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

by Dani Collins

  ‘What time is it?’ She coughed the question because her insides had turned to jelly.

  ‘Mid-morning.’ He leaned against the doorframe and shot her a lazy smile.

  Hester gaped—she’d slept like the dead. She didn’t even remember coming to bed or if he’d even been in this bed with her. Disappointment struck. So much for thinking he might want her again or that he’d intended this to be a real honeymoon. She glanced at the table to avoid his eyes. Her box sat in the centre of it and she knew he’d put it there for her to see first thing so she wouldn’t fret about it.

  ‘I wondered if you’d like to ride with me,’ he said.

  ‘On a horse?’ The question slipped out before she thought better of it and her heart hollowed out the second she realised the implication of what she’d said.

  ‘Uh…’ He looked diverted but then his smile flashed back. ‘Yes. A horse.’

  ‘Um…’ She paused, prevaricating while she tried to think of…anything. Ideally a reason or excuse to say no. But her brain was failing her. She’d not wanted anything from anyone in so long and it was safest that way but now she felt heat and confusion and awkwardness and that fear.

  ‘Are you afraid to try something in case you’re not good at it?’ He tilted sideways to take up residence against the doorframe in that gorgeous way of his.

  She gave up on any pretence and just let the truth slip out. ‘No. I’m afraid of everything.’

  And what she was most afraid of was that what had happened between them wasn’t going to happen again. When they’d talked last night she’d felt as if they’d crossed into another level—her heart had ached for what he’d been through. In opening up with him she’d thought they’d forged even more of a connection than the fireworks of their physical compatibility the night before. She’d developed faith in him and every one of her barriers had fallen. She’d relaxed so much in his company that she’d actually fallen asleep on him in the middle of a conversation. She’d never been that relaxed with anyone, ever.

  ‘I don’t believe that,’ Alek challenged. ‘Not for a second.’

  ‘It’s true.’

  ‘Then you’re even braver than I already believed.’ He cocked his head. ‘Because you do it anyway. Even terrified, you get on with what’s necessary.’

  She willed her brain to work so she could push back her own weakness. ‘Yes, but fortunately I don’t consider sitting on a massive animal as necessary, Alek.’

  ‘But it’s so much fun,’ he goaded with that irresistible grin. ‘Come on, Hester, it’s just another little adventure and we adventure quite well together, don’t you think?’

  She gazed at him, sunk already. She couldn’t say no to him. She’d never been able to. Not the day he’d made his convenient proposal to her. And not now. ‘I’ll come watch you.’

  ‘Oh?’ Triumph lit his eyes. ‘See you down there in five.’

  She pulled on jeans and a tee. Downstairs she picked up a pastry from the platter that was on the table and headed out to the beautiful yard. To her relief there was no one there other than Alek. She took one look at the two enormous horses saddled and tethered behind him and almost choked on her chunk of croissant.

  ‘Uh… I’m really not sure.’ She shook her head.

  ‘Bess is very old, very gentle,’ he assured her, gently patting the chestnut horse.

  ‘And the other one?’ She glanced at the jet-black gigantic creature on the other side of him.

  ‘Is mine.’

  She didn’t need to look at him to know he was smiling and somehow her pride flared.

  ‘Okay.’ She drew in a breath and squared her shoulders. ‘I’m fine. This’ll be fine.’

  ‘Hester,’ he said softly.

  She looked at him, confused by his gently warning tone.

  ‘Don’t hide again. Not with me. Not now.’

  ‘Hide?’

  ‘You’ve just assumed your calm demeanour. It’s the way you keep yourself at a distance. You don’t need to do that with me any more. I know the truth.’

  ‘The truth?’ Her lungs shivered. He knew how much she wanted him?

  ‘You’ve already told me you’re scared.’

  To avoid meeting his gaze and revealing that other truth, Hester moved quickly. She could do this. Lots of people got on horses all the time—how hard could it be? She looked at the horse and stepped on the small stool waiting beside it. She held onto the saddle, eyed the stirrup and braced. But suddenly the horse shifted, she missed the stirrup, lost balance and in a flash had fallen. It turned out the ground was hard.

  She shut her eyes, utterly mortified as she heard Alek crouch beside her. ‘Are you hurt?’

  ‘No.’ But she realised she was unconsciously rubbing her rump. ‘And don’t even think about kissing it better.’

  Embarrassment swamped her the following second. What was it with her mouth running off before her brain kicked in? He probably hadn’t thought of doing that at all. She was the one fixated on the thought of kissing—and touching, and everything else.

  ‘Only this would happen to me,’ she groaned.

  ‘I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen off.’ He laughed.

  ‘I didn’t even manage to get on, Alek.’

  ‘Just sit there for a moment.’ He turned his head. ‘It’s okay.’ He raised his voice. ‘We’re okay.’

  Oh, heavens, he wasn’t talking to her. ‘Are there people watching? They saw that? Great.’

  His eyes crinkled at the corners and their coal-black centres gleamed. ‘I thought you didn’t care what people thought.’

  ‘Of course I do. I mean, I try very hard not to and most of the time that works, but sometimes it doesn’t and I…don’t know what I’m saying when you’re just sitting here grinning at me.’ She rubbed her head, feeling so hot and embarrassed while wishing he were closer still and she was still rabbiting on in a way that she never normally did. That ‘calm demeanour’ he reckoned she had? Shattered. Toasted in the fiery brilliance that was Alek himself.

  ‘Didn’t you see my scar the other night? You know, the one on my butt?’ He chuckled as the heat spread further over her face. ‘I took the most stupid tumble off my pony onto a very pointy stick when I was about seven. Everyone laughed so hard.’

  ‘Everyone?’

  ‘My parents, the staff…’ He shrugged. ‘It’s a good scar. I’m sure you saw it…or do you want me to show you now?’

  ‘No,’ she lied, then laughed, then sighed. ‘You’re going to make me try and get on that horse again, aren’t you?’

  ‘I’m not sure anyone can make you do anything,’ he teased.

  ‘Don’t try to make me feel competent at this when we both know I’m not. It’s all right for you,’ she muttered quietly. ‘You’re used to it. You know what to do.’

  ‘It’s just practice, Hester.’ He reached out to brush her face and whispered, ‘What if you ride with me?’

  She stared into his bottomless eyes. ‘On Bess?’

  ‘No, on Jupiter.’ That wickedness gleamed again. ‘He’s named for his size.’

  ‘Of course he is.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘If I can’t get on Bess, how do you think I’m going to get on Gigantor?’

  ‘Jupiter,’ he corrected with another laugh. ‘I’ll help you.’ He took her hand and tugged her to her feet.

  She stood nervously as Alek shifted the small stool. His hands were firm on her waist as he hoisted her with ease, ensuring she was safely astride the animal before releasing her. She clung to the reins nervously as Alek vaulted up behind her with superhuman agility.

  ‘You can let go now. I’ve got him. And you.’ Alek’s breath was warm in her ear and she heard his amusement as he put his arms around her. He pressed his palm against her belly and pulled her back to lean against his chest.

  She drew a shaky breath
in because this felt extremely intimate and precarious. They were up high.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he murmured. ‘We’ll start slow.’

  She closed her eyes for an instant, transported back to that magical night when he’d turned her in his arms and made her feel impossibly good things. But then she blinked as Alek made a clicking noise with his mouth and the horse moved.

  She heard his laughter as she tensed. He pulled her back against him firmly again and kept his hand pressed on her stomach. She gave up resisting and just leaned against him. He talked endlessly, telling her the names of the horses grazing in the fields as they passed them but she didn’t remember a single one. His voice simply mesmerised her as he pointed out other features of the ranch as Jupiter carried them along a pathway that narrowed as they headed towards a forested area.

  ‘These islands are volcanic,’ Alek explained. ‘While there’s apparently no threat of an eruption any time soon, we do get some interesting geographical features.’

  ‘Really?’ She mocked his tour-guide tone. ‘Such as?’

  ‘Such as wait and see.’

  She felt his laughter rumble again and her stomach somersaulted. Being held in his arms like this just made all her unrequited-lust feelings burn brighter still. It would take nothing to turn her head and press her lips to his neck. It took everything to stop herself from doing it.

  Alek pressed his knees, urging Jupiter forward, faster. He wanted to get to the forest sooner. Having Hester in front of him like this was pure torture. He’d been pacing downstairs for hours waiting for her to wake up, yet not wanting to disturb her too soon because she’d obviously been exhausted. And now she was in his arms but not the way he really wanted. The battle within was long lost. He wanted her again and damn any complicated consequences. Yet he still ached. With what he’d told her? What she’d told him?

  ‘I’m sorry we brought your cousins to Triscari,’ he blurted.

  ‘I wanted to be a princess for a day,’ she said ruefully. ‘I wanted to look like I had the fairy tale. Just for that moment. Just for once. Because I do still care, just a little. That’s pretty stupid, right?’

  ‘No, I think it’s pretty normal.’ He totally understood that she’d want to prove herself to them. ‘I always wanted not to be a prince for a day, so I get it.’

  ‘Does it ever happen? Do you ever get to have a day off?’

  ‘I have one now.’

  She was quiet for a while, but he felt her stiffness slowly return.

  ‘When this ends, I want everyone to think I walked away from you. I don’t want to be the victim all over again. I’d rather be seen as the evil cow who broke your heart. That it was me who chose. That I had the power.’ Slight laughter shook her slim body. ‘Can your ego handle that battering?’

  ‘Absolutely.’ But he felt choked. He didn’t want to think about this ending yet. He didn’t want to consider the moment when she’d walk out and not look back. But at the same time he wanted her to feel the power that she sought. He wanted her to know she actually had it already. She was strong and beautiful.

  ‘They’ll never believe it, of course,’ she groaned. ‘But I can pretend.’

  ‘They’ll believe it,’ he said. ‘It wouldn’t surprise them to hear I’ve been a jerk.’

  She shook her head. ‘You weren’t that bad. You just needed to find some fun, right? A blow-out now and then. Especially given you never get a day off.’

  He didn’t regret his past actions, but he didn’t feel any desire to replicate them. The thought of being with anyone else now was abhorrent. Irritation needled his flesh. He didn’t understand how everything had changed in such a short amount of time. He urged Jupiter to move faster, taking the excuse to hold her more tightly. Her breathing quickened, but her body moved with his. In the forest it was quiet and felt even more intimate. Through the trees he spied the blue sea and felt that familiar exhilaration and peace. ‘The view is amazing, isn’t it?’ he said.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And then there’s this.’ His very favourite place in the world.

  ‘Is that steam?’ Hester asked. ‘Is it a thermal pool?’

  ‘Yeah.’ He smiled; smart cookie. He guided Jupiter carefully around the large rocks and to the left of the small steaming pond.

  ‘Can we swim in it?’

  ‘Yes. No one else comes here. It’s completely private.’ It was his.

  ‘And those rocks—they’re amazing.’

  ‘Yeah—there’s volcanic glass—obsidian—in them. Sometimes I find pieces broken off.’

  ‘It’s the colour of your eyes,’ she murmured. ‘This is your wait-and-see moment.’ She was very still against him and her voice was the thinnest whisper. ‘It’s like some ancient fairyland. It’s just incredible, Alek. It’s like…a fantasy. There’s nothing more, is there? Because what with the palace and the castle and the homestead and now this?’

  ‘This is the best place in the world, Hester.’ His chest warmed as she softly babbled on, for once not holding back on expressing anything. And he was happy to confess his own secret love for it. ‘I think so, anyway.’

  ‘But am I going to have to get off this horse now?’ Her voice had gone even smaller.

  He chuckled, tightening his arm across her waist. ‘It wasn’t so unbearable, was it?’

  It had been completely unbearable. The raw sexuality Hester felt emanating behind her was making her steamier than the gorgeous-looking thermal pool. She hadn’t been able to resist pressing back, indulging in his heat and strength, the security in his hold and the danger in the press of his thighs as he’d guided the horse to a faster pace. The wind had whipped her hair and stolen her breath before it could reach her lungs, exhilarating and liberating. She’d become appallingly aroused and he’d brought her here—to paradise. She never wanted to return to reality.

  ‘Stay there a sec.’ He swung and leapt off the horse, landing so easily all the way down there on the ground.

  He turned back to face her and held his arms out to help her down. She literally slithered off the saddle and into his embrace—somehow ended up pressed against his chest. His hands ran down her back, pushing her closer against him, and she shut her eyes tightly, savouring the moment before he pulled fractionally away.

  ‘Hester.’

  She didn’t answer, didn’t move, didn’t open her eyes.

  ‘Look at me,’ he said softly.

  Neither her fight nor flight instincts were working. She’d frozen with the worst emotion of all—longing.

  ‘Hester.’

  She opened her eyes, lifting her chin to gaze at him, pinioned by a riot of yearning. She’d thought—so naively—that once that curiosity had been quenched, it would end. That it had mostly been only curiosity driving her to let him in. Instead, she’d discovered the utter delight of him and she wanted more. There were myriad things she secretly desired to do with him now. To do to him. She’d not thought she’d ever want to share any part of herself, ever. But with him?

  ‘You know you can practise your riding skills on me any time,’ he said huskily.

  Oh, he was just pure temptation.

  ‘What, as if you’re some stallion who needs breaking in?’ she muttered, but couldn’t hide her breathlessness.

  His eyebrows lifted and his eyes widened. ‘Maybe. While you’re the skittish filly who needs a gentle touch to bring her round.’

  ‘Maybe I don’t need that gentle of a touch.’

  His smile vanished, leaving only raw intensity. ‘And maybe I don’t need to be controlled.’

  The electricity between them crackled. The tension tore her self-control to shreds.

  Why should this be difficult? Why shouldn’t she reach out and take what she wanted? She’d been isolated and alone and denied touch for so long. And while she knew this wasn’t going to last, why shouldn’t she enj
oy everything this arrangement with him could offer?

  She couldn’t deny herself. She reached for him, tilting her chin to kiss him. His arms swept back around her, pulling her right off her feet. She clung to him as every ounce of need unravelled—forcing her to ensnare him. To keep him close. She kissed him as if there were no tomorrow. But he tore his mouth free.

  ‘I need to…uh… I need to sort Jupiter… It’ll just take a moment.’ He shook his head and firmly set her at a distance but she saw the tremble in his hands as he released her.

  The strongest sense of liberation swept over her as she faced the thermal springs. She stripped off her tee and her trousers, sliding her underwear off too. She wanted to be free. She carefully stepped into the narrow pool and then sank lower, letting the silken, warm water soothe her oversensitive body.

  ‘Hester?’

  She turned at his choked sound and saw him standing at the edge of the small pond. He was still and intent.

  Her awareness heightened and a deeply buried instinct kicked in. She stood, suddenly certain of her own sensuality as she stepped out of the water. She had no designer dress, no make-up. She was just plain, unadorned Hester. Completely bared. But the way he was looking at her? The response that he couldn’t conceal?

  He believed she was beautiful. He wanted her. He ached the same way she did.

  Pride and power exploded within her.

  For the first time in her life she was unafraid to take what she wanted. He could take it—more than that, she knew he willed it for her. For her to find that freedom to explore, to claim, even to conquer. It was almost anger that built within her—a reckless force so fierce and hot she couldn’t contain it. That searing need drove her to take what she wanted. And that was simply to get closer to him. To seek that sensual obliteration and satisfaction from him, with him.

  She unbuttoned his shirt with a dexterity she’d never imagined possessing. He said nothing but the rise and fall of his glorious chest quickened and suddenly he moved to kick off his boots. But then he was hers again. She unfastened his trousers, freeing him to her gaze, her touch, her total exploration. And she kissed him everywhere.