Rosie smothered a groan as three blondes, tall, skinny and all trustafarians, made a bee line for them and one had a particularly nasty glint in her eye.
‘Here’s the Queen bitch and her minions,’ Janine muttered into her soda and lime.
Rosie braced herself.
They’d gone to school with the Queen bitch otherwise known as Cecilia Winthrop.
Cecilia was a first cousin to Bronte’s ex-fiancé, Jonathan. And a fully paid up member of the County set.
The smile wasn’t quite a sneer but it was close and ruined by the pink lipstick smear on her too white teeth. A blemish Rosie was small enough to enjoy.
‘Well, well, look who’s here.’ Cecilia drawled.
Rosie gave an exaggerated cough.
‘God, Cecilia, try and remember a little scent goes a long way.’
Pale grey eyes narrowed into slits.
‘I hear Alexander Ludlow is slumming it.’
Since there was absolutely no point in responding to the statement. And since Cecilia loved nothing more than to create a drama. Rosie simply took a tiny sip of wine, turned her back and ignored her. And desperately tried to ignore the sickening clutch in her belly.
Janine, bless her, stepped into the breech.
‘You want to watch that mouth or you’ll be banned from Ludlow Hall just like your cousin.’
‘I wasn’t talking to you.’
‘You’re talking to me now. Why don’t you and your little friends go and play somewhere else.’
Cecilia opened her mouth but before she could speak, Alexander and Joshua Erichsen strolled over.
‘Evening ladies,’ Alexander said in a silky tone that made Rosie cringe.
Alexander was a patient man.
If anyone was going to bitch at Rosie about their relationship it would be these three and he’d waited all evening for this moment.
Rosie turned to look at him.
Her face was bone white and those dark eyes looked too big for her face.
They’d upset her.
A protective fury roared through his system so fast it shocked him, but he kept a smile on his face as he moved in close, wrapped an arm around her waist.
He didn’t miss the tremble so his kiss on Rosie’s vulnerable mouth was soft and gentle as was the one on her nose and forehead.
Since his reputation for not wearing his heart on his sleeve or for public shows of affection was well known, Cecilia’s shocked gasp was music to his ears.
He turned to her.
‘How are you, Cecilia? Enjoying the evening?’
The message in his eyes was crystal, back off. And by her beetroot red response she’d received it loud and clear.
He didn’t miss the venom in her eyes as they slid to Rosie and back to him.
She flashed him a brittle smile.
‘Very nice, thank you. We’re just leaving.’
As one, all three women moved away.
Josh blew out a low whistle.
‘All they’re missing are the pointy hats and the broomsticks,’ he said. And watched them with interest as they minced toward the exit in their high heels.
Then he turned and his eyes collided with Janine’s.
After a long drawn out moment, he held out his hand.
‘Joshua Erichsen.’
Rosie noticed the tension in her friend’s posture and how she clenched and then relaxed her fingers before reluctantly placing her hand in his.
‘Janine Faulkner.’
Rosie’s gaze bounced from one to the other and she didn’t miss the glint in his eye or the flush over her friend’s cheeks.
‘Janine’s the new manager of Sweet Sensations. She’s a geek,’ she told him.
Josh grinned and took Janine’s hand to his lips.
‘A very beautiful geek.’
Then he frowned as Janine snatched her hand back as if he’d burnt her.
Too pale, she turned to Rosie and Alexander.
Her smile was forced and it appeared she was trembling.
‘Thank you for inviting me, Alexander, but I need to get back to my baby.’
She gave Rosie a hug and moved away.
They all watched her leave.
‘Was it something I said?’ Josh wondered and sniffed his armpit.
Rosie patted his cheek, made him grin.
‘You smell wonderful.’
He kept his eye on Janine as she greeted a middle-aged couple.
‘Married?’
‘She’s a widow,’ Alexander told him.
‘Tough deal. She’s too young and has a baby?’
‘A beautiful baby girl called Daisy Boo.’ At Josh’s stunned look, Rosie nodded. ‘I know, she should be put up against a wall and shot for it.’
Before Josh could respond, Bronte and Nico joined them.
Her best friend was looking sensational this evening, Rosie decided. The ivory sheath was sleeveless and a couple of inches above the knees. Her hair was tied back in a slick high tail. The gold collar at her neck matched the cuff on her wrist.
‘You’re channelling the corporate wife look tonight,’ Rosie told her.
Bronte gave her big eyes and scanned her from top to toe.
‘I love that dress on you, it showcases your legs and arms.’
Rosie grinned.
‘Are you telling me we both look hot?’
With a smug smile, she responded,
‘We do, don’t we?’ Then Bronte’s eyes slid to her brother who was chatting to Nico. ‘How are things?’
‘Things are good.’
In a fast move that made Bronte and Nico blink, Alexander took her hand, brought it to his lips and nibbled her knuckles.
The heat that scorched Rosie’s cheeks now made her friends grin.
‘Rosie’s been on her feet all day. Will you miss her if she takes a break tomorrow?’ he asked his sister.
‘What?’ At Rosie’s howl of outrage, Bronte bit down hard on her bottom lip.
‘Of course not, enjoy.’
Struggling to keep up with his pace as he pulled her away from Bronte and Nico, Rosie’s voice went too high.
‘You have no right to make decisions for me. You can’t take over my life like that.’
She tugged on her hand but he held it fast, put an arm around her waist and smoothly steering her through the room towards the vast main reception area of Ludlow Hall.
It was swarming with people chatting and waiting for their cars to be delivered to the entrance by a team of valets.
When he simply turned her in his arms and kissed her hot and hard in front of an engrossed public, every logical thought in her brain was wiped clean. His tongue plundered. Rosie clung onto his shoulders for dear life as arousal battled with shock and won.
By the time he’d finished with her she couldn’t remember her own name.
Amused green eyes glittered into hers.
‘Get used to it.’
Before she could utter a syllable, he’d guided her outside and into his Range Rover.
Chapter Thirty Seven
It wasn’t until they’d cruised to a stop outside his new house that Rosie’s heart calmed and she found her voice.
‘Why are we here?’
Instead of responding, he got out, walked around to her side and opened her door.
Taking her hand, he walked her up the path.
As they stood outside the door he opened her palm, dropped a key attached to a silver keychain that held a shiny heart.
‘I’ve moved in. You’ll need this.’
Omigod.
He was giving her a key to his house?
But what did it mean?
Confused, she blinked up into his eyes and what she saw there made her throat go tight.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘It’s the key to the door. I have one and now you have one.’
‘Why?’
He opened the door, pushed her through and closed it behind her.
‘This is m
y home and I want it to be your home too,’ he said in a perfectly reasonable tone that made her blink. As if he gave women the keys to his home every day of the week.
‘But, are you asking me to move in with you?’
Her heart was beating so fast in her throat she pressed cold fingers to the spot.
Now, he simply moved into her, took her face between his hands and stared into her eyes.
‘Yes.’
Before she could utter a word, he took her hand and towed her through the dining area and into the most fabulous kitchen she’d ever seen in her life.
A glossy AGA in ivory sat in state. A couple of electric built ovens were tucked under the worktops. The cupboards were hand crafted and painted a smooth ivory with mahogany knobs. Acres of work surfaces were a sparkly granite in creams, gold with flecks of black. The central island was split level with six hand crafted chairs in smooth wood on one side and on the other a food preparation area with an extra sink and a complicated tap arrangement.
Folding glass doors took up most of one wall, in front of which were three spacious sofas in soft leather the colour of butter hugging a huge mahogany coffee table.
Alexander knew he’d shocked her and considered the possibility he was moving too fast.
Too bad.
While she was ogling the space, he needed to do something with his hands rather than haul her up to his bed and ravish her.
Instead, he moved to a vast stainless steel fridge, took out a bottle of champagne and grabbed a couple of crystal glasses from a cupboard.
As he popped open the bottle, poured a glass, he watched her face.
Sure, she was stunned, but there was something else in those big eyes. A mixture of hope and disbelief.
But it was the flash of fear that made him narrow his eyes. If it was the last thing he did, he’d remove that look from her fabulous eyes.
He poured a second glass.
‘Take off your panties.’
Her jolt of shock made him bite down hard on his tongue.
Heat travelled up her throat and into that beautiful face as her eyes clung to his.
After shrugging off his jacket and tossing it on a chair, with deliberate care, he removed his cufflinks, his tie and slipped the buttons on his shirt as he strolled towards her.
He stripped off his shirt and her eyes went wide as they burned a path down his torso. Oh, yeah, Rosie liked what she saw. He could tell by the way her pupils dilated, how her nipples went too hard and how her breathing went ragged.
Standing in her personal space, he unbuckled his belt, slid it out the loops of his trousers. The tip of her tongue explored her top lip and then her full bottom lip. His Love Muscle, already swollen, went so hard so fast the tendons in his thighs, his belly, were rigid.
Big eyes never left his.
‘Are you wet?’ he demanded to know.
A shuddering breath whooshed out her lungs as his hand cupped her neck and pulled her into him.
‘Rosie,’ his breath whispered over her mouth. ‘Take off your panties.’
With a shuddering breath she did as he asked.
He took her fingers and pressed them to his erection.
‘My Love Muscle is feeling deprived.’
Her full mouth twitched as she massaged his cock through his suit trousers.
‘Your Love Muscle needs Bromide.’
He nipped her bottom lip, licked and heard her groan.
‘That’s a myth. You know what I want that mouth to do to me?’
This time her eyes went wide but they held no fear just a naughty gleam.
A dark brow winged into her hairline.
‘Will it take the edge off?’
‘Only if you want it to.’
Her fingers unzipped him to find and release his cock.
When she stroked and her thumb rubbed a gentle circle over the mushroom head of his penis, he couldn’t control a pleasured gasp.
‘I’ll need guidance since I’m not an expert,’ she purred.
She could have fooled him. The way her hand tentatively stroked was killing him.
His shudder made her smile and just like that Rosie was in the driving seat.
She had him by the balls.
Literally as well as figuratively and for Rosie it was a heady feeling.
He toed off his shoes, his socks, kicked off his trousers and briefs.
With her mouth on his and his heavy cock in her hand, she nudged him towards a couch.
Kicking off her shoes, she knelt and simply stroked him from root to tip.
He stood in front of her and spread his legs.
Her gaze flicked up to find him watching her through narrowed eyes.
He couldn’t hide his pleasure and seeing, hearing his breath hitch aroused her unbearably.
‘Want me to taste you?’
His muscled legs trembled and his hand caught the back of her head.
‘Please,’ he pleaded in a voice that made the slick ache between her legs burn.
Her tongue flicked out to taste, to lick him. The salty, clean taste was pleasant, so she did it again. The sob from his throat made her suckle him from root to tip in a way that released more precum.
She’d given a blow job before, but it had been nothing like this.
When she took as much of him as possible into her mouth, his balls went too tight in her hand and she gave them a gentle squeeze.
‘I can’t...’ he gasped and pulled out before he ejaculated.
His eyes were tightly closed as his breath gasped from his throat.
‘I thought you wanted me to taste you?’
Glittering green eyes met hers as he shook his head.
‘Later.’
Now she frowned and gave him a pout.
Those amazing eyes flashed into hers and Rosie found herself in his arms as he strode through the house and took the stairs two at a time.
They entered his bedroom and she didn’t even have time to admire the incredible bed before she was on her back, her dress was around her waist and he was inside her.
Their coupling was fast and frantic.
Her heart soared as she matched him thrust for thrust. All she could hear above the hammering of her heart was the slap of slick flesh, their moans of arousal.
His mouth swallowed her scream of completion before he followed her into oblivion.
‘What was that?’
Alexander was lying on his back and she was sprawled on top of him while his fingers massaged her ass.
His laugh vibrated through her body.
‘I can’t get enough of you. I hope you don’t mind warm champagne.’
‘I love warm champagne.’
Pressing a gentle kiss to his pecs, Rosie lifted her head and leaned an elbow on his chest.
His wince when he saw the condition of her dress made her smile.
‘Sorry.’
‘You can pay for the dry cleaning.’
He patted her bare bottom. ‘Deal. Worth every penny.’
Sitting, she thrust her hands through her hair and looked around.
The bed was a huge steel monster that must weigh a ton.
‘Good God, this bed is massive. You could easily sleep four people.’
‘I’m not into threesomes or anything kinky.’
She gave him a bland look.
‘No? Ah well, I suppose I’d better get used to just one man at a time in my bed.’
Then she found herself on her back and looking up into his eyes.
‘You’d better be joking.’
She patted his cheek.
‘You’re too easy.’
Then those eyes went serious as they studied her hair, her mouth, before meeting hers.
‘Move in with me?’
Temptation almost won over an innate sense of self preservation, almost.
By the intense look in his eyes she knew this was not the time for smart remarks. He was absolutely serious and her heart twisted because she knew she was going to
hurt him.
Why couldn’t he have discussed this with her first, given her time to get used to the idea?
Her hand rose, her fingers stroked that marvellous face, threaded through his hair.
‘I’d love to say yes...’
His eyes narrowed on hers.
‘But...?’
She’d been with men before, of course she had. Two. They’d touched her, held her and made love to her. But compared to Alexander they’d been boys not men. And he was much too sure of himself.
And much too sure of her, which was a problem she needed to deal with.
‘You’re moving too fast.’
The flash of hurt was quickly hidden.
She hadn’t said yes and she hadn’t said no.
It was a cop out and they both knew it.
He rolled off the bed.
With his back to her he scrubbed his face with his hands.
She stood.
Her hands trembled a little as they smoothed her dress.
What to say?
How could she explain to him how she felt if she had no clear idea herself?
Any woman in her right mind would jump at the chance to move in with Alexander Ludlow. And Rosie knew she was the first woman he’d asked to live with him.
Looking at him now as he hauled on jeans, by the rigid jaw, the stiff back, she saw how much it had cost him to ask her.
Zipping up his jeans, his eyes met hers.
‘Don’t look at me like that, Rosie.’
‘Like what?’
‘Like a smacked puppy.’
She spread her hands, shook her head.
‘I don’t want to hurt you.’
He gave what passed for a crooked smile.
‘I’m a big boy. I can take it. I can’t force you to do something if it doesn’t feel right for you. I accept your feelings, angel face. But that’s not to say I won’t do everything I can to make you change your mind.’
Well, she’d have expected nothing less from him.
‘Can I road test the shower?’
Now he moved into her, caught her face between his hands, kissed her. It was hard and hot and hungry and she received the message loud and clear. This was not finished.
He lifted his head to stare into her eyes. And what she saw there, possession, determination and something else she couldn’t identify had her wonder if she’d lost her mind. But he hadn’t mentioned the word she so desperately longed to hear. Love. And until she did hear it compromise was not an option.
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