Читать книгу The Tycoon Takes a Wife / His Royal Prize - Catherine Mann, Katherine Garbera - Страница 9

Madrid, Spain: One Year Ago

He wanted to drape her in jewels.

Jonah Landis skimmed his fingers along the bare arm of the woman sleeping next to him and imagined which of the family heirlooms would look best with her dark hair. Rubies? Emeralds? Or perhaps even a string of fat freshwater pearls. His knuckles grazed from her shoulder to her collarbone, his five-o’clock shadow having left a light rasp along her creamy flesh.

He usually didn’t dip into the family treasure trove. He preferred to live off the money he’d made with his own investments. But for Eloisa, he would make an exception.

Early morning light streaked through the wrought-iron window grilles in the seventeenth-century manor home he’d rented for the summer. A gentle breeze rustled the linen draping over the bed. At first he hadn’t even realized she was American, she’d looked so at home walking among the Spanish castle ruins. And exotic. And hot as hell. While she’d picked her way through the scaffolding making notes, he’d lost track of his conversation with fellow investors.

Most labeled him the impulsive one in his family, not that he cared much what others thought of him. Sure he took risks on a regular basis in his work realm and private life, but he always had a plan. And it had always paid off.

So far.

Last night, for the first time, he hadn’t planned a damn thing. He’d simply jumped right in with both feet with this coolly intriguing woman. He wasn’t sure how the decision would pan out in the long run, but he knew they were going to have one helluva summer.

The rest? They could take a day at a time.

“Uhmmm,” she sighed, rolling to her side and draping her arm over his hip.”Did I oversleep?”

Her eyes were still closed but their dark, rich color had cloaked the hauteur of an Ottoman empress. He’d lost plenty of time wondering about the woman behind them during historical reconstruction meetings.

He checked the digital clock resting on a carved walnut end table.”It’s only six. We still have a couple of hours before breakfast.”

Eloisa burrowed her head deeper in the feather pillow, her black hair fanning a tempting contrast across white cotton.”Am still so sleepy.”

She should be. They’d stayed up most of the night having sex … catnapping … showering … and ending up tangled together all over again. It didn’t help that they’d had a few drinks.

He’d limited himself to a couple, but those two seemed to hit her harder than him. He stroked back her long black hair, so smooth it glided through his fingers now as it had when she’d been over him, under him.

He throbbed from wanting her all over again when he should be down for the count for a while yet. She needed the rest more.

Jonah eased from the bed, fresh morning air from outside whispering over his skin.”I’ll call down and have someone from the kitchen send breakfast up here. If you have any preferences, speak now.”

She flipped to her back, eyes still closed as she stretched, her perfectly rounded breasts on amazing display as the comforter slipped to her waist.”Hmmm, anything is fine with me.” Her words were slurred with sleep.”I’m having the most wonderful dream—”

Eloisa paused, scrunching her forehead. She peeked through barely open inky lashes.”Jonah?”

“Yeah, that would be me.” He stepped into his silk boxers and reached for the phone.

Her gaze darted around his room quickly, orienting. She grasped the comforter and yanked it up, bringing her hand closer to her face. Suddenly she went stock-still and frowned.

“What’s the matter?”

She couldn’t possibly be shy after last night. It wasn’t as if they’d kept the lights off.

“Uh, Jonah?” Her voice squeaked up a notch.

He sank to the edge of the bed and waited, already thinking through at least five different ways he could distract her throughout the summer.

She extended her arm, splaying her fingers wide. Sunshine through the window glinted off the simple gold wedding band he’d placed there last night. Eloisa blinked fast, her eyes going wide with horror.

“Oh my God,” she gasped, thumbing the shiny new ring around and around.”What have we done?”