‘What convinced you?’
‘The way you avoided looking at me when I asked you if what you’d said was true. That—and of course this,’ he murmured softly, taking her in his arms and touching his mouth almost teasingly to hers.
Sara was reluctant to let him go, her eyes darkening slightly as he stood up.
‘Come on.’ He tugged her to her feet, the gleam in his eyes belying his cool drawl.
‘Where are we going?’ She was envisaging being roped into helping him with the evening watering, but then he laughed and said softly, ‘Dr Heathers said it might be a good idea if you were to spend your first couple of days at home in bed. I fully intend to make sure that you do.’
‘It’s four o’clock in the afternoon!’ Sara exclaimed, but it was only a half-hearted protest, quickly changing to a smothered sound of pleasure when he silenced it with a teasingly provocative kiss. Her arms slid round his neck, her fingers burrowing into his hair, and when he released her mouth she buried her face against him, breathing in the scent of him appreciatively.
When she opened her eyes he was looking at her with an openly fierce hunger. Her fingers curled into the open neck of his shirt, her breathing suddenly accelerating.
‘Jonas!’
Her voice held all her pent-up desi
re and love for him, and she felt his response in the sudden tensing of his muscles. His hands cupped her face and he looked down into it as though he was memorising each individual feature, his voice raw and husky as he muttered, ‘I love you more than I imagined I could ever love another human being, Sara. Finding the words to tell you how much is too difficult and time-consuming. That’s why I’m going to show you instead.’
Without a word she gave him her hand and walked with him towards the stairs. She had been lucky, far more lucky than she privately felt she deserved.
At the top of the stairs Jonas paused and turned her to face him, his expression grave as he said softly, ‘You know, I think if we have a son I’d like to call him Rick after all. Partially as a reminder and partially as a thank you.’
Very shakily Sara told him, ‘I think I’d like that. Sam told me not so long ago that I loved Rick the way a girl does her first love, but that it wasn’t a woman’s love for a man. I wouldn’t admit it at the time, but he was right. He also told me that Rick would never have wanted me to mourn him for the rest of my life. He was right about that as well. I’ll remember him in the way that a girl always does remember her first adolescent love, and in time I think I’ll even learn not to feel guilty because I never did and never could love him the way I love you.’
‘Thank you.’ Only the huskiness of Jonas’s voice betrayed how much her words meant to him, but the touch of his fingers against her skin conveyed a need of a different kind, one that caused her to abandon all thoughts of the past and urge him with mutely imploring eyes to fulfil the promise implicit in his touch.
When he picked her up and carried her towards the bed, she knew that there would never be anyone who could mean to her what Jonas did, and as he laid her gently on the bed and leaned down to kiss her, she prayed that she would never be called upon to face life without him.
‘Love me,’ she murmured the words against his lips.
‘I’m going to!’
* * * * *
Now, read on for a tantalizing excerpt of USA Today bestselling author
Carol Marinelli’s next book,
BOUND BY THE SULTAN’S BABY
The second in her Billionaires & One-Night Heirs trilogy!
Sultan Alim spent one forbidden night with Gabi—when he encounters her again, she refuses to name her child’s father. Alim will seduce the truth out of Gabi, even if he has to lure her under false pretenses. Alim knows he craves her, but does he desire her as his mistress or bride?
Read on to get a glimpse of
BOUND BY THE SULTAN’S BABY
CHAPTER ONE
GABI DERAMO HAD never been a bridesmaid, let alone a bride.
However, weddings were her life and she thought about them during most of the minutes of her day.
From way back she had lived and breathed weddings.
Gabi was a dreamer.