Kitabı oku: «The Helen Bianchin And The Regency Scoundrels And Scandals Collections», sayfa 25
CHAPTER SIX
MELBOURNE was a vast, cosmopolitan city with wide, tree-lined streets, electric trams, and changeable weather.
It was two years since Katrina had visited, and little seemed to have changed as the cab took a familiar route from the airport.
The hotel was a modern structure on the hill overlooking the city’s heart, and within minutes of checking in Katrina and Nicos rode the glass-faceted lift to a high floor.
Their suite undoubtedly had a stunning view but, whilst there was a lounge area containing two deep-seated chairs, a coffee table, a desk with phone and fax machine, there was only one bedroom, not two, of which the focal point was a king-size bed.
‘If you think I’m sharing that with you, you can think again,’ Katrina declared as Nicos deposited their hand luggage.
‘We share a house,’ Nicos reminded her, slanting a hard glance.
‘But not a room,’ she argued. ‘Especially not a bed.’
‘Afraid of me, or yourself?’
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. ‘That doesn’t even qualify an answer.’
He unfolded two shirts and hung them in the wardrobe, took his toiletry bag through to the en suite.
Katrina mirrored his actions, shaking out the slither of uncrushable silk georgette she intended wearing to dinner and transferring it onto a hanger.
She was damned if she’d share the same bed with him. One of the comfortable chairs in the adjoining lounge area would suffice. Better, she could push the two together and arrange a makeshift bed with a pillow and extra blanket.
The niggle of irritation joined a deeper, more significant disturbance in the region of her heart as the reality of sharing this suite began to manifest itself.
Oh, get a grip, she admonished silently. They were here primarily for business purposes. They’d have lunch, attend the meeting, return to the hotel to shower and change, then enjoy dinner with Nicos’s cousin, Stavros Kidas, and his wife, Eleni.
Lunch was pleasant, the food excellent in the hotel’s exclusive à la carte restaurant, and Katrina began to relax a little.
They didn’t linger long over coffee, and took a cab out to view the two adjoining sites.
Activity on two adjacent blocks merely confirmed Nicos’s independent investigation, determining without doubt the intentions a major developer had for the entire block.
‘They’re going to rase everything,’ Katrina opined, observing two old cottages that had stood for a century. They looked vacant, and soon to follow the fate of two equally old dwellings on their eastern boundary.
Kevin had negotiated to acquire the remaining ten cottages, with plans to remodel them into trendy boutiques, thus preserving the ambience of the surrounding area. Except a large multinational corporation had outbid him, and had offered Kevin an exorbitant sum for the corner site owned by Macbride.
‘I liked Kevin’s vision better,’ she declared. ‘The low-rise glass monstrosity already approved won’t blend with its surroundings.’
Nicos threw her a calculating glance. ‘You’ve decided not to sell?’
Her chin tilted a little, a gesture he knew well.
‘They’ve already acquired most of the block, and if we retain the corner site it will depreciate in value.’ Her eyes hardened, their purpose inflexible. ‘We’ll sell, but at a price. They’ll pay, because it suits them.’ She’d done her calculations. ‘I figure it’s worth another two hundred and fifty thousand.’
Nicos placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘Kevin would be proud of you.’
Katrina hoped so. She desperately needed to establish credence in her father’s business sector. As a woman, she knew it wouldn’t be easy. Nor could she afford to make mistakes.
‘Okay, let’s go inspect the Toorak site.’
She turned back towards the cab, conscious that Nicos’s hand had slid down to capture her own in a loose hold. She knew she should wrench free, but she indulged herself a few seconds of his touch, its warmth, and briefly wondered at her sanity.
Toorak was an exclusive suburb, an eclectic mix of old money and new, established elegant homes, tree-lined avenues, and a long bustling main street filled with trendy boutiques and equally trendy cafés.
It didn’t take long to confirm extensive renovations would turn two adjoining properties into leased boutiques that would blend in beautifully with their surroundings.
‘Keep these, and renovate,’ Katrina stated, mentally transferring the profit from one site to this one. She liked the odds, knew it would work, and could hardly wait to set the plans in motion. She turned towards Nicos. ‘What do you think?’
‘Perhaps Siobhan might care to have a leasing interest with a Melbourne branch?’
He was good, very good, at reading her mind.
‘The legal eagle we have a four o’clock appointment with is within walking distance from here?’
It took an hour of phone calls and intense negotiations, but Katrina emerged from the lawyer’s office triumphant.
‘We did it,’ she said with satisfaction as she preceded Nicos onto the pavement.
Her eyes sparkled, and her smile reflected her elation.
‘You did,’ Nicos drawled in musing correction. ‘I merely sat in and watched you play.’
So he had, but his presence made it easy, a backup she genuinely appreciated. She’d learned well beneath Kevin’s guidance, but not all men viewed a woman as having equal status in the business arena, and she held little doubt that she’d have had to battle harder if she’d come to this meeting alone.
‘Thank you.’
‘For what?’
‘Being there.’
‘My pleasure.’
Nicos hailed a cruising cab, and Katrina watched it swoop to a halt at the kerb. Seconds later the driver executed a U-turn and headed into the city to their hotel.
It was after five when they entered their suite, and Katrina slipped off her shoes and loosened her jacket.
‘Do you want to take the shower first, or shall I?’
‘We could share,’ Nicos declared with musing indolence.
‘No, we couldn’t,’ she refuted firmly, aware of tiny prickles of alarm slithering over the surface of her skin. She had no difficulty recalling how he looked sans clothes: the splendid musculature of his masculine frame, the breadth of his shoulders, the taut buttocks and powerful thighs. As to the instrument of his manhood…
Don’t go there, she bade silently. Her heart began hammering at the memory of how it had been between them. His skilled touch, her reaction. Dear Lord, he’d never failed to send her up in flames.
Without a further word she gathered briefs and bra, caught up a complimentary bathrobe, and entered the en suite. For a few paralysing seconds she hesitated, then she quietly slid home the lock.
Twenty minutes later she emerged, the bathrobe securely tied, with her make-up bag in hand.
Nicos was seated on the edge of the bed, his attention taken by a documentary on television.
‘Finished?’
Katrina wasn’t conscious of holding her breath until she released it in a rush several seconds later when the bathroom door closed behind him.
By the time he re-entered the bedroom she was dressed, her make-up complete, and she was in the process of securing small diamond studs to her ears.
He had no inhibition at discarding his robe, and her eyes flicked over his frame, naked except for black hipster briefs, and her stomach did a backwards flip as she caught the fluid ripple of muscle and sinew as he reached for his trousers and pulled them on. A clean shirt came next, and she dragged her gaze away as he deftly attended to fastening buttons before tucking in his shirt and sliding the zip fastening home.
The thought of previously being held in those arms throughout the night was damning. But, oh, how she longed for the comfort they’d offered. The closeness, the caring…
What was she doing, for heaven’s sake? She didn’t, couldn’t want anything from the man who had betrayed her.
Yet there was some intrinsic quality existent, an inherent knowledge that defied logic.
Sexual chemistry, she dismissed as she collected her evening purse.
‘Shall we leave?’
‘We’re meeting Stavros and Eleni in the lounge bar,’ Nicos indicated as they rode the lift down.
Katrina hadn’t seen them since she’d left Nicos. Had he told them about their separation and reconciliation?
‘No,’ Nicos said quietly as they entered the lounge. ‘Although I don’t doubt they’ve heard.’
Was she that transparent?
There was no time to cogitate Nicos’s keen ability to divine her thoughts as two people rose from their seats and moved forward to greet them.
‘Lovely to see you again.’ Eleni inclined with a warm smile as they settled into comfortable chairs.
Nicos beckoned the drinks waiter and ordered champagne.
‘This is a celebration?’ Eleni queried.
‘Of a kind,’ Nicos agreed, sparing Katrina a musing glance.
‘I was sorry to hear about your father,’ Stavros indicated. ‘A sad loss.’
‘Thank you.’
Stavros turned towards Nicos and began discussing a mutual business deal, while Eleni leaned towards Katrina.
‘I can’t begin to tell you how happy it makes me to see you both together again.’
What did she say to that? ‘It’s been a while,’ Katrina agreed tentatively.
‘Georgia is nothing but a troublemaker,’ Eleni vowed quietly. ‘She has put Nicos through hell.’
Really? On the few occasions Katrina had seen him during the months of their separation he’d looked perfectly fine.
‘But then, of course you would know that,’ Eleni confirmed.
Katrina didn’t comment, although it was difficult to contain a smile as Eleni rolled her eyes with expressive distaste.
‘The woman is a witch.’ Eleni appeared to pull herself together and change the subject. ‘So, you have been engaged in business matters all day. Now, it’s time to celebrate.’ Eleni’s features softened. ‘A celebration for us too. I am pregnant.’
‘I’m so pleased for you.’ Katrina’s enthusiasm was genuine. A child was a beautiful gift, and Eleni had wanted babies from the day of her marriage.
Minutes later they gravitated towards the restaurant. The food was excellent, the service good, and the ensuing hours passed so quickly it was difficult to believe it was almost ten when Eleni indicated they should leave.
‘My wife tires easily,’ Stavros explained apologetically as Nicos settled the bill.
‘One minute I’m fine,’ Eleni said with amusement. ‘The next I can hardly keep my eyes open.’
They walked towards the exit through the hotel lobby and Stavros organised for the concierge to fetch their car.
‘We will see you again soon, yes?’ Eleni embraced Nicos, then turned towards Katrina. ‘Take care, Katrina.’
Their car arrived, courtesy of a porter, and within a few brief minutes they were gone.
‘Would you like to have a drink in the lounge?’ Nicos queried as they re-entered the lobby.
‘Okay.’ Anything to delay taking the lift back up to their suite.
Nicos ordered coffee, and Katrina sipped hers slowly as she indulged in the idle pleasure of people-watching. Couples, singles, young and old.
‘Penny for them?’
She looked at Nicos, and was unable to gain much from his expression. ‘It’s been a successful day.’
‘Yes, it has.’
‘Can I take it as joint executor, you approve my decisions?’
‘I have no doubt as to your ability to make them,’ Nicos said evenly.
‘Thank you,’ she responded solemnly.
‘I believe you’ve been looking at property.’
Katrina’s eyes sharpened. ‘I’m using my own personal funds, which gives you absolutely no reason to question me.’
One eyebrow slanted. ‘I was making an observation.’
‘You want addresses? So you can check them out?’ She could feel the anger begin to rise. ‘Or has your source of information already given you a full report?’
‘You use Kevin’s lawyer for your own affairs,’ he reminded silkily.
‘He contravened client confidentiality privilege?’ she queried, scandalised.
‘Not at all, and only in respect of commenting on your business acumen,’ Nicos said smoothly.
Katrina took in a deep breath and released it slowly. ‘I enjoy restoring property.’
‘The terrace houses are a good investment.’
‘You know about them—how?’
He held her gaze. ‘I’m negotiating to buy the remaining three in the same block. The agent rang me this morning and mentioned my wife’s expression of interest.’
Another breach of confidentiality? Or had the agent simply assumed a husband and wife were aware of each other’s financial investments?
‘You intend to outbid me?’
‘No. I had in mind we could collaborate.’
Her interest was piqued. ‘Harry would be delighted.’ She hastened to explain. ‘The interior decorator I use. He’s very good.’
‘Have him ring me.’
A waiter hovered with a cafetière of steaming hot black coffee and offered to refill their cups, which they each declined.
Katrina stifled a yawn, then rose to her feet. ‘I’m going up to bed.’ She was tired, and they were due to take the morning flight to Sydney.
Nicos unfolded his length and walked with her to the lift, summoned it, and within minutes they entered their suite.
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘WHAT do you think you’re doing?’
‘Organising a makeshift bed,’ Katrina informed him as she took down a blanket and snagged a spare pillow.
‘The bed is large,’ Nicos said with dangerous softness.
Katrina met his gaze with open defiance. ‘I’m not sharing it with you.’
‘Is it me you don’t trust? Or yourself?’
‘You,’ she responded succinctly, and stepped through to the lounge.
She pulled two chairs together, facing each other, and decided it should be quite comfortable if she adopted a foetal position.
Seconds later she extracted a long cotton tee shirt from her bag and retreated to the en suite to change.
Hmm, not so comfortable, she admitted to herself within minutes of settling herself down. She doused the lamp, and the suite was shrouded in darkness.
Katrina reflected on the events of the day, ruminated the prospect of Siobhan’s enthusiasm at opening a Melbourne branch of her Double Bay boutique…and shifted position on the chairs.
To no avail, for one hip soon became numb from the hard upholstering. Damn. Maybe if she lay on her back with her knees bent.
How long did it take for her to decide the chairs were a no-go sleeping situation? Half an hour? She had no idea of the passage of time when she carefully manoeuvred herself free and spread one half of the blanket on the carpet.
She leaned forward to collect the pillow and knocked her elbow. A faint groan escaped her lips. Hell, that hurt.
Was Nicos asleep? She stifled the temptation to take the pillow and bat him over the head with it.
She should have insisted on two separate suites. Dammit, why hadn’t she?
At that precise moment the bedroom lamp went on, and in the next instant Nicos stood towering in the archway that separated the small lounge and bedroom.
Without a word he moved forward and scooped her into his arms.
‘Put me down!’ Katrina vented in fury.
He did. On the side of the bed he occupied. ‘Stay there,’ he warned in a voice that sent shivers scudding down the length of her spine.
She bounced back onto her feet and watched as he crossed round to the opposite side of the bed. ‘The hell I will!’
He threw her a dark lethal glance. ‘If you want to fight, I’ll oblige.’ He waited a beat. ‘Just be aware how it will end.’
‘I’m shaking!’
‘You will, if you don’t get back into bed.’
She didn’t move, and her eyes burned emerald-bright with rage. ‘Since when did you become such a dictatorial tyrant?’
‘Ten seconds, Katrina,’ Nicos warned silkily.
Her eyes went to the telephone on the bedside pedestal. ‘Reception can find me another suite.’ She picked up the receiver, but she didn’t even manage to punch one digit before Nicos cut the connection.
‘Don’t even think about it.’
She rounded on him in fury. ‘How dare you?’
‘Easily.’
Without thought she snatched up a pillow and threw it at him, only to watch as he deflected it onto the bed.
His anger was a palpable entity. The bedside lamp cast shadows in the room, and his frame seemed to loom large, his features all angles and planes.
‘Three nights ago we shared a bed half this size.’
‘That was different.’
He moved with the grace of a cat, his speed indolently deceptive as he skirted the bed.
Katrina took one look and scrambled across the mattress to the other side. She couldn’t win, there was nowhere to go, and she fought like a wild thing as he caught hold of her, stilling her flailing arms with galling ease.
In a moment of madness she bit him, hard, connecting just above one male nipple, and registered his intake of breath an instant before she was pushed down onto the mattress.
She bucked, trying vainly to free herself, and gave a startled cry as he straddled her hips and pinned her wrists above her head.
‘Get off me!’
He held her securely, his knees trapping her thighs, yet still she arched against him, twisting her body as she attempted to wrench her arms free.
‘Stop it. You’ll hurt yourself.’
‘Dammit, let me go!’
Her eyes were a brilliant green, dilated with a mixture of outrage and anger, her hair a mass of tumbled curls.
She made one desperate last-ditch effort, only to concede defeat. Her chest heaved, and her breath escaped in short, furious gasps. If looks could kill, he’d be dead.
He waited, watching as her breathing steadied, and his eyes were impossibly dark. There was a stillness apparent in those strong, masculine features, a leashed savagery that caused the breath to hitch in her throat.
No. It was a silent scream that didn’t find voice.
The room faded from the periphery of her vision. There was only the man, the latent, magnetic intensity evident.
Primitive awareness eased the sudden knot in her stomach, and she battled the slow heat warming the blood in her veins.
A faint whimper escaped her lips, part groan, part despair. What was happening to her? It seemed as if everything had coalesced and Nicos had become her total focus.
Her body had a memory of its own, and she was powerless to stop the treacherous awakening as passion flared.
Damn you, Nicos. The silent curse didn’t find voice. Don’t.
Except it was way too late.
Slowly he lowered his head, and his mouth brushed hers, the touch feather-light in an evocative, teasing gesture that wasn’t nearly enough.
He felt the faint quiver of her body, sensed the heat, and he nibbled on her lower lip, then nipped the full centre, soothing it with the tip of his tongue before tracing the soft contours.
The strength of his arousal was a potent force nestled against the most vulnerable part of her anatomy, and sensation throbbed, primitive, urgent, libidinous.
She parted her mouth, wanting more, much more than this gentle seduction, and she moaned an entreaty as his lips savoured the line of her throat, then nuzzled the sensitive hollow at the edge of her neck.
I should stop this, now, before it’s too late, she groaned silently.
Except she was powerless to still the deep need, the mesmeric, erotic witchery of his seduction.
When his mouth found hers again, she kissed him with possessive hunger, angling her head for closer purchase.
Her whole body was on fire, and the breath hissed between her teeth as he freed her wrists and dispensed with her long cotton tee shirt.
A swift tugging movement divested his briefs, and she cried out as he sought her breast, teasing a tender peak before suckling shamelessly.
Her hands slid over his shoulders, caressed his spine, then she dug her fingers into his buttocks.
Now. Her breath came in ragged gasps as he sought the moistness, his touch finding the acutely sensitised nub with unerring accuracy.
She went up in flames, then cried out as he sent her higher, and she wasn’t conscious of pleading with him, or begging his possession.
Nicos took her with one deep thrust, and heard her faint intake of breath as silken muscles stretched to accommodate him. He stilled, enjoying the enclosure, the tightness as she gripped and held him, then he began to move, slowly, almost withdrawing completely before surging in to the hilt.
Again and again he repeated the action, increasing the movement until she met and matched his rhythm in a tumultuous ride that left them both slick with sensual sweat.
Katrina waited for her breathing to steady, convinced she was unable to move so much as a muscle. Dear heaven. She closed her eyes, too enervated to do anything, and she groaned out loud as he gathered her close and rolled onto his back.
His hands brushed over her skin in a soothing gesture, and she felt his lips at her temple, the soft hollow beneath her ear.
It felt so good, like coming home after conquering the stormy sea.
Slowly she lifted her body, arching it gracefully as she rose above him. She lifted a hand and tucked her hair behind one ear, then the other, then she touched the tip of her finger to his chest and traced a teasing pattern through the dark hair, pausing to tug a little before following the line arrowing down to his waist.
She felt him harden, his length expanding as she brushed a teasing path back and forth at the juncture of their connection, only to have him replace her fingers with his own.
Her pleasure was immediate, the wild surge of exquisite sensation almost more than she could bear, and this time it was she who rode him on the path to mutual ecstasy.
Yet it was Nicos who held her at the brink, then tipped her over in a mutual, spellbinding free fall.
Katrina fell asleep curled close in Nicos’s arms, her head pillowed against his chest.
Throughout the night they reached for each other, satisfying needs that were alternately urgent, then slow and magically sweet.
There was a part of her that never wanted the sensual dreams of the night to end. How many times had she imagined such a night, relived it again and again, only to wake alone with an emptiness that was all too real?
But as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon she responded to the trail of fingers caressing the curve of her waist, exulted in their intimate touch, and melted into her lover’s body, fitting so well it was as if they were two halves of a whole.
It was late when they rose from the bed and shared a shower. Even later when they sat down to room-service breakfast, lingering over coffee before dressing and checking out.
The late morning flight landed in Sydney after midday, and Nicos collected his car, stowed their overnight bags in the boot, then dropped Katrina outside her office building before traversing inner-city traffic to his own.
She should have been tired, but instead she felt energised, and she rode the lift to her office, checked with her secretary, ordered in lunch, and got to work.
Nicos phoned at four to say he’d be delayed, and Katrina indicated she needed to bring work home.
‘Don’t wait dinner.’
‘You want to ring Marie, or shall I?’ Katrina queried, only to have him respond he’d already done so.
It was after six when she entered the house, and she checked the refrigerator, saw the delicious salad Marie had left for her, then ran lightly upstairs to change and fill the spa bath.
Her solo dinner could wait for half an hour while she relaxed in the pulsating water.
Not such a good idea, she reflected, as the memory of Nicos’s lovemaking came vividly to mind. Even the thought of what they’d shared caused sensation to spiral through her body, and she groaned out loud as she recollected her hungry response.
Nothing had changed, she determined, then closed her eyes in frustrated resignation. Who was she kidding? Everything had changed.
It was almost seven when she donned jeans, a cotton top, and went downstairs to the kitchen.
The salad was delicious, and after she’d eaten it she curled up in a chair in the sitting room and used the remote to switch on the television.
She must have dozed, for she came awake at the touch of hands sliding beneath her thighs.
‘Nicos?’
‘Who were you expecting?’ he drawled musingly.
‘I can walk,’ Katrina declared. ‘Put me down.’
He reached the stairs and began to ascend them. ‘You doubt my ability to carry you?’
She weighed little more than a child, and he wasn’t even breathing heavily when he reached the landing.
‘For heaven’s sake, put me down!’
He let her slide down to her feet, and she moved a few paces, then turned towards her room.
‘Goodnight.’
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
The query was quietly spoken, yet beneath the softness there was a hint of steel, and Katrina looked at him in silent askance.
‘My room.’
‘No.’
‘What do you mean—no?’
‘Last night—’
‘Was a mistake.’
‘The hell it was.’
‘We…’ she paused fractionally ‘…got carried away,’ she qualified. Words, they were only words. None of which even began to describe the extent of her emotional involvement or her reaction.
Nicos’s eyes darkened. ‘Is that how you describe it? Carried away?’
She met his gaze and held it. ‘What else would you call it?’
‘We share the same room, the same bed.’ He stilled her protest by pressing a finger to her lips. ‘It isn’t an option.’
Her eyes sparked green fire. ‘Since when did you get to call the shots?’
The palm of his hand slid to cup the edge of her jaw. ‘From the moment we made love last night.’
She felt her insides begin to liquify. ‘We had sex.’
‘So we did, pedhi mou.’
He sounded amused, and she fought against her body’s response. She didn’t want to succumb to his seduction, didn’t need to do battle for her own self-preservation. It had taken months to build up a resistance to him. Yet in one night he’d managed to tear it down as if that invisible wall had never existed.
‘I’m tired.’ Katrina offered the excuse in desperation. ‘All I want to do is slip into bed. My bed. Alone.’
He smoothed the tip of his thumb over the soft fullness of her lower lip. ‘So you shall,’ he said gently, and let his hand fall to his side. ‘But it won’t be alone.’
With that, he turned and walked towards his room without a backward glance.
Dammit, couldn’t he see she needed time to assimilate what had happened between them? That she was at war with herself, and in a constant state of flux at having succumbed to the dictates of her flesh?
In the light of day, all she could focus on was her own weakness. This man had betrayed her with another woman. Worse, that woman had borne his child.
At the time she’d dealt with it. But now, the very structure she’d carefully built was falling down around her ears.
She wanted to hate him, and told herself she did. But she hated herself more.
Katrina reached her room and closed the door behind her. There was no lock, and unless she dragged heavy furniture to bar the door, there was nothing she could do to keep him out.
She cast the double bed a pensive glance. She was darned if she’d just slip between the sheets and lie waiting for Nicos to join her.
There was little doubt that he would.
She could, however, make a silent statement. There were three other bedrooms upstairs. She’d occupy one of those in the hope it would add emphasis to her intention not to sleep with him.
Katrina chose a bedroom, selected linen and made up the bed, then slid wearily between the covers.
She should have been asleep within seconds of her head touching the pillow. Instead she lay staring into the darkness for what seemed an age, her limbs and mind as tense as a tightly stretched wire.
She told herself she didn’t, couldn’t, want him. Yet her body was a mass of contradictions as memory persisted in providing a vivid replay of what they’d shared the previous night.
It would be so easy to adopt a rational mindset where she simply enjoyed the intimacy of sex. Why not? a silent voice demanded. Just enjoy the intense pleasure of physical contact throughout the year she was forced to stay with Nicos, then walk away. Heart whole, with no regrets.
Impossible. She’d gifted him her heart, her soul, almost from the first moment they’d met. For months she’d thought she’d reclaimed them, but last night had proved beyond doubt they were his. Always would be.
She hated herself for it. Hated him.
A shaft of light pierced the darkness as the bedroom door opened, and her tense body became rigid as Nicos stood silhouetted in the aperture.
Katrina’s lashes fanned down. Maybe if she lay perfectly still he’d assume she was asleep.
She should have known better. Within seconds she felt the bed covers move, followed by the faint depression of the mattress as he slid in beside her.
How long before he reached for her? Five seconds, ten?
Minutes later she was still counting, and it took concentration to keep her breathing steady.
‘What do you plan?’ Nicos drawled. ‘A game of musical beds?’
Had he known she was awake? Or was he simply taking a calculated guess?
‘Don’t sulk.’
‘I’ve never sulked in my life,’ Katrina vented as she turned her head towards him, then wished she hadn’t, for he lay facing her, an elbow propped on the pillow.
With a fluid movement he reached out and snapped on the bedside lamp.
The light illuminated his features, and his dark gleaming gaze held a tinge of humour…and something else she didn’t care to define.
‘I’m trying to sleep.’
‘Without success.’
‘You don’t know that.’
He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek, then let it trail down to the edge of her mouth.
‘Don’t do that.’
Her eyes were dark, the hollows smudged through lack of sleep, and she was pale. He felt her lips quiver beneath his touch, and saw the pulse jump at the base of her throat.
