Modern Romance October 2019 Books 5-8. Annie West

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СКАЧАТЬ burned inside my brain, Hannah, whether I speak of them or not.’

      It was too real, too raw. She needed to say something, but words failed her. She opened her mouth, searching, seeking, but Leonidas shook his head and then kissed her.

      It was a kiss to silence Hannah, a kiss to suck away whatever she’d been going to say and swallow it up, because he’d made it obvious he didn’t want her grief, her sympathy, her conversation.

      He kissed her, and she resisted for a moment because he was finally opening up to her and she wanted to talk to him, to help him, to hear him. She stiffened in his arms, wanting to push at his chest, to tell him not to run away from this conversation but then he groaned, a guttural sound of such utter, devastating need, and any fight wavered, leaving only surrender.

      Surrender and such deep, deep sympathy.

      She understood the complexity of his emotions.

      And the way he kissed her now, she understood what he needed. He wished he didn’t want her like this; he’d said as much on the beach, but this flame was burning out of control no matter how they tried to manage it.

      ‘Damn it,’ he groaned, swooping down and lifting her up. Regardless of the fact she was five months pregnant, he carried her effortlessly, moving through the mansion with a determined gait.

      He shouldered the door to his room open—Hannah hadn’t been in here. She looked around, seeing the dark wood, the masculine touches, gathering a brief impression of a space that was huge and elegant before he laid her on the bed, his body coming over hers, his mouth seeking hers as his hands pushed at the waistband of her shorts, lowering them, his hands running over her body.

      A gentle breeze rustled in off the Mediterranean, bringing with it salt and warmth. Hannah lifted herself up, kissing him as her hands pushed at his shirt, guiding it over his chest, up to his head. He broke the kiss so she could remove it and then she lay back, breathless, her eyes running over his chest.

      The room was dark, but she could see enough. She drank in the sight of him as quickly as she could because he kissed her again, his tongue flicking hers, his hands worshipping her body.

      He brought his mouth lower, pushing at her shirt, lifting it to her throat so he could take one of her breasts into his mouth, his tongue swirling over a nipple until she bucked beneath him, stars flashing in her eyelids.

      ‘God,’ she moaned, digging her heels into the bed, arching her back, begging him to take her, to thrust inside her.

      His mouth moved to her other breast and his fingers took over, his palm feeling the weight of her breast, his thumb and forefinger teasing her nipple until she was a puddle of whimpering nerves.

      ‘Please,’ she husked, running her nails down his back.

      His arousal was hard between her legs; his knee nudged her thighs further apart and then he thrust into her, the ache unmistakable, the same urge overrunning them both. She felt his need and mirrored the depth of it.

      She lifted herself onto her elbows, finding his mouth, pulling his lower lip between her teeth and biting down on it, so he let out a sharp sound of shock and then a groan as he pushed her head back to the mattress, his kiss a complete domination and sublime pleasure.

      Only she wanted more, she wanted to be in control of this. She kissed him back, just as hard, needing him to understand her—this. Needing to reassure him in some way.

      She moved herself over his arousal, her breath pinched, her body screaming in relief.

      Hannah’s heart hammered against her ribs and pleasure burst, touching every single part of her, until she was all fire and flame, no room for thoughts and feelings, doubts and uncertainties.

      Concerns of security, the future, their relationship, his grief, her loss, they all disappeared. What room was there for anything when there was this pleasure in life?

      Her breathing was rhythmic and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

      Her vibrant red hair spread over his crisp white pillows, glowing like copper, and his gut throbbed painfully.

      Leonidas Stathakis had tormented himself for the four years after his wife’s death, staying celibate even when his body had begged him to relent, even when he’d wanted to lose himself in a willing woman’s arms.

      He hadn’t.

      He hadn’t given in, until he’d seen Hannah and something inside him had begun to beat, a drum he could no longer ignore.

      And it was still beating, but harder and faster now. With Hannah under his roof, it was impossible to ignore this; just as she’d said.

      Theirs wasn’t a normal marriage, but they did have this, and suddenly, Leonidas didn’t want to fight it any more.

      He watched her sleep, her beautiful, pregnant body naked to his hungry gaze, and he gave up fighting altogether. Perhaps in the morning he’d feel differently, but, for now, Leonidas allowed himself to curve his body behind hers, to place an arm possessively over her stomach and to fall asleep for the first time in a long time with a woman in his bed.

       CHAPTER TEN

      HANNAH WOKE, STRETCHING until her back connected with something hard and warm behind her. Her heart was racing, the meeting with Greg Hassan the day before having left a lingering sense of anxiety in her so that alarm was her first emotion, followed swiftly by something much warmer, much more tempting, when she corkscrewed in the bed and realised where she was, and who she was with.

      Leonidas.

      And he was awake.

      Staring at her.

      His naked body was not a mystery to her, and yet this was the first time she’d woken up beside him, or any man, and a hint of self-consciousness made her cheeks blush.

      ‘I fell asleep,’ she said quietly, her eyes dropping to his chest. ‘I’m sorry.’

      She didn’t see the way his brows curved reflexively into a frown.

      ‘Why are you apologising?’

      Hannah lifted her gaze to his. ‘I don’t know. I guess I would have thought you’d want your space. Or to not have me here.’

      His frown deepened and there was silence for several beats. ‘I would have thought so, too.’

      More silence.

      ‘You were right, on the beach, Hannah. There is something between us. This chemistry.’ His eyes were hollow when they met hers. ‘I don’t want to fight it any more.’

      Her blood hammered inside her, hope was rolling inside her but she stayed completely still, watching him, listening.

      ‘I have been single a long time. Single by choice. I have no idea how to do this. And I don’t want to hurt you.’ His expression СКАЧАТЬ