‘What do you propose to do, lock me in an ivory tower while you travel the world on endless business commitments? Maybe you’ll come home one day to find that I’ve gone and taken Jean-Claude with me,’ she taunted.
‘I wouldn’t try it, chérie, because I swear I will hunt you down and when I find you, you’ll wish you’d never crossed me.’
The amusement had gone. Luc was deadly serious, Emily realised with a shiver at the implicit threat in his voice. He had made it plain that he was only taking her to France because Jean-Claude needed her, but it seemed that he intended to hold her as his prisoner.
Muttering something about needing to freshen up, she jumped to her feet. She was fully aware of the location of the opulent bedroom and adjoining bathroom and stumbled down the aisle, desperate to be alone while she came to terms with the way her life seemed to be falling apart. Luc had once spent an entire flight to Mexico making love to her on the vast double bed, she remembered painfully, but that had been early on, before the rot had set in and poisoned their relationship. She hated him, she reminded herself as she splashed cold water on her face and freed her hair from the yellow band so that it fell in a swathe of heavy silk down her back. She didn’t know why she had bothered to speak to him. It was useless when he was in such an unreasonable mood and she should have remembered that in a verbal sparring match his acidic tongue always left her raw.
What was happening to her? she wondered miserably. Where was the strong, confident woman who had discovered her own sense of self-worth amid the artists at San Antonia? A few hours ago she had been in charge of her life, prepared to seek Luc out and offer him the chance to build a relationship with his son, but now suddenly he had the upper hand and she was out of options.
She emerged from the bathroom to find him stretched out on the bed, his arms folded behind his head as he surveyed her like a sultan might have inspected his latest concubine. It didn’t help that he was so gorgeous, she thought helplessly as her eyes were drawn to the muscled hardness of his thighs beneath his superbly cut grey trousers. He had discarded his jacket and his shirt was unbuttoned at the throat to reveal a glimpse of dark hair that she knew covered the whole of his chest. For a moment she closed her eyes, remembering the last time she had seen him stretched out on that bed. Then he had been gloriously and unashamedly naked and she had revelled in the feel of his body on hers, skin on skin, his rough thighs rubbing erotically against the softness of hers.
Too much recall, she thought frantically as her eyes flew open, her cheeks scarlet as she met his sardonic gaze.
‘I’d appreciate some privacy,’ she told him coolly. ‘What do you want?’
‘To prove a point perhaps,’ he replied, so softly it was as if he was talking to himself, ‘or maybe it’s just because I can’t keep away, which makes me all kinds of a fool,’ he added with a harsh laugh.
‘You’re talking in riddles.’ Unwittingly she had edged closer to the bed, drawn to him with the deadly fascination of a moth to a bright light, and suddenly his hand shot out to capture her wrist.
‘Why did you leave me?’ The question surprised her but it was not as shocking as when he swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled her onto his lap.
‘You know why,’ she muttered, frantically trying to escape. Already she could feel the warmth of his thighs burn through her thin skirt and she shifted uncomfortably as heat coursed through her. This close she could see the fine lines around his eyes, the faint shadow on his jaw, and his mouth was only inches from hers, a wicked temptation she had to fight at all costs.
‘I want you to spell it out,’ he said, but the grip of his hands on her waist belied the blandness of his tone and she swallowed nervously.
‘I’d had enough of being humiliated by you.’
‘When did I ever humiliate you?’ he growled savagely, and she winced as his fingers bit into her skin. ‘You left me without a backward glance. Do you have any idea what my life was like after you disappeared so spectacularly?’ he demanded icily. ‘One minute we were an apparently happy couple, looking forward to the birth of our first child and then suddenly you were gone, leaving a brief note to say you were leaving me but no further explanation and no indication of when, or indeed if, you intended to come back.
‘The Chelsea set had a field day as the weeks passed and it became obvious that I didn’t have a clue where you were,’ he snapped, and for the first time she began to appreciate the full extent of his anger.
‘You could have told people I was visiting my family in Hampshire,’ Emily muttered, and received a scathing look.
‘Your selfishness is astounding,’ he told her bitterly. ‘You didn’t spare your family a second thought, did you? You didn’t think for a moment that they would also be worried about you.’
‘My mother knew our marriage was in trouble,’ Emily admitted huskily. ‘I told her I was going to stay with friends for a while and she wasn’t very happy about it. She warned me that millionaires don’t grow on trees and said I was a fool. Apparently it’s not uncommon for men to play away while their wives are pregnant,’ she added, her scathing glance telling him that she did not share Sarah’s view. ‘But I had concrete proof that you had spent the night with Robyn and I was so sickened by your deceit I knew I couldn’t stay with you, carrying on the act that we had a marriage made in heaven, for another minute.’
‘I never slept with her. It was all in your imagination,’ Luc replied grittily, but she refused to be intimidated by the flash of fire in his eyes.
‘You spent the night with her when you came back from Australia. You’d phoned your housekeeper to say you’d delayed your flight for twenty-four hours, but I never received the message and went to the airport to meet you. I saw you, Luc,’ she said bitterly, fighting the stab of pain that the memory still evoked. ‘You and Robyn. You didn’t see me but I’m not stupid. You had your arm around her and it was quite obvious that you’d lied about your change of flights in order to spend one more night with her.’
‘And that’s the reason you walked out on me? I lost the first year of my son’s life because of a mix-up over flights?’ The stark incredulity in Luc’s voice caused Emily to try and wriggle off his knee but his grip instantly tightened.
‘There were reasons why I…lied about the day I was coming home,’ he said tightly, patently making a huge effort to control his anger, ‘reasons that I would have explained if you’d given me the chance. Instead, you bolted like an immature child. You, chérie, took my son. You put me through months of hell and still you wonder that I’m angry?’ He looked as though he was about to explode, his face a taut mask of barely restrained fury, and Emily shrank from his palpable aggression.
‘I know what I saw,’ she muttered stubbornly. ‘You shared a closeness with Robyn that excluded anyone else, including me.’
‘She’s my sister-in-law. I’ve known her for years and I admit I’m fond of her. She went through hell when Yves was killed, not least because she was driving the car and blamed herself for the accident.’ He caught hold of her chin so that she was forced to look at him and she was struck by the fierce gleam in his eyes, the determination to make her believe him.
It was the first time they had ever spoken properly about Robyn, the first time either of them had ever really listened. Before, she had allowed her suspicions about his relationship with his PA to fester until they’d boiled over in a torrent of wild accusations that he had refused to dignify with a reply. Instead, he had withdrawn into himself and treated her with such icy disdain that she had shrivelled while her insecurities had multiplied.
‘I swear I have never been unfaithful to you, with Robyn or anyone else,’ he told her, and the quiet intensity of his voice caused a little bubble of hope to grow in her chest.
Could he really be telling the truth? Had she misread the signs that she had believed pointed to his guilt? She had been so ready to assume the worst, she thought painfully. At the back of her mind she had always thought h
e would grow tired of her and she had been waiting, looking for proof that he’d regretted marrying her. Had she jumped on the signs of his supposed infidelity as an excuse to leave him before he’d become bored of her, and if that was true, hadn’t she denied him the first year of his son’s life because of her pride?
It was not a comfortable thought and she shifted on his lap and then wished she hadn’t. Their position was way too intimate and it was hard to think straight when her senses were drugged by the musk of his aftershave. Emily needed to put some space between them and the glint in his eyes warned her he was aware of the reason for her escape bid.
‘But the night you spent at her flat?’ she demanded feverishly, still unwilling to accept she had been wrong all this time. ‘I know you were with her.’
‘That’s right, I spent the entire night trying to sleep on a sofa designed for a midget, counting the hours until I could get home to you. I knew your ultrasound scan was booked for later that day and despite your accusations, I was desperate to go with you.’
‘Then why didn’t you?’ Emily snapped, her tone plainly disbelieving and he sighed.
‘As you know, Robyn was once a top model and like many celebrities she’s hounded by the press. The day we flew back from Australia she received a tip-off that some risqué photographs she had posed for early in her career were being circulated on the internet, along with accusations that she had been drinking on the night of the accident. She was distraught,’ Luc said quietly. ‘She begged me to stay with her and we talked for hours about Yves and how much she still missed him. I wanted to come to the hospital with you the next day but I was afraid to leave her while she was talking about ending her life.’ He could not have borne another suicide on his conscience, he thought bleakly, but since he’d been forced to make a stark choice between his wife and his sister-in-law he had suffered the punishment of the damned.
‘But why did you lie about changing your flight?’ Emily faltered, and he met her gaze with eyes that were as cool and clear as a mountain stream.
‘Because I knew you’d immediately jump to the wrong conclusion. I wanted desperately to see you after three weeks apart, but Robyn needed me more than she ever had and, God forgive me, I couldn’t let her down.’
He had to be telling the truth. No one could lie that convincingly, Emily thought, and her heart flipped with a feeling that was part joy, part despair that she had got it so incredibly wrong. If only she had confronted him instead of running away to lick her wounds. Luc had accused her of behaving like a silly child and she was filled with shame that she had misjudged him so badly. Was it possible that she had been wrong to think he hadn’t wanted their baby either? From the minute he’d arrived at San Antonia he had insisted that he wanted to be involved in his son’s life, so much so that he was prepared to install her in his château just because Jean-Claude needed her.
For a few glorious seconds hope began to unfurl inside her that there was a chance they could salvage their marriage after all, but then reality bounced back and with it bitter disillusionment. If Luc really felt nothing for his sister-in-law other than affection, why had he installed her in the Chelsea penthouse soon after the break-up of their marriage, and why had he allowed Robyn to send her and Jean-Claude away the day she had tried to see him?
‘Nice try, Luc,’ Emily flung at him as she tried in vain to slide off his knee. ‘For a minute you almost had me convinced.’
‘Are you saying you doubt my word?’ The note of incredulity in his voice would have been funny if Emily had felt like laughing, but she doubted she would ever smile again. He was so arrogant, she thought furiously, to believe she was still the shy girl he had married.
‘Give me one reason why I should believe anything you say?’
‘Because you are my wife.’
That couldn’t be a flash of hurt in his eyes, she reassured herself. It was impossible to inflict pain on granite and she hardened her heart against him.
‘I may have married you but I never gave you the right to tell me how to think. I know for a fact that you’re lying, but you can’t fool me any more. I’m not the pushover I used to be,’ she finished proudly, but his lazy smile caused a flicker of apprehension in the pit of her stomach.
‘Really? Perhaps I should put that to the test, ma chérie,’ he murmured silkily. ‘I could never resist a challenge.’ Any more than he could resist her, he thought grimly. How dared she accuse him of lying, in that prim, holier-than-thou tone! He had done his best to explain about Robyn but he would be damned if he would try again. Besides, he was tired of talking. They were going round in the same circles as they had a year ago and talking had never got them anywhere then, either. There was only one place where the lines of communication between them were clear and despite her protestations of maidenly outrage he could see the flare of excitement in her eyes. She might refuse to admit, even to herself, that she wanted him, but there was only one reason why she would challenge him and he wouldn’t disappoint her.
He moved abruptly and before Emily could guess his intention Luc flipped her back onto the bed, his hard body instantly covering hers so that she was trapped.
‘Let me go!’ Her anger was tempered with another, more unwelcome emotion as she acknowledged that the feel of his thighs pressing against hers was sending heat coursing through her body. He was so big, so dominantly male, and it had been so long since she had been held in his arms. Already she could feel her resistance fading as sensation took over, but from somewhere she found the strength to push against his shoulders. ‘Touch me and I’ll scream,’ she threatened, and he had the audacity to laugh, his warm breath stirring the tendrils of her hair that curled around her ear. ‘Do you want the cabin crew to barge in?’ she demanded desperately as he caught hold of her wrists and lifted them above her head so that she was spread helplessly beneath him.
‘I would prefer not to have an audience,’ he drawled, and she watched, transfixed, as his smile faded, the heat in his eyes a shocking indication of his hunger. He still wanted her! The realisation should have appalled her but instead a soft moan rose in her throat and was captured by his mouth coming down on hers. She was on fire instantly, no thought in her head to deny him when, if she was honest, this was what she had wanted from the moment he had strode towards her at San Antonia.
His tongue pushed insistently against her lips, demanding access, and she parted them with a groan, the thrust of his tongue an erotic invasion that made her twist her hips restlessly against the throbbing proof of his arousal. Where was her pride when she needed it? she thought frantically when he released her mouth at last and proceeded to trail a line of kisses down her neck. Her yellow strap top was a flimsy barrier he quickly dispensed with before pausing for a moment to stare at the vivid orange bra she was wearing underneath.
‘An interesting colour combination,’ he murmured thickly, and she flushed as sanity seeped back into her brain.
‘I like it,’ she snapped.
‘I like you better without it.’ His fingers had already released the clasp and she gasped as he pushed the lacy cups aside to reveal her small, round breasts that were tingling in anticipation of his touch.
They were going to be disappointed, Emily told herself sternly because she refused to give in to the desire that was threatening to engulf her. Much as her body might want him, she could not let Luc make love to her and she glared at him as she tried to drag her arms down from where he had pinioned them above her head.
‘I don’t know what you’re playing at,’ she snarled, ‘but I don’t want to do this.’
‘Why, because my touch sickens you?’ he queried, his eyes shadowed by his long lashes so that she couldn’t read his expression.
‘Yes,’ she muttered fiercely, but instead of releasing her, his mouth curved into a sardonic smile.
‘You’re a liar.’ He transferred both her wrists into one of his hands and slid the other down to cup her breast, moulding her soft flesh before he stroked his thu
mb pad across her nipple and watched in apparent fascination as it hardened. ‘And you talk too much,’ he mocked when at last he lifted his head to stare down into her stunned eyes. ‘What happened to my quiet, biddable little wife?’
Biddable! He made her sound like some mindless idiot and she hated the fact that there was a grain of truth in his words. She had loved him so much she would have done anything he’d asked and he had used her weakness for him with ruthless disregard for her feelings.
‘I grew up,’ she told him icily, ‘but I see your chauvinistic attitude towards marriage hasn’t improved.’
‘Non, I demand exclusive possession of my wife,’ he said easily. ‘You are back where you belong, chérie, in my bed, and this time I intend to make sure you stay there.’
Her angry response was cut off by the simple method of his mouth wreaking havoc on hers and by the time he released her she was a quivering mass of emotions. She shivered, unable to control the trembling of her limbs as he cupped her breast in his hand, his olive skin an erotic contrast to the milky whiteness of hers.
His breath was warm and she gasped as she felt the scrape of his jaw against her sensitive flesh. He used his tongue with devastating effect, drawing moist circles around her breast, moving inexorably closer to its centre. She held her breath, every fibre of her being willing him to continue. Finally, when she thought she could bear the waiting no more, his mouth closed fully around the throbbing peak of her nipple and he suckled her.
Instantly sensation coiled in the pit of her stomach and she clung to his shoulders for support as he transferred his mouth to her other breast and administered the same treatment. How had she lived without him? she wondered desperately as the lash of his tongue against her nipple drove her higher and higher. How had she survived for so long without the tumultuous pleasure only he could evoke, and how could she claw back any vestige of her pride when she was fast spinning out of control?
This had to stop, and right now, before she suffered the abject humiliation of begging him to take her. Her body’s shameful betrayal was a result of not making love for over a year, she consoled herself when Luc’s hand slid beneath her skirt, skimmed her thighs and moved with unerring precision to the core of her femininity. His questing fingers eased the lacy panel of her knickers aside before parting her delicately, the glitter in his eyes as he stared down at her warning her he had discovered the indubitable proof that he turned her on.
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