time and, unlike your father, I am a man of my word. You have no reason to feel insecure with me. I might have a more colourful past than you but I have never cheated on a partner. Never.’
‘But we’re not in love with each other, so in a way we’re worse off than Dad and Elena.’
Something shifted at the back of his gaze, as if he was reordering his thoughts. ‘Perhaps we’re not, in the romantic sense of the word, but in every other way that counts.’ Draco held out his hand. ‘Come here.’
Allegra came as if he had an invisible cord attached to her body, tugging her back into his orbit. He took her by the waist, holding her against the frame of his body, his eyes meshing with hers in a lock that made her inner core tighten in excitement. There was no way she could resist him. It didn’t matter if he didn’t love her. She wanted him anyway.
He cupped her cheek with one broad hand, his touch as gentle as if he were cradling priceless porcelain. He brought his mouth down in a feather-down kiss that stirred her senses into a stupor. Her lips clung to his. Need rose in her like a tide, leaving no part of her body immune. Her breasts tingled where they were pushed against the hard wall of his chest, her legs feeling as if they had seaweed for bones. Draco’s mouth came back down to claim hers in a firmer kiss, his tongue entering her mouth in a sensual glide that made her insides twist and coil like kelp.
He eased back for a moment to look at her with eyes glittering with desire. ‘Breakfast or back to bed?’