Читать книгу Three Rich Men: House of Midnight Fantasies / Forced to the Altar / The Millionaire's Pregnant Mistress - Michelle Celmer - Страница 11

Selene awoke the next morning, still restless even though she’d slept remarkably well, thanks to Adrien’s undivided attention. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been so relaxed, even if she hadn’t gotten everything from him that she’d wanted. Hopefully that would be included in the next phase. In the meantime, she had work to do.

She went through every room on the first floor, taking inventory of the furnishings as well as jotting down ideas and making a few preliminary sketches. She wanted to retain as much of the original atmosphere as possible, which meant eventually scouring antique stores to fill in wherever necessary, unless she found more items in the attic. She made a note to explore there in the next few days.

By the time afternoon rolled around, her head began to spin when she considered how much she needed to do with a house this size, including refurbishing the flooring and updating the kitchen. Right now, she needed to get out of the house, if only for a while. She also needed to see Adrien, the reason why she set out for his office before she drove into town.

When she knocked, he called, “Come in,” in a gruff voice.

She opened the door to find him standing with his back to her, one hand holding back the curtain as he stared out the window. His white shirt was rolled up at the sleeves and it appeared he might be wearing the same pair of slacks he’d worn last night. Had he slept in his clothes? Had he slept at all?

She cleared her throat to garner his attention. “I’m about to go into town for a while, if that’s okay with you.”

He let the curtain drop and slowly turned to face her. His rumpled unbuttoned shirt hung open, revealing his incredible chest. “You don’t need my permission to leave the house.”

She centered her gaze on his coveted medallion resting flush against his chest. “I thought you might have something you need me to do first.”

When she forced her gaze back to his face, along came the suggestive look he flaunted so well. “I do, but we’ll save that for later.” He rounded the desk and leaned back against it. “Unless you’re reconsidering after last night.”

Selene fumbled in her purse for the car keys, unsuccessful in her first two attempts to find them. “I’m leaving all options open. In the meantime, is there anything you need me to pick up from the store?”

“Do we need condoms?”

She gripped the keys tightly in her palm as a hot blush raided her cheeks. “As far as birth control is concerned, no, I’m on the Pill. But we do have other things to consider.”

“I’ve made more than a few mistakes in my time, Selene, but carelessness during sex isn’t one of them. Trust me, you don’t have to worry that I have some sort of disease. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“The same holds true for me.” She had spent several months after she’d tossed Richard out making certain her ex-husband hadn’t left her with any reminders of his infidelity, other than bitter memories.

“Good,” he said. “When I make love to you completely, I don’t want anything between us at all.”

“It’s nice to know you still plan to make love to me, hopefully before I’m too old to care.” Where on earth had that come from? Apparently from that recently discovered area of her brain known as “sex central.”

He gave her a smile as he pushed off the desk. “You are an impatient little minx, aren’t you?”

She was now. “I should go so I’ll be home before dark.”

He moved in front of her and drew a line down her jaw with his fingertip. “You want to get home to have more of what you had last night.”

Very true, Selene decided. But she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that. “I was thinking about dinner.”

He snagged the belt loop on her jeans and tugged her against him. “To hell you were. You’re thinking about sex. About me touching you again. If I said the word, you’d let me take you right here on my desk.”

Selene received a very detailed vision of that, thanks to Adrien. She glanced behind him and frowned. “I believe I’ll wait.”

“Fine, because I have no intention of taking you on a desk the first time.”

So long as he took her, Selene didn’t care where it happened. She formed her palm to his stubbly jaw. “Do me a favor and shave before tonight.”

He moved her hand to his lips and streaked his tongue over her palm before placing it against his chest. “I’ll definitely do that. I wouldn’t want you to suffer from whisker burn.”

“I do have a very sensitive mouth.”

His smile was oh so wicked. “I wasn’t referring to your mouth.”

She backed out of his hold and tugged at the hem of her T-shirt. “I see.”

“Not yet, but you will.”

“I’m leaving now.”

He crooked a finger at her. “Not until you come here.”

Selene knew exactly what he wanted and she wanted it, too. A quick kiss goodbye. A prelude to what he had in store for her that evening. She easily moved back into his arms and tilted her face up in a blatant offering of her mouth. Instead of kissing her, he brought his lips to her ear. “If you think you want it badly now, wait until tonight. I’m going to take you places you’ve never been before.”

Only then did he meld his lips to hers, driving her wild with the sweep of his tongue before he released her.

Selene wanted him to take her to those places, wanted him to take her beyond the limit. And that want had her counting the minutes until she again entered Adrien’s dark, seductive world.

He didn’t show up for dinner. In fact, Selene hadn’t seen him since she’d come back to the house from her errand run. After she did a load of laundry and cleaned up the kitchen, she went to her bedroom in hopes of finding him waiting for her, only to find the place deserted.

She opted to take a quick bath and ready for bed before she decided what to do next. Dressed in a mid-thigh pink satin robe, her wet hair bound in a towel, she stepped into the hallway and encountered her least favorite demon. Even after a few days of enduring Giles, her heart leaped into her throat every time she laid eyes on his murderous guise. Tonight she was jumpy enough without having to deal with him. On that thought, she pulled the towel from her hair and tossed it at him, making a perfect three-point landing on his horns and effectively covering his snarl. Unfortunately, the poor terrified woman was still exposed and, unless Selene retrieved a blanket to use as a drape, she would have to ignore her.

She returned to her still-empty bedroom and ran a brush through her hair. On afterthought, she dabbed on a little lip gloss and applied a touch of mascara, just in case she might actually get lucky with Adrien. Now the time had come to execute plan A—make the short trip to his office in hopes she might find him there. She padded down the corridor on bare feet, trying desperately to ignore the rasps and groans of the floor, the darkness down below and the dim light in the hallway.

She stood outside his office for a time, and when a knock received no response, she listened carefully and heard nothing. She tested the handle only to find it locked. Disappointed over her lack of success, she headed back down the corridor and paused at the staircase’s landing to look down into the dark depths of the rotunda. She wondered if Adrien was prowling around like some restive creature of the night. Even if that was the case, she had no intention of going outside to find him.

When she reached her room, Selene sent a quick glance at the demon only to find the towel was gone. Either he’d managed to remove it himself—a thought she preferred not to entertain—or Adrien had been around at some point in time.

Maybe it was time for plan B—checking out Adrien’s inner sanctum. She stopped outside his bedroom and, after finding the door partially ajar, called his name. When she received no answer, she stepped inside. The room was much bigger than hers, much cooler thanks to an operable window air-conditioning unit, and definitely more opulent. That didn’t exactly surprise her. After all, he was the lord of the manor. A gilded bed, the headboard and footboard upholstered in heavy blue brocade with a matching spread, sat angled in the corner across the room near the doors leading out to the veranda. To the left of those doors, a long Victorian walnut chaise covered in gold damask and two blue-and-gold striped armchairs formed a sitting area lit by a lone brass floor lamp.

Selene noted a door not far from the right of the bed and presumed that was the master bath. It didn’t seem wise to try and find out if he might be in there. Of course, she didn’t actually have to go in. She could stand by a few minutes and listen to see if he was taking a shower. She crossed the room to investigate and discovered no light filtering through the door, no sound coming from inside, indicating he was somewhere else in the house. But where? She supposed he could have taken a drive, but she didn’t recall seeing any car other than Ella’s hatchback.

She started to leave but instead turned back to survey the room. She had two more options—wait for him here in hopes he’d eventually come to her, or wait in her own bedroom with the veranda doors opened wide in invitation as she had last night. Or she could explore a bit more, beginning with the locked chamber across the hall. But did she dare? If he happened to be in there and she knocked, he would either allow her in or tell her to go away. He might also be angry over the intrusion. If so, he would simply have to get over it.

Filled with determination, Selene took one last glance at the room then spun around—only to run into a solid wall of prime male.

With one hand against her pounding heart, Selene stepped back to find Adrien dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, his jaw clean shaven, his hair shower damp, his feet bare … and a towel dangling from one hand. Her discarded towel. “Did you lose something?” he asked.

She suddenly felt very silly. “I was wondering where that went.”

He slid a slow glance down her body. “I was hoping you were leaving a trail so I could find you.”

“Actually, I got tired of that monster leering at me. I took the towel from my hair and covered him up.”

“Too bad the towel wasn’t around your body.”

Selene felt as if she were totally naked now under his perusal as he took a step toward her. “Did you need something from me?” he asked.

He knew exactly what she needed, but Selene wasn’t about to bite. “I needed to tell you that the contractor will be here first thing Monday morning to assess the repairs.”

“It’s only Friday.”

“I was afraid I might forget to mention it.”

“You were afraid I might not pay you a visit tonight.”

She shrugged. “Since it’s late, maybe some other time.”

When she started past him, he grabbed her arm and pulled her around. “It’s not too late to give you what you need.”

“I don’t need anything from you.” Another tiny lie.

“Okay, what you want” He slid his hands inside the collar of her robe and rubbed her neck with his thumbs. “It’s already started, the addiction. Don’t bother to deny it.”

She wasn’t a card-carrying Adrien addict yet, but she could be. Which is what made this situation so hazardous. “Look, whether you want to continue this or not is immaterial to me.”

“It’s everything to you.” He clasped her waist and hauled her against him. “Now that you know what you’ve been missing, it’s difficult to do without it.”

“I can do without it, thank you very much.”

“Are you sure about that?”

She was only sure of one thing—he could do things to her that no man had ever done with only a look.

Without the least bit of warning, he pulled up the back of her robe and ran his hands over her bare bottom. “For someone who doesn’t want it, you’re certainly prepared to get it.”

She shivered slightly despite her efforts to stop it. “I didn’t have the opportunity to get dressed after my bath.”

“You didn’t have any intention of getting dressed after your bath.” He took his hands from her bottom and brought them to the robe’s sash, releasing it with only a minimal tug. After parting the fabric, he took a step back and a visual excursion down her body that was already flushed. “Now to decide exactly what I’m going to do to you, and where I’m going to do it.”

She closed her robe and redid the sash for the sheer pleasure of having him open it again. “I don’t remember giving you permission to do anything to me.”

He gestured to the door. “Go, then. I’m not going to force you into anything.”

Damn him. And damn herself for her inability to resist him. “Well, I suppose since I don’t have anything better to do, we could spend some time together.”

His smile was smug and tremendously sexy. “That’s what I thought.”

Clasping her hand, he led her to the chaise and sat her down. Then he took the chair across from her, tugged his T-shirt over his head and tossed it behind him. Selene held her breath when he toyed with his fly before lifting his hand and settling it on his thigh without lowering his zipper.

He was taunting her. And she wasn’t going to let him get away with it. “You can take off your pants, Adrien. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

He stretched his long legs out before him and laced his hands atop his belly. “Don’t be so sure about that.”

A tiny shiver ran up and down her spine. “A bit egotistical, are we?”

“This isn’t about ego. It’s about your experience.” He leaned forward and nailed her with his deadly gaze, the medallion dangling from his neck serving as a reminder of his strength of will. “Have you ever really looked at a man before, Selene? Studied all the details of his body?”

She’d lost her virginity in the dark after a fraternity fling and had married a man who was a lights-out kind of guy. “I guess I would have to say no, not really.”

“Then you still have a lot to learn.”

“Let’s get to it then.” Obviously she was suffering from an overdose of enthusiasm.

“Not yet.” He slowly rose from the chair and stood before her. “We’re going to take this slowly.”

“I don’t want slowly.”

He pulled the sash, parted her robe again and slid it off her shoulders. “You’re going to get slowly whether you want it or not. Now recline on the chaise.”

Selene scooted up against the angled tufted back and stretched her crossed legs before her, propped her elbow on the rolled arm and draped her other arm across her middle. In a way, she felt like a queen waiting to be tended by a dark, dangerous knight. She found it odd that she didn’t feel uncomfortable over being totally nude in his presence, until he continued to stand there, sizing her up like a sculptor preparing to mold his next masterpiece.

In a fit of self-consciousness, she started to fold her arms across her breasts until Adrien said, “Don’t you dare cover yourself.”

“Okay.” Her voice sounded pathetically weak, which complemented the way she felt at the moment.

“You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?” he asked.

“I’ve never thought much about it.” Other than she’d always believed her nose was too sharp, her hair too thin, her brown eyes too wide set and nondescript. All those little worries that women often obsessed about when things could be so much worse.

He moved a little closer. “Did he ever tell you that you’re beautiful?”

She sighed. “I don’t understand your preoccupation with my ex.”

“Because he’s the reason you’re unable to let go.”

Maybe so, but what were Adrien’s reasons? She wanted to ask but she didn’t want to anger him and, in turn, send him away. “I was under the impression I let go quite well last night.”

“Not completely. And that’s what I want from you tonight. I don’t want another man in your mind aside from me.”

He had no idea how deeply ingrained he’d been in her mind since they’d met. “I can manage that.”

“Good. But as tempting as you look right now, there’s not enough room for both of us on that damn lounger.”

Selene pointed to her left. “There’s always the bed.”

“And there are other alternatives, too.”

Obviously Adrien had an aversion to beds, Selene decided. And to lights, her next thought when he snapped off the floor lamp, sending the room into darkness. When she heard the rasp of his zipper and the rustle of denim, she stopped thinking altogether, her mind caught in the grip of anticipation even though she couldn’t see much more than the outline of his body.

“Stand up,” he said.

When Selene left the chaise, he clasped both her hands and held them against his chest. “I’m giving you the chance to learn all the details.”

“How can I when I can’t see you?”

He took her palm and pressed it against his face. “After last night, you should know the answer to that.”

She did know the answer—by using her hands. While Adrien stood there, his arms at his sides, she began by streaming her fingertips along his jaw before tracing a line along his full lips, pausing to briefly touch her lips there. She traveled down the column of his throat, past his Adam’s apple, and used her splayed palms to explore his collarbone before roaming down to the solid plane of his chest covered in a slight dusting of hair. When she grazed his nipples, she detected a slight shudder that led her to linger for a while longer before breezing her hands down his sides and over his rib cage.

Deciding to save the best for last, Selene moved behind him and felt her way over his broad shoulders, joining her hands in the middle of his back to follow the path of his strong spine. His skin grew damp beneath her palms and the cadence of his breathing quickened as she discovered the dip below his waist. She fashioned her palms to his buttocks, kneading slightly before following the crevice with her fingertips and curling them between his legs. He opened his stance slightly, allowing her more room to delve as far as she dared, which she did for a time before she touched the backs of his hair-roughened thighs.

She returned to stand before him, taking up where she’d left off, beginning with his rigid abdomen that grew tauter when she touched him. She circled her fingertip around his navel and his breath hitched slightly. Yet he kept his arms dangling at his sides, even when she moved her palms lower to stroke his pelvis, finding the ribbon of hair that created a path leading to all that made Adrien premium male.

But now that the moment she’d been anxiously awaiting had arrived, Selene hesitated, and that was absurd. She’d touched a man intimately before. Why was touching Adrien so different?

“Do it, Selene.”

Buoyed by Adrien’s demand, in a voice grainy with need, Selene didn’t have to journey far before discovering he was definitely aroused. She explored the length of his erection with a slow glide of her fingertip before taking him completely into her hands. She didn’t have to ask what he liked, what spots were particularly sensitive to her touch. She only had to open her mind and tap into his thoughts to learn his reaction as she began to caress him with long, fluid strokes. She soon sensed his emergent need, his battle with control. She knew he was nearing the edge and that he would prevent her from continuing a moment before he clasped her wrist and lifted her hand to his pounding heart.

“Stop.” Selene heard the effort in that one word, felt his slight tremor.

After Adrien tugged her down to the floor and positioned her on the plush Oriental rug, he left her for a moment to turn on the lamp, the beam illuminating her body like a movie premiere searchlight, and giving her a great view of the places she had touched only moments before. And what a glorious view it was.

He joined her on the rug, propped a throw pillow beneath her neck and lifted her arms above her head. In only a few moments, he had her body weeping for him, trembling for more, and he knew it, apparent by the perception in his dark gaze. When he came to his knees between her parted legs, Selene wasn’t sure she could stand the anticipation.

After spending a few moments finessing her breasts with his mouth, he drew a line with his tongue down her torso. And when he went as far as he could go before reaching his ultimate destination, Adrien lifted his head and commanded, “Watch, and don’t think.”

Selene could do nothing more than watch when he dipped his head between her legs and went on an all-out assault on her body, the kind that would definitely lead to an explosion. She laid her palms on his dark, damp hair as he explored, using his mouth to gain supreme advantage. As good as Adrien had made her feel last night, nothing could match this incomparable intimacy. Nothing. Her gratification only intensified when she opened her mind to him and saw the scene from his perspective, knowing that as he gave her that pleasure, he in turn received pleasure.

Selene could only remain mute and motionless … until he used gentle suckling as his weapon of choice. Her hips bucked when the climax crashed down on her, wresting another long groan from deep within her throat. But Adrien wasn’t through yet. With his gaze firmly locked into hers, he paused to blow his warm breath over her sensitized flesh before swooping back in with his clever mouth. He remained relentless with his goal through gentle yet single-minded manipulation. She wanted to beg him to stop. She also wanted more. After the second orgasm consumed her, bringing with it a series of shudders, she clawed at his shoulders and the word “Please,” left her mouth in a desperate, pleading tone.

Adrien worked his way up her body and kissed her deeply while she raked her fingernails down his back. He rubbed his chest over her breasts in a deliberate, rhythmic motion while she shifted her hips in encouragement. She sensed his sudden struggle, felt his faltering control and the nudge of his erection between her legs, until his mind went totally blank as if he’d raised a mental fortress to block her out completely.

Without any explanation, he rolled away from her and stood. Keeping his back to her while he shrugged on his jeans, he said, “That’s enough for now. We’ll continue this tomorrow.”

Selene recognized there was more to his reticence than taking it slowly. Much more. “Then you’re saying if I want you to make love to me now, you won’t do it?”

He turned, snatched her robe from the floor and tossed it at her. “Not tonight.”

She sent a direct look at his fly as she clutched the robe to her breasts. “Are you into masochism or are you trying to prove your strength?”

“I’m patient. I can wait. I also have some work to do.”

Selene pulled the robe on and thought back to the night when he’d first invaded her mind. When he’d denied himself then, as well. As he started to leave, she said, “What are you afraid of, Adrien?”

He turned and frowned. “I’m not afraid of anything.”

She rose and joined him at the door. “You’re afraid you’re going to feel something, aren’t you? That it won’t be only meaningless sex between us.” She lined the ridge beneath his slacks with a fingertip. “That has to be it since there’s not a thing physically wrong with you.”

She saw it then, another slide show coming from his mind—him backing her against the wall, shoving his pants to his thighs, thrusting inside her. But he forced the image away at the same time he took her hand and held it at her side. “I’m not afraid, Selene. But I say when and where we make love. You don’t have to understand why I want to wait. You only have to respect it.”

She understood all too well. A woman in his immediate past kept him guarded. Most likely, the woman named Chloe who was still influencing him, even if Adrien couldn’t admit it to Selene or himself. But Selene didn’t dare mention that woman’s name, otherwise she would have to explain how she’d come by the information. Right now she would keep her own secrets, and let him have his.

Resigned to letting him have his way, she stepped back and cinched the robe tightly. “Fine. You go ahead and leave now. But remember what I’ve said before, no power is absolute. I could very well be the one who says when and where.”

She knew he still battled with coming back to her, but when he touched the medallion dangling from his neck before turning away again, it became apparent his willpower had won out. At least for now.

After Selene returned to her bedroom, she forged her own plan. She vowed to help Adrien get past his fears and if that meant taking the lead, so be it. She might only be a temporary fix for his problems, a means to help him over the life-altering hurdle that had caused him to retreat. But as long as he didn’t turn her away, she believed anything was possible.

Adrien locked himself in the room across the hall to keep from going to Selene to finish what he’d started. He also needed to remember why he couldn’t become too deeply involved with her. What better place to do that but in this dark, desolate tomb? The room didn’t serve as a shrine; no real reminders of Chloe remained. At least not those that revealed what she had been, and not what she had become.

He walked to the window where she had once stood looking out over the grounds while dreaming of those things that had been outside her reach because of him. He collapsed into a chair by that window and, in the cover of darkness, plagued by the physical pain of needing and not having, he analyzed Selene’s conjecture.

He did have fears, all justified. He feared she could be the one woman who would force him to face his downfall, tear open his wounds and make him bleed again. He also recognized she was a woman who under normal circumstances wouldn’t interest him at all. But nothing about their liaison was normal. From the beginning, he’d realized she was special, unique in ways he didn’t quite understand. He only knew that something about her had drawn him from the moment he’d seen her.

He also recognized the risk in that. A risk he couldn’t afford. He’d set a dangerous course the moment he’d touched her, and he needed to halt it soon. Before he did something that they would both regret.