Читать книгу The Greek's One-Night Heir - Natalie Anderson - Страница 12

HIS SMILE WAS a blazing mix of triumph and sensual determination and barely hidden relief. She realised he was as delighted and as dazed as she was and somehow that multiplied the myriad want and need and hot mess of yes within her.

‘I can’t leave without saying goodbye to Zoe,’ she muttered.

‘Of course.’ He escorted her through the crowd, stepping back when they came up to her friend.

‘Sorry, Zoe.’ Leah caught her attention. ‘I’m going to call it a night—’

‘Since when do you know Theo Savas?’ Zoe interrupted her, managing to screech and whisper at the same time. ‘Since when does Theo Savas kiss anyone in public like that?’

‘You saw…just then?’ Leah’s body smoked with embarrassment.

‘OMG, yes, go.’ Zoe laughed and pulled her into a quick, tight hug. ‘You must, just, go. Do everything I would and more,’ her friend whispered in her ear. ‘For heaven’s sake, have some fun for once!’

Leah’s pulse hammered as Theo firmly grasped her hand and led her through the crowded function room and into the sudden silence of the hotel corridor. She was floating, not walking, right? In the elevator he glanced down at her and smiled but she saw the question in his eyes and tension in his body.

She felt the question too—since when did she wander off with a complete stranger? Before tonight she’d never considered it, would never have thought she would… Yet he didn’t feel like a stranger, more of a kindred spirit—as complicated and careful, those layers of responsibility and obligation hiding other needs and wants. She’d do all she could for someone she cared about; that he did too struck a chord—as if they were vibrating in harmony even though there could be nothing more than this one night between them. And then there was that sheer physical response that she just couldn’t release herself from.

She’d never done anything adventurous, nothing reckless or fun either. She’d spent so long trying to please her parents and fit in with their impossible standards and it was past time to have one night just for her. She wanted to share it only with him.

He unlocked the door of his hotel suite and she stepped inside. The drapes didn’t cover the tinted windows and the London skyline was like fairy lights. She turned and took in the rich interior—pure luxurious space and decadence. But then Theo stood in the centre of it and the sumptuous background faded away. He was like a sun god—casting everything else in shadow.

She couldn’t be the first woman to fall completely beneath his spell but she was quite calm about that. She felt too pleased to have seen him again and realise that he was—amazingly—attracted to her too.

‘Do you do this all the time?’ she asked, too fascinated to think before asking.

‘Not as often as you’re thinking.’

She wasn’t sure she was thinking any more—she was still floating on that gravitational pull right towards him. ‘I don’t do this, ever.’

‘Never ever?’

She shrugged as embarrassment heated her skin. She wasn’t going to tell him he was with a woman no other man had ever chased. A woman crippled by an inferiority complex bigger than Jupiter. What did it matter what she’d done or not done before? Right now there was this and it was too powerful to ignore. She wanted more of his touch—of that connection and elation when he’d kissed her. More than seduction, more than madness, it was an ache unlike anything she’d known burning low in her belly. Its searing intensity rapidly escalating until it seemed to singe her inside and out, leaving her breathless because of this urgent, unstoppable need to touch.

‘I should offer you a drink or something.’ He ran his hand through his hair and huffed out a breath as if he too were struggling to recover.

It seemed imperative to feel again that need that mirrored her own. ‘I’m happy with just the “or something”,’ she mumbled shyly.

He looked startled for a second, then smiled. He moved towards her—graceful, powerful, careful. ‘I wanted this from the moment I saw you.’

She jerked her head, negating the compliment because she was unable to believe him. ‘You don’t have to tell me…nice things.’

Something flickered in his expression. ‘You’re not used to people telling you the truth? You’re beautiful, Leah. Robbed me of my self-control in seconds.’

She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to listen—didn’t want words to destroy her belief in this moment. But then she sensed he was close. She could feel his heat and his tension.

‘If I don’t have to tell you,’ he whispered softly right in her ear, ‘then I’ll show you.’

A paralysing desire took hold at the sound of his determined promise. She half expected a furious onslaught of passion—she would have welcomed that too. But it wasn’t.

It was slow, delicious torture. Another slow kiss—easing her back into his arms. Every touch not only a tease, but a celebration of her. Making her breathless, making her move closer, making her want something she couldn’t articulate. As she trembled, he picked her up and carried her through to the bedroom and set her down on the big bed.

She shrugged out of the cardigan and then he took over, unbuttoning then peeling the blouse from her body. He paused to gaze at the white bra beneath, then undid it, pulling away the little lace cups that covered her small breasts, and he groaned. Not judging her but enjoying her. Not disappointed, but delighted. There was nothing to be had here but pleasure. She felt a reckless safety in his arms. No one had kissed her like this. His touch silenced anxious thought and she let herself be carried away by the basic instinct of her body—caving in to the demand to shift closer, to move with him and torment him back. He unzipped her trousers and slid them down, lifting her feet to slip her shoes from them at the same time.

‘Scarlet silk.’ His hot laugh tickled against her skin as he roved back up her body, lingering over her hips. ‘That I didn’t expect.’

‘What did you expect? White cotton granny pants and a chastity belt or something?’

He laughed again and bent to kiss her upper thigh, nibbling on the edge of the silk as he went.

Leah moaned. Truth was, this was the first pair of sexy undies she’d bought herself. Even then she couldn’t get it right and wear a matching bra. But she hadn’t wanted her bra to be visible beneath her blouse, so she’d gone with white.

‘It confirms a theory I’ve been developing about you,’ he murmured.

‘And what’s that?’ She could hardly string the words together.

‘That you’re more sensual than you appear…you’ve been hiding your true scarlet self.’

‘You’re reading too much into it—they were the first I grabbed from the drawer.’

‘Because you have a drawer full of scarlet silk?’

She couldn’t reply. Where was he kissing her…slowly inching along the waistband of those scarlet panties? Secrets and desire swamped her and she was shy about the fact that he’d discovered something she’d barely recognised within herself. She’d bought the one pair because it had been all she could afford. It had taken so long to choose which one; she’d wanted them all. Her secret enjoyment of them wasn’t so secret now. She shivered.

‘You “don’t do this, ever”, Leah?’ He paused and looked back up to her eyes.

She didn’t want to lie to him. She didn’t want to hold anything back, but it was hard to push the answer past the lump in her throat. ‘No.’

As he nodded it occurred to her that he already knew the answer. He’d been able to tell?

A slither of mortification chilled her skin. ‘Does that bother you?’

‘No.’ He lifted himself up to lie beside her and searched her features. ‘But are you sure you want me to be your first one-night stand?’

The reminder that that was all he was offering didn’t bother her. But his blunt question revealed he hadn’t realised the entire truth about her. Where he meant one night, she meant ever at all.

She nodded, her voice stolen by shyness and the fear that if she told the truth he’d stop. The last thing she wanted was for him to stop.

He kissed her mouth. His hand teased one breast, then the other, then rubbed firmly down her stomach, slipping beneath the waistband of those scarlet panties. At her shocked gasp, his kisses deepened. But he didn’t stop his hot exploration—his fingers delving lower, stroking where she was most sensitive, discovering for himself her most secret place.

With every lash of his tongue, of his fingertips, the last of those knots holding her in reserve loosened until she was totally undone. Reduced to nothing but heat and light, pliable in his hands, she didn’t just let him touch all he liked, she hungered for it—writhing like an animal. She arched, seeking more caresses, parting her lips to invite another deep kiss—her tongue tangling with his, her hand clawing his shoulder in an aching invitation to come closer.

‘Yes,’ he praised her in a gravelly voice as she moaned in desperation.

His fingers slid, his thumb strummed and his mouth sealed over hers again—stoking her until she went beyond burning and tumbled into total meltdown.

Time stopped as her hips bucked and she rode his hand. In those lost moments, there was nothing else in her world but him, in the escalating rhythm and depth of plundering touch. She tautened for one last infinite moment of torment and then his attention finally tore her apart. She screamed as ecstasy hit in a wave that smashed her to pieces.

Theo rubbed his forefinger back and forth along the waistband of her panties, lightly toying with her while she recovered from the most beautiful orgasm he’d had the pleasure of giving. He ached to strip her free of them and plunge into her hot, tight body. But her comment that her panties ought to be white replayed in his mind. White was the colour of innocence. And she’d joked about a chastity belt? He’d been too far gone for that to register properly. He glanced up at her face and recognised the gleam of resurging desire in her eyes. But there was shyness as well and the slight wariness—of a novice?

A weight of warning pressed low on his spine. He levered up from the bed and didn’t break free of her gaze as he shucked his tie and swiftly unbuttoned his shirt. Her lips parted as she stared, avidly watching as he stripped. As his hands went to his belt buckle she stilled. Impatient, he shoved both his trousers and boxers down, revealing his bulging erection and watching intently for her reaction. She couldn’t resist looking—couldn’t take her eyes off him—but they widened in shock and he saw her swallow. And as he stepped back to the bed her breathing quickened.

‘This isn’t just your first one-night stand, is it?’ he asked, his voice harsher than he could control.

Her eyes widened more and he knew he had to ask the follow-up.

‘Are you a virgin, Leah? Is the “never ever”, actually never anything?’

She bit her lip and insecurity flashed.

‘How could you not tell me?’ He knew he was right—her reaction to his nudity said it all.

Her face filled with a fiery sweet warmth that scorched his soul—he couldn’t turn away from her even when he probably should.

‘How could you tell?’ she asked.

‘It was your comment that these ought to be white. And the chastity belt?’ He stroked the scrap of scarlet silk that would now be the only barrier between them.

That rosy bloom of embarrassment spread over every inch of her pale skin. ‘Do you want me to leave?’ She was very still but her hands formed into fists at her sides.

‘No.’ Raw hunger clawed more savagely within him, but he was determined to resist—to do what was right here. ‘Why didn’t you want to tell me?’

‘I didn’t want you to stop.’

The hint of wounded look in her eyes smote what had been—until tonight—an impenetrable heart. ‘I won’t stop if you don’t want me to.’

She gazed into his eyes. He saw the trust. He saw the need. He vowed not to let her down.

‘Let’s just play, okay?’ he clarified. ‘We don’t have to…’

‘Do everything?’ She swallowed. The glimmer of disappointment was so obvious in her lavender eyes.

‘Decide right now.’ He bent and kissed her, unable to stand the droop of disappointment on her full, lush mouth. And at first touch he sank back onto the bed, unable to resist getting as close as he could to her. He’d make her come again, he’d taste her, there was so much they could still do; there were so many other ways to fulfil the need savaging its way through his limbs.

She was revelation all over again. He lost himself in the sensation, the warmth and pleasure of touching her. He removed her silky scarlet panties so slowly, tormenting them both. And then he kissed her, tasting her there, teasing her with his tongue until he had to grip her hips hard to hold her still as she succumbed to her next orgasm.

Her screams suspended time. Bewitched, he let her push him onto his back. He pulled her above him. But with every slow second that he savoured as she blanketed him with her soft slender body, the yearning to have her completely deepened. Recklessness rose within him because she wasn’t holding back at all. Untutored but unashamed, her hips circled against his, the tight, delicious rub of her nipples scored his chest so degree by degree his, oh, so noble desire to hold back lessened.

It was as if he’d unlocked a simple, small box only to discover it opened into myriad compartments…each like a room full of willingness and warmth. The depths of her response, her abandon, became unreserved. He stilled at the smoky curiosity in her gaze and the unconscious seeking sweep of her hands over him. She wanted touch. She wanted to explore her sensuality, through him. How could he deny her?

She tracked her fingertips down his abs. Unable to stay relaxed, every muscle tensed with desire as she tracked lower. He ached for her to cup him. His erection strained higher, he felt the searing tightening in his balls, the urge to thrust against her palm rushed. He licked his lips because his mouth was parched and holding back now was almost killing him.

‘Do you want me to kiss you?’ she asked softly.

He wanted anything. Everything. He blinked.

She smiled, a burst of pleasure in her eyes. ‘Want me to help you find your tongue?’

Heat strained his body. That playful whisper knocked once more on his well-entombed heart. ‘You don’t have to…’

‘Did you feel you had to for me?’ She looked up at him, shyness glimmering in her eyes as she whispered huskily.

‘No,’ he sighed, unable to form complete sentences. ‘Wanted to.’

‘I can’t want to?’

He swallowed and gave in. ‘Go right ahead.’ With a groan he closed his eyes, desperate to summon self-control as he felt her breath on him.

She cupped him and it was sweet torture.

‘Oh.’ She looked at him as he flinched. ‘Can I—?’

‘Do anything. Anything you want. Just don’t stop.’ His breathing roughened.

She didn’t stop. He watched, all his senses sharpened and arrowed on her. She was stunning—her long hair had loosened, tumbled about her shoulders, her long, lean, pale limbs unfolded around him. Her mouth was on him. Her mouth—

‘Stop. Stop.’ He dragged in a harsh breath.

She froze and pulled back with a worried expression. ‘I’m sorry—’

‘No.’ He rubbed his forehead with a hard hand and groaned. ‘It’s just… I’m going to come.’

‘Don’t you want to?’

His shout of laughter hurt. His whole body ached. ‘I wanted to warn you—’

‘I don’t want to stop,’ she whispered.

The desire in her eyes stiffened him impossibly more. He growled his assent, unable to form another word, his want was too great. And then she sucked him dry.

His heart pounded so loud he thought it was going to burst. When he could finally open his eyes, he saw her smiling down at him—pride and amusement gleaming in her gaze. She was energised and so beautiful. She wasn’t just insatiable, but capable of experiencing an intensity he knew was rare. And of sharing it with that gorgeous little laugh of hers.

‘You okay?’ He didn’t know why he was asking her when he was so light-headed he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to sit up again. But then adrenalin fired him anew. Because he realised she was incredibly aroused. She’d liked touching him, tasting him. Getting and giving pleasure was always a great way to spend a night, but this was something else. This felt sweeter and sexier than anything.

‘I still don’t want to stop,’ she said in the softest whisper. ‘I still don’t want you to stop.’

Her confession just demolished him. He was unable to resist and desperately aching to please her—wanting her to be more than sated, more than thrilled. He didn’t want to deny her anything. So when he should’ve been spent, he was hard again and filled with an arrogant, outrageous determination. Who was he to tell her what she should or shouldn’t do anyway? She knew he was leaving in the morning. She knew there was only this between them, only now. And she’d given them both permission to make the most of it. All he wanted now was to make it the best he could for her. Which meant keeping himself in check for a while yet. And being certain.

‘I’ve never slept with a virgin before, Leah,’ he said hoarsely, still catching his breath.

Her lashes veiled her eyes. ‘Not even when you were a virgin?’

‘No, I wasn’t the first for my first. Do you really want to talk about—?’

‘Did she make it good for you?’

A wry smile curved his lips. ‘She did.’

‘Then maybe think of this as paying it forward?’ She looked as if she was braced for rejection.

He just couldn’t deny her. ‘You know you can change your mind. I’ll—’

‘Theo—’

‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ he confessed rawly. It was incredibly true. Somehow, this woman he’d met only a few hours ago was precious to him. She mattered.

Her expression softened. ‘If it hurts, maybe you can kiss it better…’ She trailed off, suddenly shy.

That wave of protectiveness welled in him. He turned, swiftly searching the bedside table drawers. Relieved, he tossed the small box he’d found onto the bed. He’d leave nothing to chance.

Leah moaned as he pressed kisses across her collarbones and down her décolletage. He was so patient—too patient really. When he finally braced above her, anticipation heightened to a new level. He was big and heavy and wonderful. The slick hot reality impinged as she saw his muscles bunch. He braced as he held back. She knew he was being careful; she could tell in the way he watched her so closely. His concern melted her all the more.

‘Please,’ she murmured, knowing he needed to hear her wish again.

His expression tensed and he moved. Leah gasped as his big body invaded hers—tearing that last tiny barrier to bury deep inside her. He caught her sharp cry in a quick kiss.

‘Sorry,’ he muttered. His gaze was filled with searching concern for her. Of course that compassion was there—because if it wasn’t she never would have sought this with him.

‘Are you okay?’ He framed her face and kissed her again and again—so gentle and lush.

He was pressed so deeply into her. So incredibly close. And it was so overwhelming she could only nod, as she adjusted to his possession and to the millions of nerve endings that had sparked to life within her—that suddenly sought so much more.

He held firm, slowly kissing her until the stillness was too much for her—she needed him to move. Warmth overflowed. She’d not expected it would be this intimate and yet of course it was. She revelled in the tender passion of his kisses and her body relaxed until she was no longer just accepting his invasion, but welcoming it—slickening, heating, until she instinctively rocked her hips to help. He kissed her again and his groan reverberated into her chest. He moved then too, taking control, making it magic, and she completely forgot that first moment of pain in her building delight. She followed his rhythm, learning this dance until instinct urged her to hold him closer still. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, clinging close with every part of her as the spasms of delight snuck up on her so swiftly.

‘Don’t stop,’ she breathed desperately. ‘Please, don’t stop.’

But as she curved more tightly around him, so close to completion, he growled and suddenly froze.

‘Theo?’ she asked.

‘Trying…’ he gulped a breath ‘…not to be too rough.’

But she needed all of him.

‘Finish me,’ she begged.

At her broken plea she felt his restraint unravel and power surged in his body. He lost it—thrusting harder and faster and it was so dizzying, so intense, so unbearably good. She could only try and hold on, but her restraint had fled too. She clawed his skin, grasping him as tight as she could in her grip as her body and mind locked on him. But he didn’t stop, he pounded closer and fiercer, pushing them higher, further and faster until everything exploded in a flash of heat and light and utter, utter ecstasy.

Hours later Leah blinked, wishing she’d eaten more carrots as a kid so her night vision was better. Instead, she tripped over her shoe and muffled her squawk of pain as she hopped and tried to see well enough to find her other one. Her clothes had been scattered on the floor around the bed and, while she’d found most of them, she just needed this one last thing.

‘Why are you trying to sneak out?’ The lazy tease in his voice made her shiver.

‘Sorry.’ She stifled her nervous laughter.

As he switched on the lamp she glanced at him, embarrassment curling her spine. ‘I didn’t mean to wake you.’

His eyebrows lifted. ‘Because you didn’t want to talk to me?’

She swallowed. ‘I just…’

His low chuckle filled the void. ‘Relax. This doesn’t have to be awkward.’

‘No?’ But she needed to escape now because the temptation to fling herself back into bed, wrap herself around him and never let him go was just a little too strong.

He leaned out of bed and reached for his phone. ‘Give me your number.’

She stilled; the crowd of clamouring emotions shaking her up needed to settle. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ she said bravely. The night was over, the magic gone—wasn’t it? ‘We don’t even live in the same country.’ She drew in a breath. ‘So…there’s no point, is there?’

She wanted him to argue with her and say he wanted to see her again. But she had the feeling she’d spend the rest of eternity hoping he’d call. And if he did? Would she end up his booty call when he was in London? He didn’t want a relationship, and never marriage, remember? And she did want those things. So this needed to stay as a finite dream night.

‘No point?’ he echoed quietly.

She turned away as he got out of bed and scooped his trousers up from the floor. She couldn’t see his body again, couldn’t stop to talk more. If only she’d not fallen over her shoe she’d be out of here by now. It had been great sex, that was all. Other people experienced this all the time. She couldn’t be all inexperienced and needy now.

‘At least let me get you home safely.’

She couldn’t resist glancing back at him. ‘I’ll be fine on the—’

‘I’m only going to phone down to the porter and order you a cab.’ He sombrely studied her with those intense eyes. ‘I wasn’t going to drive you myself. I have to get to the airport, remember?’

‘Okay, thanks.’

But her heart pounded appallingly quick and hard as he strolled towards her and made it impossible to think.

She couldn’t look away. He was extraordinarily beautiful. Bronzed skin, strong, sleek muscle. She couldn’t believe she’d had the privilege of touching him everywhere. She swallowed, clawing back the desire to do it again right now.

She couldn’t possibly kiss him goodbye but just walking away seemed rude. For lack of a better idea she held out her hand for him to shake before he got too close. He paused, as if debating whether to take her hand or do something else entirely.

‘No regrets, Leah?’ he asked softly, finally clasping her hand in his in a handshake like no other. Could he feel her thundering pulse through her skin?

‘None.’ She couldn’t get her voice above a whisper. ‘But it’s done.’

‘Okay. Then, bye, beautiful Leah.’ He glanced down at their linked hands for a brief moment and then released her. ‘Thank you for a wonderful night.’

‘Thank you too,’ she echoed awkwardly and quickly turned away. ‘Bye.’

On the way down to the ground floor she squared her shoulders and refused to feel any sadness. Refused. She’d had an amazing night—the best night of her life, just as he’d promised. As she acknowledged that, a surprising shot of confidence lifted her. So what if she had bed hair? So what if the porter waiting to escort her into the taxi could tell she’d spent the night barely sleeping because one man—one amazing man—had wanted her and she’d wanted him and together they’d done all kinds of wonderful?

Things were looking up. She’d moved to London, she had her own place, a new job she actually wanted and she was going to make such a go of it.

Finally, her life was only going to get better.