by Maya Banks
He bent, and his lips moved heatedly down her jaw to her neck and then lower to her breasts. He tugged one taut nipple with his mouth before going to the other. Lightly, his tongue rolled over the crest, sending shock waves to her throbbing center.
His dark head bobbed as he continued a path downward to the rise of her belly. Scooting his body down, he framed the mound between his hands with a reverence that brought tears to her eyes. Then he pressed his mouth to her stomach in a gentle kiss.
Emotion knotted in her throat until it became hard to breathe around it. If only they could stay this way. Here, where there were no words, no defenses, she felt loved and cherished. No walls, no barriers, no secrets.
His mouth moved lower, and she gasped when he nudged her thighs apart and touched his mouth to her pulsing core.
“Chrysander!” she cried out as he licked over her sensitive bundle of nerves.
“You taste so sweet, agape mou,” he said as he moved up her body again.
He fit himself against her damp heat and then slowly slid inside her body. She closed her eyes and reached for him with a sigh of pleasure. Her hand threaded through the short hair at the back of his head and down to his nape where she caressed as he moved back and forth with exquisite gentleness.
Then his lips found hers again, and he swallowed her abrupt cry as he sank deeper than before.
“Give me your pleasure,” he said against her mouth. “Only to me.”
She arched against him, her body tightening as the first stirrings of her release began deep and rushed in a thousand different directions. Her soft cry split the night, and he gathered her tightly to him. His hand smoothed down her side to her hip and then to the curve of her belly.
“I can never get enough of you,” he admitted in a voice that sounded strangely vulnerable.
She opened her eyes to see him staring down at her, his expression fierce and haunted. And then he began to move harder, more demanding. Wordlessly he took her to indescribable heights. She floated freely, her body cocooned in bliss.
So began the night. She’d barely come down from the peaks he’d driven her to when he began making love to her all over again. He possessed her tirelessly, commanding her body with a practiced ease that left her gasping. Throughout the night he was insatiable, and just before dawn, they both fell into an exhausted sleep.
Even as Marley hovered in the euphoric aftermath, her sleep was troubled. There was a familiarity to Chrysander’s demanding lovemaking, as if for the first time he’d shown her part of her past life with him.
In her dreams, she struggled to open a firmly shut door, knowing that on the other side lay her life, her memories, everything that had happened to her in her lifetime. She pulled at it then beat on it, sobbing for it to open and show her.
She clawed at it, and finally, she managed to pry it open the barest amount. Light poured from the crack, and then, as suddenly as it had shone, brilliant and white, it was doused by an overwhelming feeling of fear and despair. She knew without a doubt that she didn’t want to see what was on the other side.
In her shock, she loosened her grip and the door slammed shut, leaving her kneeling and shaking against the cold wood. No! She needed to know. She had to know. Who was she and what had happened to her?
“Marley. Marley!” Chrysander’s urgent tones intruded on her dream. “You must wake up, pedhaki mou. It’s just a dream. You’re safe. You’re here with me.”
She opened her eyes to see Chrysander over her, his eyes bright with concern. He’d turned the lamp on beside the bed, and for that she was grateful. She felt suffocated by the darkness of her dream.
She felt wetness on her cheeks and realized she’d been crying in her sleep. Her heart still raced with panic, and she couldn’t dispel the awful feeling of foreboding that had gripped her.
She tried to speak, to tell Chrysander she was all right, but a cry wrenched from her throat. He gathered her tightly in his arms and held her close as her body shook with sobs.
“You’re going to make yourself ill, Marley. You must stop.”
For a long time she gripped his arms, not wanting him to pull away from her. When she finally managed to regain control of herself, he gently eased her back onto the pillows.
“What has frightened you so badly, agape mou?”
The images from her dream came roaring back, but she was hard-pressed to make sense of them. Thankfully, the awful panic had receded so that she could breathe normally again.
“I was at a door,” she said, her speech faltering. “And I knew that on the other side of the door were my memories. But I couldn’t open it no matter how hard I tried. Finally, I managed to crack it but then…”
“Then what?” he asked gently.
“Fear,” she whispered. “So much fear. I was afraid. I let go of the door, and it slammed shut.”
He lay back down beside her and curled his arms around her. “It was just a dream, pedhaki mou. Just a dream. It can’t hurt you. You fear the unknown. This is natural.”
She slowly began to relax against him. He stroked her back, his palm gliding up and down her spine.
“Are you all right now? Do you want me to call for Dr. Karounis?”
She shook her head against his chest. “No. I’m fine. Really. I feel so silly now.”
“You’re not silly. Try and go back to sleep. I fear I kept you awake far too long tonight.”
His voice had deepened to a husky timbre, and her body tightened all over as she remembered the ways he’d kept her up.
With a yawn, she burrowed as tightly as she could against his hard body and let herself fall into what was this time a dreamless sleep.
Chrysander rose at dawn the next morning. He hadn’t slept since Marley had awakened with her nightmare. After he’d soothed her, and she had fallen into a more peaceful rest, he’d lain awake, staring at the ceiling as he realized the impossibility of their situation.
Careful not to wake Marley, he showered and dressed. After checking to make sure she hadn’t been disturbed, he went quietly down the stairs. He bypassed his office, though it was his custom to begin the day with business matters.
This morning something drove him to the beach where Marley so often visited. The air was chilly blowing off the water, but he took no notice as he stood watching the waves break and slide into shore.
Marley’s past, their past, threatened her in sleep. Her memories waged war at her most unguarded moments, and what would he do when it all came back?
The terrible conflict that ate at him was wearing him down. He should be angry, and at times he was. But it was also easy to forget. Here on the island, safeguarded from the rest of the world, it was easy to pretend that it was just him and Marley and their unborn child. No past betrayals, no lies, no deceit.
He shoved his hands into his pockets and bowed his head in resignation. Never before in his business or personal life had he felt so out of control, so indecisive. Could he forgive her for trying to destroy him and his brothers? That was the million-dollar question, because if he couldn’t, they had no future. When she remembered, things would irrevocably change, and he could either hold on to the acid taste of betrayal, or he could forge ahead and offer his forgiveness.
Theos mou, but he didn’t have the answer. He didn’t know if he had it in him to be so generous. He wanted her, no question. He was drawn to her, even knowing her sins. She was pregnant with his son, but could he honestly say that if she weren’t pregnant, he could so easily cast her aside?
Small arms circled his waist, and a warm body burrowed against his back. He looked down to see Marley’s hands clasped around his middle, and he brought his up to cover hers automatically.
She hugged him tightly, and he could feel her cheek pressed against his spine. She felt…right.
Slowly he eased her hands away so that he could turn in her arms. She looked up at him with warm and welcoming eyes before she dove into his arms and nuzzled against his chest.
“Goo
“I stopped by your office but didn’t find you. I was worried,” she said as she pulled away.
He cocked his head. “Worried?”
“You’re never not in your office,” she said lightly. “And then I couldn’t find you anywhere in the house. I thought…I thought you might have left.”
He ran his hands up to her shoulders and squeezed reassuringly. “I wouldn’t leave without telling you, pedhaki mou.” Was he so distant, so caught up in his efforts to avoid her that this was what she thought of him? If she did think so, he could hardly blame her. Between Mrs. Cahill and Dr. Karounis, he’d erected a veritable arsenal of people to put between them.
“Would you like to take a walk with me?” she asked. “I always walk on the beach in the mornings when you’re working. That is, if you aren’t too busy?”
He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. “I’m not too busy for you and our child. But should you be resting?”
An exasperated shriek left her lips, startling him with her ferocity. She yanked her hand from him and parked both of her fists on her hips.
“Do I look like I need to be resting?” Anger and disappointment burned in her eyes. “Look, Chrysander, if you don’t want to spend time with me, just say so, but stop throwing out your pat ‘You need to be resting’ line.”
She turned and stalked farther down the beach, leaving him there feeling like she’d punched him in the stomach. He ran a hand through his hair as he watched her hurry away, and then he strode after her, his feet kicking up sand as he closed the distance between them.
“Marley! Marley, wait,” he called as he caught her elbow.
When he turned her around, he was gutted by the tears streaking down her cheeks. She turned her face away and swiped blindly at her eyes with her other hand.
“Please, just go away,” she choked out. “Go do whatever it is you do with your time. I’ll wait for my appointment with you in the afternoon.”
It came out bitter and full of hurt, and he realized that he hadn’t fooled her at all with the distance he put between them.
He reached for her chin and gently tugged until she faced him. With his thumb, he wiped at a tear that slipped over her cheekbone.
“You aren’t an appointment, Marley.”
“No?” She yanked away from his touch and retreated a few feet until there was a respectable distance between them. “I’ve tried to be patient and understanding even though I don’t understand any of it. Us. You or even me. I can’t figure you out, Chrysander, and I’m tired of trying. I’ve tried to be strong and undemanding, but I can’t do it anymore. I’m scared to death. I don’t know who I am. I wake up one day to find myself pregnant, and there’s a stranger by my bed who says he’s my fiancé and the father of my child. One would think this would tell me that at least I was loved and cherished, but nothing you’ve done has made me feel anything but confusion. You run hot and cold, and I never know which one to expect. I can’t do this.”
Coldness wrapped around Chrysander’s chest, squeezing until he couldn’t draw a breath. “What are you saying?” he demanded.
She looked at him tiredly. “Why are you marrying me? Is it just because of the baby?”
He frowned, not liking the corner she was backing him into. “You’re tired and overwrought. We should go back in and continue this conversation where it’s warm—”
She cut him off with a furious hand. “I am not tired. I am not overwrought, and I want you to stop with the overprotective hovering. I don’t even buy that you’re that concerned, only that it’s a convenient barrier you can hide behind when I start asking questions.”
He opened his mouth to refute her words but then paused. He couldn’t very well deny it when it was true. Still, he had no desire for her to become distraught. Surely that couldn’t be good for the baby.
“What in my past am I so afraid of?” she whispered. “Last night terrified me. I woke this morning with a feeling of such fear, and not because I can’t remember, but because I’m afraid to remember.”
She stared earnestly at him, her eyes pleading.
“Tell me, Chrysander. I need to know. What were we like before? How did we meet? Were we very in love?”
He turned toward the water and shoved his hands back into his pockets. “You worked for me,” he said gruffly.
She moved beside him, not touching him. But she was close enough that he could feel the soft hiccups of her breaths.
“I did? At your hotel?”
He shook his head. “In the corporate offices. You were my assistant.”
She looked at him in shock. “But Roslyn is your assistant, and she seems awfully comfortable in that role. Like she’s been there for years.”
He offered a small smile. “You weren’t my assistant for long. I was too intent on having you in my bed. I convinced you to quit and move in with me. You were too much of a distraction for me at work.”
She didn’t look pleased by his statement. A worried frown worked over her face, and her lips turned down into a dissatisfied moue.
“So you’ve made it a practice to put me where it’s most convenient for you,” she murmured.
He cursed softly under his breath, but again, he couldn’t very well deny that he’d been intent on having his way when it came to her.
“And I allowed this?” she asked. “I just quit my job and moved in with you?”
He shrugged. “You seemed as happy to be with me as I was with you.”
She frowned harder and curled her hands protectively over her waist. “Was our baby planned?”
He drew in his breath. Here was an area he had to tread lightly. “I wouldn’t say planned, but your pregnancy certainly wasn’t unwelcome.”
If possible, she looked more miserable. She hunched her shoulders forward and turned away, but not before he saw the reemergence of tears.
He sighed and reached for her, pulling her into his arms. “Why are you so sad this morning, pedhaki mou? What can I do or say to make you feel better?”
She glanced up at him, her eyes shining with moisture. “You can stop avoiding me. You can stop using concerns over my health and that of the baby as an excuse to treat me as an invalid. You can stop treating my past like it’s something I have no right to know.”
He pressed his lips tightly together. “I will try to be less conscientious of your…health, though I reserve the right to be concerned.”
She smiled then, and the relief that hit him almost caused him to stumble. He hadn’t realized just how much her happiness was important to him. Was he crazy to be so concerned when she’d had no regard for his happiness in the past?
She leaned up to kiss him, and he caught her against him, holding her possessively as he devoured her lips.
“Thank you,” she said as she pulled back. “I just want…” She stopped, and longing flooded her eyes before she look away.
“What do you want, pedhaki mou?”
Her gaze flickered back to his. “I want us to be happy,” she said huskily. “I want to be sure of my place in your life. I want to remember, but more than that, I want to feel like I have more than just a small piece of you and your time.”
He regarded her thoughtfully. She’d never been so direct before her memory loss. She’d been shy and hesitant about voicing her wants and desires. But had she felt like this before? Had she resented his prolonged absences? The way he fit her into his life at his convenience? Was that why she’d lashed out? Had it been a bid to gain his attention?
“I want you to be happy, too, Marley. I want this very much. And while I can’t convince you of your place in my life with mere words, hopefully I can prove it to you over time.”
Her smile warmed him to his toes. It was like watching the sun break over the horizon. She reached for his hands and slid her palms into his grip.
“Come walk with me,” she invited.
Unable to deny her anything in that moment, he gathered her close and began walking down the beach.
Ten
M arley knelt in the cool soil of the garden and plucked the few weeds from around the flowers and greenery. With Chrysander’s morning ritual of working, she’d found other ways to occupy her time, much to the dismay of the gardener who flew out twice a week to tend the grounds.
Ever since her outburst on the beach, Chrysander had ceased to push Patrice and Dr. Karounis at her for every little health concern. Instead, they stayed firmly in the background on an as-needed basis, and Chrysander had relented on her traveling the stairs alone.
Despite the fact that he continued to work in the mornings, he came out to have breakfast with her before returning to his office. Then the fun began for Marley. Each day she found a new method of driving him insane. He’d come looking for her when work was finished, and invariably she tried the restraint he’d promised to exercise when it came to demanding that she rest.
When Chrysander had found her in the garden on her hands and knees, she thought he was going to burst a blood vessel. He’d promptly carried her inside and up the stairs, stripped her down and put her into the bathtub.
She’d giggled at his ferocious scowl, listened with pretended solemnity to his decree that she not endanger herself in that manner anymore and promptly plotted to return as soon as he was caught up in work again.
It began a fun game between them, although the amusement was entirely hers because Chrysander failed to see the hilarity in her continued disobedience.
So here she sat, waiting with amused delight for his arrival.
She heard his sigh behind her and grinned even as she found herself lifted into the air. She tumbled against Chrysander’s hard chest and smiled serenely up at his dark expression.
He strode for the house, grumbling the entire way.
“I promised to ease up on my overprotective tendencies. I stopped insisting you rest and even allowed you to walk unaided up and down the stairs.”
Marley rolled her eyes.
“But you would try the patience of a saint,” he growled.
As he had done before, and as she was counting on, he stripped her down and deposited her into an already drawn bath. He glared balefully at her, and she giggled as she sank lower into the water. He watched intently as she slowly washed herself, hunger glittering in his eyes.
Relishing the fact that she had his full attention, she took advantage as she worked the cloth over every inch of her body. When she was finished, she glanced innocently up at him as he towered over her. She flashed him her best smile, but he continued to glower at her.
“Your cuteness is not going to get you out of trouble, pedhaki mou,” he said.
“Well, at least I’m cute,” she said pertly.
“Why do you insist on provoking me? My hair is turning gray, and it is solely your fault.”
She glanced up at his dark hair, not marred by a single gray strand, and raised an eyebrow. “You poor baby. Are you too old to keep up with one little pregnant woman?”
“I’ll show you old,” he growled as he plucked her from the bathtub.
He barely took the time to dry her before he strode into the bedroom and deposited her on the bed. Her eyes widened appreciatively as he began stripping his clothing from his muscled body.
“Clearly I need to be bad more often,” she murmured. “I could learn to live with the punishment.”
“Little minx,” he said as he lowered himself into her waiting arms.
He was always in control in their lovemaking, and she knew this was the way it had always been, but now she had a sudden desire to turn the tables. To make him as crazy as he made her.
She pushed at him, and he withdrew with a frown. She followed him up and placed her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to lie on his back. She straddled his legs and stared at his shocked expression, a mischievous grin working at her lips.
“I want to touch you, Chrysander,” she said softly. She placed her palms on the tops of his thick legs and smoothed them slowly upward.
His eyes smoldered and sparked. “Then by all means, touch me, agape mou.”
With a little nervousness, she touched his male flesh, and he jerked in reaction. Feeling a little bolder, she wrapped her fingers around the turgid length and stroked lightly.
A groan worked from his throat, and she could see sweat beading on his brow. He was beautiful. Hard, male, his strength rippled through his every muscle.
She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his taut abdomen and then worked her way up to his flat nipples. A thin line of hair dusted his midline, and she ran her fingers over it, liking the feel of it on her skin.
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