Harper sagged against him wearily with a sigh. ‘I’d better go to her. She’s due for a feed in half an hour anyway.’
Jack gave her one quick kiss before he released her. He suppressed his disappointment because he knew their little baby had to come first. He wouldn’t have it any other way—Marli was his top priority, which was why it was so frustrating Harper was still so adamant about waiting until after Ruby and Lucas’s wedding to decide on a wedding date. He considered making her wait to resume a sexual relationship with him until after that, but that would mean another two months of torture. Never had he wanted someone as much as he wanted her. It didn’t mean he was falling in love. He would never allow his heart to get involved to that degree. He admired her, liked her, respected her and desired her.
And he couldn’t see that changing anytime soon, if ever.
Harper fed and changed Marli and settled her back to sleep. She returned to the sitting room to find Jack in the same position he had found her in an hour before. He was lying on his side, his head resting on the same scatter cushion she had used. He was still dressed in his business shirt and trousers but he had taken off his shoes and socks. His black hair was sexily tousled and there was a generous sprinkling of dark stubble on his jaw. She went over to him and perched on the edge of the sofa next to his hip. Every cell in her body ached to touch him, to lean down and press a hot kiss to his mouth, to stir him into wakefulness and arousal.
But something stopped her.
Was she making a mistake by wanting to make love to him again? By wanting to revisit the mind-blowing passion they had shared that had resulted in the conception of their tiny baby? Jack wanted to marry her but not for the reasons most people got married. He desired her—she was in no doubt of that—but was it enough to last a lifetime together? Or even last enough years for them to successfully raise their child?
As if by its own volition, her hand reached out and lightly touched his lean jaw. The prickle of his stubble tickled her fingers but apart from a sleepy murmur, he didn’t wake. He had been in and out of the country several times since Marli’s birth, always flying back the same day, juggling work and fatherhood with his many other commitments. Like hers, his life had changed in a blink. One day he was a billionaire playboy hotelier who flew around the globe to maintain the success of his hotel brand, the next he was a devoted father, trying to be present and engaged in every aspect of Marli’s care. It could have been so different. He might not have wanted anything to do with their baby. He could have left Harper to deal with everything on her own but he hadn’t. He had promised to marry her, to provide for and protect her and their child. He loved Marli, there was doubt in her mind about that. But the one thing he hadn’t promised to do was to loveher.
Harper rose from the sofa. ‘’Night, Jack,’ she whispered, and then quietly left the room.
They arrived in Paris two days later by private jet. Harper was touched that Jack had gone to such expense to protect Marli from being exposed to other travellers in case she picked up a cold. She wasn’t old enough for all her vaccinations and his care and concern for her only made it harder for Harper to keep her feelings for him in check. Jack had had to fly back to Rome the morning after the night they’d kissed, which meant there hadn’t been time or an opportunity to make love. The anticipation of being intimate with him again sent shivers up and down her spine. Was it her crazy hormones or was it simply because Jack was the only lover to connect with her on such an earth-shattering level?
They were staying at a Livingstone Hotel in Paris which had stunning views of the Eiffel Tower. Jack had organised the delivery of her camera equipment to the hotel and all the baby paraphernalia they needed for Marli. His attention to detail was a comfort to Harper, who was still struggling with see-sawing hormones and lack of sleep—not to mention the experience of being a new mother without the preparation other mothers had.
Harper stood in the penthouse suite in front of the expansive windows, drinking in the view outside. ‘I think Paris is one of my favourite destinations. It’s virtually impossible to take a bad photo here. There’s something about the light and the architecture. It gets to me every time.’
Jack came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She could feel the strong wall of his body within an inch of hers, the thrill of his touch sending shockwaves of electricity through her body. She could smell the citrus and woody notes of his aftershave and she could feel her pulse reacting to his proximity with strong, pulsing beats like that of a tribal drum. Beats that reverberated deep in her core.
Jack leaned closer and placed his mouth against the side of her neck, close to her ear. Her skin erupted in shivering sensations and her heartbeat skyrocketed. ‘Are you nervous about tomorrow?’ he asked in a low, deep burr.
She leaned her head to one side, unable to resist the feel of his lips teasing and tantalising her skin. ‘A little, I guess.’
He turned her to face him, his eyes as dark as a midnight sky. ‘You’ll be brilliant. And I’ll take care of Marli, so you don’t need to worry about her unless she needs a feed.’
Harper placed a hand on his chest, her gaze dipping briefly to his mouth then back to his gaze. ‘I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t wanted to be involved in raising her. I love seeing you with her. But it kind of makes me realise what I missed out on by not having a father.’
Jack stroked a gentle hand down the back of her head, his touch soothing and yet sensual too. ‘It’s his loss, not yours.’ His expression became rueful and he continued, ‘I can’t believe I would’ve missed out on the joy of being a dad if we hadn’t got pregnant the way we did. I told myself I never wanted children, never wanted the responsibility of keeping them safe and guiding them through life. But now Marli’s here, I couldn’t be happier. I wish I didn’t have to work so hard so I could be with her more. I don’t want to miss a thing.’
‘You’re everything a girl could ask for in a father.’
‘You’re doing a pretty fine job of being a mum too.’
There was a long moment of silence. A silence where Jack’s gaze moved to her mouth and lingered there for a heart-stopping period. A silence where Harper waited with bated breath for him to close the distance between their mouths, the need in her rising with every passing second.
And then finally, the touchdown. But it was hard to know who had moved first. Harper sighed against the firm press of his lips, opening her mouth to welcome the erotic command of his tongue. Shivers skittered down her spine, and as his tongue played and danced and duelled with hers a pool of molten heat formed in her core. Desire leapt like wildfire in her veins, a throbbing, burning, impatient desire that was threatening to rage out of control.
Jack’s mouth shifted position, his kiss deepening, sending another scorching wave of longing through her body. He groaned against her mouth as if he couldn’t get enough of her taste. She groaned back, pushing herself closer to the hard frame of his body. One of his hands went to the small of her back, pressing her towards the jut of his erection. A frisson of delight shot through her flesh in anticipation of his intimate possession.
‘I want you so badly,’ Jack groaned.
‘Then have me.’
His eyes glittered with desire. ‘Are you sure?’
Harper stepped up on tiptoe and swept her tongue across his lower lip. ‘I want you to make love to me.’
He gave a whole-body shudder as if the anticipation was getting to him too. ‘God, I love it that you’re so hot for me. That was what was so great about our first time together. You almost blew the top of my head off.’
Harper smiled a sultry smile. ‘Yes, well, you were pretty hot for me too, if I recall.’
He pushed her closer against his arousal, his dark eyes smouldering. ‘I couldn’t bring myself to make love with anyone else until I saw you again. I was desperate to experience it again. The passion, the energy, the sheer alchemy of being with you.’
His confession thrilled her beyond words. Her intimate encounter with him had tilted her world on its axis. It had terrified her to be so attracted to someone that he had distracted her from the work she loved. But it wasn’t just her physical attraction to him that was so terrifying. It was the love she had for him. The love she had pretended she didn’t feel. The love she had packed away in a box inside her head markedDo Not Open. It had struck her like lightning the first time he kissed her. And each kiss since had only poured accelerant on the flames of her feelings. They whooshed through her every time he looked at her a certain way—the way he was looking at her now, with eyes lustrous with want.