The Helen Bianchin Collection. Helen Bianchin

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СКАЧАТЬ sweeping the sheet aside. ‘I’ll help you undress.’

      No, a silent voice screamed from deep within. ‘I should be able to manage,’ she voiced in strangled tones.

      ‘I doubt it,’ Alejandro returned, his eyes darkening measurably at her evident reluctance. ‘Think of me as a nurse,’ he drawled, taking in her cleareyed resolve with a narrowed gaze as she got to her feet.

      No nurse of the male species could possibly look as he did, nor create such havoc with her senses.

      Calm deliberation was evident in his actions as his fingers undid first one button, then another.

      ‘The thought of a man you can’t remember removing your clothes,’ Alejandro pursued in a silky voice, ‘a man who as your husband has lain with you every night in this bed, tasted every inch of you, and placed the seed of his child in your womb…frightens you?’

      ‘Unnerves me,’ Elise corrected shakily, almost hesitant to voice the words that had tortured her since she had been made aware of her pregnancy. ‘Had we planned to have this child?’

      His eyes took on a gleaming warmth as he leant down and brushed his lips to the edge of her mouth. ‘The choice and timing of conception was your decision.’ His fingers freed the third button, then moved to the fourth. ‘Rest assured, I could not be more delighted.’

      The last button slid undone, and she stood helplessly still as he slipped the silk blouse free from her left arm, removed the sling supporting her injured right hand, then carefully drew the blouse free.

      When he reached for the clip fastening on her bra she was unable to prevent an intake of breath or govern the erratic beat of her heart, and she would have given anything not to be dependent on his help.

      ‘Close your eyes, if you must,’ he advised with amused indulgence. ‘Unfortunately I cannot do the same, for fear I might cause you unnecessary pain.’

      He was amused, damn him! Resentment flared, lending her eyes a brilliant sparkle as she sprang into barely restrained speech.

      ‘You think I enjoy being dependent on you?’ Stupid tears welled up and threatened to spill.

      ‘Your reticence is somewhat misplaced,’ he chastised as he freed the clip, then eased the straps off each shoulder, and his eyes narrowed as she lifted an arm to cover her breasts.

      A protesting gasp escaped from her lips as he caught hold of her left wrist and carefully pulled it away.

      She closed her eyes, aware of her bruised shoulder. The colour had changed from dark red to purple. Now it was a deep bluish-green.

      ‘Por Dios.’ The soft curse slipped into the stillness of the room, and his eyes darkened in silent anger as he saw that the bruising extended the length of her ribs on the right side.

      The silence stretched between them, and began to play havoc with her nerves.

      ‘It could have been worse,’ she offered, and saw his expression harden into a frightening mask.

      ‘Yes,’ Alejandro agreed with brutal cynicism. ‘That young fool behind the wheel could have been responsible for your death.’

      His eyes travelled to the soft swell of her breasts, and she remained helplessly still as he trailed gentle fingers over their rounded contours, shaping first one, then the other, before brushing a thumb-pad across one tender peak.

      Elise gasped out loud as pure sensation shot through her body, arrowing down to focus at the junction between her thighs, unleashing a multitude of feelings she wasn’t sure how to handle.

      A distressed whimper escaped her lips. ‘Please,’ she begged, her eyes clouding with anguish as he traced a path to the soft hollows at the base of her throat, then lingered over the rapidly beating pulse for a few heart-stopping seconds before trailing up to rest at the edge of her mouth.

      ‘You look so incredibly fragile, it robs me of breath,’ he ventured slowly, his dark eyes so deeply piercing it seemed as if he possessed licence to see into the depths of her soul.

      Elise swallowed convulsively, and let her lashes flutter down to form a protective veil, only to have them fly open as the tip of his finger slowly outlined the generous lower curve of her mouth, teasing the soft fullness until it parted involuntarily, allowing him to continue the sensual probe.

      A slight tremor shook her slim frame, and she was powerless to move as he slowly lowered his head to close his mouth over hers in a provocative, sensual tasting that was so incredibly gentle it almost made her weep.

      Some deep intrinsic need prevented her from moving away, and she bore the light sweep of his tongue as it explored the sweet recesses of her mouth, creating an acute sense of loss as he slowly withdrew. For several long, timeless seconds her eyes were held mesmerised by his, then his lips curved into a slow, warm smile as he reached for her nightgown and eased the straps over her injured hand, then her head, before pooling the silk at her waist while he removed her trousers and briefs.

      ‘Do you need help in the bathroom?’

      ‘No,’ she refused, infinitely relieved that this was an area there was no need for him to invade.

      ‘I’ll be back with a tray in ten minutes.’

      Oh, dear God, she breathed silently as the door closed behind him. What was happening to her? How could she react so damnably with someone her conscious mind failed to recognise?

      She had made no effort to move away from the touch of his mouth, merely stood mesmerised as he had initiated a sensual foray that had played havoc with her vulnerable emotions.

      ‘There are two dinner-plates,’ Elise declared with a slight frown as Alejandro re-entered the room and set the covered bed-tray into position across her lap.

      One eyebrow lifted in quizzical query as he subjected her to a long, considering look from beneath dark-fringed lashes. ‘You imagined I would leave you to eat alone?’

      She had hoped he might. He emitted a sensual vibrancy that was intense—dangerous. To envisage him as a lover was sufficient to set alarm bells jangling inside her brain, awakening feelings deep within that raised questions she had no desire to answer.

      ‘Eat, Elise,’ Alejandro commanded. ‘Before the food becomes cold.’

      Obediently she picked up the spoon and started with the soup, then when it was finished she used a fork to dissect the omelette.

      It was impossible not to be aware of him as he sat a few feet distant in a comfortable chair. His movements were economical, and her eyes were drawn to the strength of his jaw, his mouth.

      Remembering how that mouth had felt against her own brought a flood of soft colour to her cheeks, and she couldn’t help but wonder what it would like to be kissed by him…really kissed, not the controlled brushing of his lips against hers that had been little more than an affectionate salutation.

      He looked the sort of man who would consume a woman—with a deep, drugging passion that gave no quarter, demanding an abandonment so complete that there could be no room for reticence.

      She did not know the measure of her own personality, СКАЧАТЬ