‘Yes,’ she nodded, her voice breathless. Yes, she knew Jordan was out of control, had known it since he had first kissed her.
‘Don’t try to stop me,’ his lips plundered the hollows of her throat. ‘For God’s sake don’t stop me, Kelly!’ he groaned hungrily.
She didn’t, offering no resistance as his thighs came between hers, raising her hips to meet the hard demand of his body. She cried out as he took her, the initial possession as painful to her as it had been on their wedding night; her body had grown unaccustomed to the fierceness of Jordan’s.
‘Oh God!’ he shuddered at her pain. ‘I’m sorry, darling, so sorry. But I can’t stop now—I can’t!’
She didn’t want him to; the pain faded and wild desire flooded back. Her movements matched his own the climax to their heated senses reached as one, shuddering back to earth in each other’s arms.
Jordan’s expression was agonised as he looked down at her. ‘What have I done?’ He rolled away from her, his eyes closed as if to shut out the sight of her. ‘My God, what have I done?’ he groaned again.
A sudden chill washed over Kelly as she asked herself the same question. What had she done? Jordan couldn’t be blamed for what had just happened, men were only made to be pushed so far. It had been up to her to say no, she had no doubt that Jordan would have accepted her refusal. But now it was too late, too late for him to feel anything else but contempt for the easy way she had fallen victim to her own desire. How he must despise her now that his body had received its full satisfaction, now that he was able to think rationally once again.
She watched him as he stood up to pull on his towelling robe, lighting up a cheroot with shaking fingers. He put up a hand to his temple, massaging there, as if his head ached. ‘I didn’t mean that to happen,’ he said raggedly. ‘What I’m trying to say is—’
‘That it was a mistake,’ Kelly finished dully, the top sheet pulled over her to hide her nakedness.
Jordan gave her a sharp look. ‘Not exactly,’ he sighed.
‘But it was,’ she insisted calmly. ‘A mistake that would be better forgotten by both of us.’
He drew hard on the cheroot held between long tapered fingers. ‘You think I can forget that?’ he asked harshly, a white ring of tension about his mouth. ‘Just act as if it never happened?’
Kelly shrugged with a casualness she was far from feeling. ‘You could try,’ she dismissed. ‘Just chalk it down as yet another woman in your bed.’
His eyes were icy grey. ‘But you’re my wife!’
A bitter smile curved her lips. ‘What a novel experience for you.’
‘Kelly—’
‘Would you mind if I went to sleep now?’ she interrupted him, the strain of acting normally beginning to tell on her. ‘I’m feeling rather tired.’
Jordan stubbed out his half-smoked cheroot with savage movements, moving to grasp her shoulders, shaking her angrily. ‘You can’t go to sleep after what just happened,’ he told her fiercely.
‘What else would you suggest I do?’
His eyes darkened in colour. ‘You really want to know?’ he asked throatily.
It was happening again, to both of them. A slight flush appeared beneath Jordan’s pale skin, his hands tightening compulsively on her arms, his breathing once again becoming shallow. And Kelly could feel her bones melting, could feel herself moving towards Jordan even though she tried not to.
‘This time,’ Jordan told her slowly his gaze fixed on her moist, parted lips. ‘This time,’ he repeated, once more on the bed beside her, ‘there will be no mistake about it, for either of us,’ he added harshly.
Their movements were slow and leisurely, each knowing exactly how to please the other, in no hurry to bring their caresses to their tumultuous climax. The first time they had been hungry for satisfaction, this time each caress took a lifetime, each kiss more druggingly intimate than the last.
Then once again their emotions were spiralling out of control, their pleasure exploding into a thousand coloured lights. Jordan collapsed against her breasts, his arms holding her tightly to him, his even breathing soon telling her that he had fallen asleep.
Kelly had no idea where all this would end; she didn’t want to look beyond this moment. She would live life as it came, take each day, and night, as they came.
She was awake early the next morning, Jordan still fast asleep against her breasts. His arms tightened about her as she tried to slip out of bed, and she lay still, waiting until he had settled into sleep once again before moving away from him. This time he made no effort to stop her. Kelly moved quietly about the room collecting her clothes for the day before
going into the bathroom.
She deliberately didn’t think of last night’s events, shutting her mind off from all soul-searching, sticking to her decision not to delve into the whys and wherefores of last night. She was married to Jordan. Okay, so they no longer lived together, but they were still man and wife, and there was nothing wrong with what had happened between them during the night.
‘Breakfast, Mrs Lord?’ Mrs McLeod came into the lounge where Kelly was searching for her handbag.
She turned to smile at the housekeeper. ‘Not for me, thank you. But I think my husband might appreciate a cup of coffee in bed before he goes to work.’