Harlequin Presents: Once Upon A Temptation June 2020--Box Set 1 of 2

by Dani Collins

  ‘I don’t think you need to prove yourself, Alek,’ she said. ‘I think what you do is very meaningful.’

  He had no idea how the conversation had got so sidetracked. He’d meant to distract her from her distress about her family and himself from his desire for her. Yet somehow this had turned heavy and he’d told her far more than he’d intended. And somehow she’d soothed an old wound within him that he hadn’t realised was still aching.

  He gazed at her—her beautiful leonine eyes were more luminous than ever and how was it he wanted her more than ever? The ache to lean close, to touch her, was unbearable.

  Instead he put down the tablet and stalked towards the door, remembering far too late that they had a palace full of people to please. ‘We’d better get this over with.’

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  HESTER WATCHED HER husband charm everyone—hustling the receiving line through while making every guest believe he’d paid them extra special individual attention. She was fascinated by his skill—and so busy contemplating what he’d told her, the depth of his secrets and sadness and sacrifice, that she didn’t spot her cousins until they were right there, confronting her with their fake smiles and stabbing eyes.

  All the noise of the room receded as Joshua, Kimberly and Brittany stared at her. Hester froze, struck dumb as Kimberly executed a tart curtsey that exuded total lack of respect.

  ‘Thanks for the invitation.’ Brittany’s faux polite opener was so barbed.

  Hester still couldn’t speak. They were older yet hadn’t changed a bit. And how was it that they could make her feel so inept and small, even here and now?

  ‘Our pleasure.’ Alek filled the small silence and extended his hand to Joshua. ‘We’re grateful you could join us in celebrating our special day.’

  In the face of Alek’s ruthless charm the three of them were rendered speechless. Hester watched with relief as they continued on into the reception room. It was good they’d shut up, but she’d not silenced them. And to her horror she discovered she still cared just a tiny bit too much. But Alek held her hand tightly, glued to her side in an outrageous display of possessiveness and protectiveness that she was enjoying far too much.

  ‘I instructed Fi to spread the rumour that we’re sneaking away early,’ he muttered near her ear as they took to the dance floor. ‘Which we are, by the way.’

  ‘Okay.’ It was silly to feel nervous. This wasn’t a real wedding night, but a charade.

  Less than thirty minutes later they walked through the corridors to their private apartments. ‘You’ll have to stay with me tonight,’ he said softly. ‘I’ll sleep…’

  ‘On the sofa?’ she finished for him.

  ‘Something like that.’

  ‘We survived.’

  ‘We did more than survive, we nailed it. Did you see their faces? They loved it.’ He threw her a satisfied smile.

  ‘Wonderful.’ She’d hardly noticed anyone else. She’d hardly eaten anything at the dinner. And she’d managed only a couple of mouthfuls of champagne.

  She glanced around his apartment, taking in the details to divert her thoughts. The set-up was similar to her own, only his had been refurbished in a modern style—no old-fashioned gaudy wallpaper for him.

  ‘I might go straight to bed,’ she murmured awkwardly.

  ‘That’s what you want?’

  She froze. She couldn’t even swallow.

  His expression suddenly twisted. ‘Relax, Hester. It’s okay. Take the bedroom, second door on the left.’

  She ought to have felt relief; instead hollow regret stole her last smile. But she’d only taken two steps into the bedroom when she realised the problem. Heat beat into her cheeks, but there was no getting around it. She walked back out to the lounge. Alek was exactly where she’d left him, staring moodily at the table.

  ‘I’m going to need help to get out of this dress,’ she said.

  He lifted his chin and speared her with that intense gaze.

  ‘I’m sewn into it.’ She bit her lip, so embarrassed because it felt stupidly intimate and he seemed reluctant to move nearer. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘No, it’s okay.’ He cleared his throat and walked over to her. ‘Let me see.’

  She turned her back, so crazily aware that she held her breath as he ran his finger down the seam of her dress.

  ‘I think I need scissors or something,’ he said.

  ‘You could always use your ceremonial sword.’ She tried to lighten the atmosphere but it didn’t work. Nothing could ease the tension she felt.

  ‘Or my teeth,’ he muttered.

  She tried to quell her shiver but his hands stilled on her skin. For an endless profound moment, awareness arced between them.

  ‘Come on,’ he finally growled. ‘I have scissors in the bathroom.’

  He meant the bathroom that was en suite to his massive bedroom. Hester hovered on the edge of the room, trying not to stare at that huge bed, while he retrieved the scissors. Then she turned her back to him again.

  ‘I don’t want to ruin it,’ he said in a low voice that purred over her.

  She closed her eyes. ‘I’m not going to wear it again—it won’t matter if it gets a little torn.’

  He worked silently for a moment longer. ‘They’ll put it on display at the palace museum eventually.’

  ‘Really?’ Even with her back to him his magnetism almost suffocated her. She wanted him to touch her more. She wanted another kiss…

  ‘I really need to get out of this dress,’ she begged desperately. ‘I can’t breathe any more.’

  ‘Then let’s get you out of it.’

  She felt a tug and then he swore. ‘I ripped a button off. Sorry.’

  ‘It’s fine.’

  She heard his sharp intake of breath. And then she heard another unmistakable tearing sound. Her dress loosened, then slipped and she clutched the bodice to her chest. Gripping the silk tightly against her, she slowly turned to face him.

  He was so near, so intent, so still. And she could so relate. She had to stay still too or else she was going to tumble into his arms like some desperate, over-sexed…virgin.

  ‘Hester…’

  She stared up at him.

  ‘Just so we’re clear,’ he said softly. ‘I didn’t steal the third kiss for the cameras.’

  She didn’t move. She couldn’t.

  ‘It was pure selfish want on my part. I know I ought to apologise, but I think you enjoyed it as much as I did.’

  He was so close she could feel his breath on her skin.

  ‘I want to think you want another,’ he said. ‘Not on any stupid contract. Not limited.’

  She couldn’t reply.

  ‘Your lips clung to mine.’ Emotion darkened his eyes as he stared down at her, solemn and so intense, pressing his will on hers. ‘I think you want me to kiss you and I sure as hell want to kiss you.’

  He still didn’t move. But he was right. She wanted him to touch her again. She ached to feel the electricity that had sizzled in that too-brief kiss. She wanted to know if it was real or if she’d imagined it. She needed to know that. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Yes?’

  She knew he was warring within himself the same way she was.

  ‘I do.’ She whispered a vow more honest than the other one she’d given today.

  He swooped down on her instantly. She’d never know how it happened but somehow she was backed up against the wall and he was kissing her and she was kissing him back as best she could because everything she’d been holding back for so long was released in a massive rush. All the want. All the heat. Sensual power burgeoned between them. She could no longer think, she no longer cared about anything other than keeping him kissing her. Keeping him close.

  ‘Tell me to stop,’ he groaned, lifting his head to gaze at her. ‘Or do you want me to keep going?
You know what I want, Hester. And while I’d like to think I know what you want, I need to hear it from you.’ His breathing was rough but the touch of his hands at her waist was so gentle. ‘I need to hear your voice.’

  Even though she really wanted to, she couldn’t make herself answer. She was so locked inside herself because what she wanted was so huge and she wanted it so much, she was terrified to ask for it.

  ‘Hester?’ His hands tightened on her waist.

  As she gazed at the restraint in his eyes a trickle of power ran through her veins. And that trickle was enough to make her walls crack.

  ‘I’m stronger than you,’ he growled. ‘I have you pinned against the wall. I could—’

  ‘It’s fine.’

  His pupils flared. ‘It’s what?’

  ‘Fantastic,’ she corrected in a desperate rush. ‘Please, Alek…’

  She needed his touch—needed him to take her, completely. She wanted all of him for just this one night. Because she was so tired of being alone. She’d not realised how lonely she was until he walked into her life and made her want all kinds of impossible things. Things she could never have for good, but maybe just for now. Just for a night.

  ‘Please what?’ he growled, leaning closer. ‘Tell me, Hester. I need you to tell me.’

  He remained locked before her, waiting—silently insisting. His fierce expression forced her own fiery need to burst free.

  ‘I’m tired of feeling nothing,’ she cried at him breathlessly. ‘I want to feel good. This feels good. I want to feel more good. Like this. With you.’

  His eyes widened but he nodded. ‘Okay.’

  He lifted his hands from her waist to her wrists. She was holding her dress tightly to her chest but she knew what he was about to do. He applied gentle pressure to her wrists; he pulled her arms away from her body, making her beautiful dress slither to the floor. The tight bodice had meant she’d not needed underwear so now her breasts were bared. His coal eyes blazed into hers for a long moment before his gaze then lowered. His tension tripled as he stared at her. Stark, savage hunger built in his expression—an echo of her own. With a muffled groan he bent and pressed his mouth to her—kissing, caressing, caring. Unable to resist, she leaned back against the wall, shuddering with the intensity of the sensations he was arousing in her with every hot breath, each slide of his tongue and tease of his fingers. Her body arched as she was lost in the delight of it. Of him. He was so overpowering, so perfect.

  ‘Oh…’ She closed her eyes as his hands roved lower.

  She was almost scared at how incredible it felt. ‘Alek.’ She couldn’t stand it any more. ‘Alek.’

  ‘Yes,’ he muttered, as breathless as she. ‘Yes, darling.’

  She tumbled into incoherence, into nothing but heat and light, burgeoning sensations of pleasure and want. She arched against him as he slipped his hand beneath her silk panties, writhing until he had to hold her hips still with a hard hand so he could pleasure her, so he could coax her to the very crest of that most incredible feeling. He stroked her hard until she shook in his arms and screamed out the agony of ecstasy.

  ‘You are so hot,’ he said as he picked her up and carried her to his bed as if she weighed nothing. ‘I knew you were.’

  She didn’t care what he knew, she just needed him closer. She needed more. ‘Alek.’

  She pulled him down to her. She’d never been this close to anyone and she didn’t want it to end yet, not now she’d only just begun to discover him. Her hand slid up his chest, gingerly spreading her fingers to explore him.

  ‘You can touch me.’ He drew a shaking breath. ‘Anywhere you want. Anyhow.’

  She realised he wanted her to touch him. As much as she wanted him to touch her. This was give and take. Desire and hunger. She slid her hand further and watched him tense with pleasure at her touch. And then all reticence fled and she was driven to discover more. She helped him out of his suit, relishing the slow revelation of his gorgeous body. She caressed every inch of his muscled beauty, pausing when she ran her fingers over a jagged scar on his rump—not wanting to hurt him but wondering what had happened. He smiled, pulling her closer, and she forgot her question in the heat and tease of his kisses. He’d locked her in a dungeon of desire—hidden deep inside the heart of the palace, she was a prisoner to the overwhelming lust he aroused.

  ‘Please,’ she whispered. Her throat was so dry the word hardly sounded.

  ‘Hester,’ he groaned. ‘I need you to tell me what you want me to do.’

  ‘I thought you didn’t like being told what to do?’ She shuddered as he slid his leg between hers.

  ‘I can make an exception for you.’ He gazed into her eyes, his hips grinding delightfully against hers in a slow, tormenting motion. ‘Do you want me to kiss you?’

  ‘Yes.’

  So he did—so thoroughly and lushly that she arched, unable to resist the urges of her body. He kissed, not just her mouth, but her neck and her chest. He kissed, nipped and nibbled, working his way lower and lower, kissing parts of her that had never been kissed before.

  ‘Do you want me to touch you?’ he breathed huskily against her belly.

  ‘Yes.’

  His hands swept over her—more and more intimately teasing and tormenting her until she writhed beneath him and even though he’d made her soar only minutes before, that empty ache inside was utterly unbearable.

  And somehow he knew. He lifted himself up above her and looked directly, deeply into her eyes. ‘Do you want me inside you?’

  She wanted everything. Most of all she didn’t want this good feeling to end. ‘Yes.’

  But he didn’t smile. ‘You’re sure?’

  ‘This is like a dream, Alek. Just for tonight.’

  ‘A dream?’ He shook his head. ‘This isn’t a dream you can wake up from and take back, Hester.’

  Her anger built. She’d not had this—not opened herself up to anyone—ever. And all she wanted was him. Now. And she didn’t want him to make her wait any longer. ‘Don’t say anything more,’ she moaned. ‘Don’t spoil it.’

  He tensed.

  ‘And don’t stop,’ she demanded fiercely. ‘Yes. I want you.’

  His smile spread across his face and then he kissed her again. Until she arched, until she moaned, until she couldn’t form words. For a moment he paused—vaguely she realised he was protecting them both—but then he was back, big and heavy against her, and she revelled in it. He slid his hand beneath her bottom and held her still enough for him to press close. She gasped as she felt his thickness sear into her.

  ‘Hester?’ he breathed.

  ‘Yes. Alek.’ She wanted this. Him.

  As he pushed closer still she trembled. He was so big and so strong and she was suddenly overwhelmed. But he moved so slowly, so carefully and then he kissed her again—in that deep, lush way, as if he’d wanted nothing more in all his life than to kiss her. As if she were the very oxygen he needed to survive. That was when everything melted within her and he slid to the hilt, so they were as deeply connected as they could possibly be. Her need coalesced again into a cascading reaction of movement. He pushed her to follow his sweet, hard, slick rhythm—into a dance she’d never known, but discovered she could do so damn well with him. His breathing roughened as she clutched him back, as she understood more the give and take, the meet and retreat of this magic. Together they moved faster, deeper…until she cried out as he brought unbearable, beautiful pleasure down upon her. As he broke through every last one of her boundaries to meet her right there—where there was light and heat and sheer physical joy.

  And finally, when she couldn’t actually move, when her body was so wrung out, so limp from that tornado of ecstasy, a small smile curved his gorgeous lips. He rolled but pulled her close, draping her soft body over his. And he kissed her again—a sweet intimacy she was still so unused to, and still
so desperately hungry for. So hungry, in fact, that it took only one long, lush kiss to stir her hips into that primal circling dance again.

  ‘Oh, Hester,’ he muttered and swept his hands down her yearning body. ‘You’re magnificent.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ALEK RESTED ON his side, watching her sleep—half impatient, half fascinated—until she finally stirred. Her gaze skittered away from his as she sat up. For the first time in his life he was unsure how to handle the morning after.

  ‘Sorry I slept in.’ She slithered from the bed and swiftly reached for the robe lying across the nearby chair. ‘I had an amazing time. Thank you.’

  Amazing? She had no idea what amazing was. But he supposed it was better than her telling him it had been ‘fine’.

  ‘No regrets?’ He pushed for more than this awkward politeness from her.

  ‘I don’t think it would be right to regret something that felt that good.’ She belted his favourite robe tightly around her waist, hiding her perfection from him again. ‘I’ll go back to my room now.’

  ‘You don’t have to,’ he said huskily, rubbing a sore spot he felt in his chest.

  Ordinarily he’d be relieved to have a lover leave him with such little fuss, but he wanted Hester to stay. But every ounce of her shy reserve had returned.

  ‘I know…but I…um…’ She drew breath. ‘My clothes are in there.’ She silently sped from the room—as if she daren’t leave a mark or a sound.

  And he just let her.

  He stared into the blank space. Breaking through her shell had been difficult and this morning it had just bounced back into place. Maybe she needed some time alone to process what had happened? Honestly, maybe he did too. Maybe letting her leave now might mean she’d be comfortable coming back soon.

  Just this once.

  That was what she’d whispered last night and if he were being sensible, that was how he’d leave this. But he rubbed his chest again as the reality of the situation hit hard. His sexual attraction to her hadn’t been assuaged but exacerbated. Worse was his burgeoning curiosity about everything else about her. He wanted to understand it all—her bag and her box and the books she’d not kept. Why did she have so few belongings?