Modern Romance July 2019 Books 1-4. Sharon Kendrick

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СКАЧАТЬ kiss and she writhed against him. Hungrily. Restlessly. And then, without warning, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to a huge black leather sofa before depositing her on top of it. She was on fire...so eager for him to touch her again that she didn’t care about the implications of being horizontal. All she could think about was how much she wanted him in her arms and she groaned with pleasure as he lay down on top of her, his mouth reclaiming hers with an urgency as flattering as it was irresistible.

      Her eyes closed as she gave herself up to sensation and suddenly it was nothing but sensation.

      The honeyed beat of blood in her veins.

      The throbbing heat between her legs and exquisite peaking of her breasts.

      ‘Mmm...’ he said as he continued his expert caress of one puckered nipple, through her bra. ‘I had forgotten just how delicious these were and now I want to see them again for myself.’

      Each word was punctuated by the swift undoing of each tiny button, his fingers operating with a dexterity which spoke of vast experience. And even though that should have daunted her, Emily felt powerless to protest—especially when the air felt so deliciously cool against her heated skin. Or maybe it was because he forestalled any such protest by the highly effective method of using his other hand to inch up beneath the hemline of her dress. The breath shuddered from her lungs. It had been eight years since anyone had touched her like this and it felt as if she had tumbled into paradise.

      But he seemed momentarily surprised as the sides of her dress flapped open to reveal her bra.

      ‘Oh, my,’ he breathed.

      ‘Is something wrong?’ she questioned dazedly, opening her eyes to see him studying her breasts with rapt attention.

      He shrugged as he tested the elastic of one flesh-coloured strap and it pinged rather inefficiently against her skin. ‘This doesn’t exactly fulfil the promise of the sexy dress.’

      That was definite censure she could hear in his voice. Was he criticising the T-shirt bra she wore beneath all her clothes to give her a smooth line as well as contain her too-large breasts? ‘It’s practical,’ she defended.

      ‘I’m sure it is. It is also a little plain.’ He gave a lazy smile as he resumed his teasing ministrations. ‘Don’t the other men in your life demand you wear pretty lingerie from time to time?’

      ‘What other men?’ she supplied, her over-stimulated body playing havoc with her thought processes, especially when he was stroking her nipple like that.

      ‘I’m not going to flatter myself I’m the only one, particularly after your parting words to me,’ he whispered against her neck. ‘Or is your air of gauche innocence just a perk you provide to all your clients?’

      It took a few moments for his meaning to register and when it did, the implication was so insulting that it completely took her breath away. ‘A perk?’

      He shrugged. ‘Why not? It happens.’

      Emily stared at him incredulously before pushing his hand away and slithering out from beneath him to scramble to her feet. Her hands were shaking with rage as she tugged the flapping halves of her dress together and began to rebutton it, glaring at him where he lay, like some dark and indolent panther. ‘You really think I would behave like that with just...anyone? That I would do this kind of thing with clients?’

      Unperturbed by her accusation, he got up, raking his fingers back through the tumble of his hair, before tugging down his shirt and tucking it into his jeans. ‘I don’t know,’ he said coldly. ‘Discrimination was never your strong point, Emily. When you left you told me you were going to enjoy other men and I’m assuming you did.’

       Because it had been the only way she could ensure he would let her go. The only way she could guarantee he wouldn’t test her resolve.

      But what was the point of raking all that up now and revisiting a past which was surely best left forgotten? Even if he was looking at her as if she were nothing but a cheap tramp who put out for anyone who happened to turn her on. She wasn’t here to parade her virtue or seek his good opinion of her. And wouldn’t it make it easier to deal with the attraction which still burned between them if on one level he continued to despise her? She smoothed her dress down over her hips, and only when she was confident that her image was restored did she lift her gaze to his.

      ‘I’m not quite sure how that happened,’ she said, in a voice which sounded unnaturally calm.

      ‘You want me to describe for you how hormones work?’ he drawled.

      Ignoring his sarcasm, Emily made her voice sound bright, like the one she’d used all those times when she’d been trying to rouse her mother from the deepest of sleeps. It was a note of determination, but it was also one of survival. Even if it didn’t always work—you still had to give it a try. ‘And we’re going to forget that it ever did happen. Do you understand that, Alejandro?’

      He gave a low laugh. ‘Oh, I understand more than you think, querida, but I’m afraid it’s not that easy. Because you want me, Emily. You might wish you didn’t, but you do. You want me so badly I can almost taste it and, beneath that vampy borrowed dress, I’m willing to bet my entire fortune that your panties are wet.’ His eyes glittered. ‘The truth is that I’m excited about having sex with you and am counting down the hours until you’re honest enough to admit you feel exactly the same way.’

       CHAPTER FIVE

      THE COCKTAIL PARTY was a crush—a glitzy affair on board an enormous yacht moored in Melbourne’s exclusive harbour, filled with socialites and celebrities who had gathered in the city for the big race. The luxury craft bobbed against a backdrop of glittering skyscrapers, an internationally famous rap artist was playing at the far end of the deck and trays of drinks were being circulated by young and very beautiful serving staff who looked like off-duty actors. Very quickly Alejandro was surrounded by a cluster of what looked like adoring fans, leaving Emily standing at the shadowed edge of the exalted golden circle which grew around him.

      In truth she’d wanted to skip this party, especially after that disturbing interlude on the sofa. The fact that they’d been so intimate and the fact that she had very nearly succumbed to having sex with him had left her needing to put some very necessary space between her and Alejandro. She didn’t think she could bear to keep encountering his mocking green gaze, which was enough to start her heart racing as she remembered his fingers sliding so tantalisingly over her breasts and her thighs.

      But it had been about more than the physical. It had been the other stuff, which was way more disturbing. She’d felt connected to him on another level. As if he was the only one who could tap that cold, dark place deep inside her and fill her with warmth and life. Was that being fanciful? Of course it was. She mustn’t start inventing fairy tales about him when the reality was apparent, if only she had the courage to face up to it. She was just a frustrated and lonely woman who hadn’t been touched like that since she was barely eighteen years old and, in the intervening time, her body must have been simmering away with frustration. It was just a bitter irony that the only man she’d ever cared for was also the man she’d deliberately wounded because she’d been too young and confused to see any other way out.

      She had to let it go. She had to or she wouldn’t be able to complete the СКАЧАТЬ