“You will miss me?” He prompted, pressing a finger beneath her chin. He wondered then at his masochistic streak. He was floundering in his plan.
“Do you want me to miss you?”
“Yes.” He needed space. He needed to remind himself why he had married her. And yes, she was intensely desirable but also, she was simply a means to an end.
“Believe me, I’ll miss you.” She smiled up at him, her forlorn bearing apparently evaporating. “And I hope you’ll miss me, too.”
He smiled at her and went to kiss her, but she put a finger on his lips. Her hands dropped to his belt and she unhooked the buckle then slid it from his pants. Alessandros wanted to maintain his schedule for the day, but curiosity held him still.
She undid his pants quickly, and freed his length from the confines of his boxer shorts. His fascination and desire leapt forward in equal measure.
She sat on his lap, easing herself onto his arousal while her arms wrapped around his waist and her mouth sought his. She was in complete control, taking him at her pace, and he allowed her the freedom to dictate their love-making. Her need for him was a heady aphrodisiac.
Her fingernails scratched through his shirt and his impatience grew. She moved slowly and sweetly, but he wanted more. He gripped her hips, and took control, moving her faster and firmer, until her face was pink and her voice was a fever pitch of longing.
They ascended the heavens together, an orgasm tore through them as one; they held each other tight, their bodies a mass of limbs and flesh. Sophie could have wept.
Her need for him was a bottomless well. No matter how often they came together, she craved him with a terrifying intensity.
“I will miss you.” His voice was gravelly. His hands – so insistent when they were making love – were gentle now as they stroked her nakedness lovingly.
“Why are you going?” She shifted her weight, and he smiled as he felt her body flicker in a post-love-making reaction.
“I am interviewing your replacement.”
“My replacement?” She startled, shifting her head so she could look at him properly.
“Mmm. Helena will need help, now that you are here with me.”
“Oh!” She blinked, her features showing her surprise. “Surely that’s something Eric and Helena should handle?”
She didn’t understand the expression in his eyes. “My sister has entrusted me with the hiring of her aid.”
Sophie chewed on her lower lip.
“You do not think this is a good idea?” He prompted, running his hands over her arms until he could link his fingers in hers.
“I … no. I didn’t say that.”
“Yes, you did,” he laughed. “You said it with the this little pout,” he ran a finger over her lips. “And this little line,” he pointed between her brows.
She nodded slowly. The secret worries she had about Helena had been becoming more and more burdensome. Not telling the man she loved that she thought Helena was suffering from depression now felt like a giant omission. The loyalty that had been so easy to claim for Eric was now being torn in two. Ultimately, she had to think of Helena and the boys. What was best for them? Helena needed help, of that Sophie was absolutely certain. And the boys?
Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest as she pictured them. A wave of sadness swept over her. The boys. Were they missing her as she was them?
She moved away from him, and stood, nibbling her lower lip as she tried to work out how to move forward. “It’s important to find the right fit,” she said quietly, toying with the silky blonde ends of her hair.
“Of course,” he agreed, standing and redressing.
But Sophie was anxious. “Do you have long before you go?”
“I am already later than I intended to be, courtesy of my wife.”
She swallowed past the anxiety in her throat. “I’ll see you tonight?”
“I’ll be late. Don’t wait up.” He kissed the tip of her nose and then stalked from the room. She watched him go with the certainty that she no longer knew who she was.
How had she let that happen?