‘I’m not letting go,’ he drawled lazily, wondering why she was always so conscious of people staring. Having been on the receiving end of public attention since he’d outgrown the privacy of his pram, it was something he no longer noticed. Surely she was the same? ‘You signed on for this when you agreed to marry for money.’
Her eyes held a hint of reproach. ‘I didn’t sign on for public performances—’
‘You agreed to be my wife,’ he responded smoothly, ‘with all that entails. Do you know what I think, pethi mou? I think you were so blinded by the money you didn’t see the rest of it. I don’t think you thought further than the cash.’
He felt her stiffen.
He could see a tiny pulse beating in her throat, feel the extraordinary tension throbbing from her delicious body and his own body tightened in an instantaneous response that almost made him groan aloud.
How could he ever have thought that the Philipos heiress was cold?
English and reserved though she may be on the surface, there was now no doubt in his mind that she had enough hot-blooded Greek blood in her to ensure that their sex life would be far from boring.
His head bent lower, his mouth so close to hers that they were almost touching. ‘You’ve got what you wanted. The cheque. Now it’s my turn.’
She was staring at him like an animal in a trap. ‘You got what you wanted too—my grandfather’s company.’
‘My father’s company,’ Sebastien corrected her softly, his free hand sliding up her spine and settling on the back of her neck. ‘And that was only part of what I wanted. Now it’s time to help myself to the rest.’
His gaze mocking, he dipped his head with lazy arrogance and claimed the mouth that had been tempting him ever since she’d first set foot on the island, intending to demonstrate to the Philipos heiress just exactly what she’d let herself in for when she’d traded herself for money. Intending to show her that greed had a price.
Her mouth was warm and sweet and his senses exploded, propelling him out of control.
Heat and fire spread through his lower body and he was consumed by a sexual need so powerful that he dragged her closer still in an attempt to satisfy the sudden grinding ache in his loins, but the action simply inflamed him still further.
They were so close that he felt every tiny tremor of her body, felt her shiver as he held her. He saw the shock in her violet eyes before they drifted shut and her fingers curled into the front of his shirt for support.
His last coherent thought was that this wasn’t what he’d planned.
A small part of his brain told him to pull away, to end it now, but her soft, delicious mouth drugged his senses and prevented him from doing anything except help himself to more.
He filled himself with her. The scent of her slithered over him like a suffocating cloak, the blood in his head raged and pounded, clouding thought and reason. Lust ravaged his body as he plunged into a raging heat totally new to him. The fire burned red then gold and he fanned the flames by taking more and more of her.
As if from a distance he heard a soft whimper of shock and desire and that tiny sound was enough to break the sensual spell that she’d wrapped around him.
He dragged his mouth from hers with supreme difficulty, discovering for the first time what it felt like to be completely out of control.
What the hell was he playing at?
He’d always considered himself to be a ruthlessly disciplined man. Whatever the situation, be it provocation or temptation, he never lost control. So why, once his mouth had taken possession of hers, had he suddenly lost all ability to think rationally? In fact he’d stopped thinking altogether, his actions driven by an instinct so raw and primitive that he’d been well past control.
His body still hummed with unfulfilled tension, his nerves sizzled and his manhood ached and throbbed.
The realization that she’d succeeded in affecting him so strongly irritated him in the extreme and he struggled to rationalize his own behaviour. To find some explanation for such an uncharacteristic reaction.
Was it really so surprising? he wondered, surveying her flushed, shocked face with grim concentration.
Whatever else she may be, there was no denying that his new wife was a stunningly beautiful woman who managed to project just the right amount of innocence and vulnerability to tempt a very traditionally minded Greek male.
He wouldn’t be human if he didn’t respond.
And the cure was to take her to bed, he decided with characteristic decisiveness. Women, however beautiful, never held his attention for long. One night, maybe two, would be all it would take to get his fill of her. After that he’d be able to start thinking clearly again and move on.