by Lynne Graham
‘You’ll want me for all of five minutes!’ Letty told him tartly.
‘I last longer than five minutes,’ Leo assured her, refusing to take that comeback seriously.
And at that provocative sally something Letty had never felt before erupted inside her like a volcano spewing lava. It could only have been described as hissing, spitting rage. She flung what remained of her wine at him. ‘You bastard!’ she launched at him as the clear liquid splashed his face. ‘I trusted you to keep your word but now you’re trying to move the goalposts, which is totally unfair to me. And over what? Sex?’ Letty grimaced in dismissal of that paltry motivation. ‘Just because you’re between mistresses? What else would suddenly make me so irresistible?’
‘It’s not like that,’ Leo delivered harshly. ‘I wanted you the first time I met you and I fought it. Now we’re married and it doesn’t make sense for me to go out and look for another mistress when the only woman I want right now is my wife.’
‘Don’t you dare call me your wife!’ Letty fired back at him hotly. ‘I married you to be a mother to your sister’s children and that was all you asked of me. I’m entitled to receive the agreement I signed up to and the terms I legally approved. You are not entitled to demand anything more from me. Is that clear?’
Shocked, Leo scrutinised her, registering that her passion that night in the limo should have forewarned him that she could have a much more tempestuous nature than he had initially appreciated.
‘Yes, I can see you’re shattered by that news. You know why, Leo? Women are too easy for you. Today, in the space of a few short hours, I had Mariana, Katrina and my Aunt Elexis all drooling over you and hating me for marrying you.’
‘Is that my fault?’ Leo asked with the first hint of anger he had shown. ‘Is it my fault that two women I have never been intimate with lust after me? Am I supposed to apologise for that? Clearly, it annoyed you, but—’
‘I didn’t say it annoyed me,’ Letty bit out in haste, recognising that she had hit the wall with that comment because it really wasn’t fair to blame him for being gorgeous and rich and highly desirable to other women. ‘What annoys me is that with clear forethought and planning you brought me here to a house with one bed and one bedroom in expectation of a positive answer!’
‘Theé mou...there’s nothing positive about your attitude,’ Leo acknowledged grimly, his lean dark face set in forbidding lines. ‘In fact, everything you think about yourself and my interest in you and our marriage is incredibly negative in tone. I didn’t mention my intentions before the wedding because I had to stay in Greece until shortly before it and it was scarcely a subject I could tackle on the phone.’
‘Whatever!’ Letty waved an angrily dismissive hand and hauled open the patio doors to walk down onto the sand, desperate for some fresh air and the space to think after that incredibly volatile rush of rage that had so disconcerted her, never mind him.
‘It’s dark out there!’ Leo asserted in warning from behind her.
Letty swung her head back, her honey-blonde mane fluttering in the cool breeze, green eyes gleaming like sea glass polished by the surf. ‘I’m not thinking of going for a swim!’
She stomped along the beach, powered by anger, frustration and a whole host of other emotions she could not immediately neatly label and identify. How dare he? She grimaced. Leo would always dare. Leo didn’t respect boundaries and assumed every woman was available should he show interest. But, even if that had been his experience, he shouldn’t assume the same thing about her!
And then that mortifying incident in the limo returned to haunt her and she groaned out loud because she had given him very willing signals that night, making it obvious that she was attracted to him. Perhaps it wasn’t quite so shocking that Leo had expected a positive response from her when she had already given him that much encouragement.
She hitched up her skirt as her heels sank into the sand and, with a muttered curse, bent down to flip off her shoes and walk barefoot, her shoes dangling in one hand.
Slowly, her breathing steadied and her heartbeat stopped thumping madly in her ears. Mariana was no longer his mistress and her departure from the scene had created a vacancy, which Leo hoped to fill with her. It was a practical proposition from a man who clearly saw sex as a need that had to be met. She didn’t think that he attached much more importance to sex than that or that he was offering to throw anything more lasting into the mix. Yet the suggestion that they make their marriage the real deal was still light years removed from what he had originally proposed. And that made Letty intensely curious to know what it was about her which had brought about that amazing change in attitude.
It was about her—it truly was about her. Leo had the hots for her and a choked little giggle erupted in the back of her throat, making her feel remarkably like a teenager again. She raised her brows and continued walking, although her pace had slowed. In the sense that Leo was highly desirable in his own right, his interest made her feel ridiculously flattered but, in another sense, it offended her. If they had sex, and she was honest enough to admit to herself that she was physically willing, where did they go from there? That was the big question.
* * *
Back at the beach house, Leo tossed back a brandy and paced, wondering where he had gone wrong in his approach because Letty had gone up in flames and that had never happened with a woman before, most definitely not when he was trying to show a woman attention. Was she still so locked into that ‘sacred bond’ viewpoint that she could not see past it to appreciate that there were other kinds of relationships that functioned perfectly well without twinned souls and romance and all the rest of that nonsense? Leo reasoned impatiently. In a sudden movement, he set down the glass and strode down onto the sand.
* * *
Registering that she was cold, for an October night on a Greek island was not that warm with a breeze blowing, Letty had started walking back towards the house. Seeing Leo’s tall powerful figure approaching in the moonlight, she sighed and wondered what she was going to say to him.
‘I am not an unreasonable woman,’ she told him before he reached her. ‘If we make this a real marriage, where do we go from there?’
‘I don’t have a crystal ball,’ Leo told her succinctly.
‘No, but you do have to think deeply about what you’re doing,’ Letty countered. ‘And I’ve yet to be convinced that you do think that much when it comes to women.’
‘Theé mou...’ Leo ground out.
‘You would have to promise to be faithful,’ Letty informed him ruefully. ‘But you said you couldn’t do that.’
‘No, I said I didn’t want to risk breaking a promise of fidelity,’ Leo qualified. ‘That was what that clause in the prenup meant.’
‘That still won’t work for me. Either you’re mine or you’re not mine. There’s no halfway house option on offer.’
Surprisingly, Leo felt amusement lick up through his dark mood of dissatisfaction. ‘You drive a hard bargain.’
‘But you expected that from me,’ she guessed.
A wolfish grin slanted Leo’s wide sensual mouth and he jerked his chin in acknowledgement. ‘If I am with you, I will be with no other woman,’ he intoned. ‘If I am not content with that, however—’
Shivering, Letty lifted a determined hand to silence him. ‘No, you don’t get to qualify it with me. It’s either yes or no; you’re all in or all out, no escape clauses, no excuses. But that’s not all I have to say. Are you viewing this marriage as a temporary aberration or as something that could have a future?’
Leo expelled his breath in audible frustration, his lean dark features taut as he started unbuttoning his shirt. ‘I don’t know the answer to that.’
‘I don’t want to enter into a “try before you buy” scenario, Leo. I’m worth more than that,’ Letty assured him, throwing her head high, her honey-blonde tresses blowing in the br
eeze, her clear gaze reflecting the light bouncing off the sea. ‘I won’t come cheap or easy. I’ll make demands. I’ll have expectations. I have no idea how a mistress behaves but I would imagine that if a woman is dependent on a man’s continuing interest she has to refrain from demands and expectations.’
Leo slid fluidly out of his shirt and draped it round her in a gesture that startled her. ‘You’re cold,’ he said simply.
‘I assumed it would be warmer,’ she admitted as he closed an arm around her to walk her back towards the beach house. ‘But my winter clothes would be too warm.’
‘I’ll take you shopping,’ Leo told her calmly. ‘So, yineka mou, if I’m now yours, what next have you in store for me?’
Letty chuckled. ‘I was rather hoping you’d take the lead there. I haven’t had sex before.’
Halfway into the house again, Leo stopped dead and turned to look at her with startled dark golden eyes. ‘You mean—?’
‘Yes. No experience at all,’ she admitted with an uneasy shrug.
Leo was frowning. ‘But why?’
‘Wasn’t interested enough to bother before. Clearly,’ Letty murmured with hot cheeks, ‘you float my boat, which is very apt for a shipping tycoon.’
Leo laughed with rich appreciation and swept her towards the stairs. ‘I can’t wait to get you into that bed,’ he admitted frankly. ‘Since that night in the car, you’ve been playing a leading role in all my fantasies.’
Warmth filtered into Letty’s chilled body at the concept of figuring in Leo’s fantasies. She guessed that it was the unexplored sensual side of her nature which enjoyed that admission of his and then she drew in a stark breath, wondering how he would react when he realised that she was a perfectly ordinary young woman with no box of bedroom tricks with which to amuse a sophisticate. Would he stay faithful then? She swallowed hard on her insecurities, censuring herself for holding such a low opinion of her own powers of attraction. Maybe sex was just sex to Leo and he didn’t look for bells and whistles as well, but it was hard to credit that a practised lover couldn’t offer much more than she could.
‘Leo...’ she began anxiously.
‘Stop fretting, Letty,’ Leo urged with his glimmering smile. ‘Don’t spoil the moment. I will also be sure to discreetly break the news to your grandfather that you came to me pure as the driven snow. That will set him back on his heels and teach him to respect you more.’
‘Leo, for goodness’ sake!’ Letty broke in, mortified by the idea.
‘No, you should be proud rather than apologetic or embarrassed,’ her bridegroom told her with conviction as he closed a hand over hers to tug her inexorably up the stairs. ‘I haven’t been with a virgin since my own first experience. I was sixteen and in the grip of first love. It was a demoralising episode.’
‘Why?’ Letty asked starkly.
‘She was lying—she wasn’t a virgin, and within the space of a week she was bedding one of my friends,’ Leo confided with a sardonic slant to his lean dark features. ‘Following on from my dysfunctional relationship with my stepmother, who was already giving me the come-on, it soured my outlook on women. I promised myself that I’d never fall in love again and I turned my back on the sentimental stuff. It was the most sensible move I ever made.’
Letty put that little fact along with the other stuff she had garnered about Leo’s background: the licentious and vindictive stepmother he had endured in his infatuated father’s hasty second marriage, the mother he barely remembered, the disillusionment provided by his first love. Grief and hurt and distaste had made him distrustful and pessimistic and his experiences as an adult had only reinforced that outlook. Yet, at the same time, he loved his nephews and nieces enough to surrender his freedom in an attempt to give them a happier and more secure life. There were two sides to Leo, Letty acknowledged, a loving side and a dark cynical side, and she wondered which side would take precedence in their marriage.
A practical sexless marriage about to become a real marriage. The shock of realisation that she was about to embark on that challenge shrilled through her taut length and jolted her because she was taking a risk on Leo, and Letty generally avoided risks. And Leo was a huge risk, a man only prepared to accept the concept of fidelity at the point of a gun. In a tempest of doubt, Letty turned pale and flicked at one of the dried flowers scattered across the silky bedspread.
‘What are these?’
‘Rosemary.’ Leo shrugged. ‘An ancient Greek belief in the power of rosemary to enhance fertility.’
‘I thought rosemary was for remembrance,’ Letty muttered uncertainly. ‘But I suppose I should mention that I’m not on the pill.’
Leo laughed with rich appreciation, dark golden eyes alight with amusement. ‘With four little children up in that house on the hill, that’s not a risk I will take...unless, of course, you ask me to.’
Letty coloured. ‘Er...no, thanks, not just yet.’
‘Relax,’ Leo purred, enclosing her taut body in the circle of his arms. ‘You don’t have to worry about stuff like that. I will take care of everything.’
Letty bridled at that assurance, her fierce independent spirit rebelling. ‘I take care of myself, Leo,’ she said drily.
Leo quirked an ebony brow. ‘Not any more. That’s my department now.’
‘We’ll see,’ Letty muttered.
‘No, we won’t,’ Leo contradicted, long brown fingers knotting into the breeze-blown tangle of her hair to tug her head back as he crushed her parted lips under his, every ounce of mastery in his erotic repertoire powering that kiss.
CHAPTER SEVEN
HEATED ARGUMENT WAS swirling in Letty’s busy brain and then she was pierced by heat of a different kind.
A long shiver snaked through her and she trembled, desire like a living flame flaring low in her belly. She didn’t understand her response or the sudden dimming of rational thought and, being Letty, she struggled to comprehend how her physical response could overwhelm her mental reactions. And in that moment of disconcerted stasis Leo tangled his tongue with hers, skated it over the roof of her mouth and her legs literally went weak. Ultimately that didn’t matter because he was already leaning her up against him for support while tugging down the straps on her maxi dress and letting it fall to the floor.
Eyes fluttering in dismay, Letty found herself lying back on the bed with no clear awareness of how she had arrived there. She gazed up at Leo worriedly, painfully sober, painfully aware of the size of her bare breasts, which had always been larger and more noticeable than she was comfortable with, but then bosomy women ran in the family genes and she hadn’t got a choice in the matter.
‘Theé mou...’ Leo groaned with unashamed appreciation. ‘You have gorgeous breasts.’
Taken aback, Letty peered down at her attributes in bewilderment as Leo curved what could only be described as reverent hands to the bountiful swell of her breasts, shaping and moulding them, fingers grazing the stiffened peaks, lingering to rub the sensitive tips and provoke a breathy gasp from her lips as an arrow of heat ran down to her pelvis. Leo liked her body, Leo accepted her as she was, and a whole slice of her anxiety fell away in that moment. He closed his mouth to a tender pink nipple and she jerked in surprise, unprepared for the pulsing ache stirring at the heart of her body.
A sensual daze cocooned her as a tightening sensation banded her womb, her hips pushing up for relief as he teased a swollen bud with the edge of his teeth and moved hungrily to the other. Answering heat sizzled through her quivering body before the slowly heightening delight just seemed to explode deep down inside her, sending streamers of multi-coloured fire darting through every nerve-ending she possessed and dragging a cry from deep in her throat. Stray convulsions of pleasure continued to tug at her as she flung her head back in reaction, her honey-blonde mass of hair spreading across the pillows in a silken tangle.
‘You’re very sensitive t
here, meli mou,’ Leo murmured with satisfaction, long fingers gently brushing an almost painfully tender pink nipple. ‘I love that.’
Letty lifted a hand to frame one high cheekbone, utterly mesmerised by the smouldering blaze of his dark golden eyes. Her other hand curved to a bare bronzed shoulder with a new sense of intimacy that pleased her almost as much as it unnerved her. She liked the feel of his hot smooth skin and that was fine, perfectly acceptable as long as she accepted that that physical connection was as much as she could allow herself to feel for him.
‘What are you thinking about?’ Leo demanded with a disconcerted frown.
‘Nothing, nothing at all,’ Letty fibbed, lashes veiling her eyes as she drew herself up to put her lips against his again and he took the bait with alacrity, kissing her breathless while her restive hands roved over the smooth taut muscles of his spine to inch down into the waistband of his jeans to tug him closer still.
‘There’s so much more for us to discover,’ Leo murmured huskily, darting a trail of kisses down the slope that ran from her ear to her shoulder, singling out sensitive spots that even she had not known she possessed and reawakening the hunger he had briefly sated.
Somewhere during that moment, her last garment disappeared but she was much more preoccupied by the line of kisses Leo was tracing down over her midriff to the honeyed, throbbing core of her. She closed her eyes tight, surrendering control for the first time ever, knowing that the more aroused she was, the easier her introduction to sex would be. Before very long, she was no longer capable of such practical reflections and her body was writhing without her at the controls.
Excitement began to build in waves that climbed higher and higher. He slid a finger into her and toyed with the slick damp flesh between her slender thighs. Desire engulfed her in a sharp flood of impatience and frustration. She couldn’t stay still—she couldn’t stay still long enough to catch her breath and her heart was racing, perspiration breaking out on her skin as the heat mushroomed up from her pelvis and made her fingernails claw into his luxuriant hair.