CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER EIGHT
A S N IC AND Lexy emerged from the lengthy business meeting, Nic was in a better mood with his bride. She had been a professional and businesslike interpreter for the duration and, while once or twice seeking clarity on some technical term from him, she had been confident and impressive. As they entered the lift together, he turned to her. ‘What were you chatting about to the chairman at the end? He seemed very pleased.’
‘I told him that we would be visiting Bongeun-sa Temple this afternoon and he was delighted that you are taking interest in culture here,’ she explained lightly.
‘And are we truly planning to make this trip?’ Nic enquired, angling up one sardonic brow.
‘Obviously.’ Her eyes assailed his, her lovely face serious. ‘It wouldn’t do not to go as you’ll probably be asked for your impression of the site at your next meeting. I’ve been before on several school outings and it’s a lovely relaxing place, right in the heart of the city.’
‘Did you also mention that this is our honeymoon?’
Lexy went pink. ‘That would be too personal for sharing but I would imagine that the chairman is already aware. This company is his life’s work and although he does not have a family to pass it on to, he wants to sell to a businessman he regards as good, and the “traditional family man with children” image will serve you well here.’
Nic nodded, appreciating how astute she was, how efficient. How that bled into her less presentable flaws he had yet to discover, he brooded.
They returned to the house for lunch and spent some time with their children before heading back out to the Buddhist temple, which had an amazing location, set as it was in the very heart of the towering glass city skyscrapers, perfectly preserved on a hillside filled with vast and ancient trees.
‘I would have brought the children but there’s too many steps for the pram,’ she explained rather guiltily.
‘The house has a massive garden. Easier to entertain three babies on the spot,’ Nic quipped, staring down at her as she stood in the shade, her silky hair catching a flickering strand of sunlight and gleaming gold, her eyes translucent in colour. His hand came down on her shoulder and he felt her tense as he bent his dark head.
In a sudden movement, Lexy twisted away just as an elderly monk came down the steps with a wooden staff, studying them as he passed with a frown. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, her lips tingling as though he had actually touched them with his. He hadn’t, but there had been a certain heat in his gaze that had spelled out his intention.
Nic had straightened, strong tension etched in his strong jawline. Dismayed, Lexy reached for his hand and laced her fingers through his. ‘Out of respect, this is as close to friendly as we can get as this is a sacred site,’ she proffered apologetically while wondering why she was bothering to explain, because surely he should not even be trying to kiss her! She fell off that mental high horse as soon as she recalled kissing him the night before in their bed and her face turned red as fire.
An unexpected laugh of understanding was wrenched from Nic and he glanced at her. ‘Relax, glykia mou ...you’re as red as a traffic light but I’m not on the brink of dragging you into the bushes yet . Who knows what condition or mood I’ll be in within another couple of days?’ he teased.
As she attempted to release his hand, his fingers merely tightened their hold and she gave up before an unseemly tussle could occur. Nic definitely didn’t appreciate being told what he could and could not do with a woman, she registered, particularly one to whom he was married. And she supposed that, even in a slightly twisty way, she could understand his reasoning.
After all, what had he gained from their marriage? Full access to Ethan, Ezra and Lily and legal rights over them. Mel, ever the lawyer, had ensured that Lexy was well acquainted with those facts before she’d reached the altar. Even so, Nic had given up far more than Lexy. He had enjoyed total freedom, unfettered by anyone or anything, and he had surrendered that freedom to marry her.
Lexy, on the other hand, had gone from rags to riches and had escaped much of the daily slog of raising three demanding babies. In short, prior to their marriage, she had had no freedom to lose. So how did Nic feel now, stuck with a platonic partner in his bed? He was a man who was probably accustomed to enjoying sex whenever or wherever that desire took him. He was not used to sudden celibacy being forced on him.
‘I have a question,’ Nic murmured as they slowly climbed the steep steps of the temple.
‘What do you want to know?’ she asked, removing her footwear to enter the shrine.
‘Why did you sleep with me on our wedding night?’ Nic enquired, smooth as glass.
In the act of bowing to the custodian greeting them, Lexy winced, gritted her teeth and flushed miserably while wishing that he had chosen a more private moment for such an inquiry.
But then Nic could be very impatient. It had been a struggle for him to talk at the slow, measured pace of the elderly chairman and show that deference for age that was expected in Korea. Now a thought had occurred to him and he had plunged impulsively right in with it, even though the surroundings were inappropriate. Annoyed by his candid question and put on the spot, Lexy simply ignored it while inside the temple cymbals clashed, small bells rang and soft chanting began. He dealt her a fulminating appraisal and she ignored that as well, watching while he paced restively back and forth through the vacant space behind her.
Lexy’s temper raced up through her like a rocket ship. He only listened when he wanted to listen, only talked when he wished to, and had pushed her away when she had given him considerable encouragement the night before. It didn’t matter what she did, somehow he always found fault! Her teeth ground together and her chin came up, anger darkening her more usually calm gaze.
Without a word she joined him again to walk back to the car.
‘You’ve got nothing to say to me... at all ?’ Nic shot at her in a decidedly scornful undertone.
Lexy felt like a pot on a stove ready to boil over and she couldn’t contain that indignation. Whipping round on a quiet curve of the path, she breathed, ‘I slept with you because an unconsummated marriage can be set aside as invalid in some circumstances. And naturally, when we’re going for a divorce, it wouldn’t be in my best interests to risk that. Happy now? Gold-digger wife right here!’
As she stared defiantly up at him, Nic’s darkly handsome features froze and he lost colour below his olive skin. Sudden shame and mortification engulfed Lexy as they walked back in tense silence. What a thing to say to him when they were supposed to be doing the mature thing and sticking to a civilised truce! Why did Nic Diamandis make her act like a volatile teenager? It took a great deal to make Lexy lose her temper and he kept on bringing out that side of her and she hated it! She had lied to make a point, to save her pride, to pretend that she was cunning and mercenary. She had preferred him to believe that rather than the unlovely truth that she was simply a pushover for him.
‘Did your best friend of a lawyer tell you that you had to sleep with me at least once ?’
‘No, Mel didn’t, actually. I read it some place a year or two back,’ she admitted wearily, relieved to tell the truth about something. ‘I don’t even know if it’s still a legal requirement these days.’
She stepped into the luxury vehicle that glided next to the kerb to pick them up and sidled along to the far end of the rear seat. Chagrin held her fast and then just as suddenly as she had lost her temper, the anger was gone and she breathed out slowly. ‘I was lying,’ she told him reluctantly. ‘I was annoyed with you and so I lied. That was wrong, particularly when we’re trying to work out how to navigate this marriage peaceably.’
Nic was stunned by that wholly unexpected speech, that fierce quality of sincerity that powered her and the sheer honesty it carried. Brilliant dark eyes locked to her flushed and unhappy profile. ‘You’re admitting that you were lying?’
‘Why wouldn’t I? The reason I gave—about an unconsummated marriage—was untrue and hurtful as a motivation and I shouldn’t have said it,’ Lexy conceded heavily. ‘I slept with you because I wanted you and for no other reason.’
‘You still want me?’
‘Haven’t I admitted that already?’ she exclaimed in extreme self-consciousness.
‘I only pushed you away last night because I wasn’t sure you knew what you wanted from me,’ Nic confessed, disconcerting Lexy as well with his frankness. ‘And I didn’t want to risk screwing things up with you again.’
‘Oh...’ Lexy felt hot and uncomfortable, probably, she reflected ruefully, because she wasn’t used to discussing anything to do with sex. And the law of averages being what it was, she had landed the guy who would say anything and talk about it even in the equivalent of a church!
Nic muttered a Greek curse under his breath. He felt weirdly light-headed for an instant. Lexy still wanted him. No doubt it was pleasing him to hear that so much because he burned for her every time he looked at her. And he reckoned that he looked at her and thought about sex at least sixty times an hour. No woman had ever had that effect on him before and he was seriously hoping that that fixated hunger died away soon because it wasn’t easy to tolerate in a relationship as fractured as theirs was. It had been even less easy to tolerate when he had been unable to find her, he reminded himself darkly. He needed to get that sexual infatuation out of his system before the divorce happened. Of course, getting a divorce didn’t need to be set in stone, he reasoned. That was something that could only be decided between the two of them and who knew how their marriage would develop in the coming months?
All of a quiver, literally, because Lexy couldn’t get that disturbingly intimate conversation out of her head, she returned to the house with him and they spent time with the children in the nursery on the floor. Ezra adored Nic, crawling straight to him, grabbing at his hands to play his favourite game of standing up, because Ezra was desperate to stand and walk. Ethan came more slowly to him, wary, grasping his hands and then bouncing with all his exuberant energy and laughing out loud with sweet baby vigour. Lily came to Lexy, a calmer personality like her mother, and rested on her lap sleepily. She was always quicker to tire than her brothers. Lexy cuddled her daughter with a heart full to overflowing.
‘Dinner is set for six-thirty because I said we don’t mind eating earlier,’ she told him softly. ‘I didn’t consult you—’
‘No, that’s fine with me. It’s been a long day,’ Nic conceded, tugging loose his tie and undoing his collar, sculpted stubbled jawline clenching to throw his flawlessly chiselled features into prominence, accentuating his high cheekbones, his straight ebony brows, his aristocratic nose and wide, perfect mouth.
And she thought, how do I handle this, this unbearable longing, this hunger that comes out of nowhere and just seizes hold of me? He looked as delicious as a long cold drink on a too hot day. Swallowing hard, she turned away as they entered their room, heading straight for the dressing room to choose a fresh outfit. She chose a slim pink sheath dress and changed inside the dressing room, not wishing to hand out signals she wasn’t sure she wished to follow up.
Returning to the bedroom, she learned that Nic suffered from no such inhibitions. Naked, bronzed and muscular, Nic was getting dressed too and she drifted straight back out of the bedroom and downstairs to wait for him. How did she traverse such intimacies now? Certainly, she shouldn’t be watching him the way she did, unless ... Why shouldn’t she want him when she was married to him? Would a man think twice about watching his wife undress?
They ate a meal of so many dishes and courses, arranged across the tabletop in Korean banquet style, that she had to name it all for Nic. He sampled bulgogi , thin beef marinated in sweet soy sauce, ssam , grilled meat wrapped in vegetable leaves, samgyetang , ginseng chicken soup, gimbap , round rolls of rice with savoury extras , fish, rice and noodles. Kimchi , pickled vegetables, she explained, appeared at every meal. She suggested that she take him out to sample street food some evening and offered him hints for how he should behave when he dined out later in the week with the chairman at a renowned restaurant.
As she finished the cookie provided for dessert, Nic stood up and closed a hand over hers. ‘Let’s go to bed,’ he murmured lazily.
Lexy reddened because it was still very early. ‘It’s only—’
‘And this is our honeymoon,’ he reminded her smoothly.
As he pressed her upstairs, she shed her insecurity. He wanted her and she wanted him. There was absolutely no reason why they should not explore that connection more. He was kissing her long before they reached their bedroom and she was grabbing handfuls of his shirtfront in her eagerness to reach actual skin.
‘You’re wearing far too many clothes,’ she told him.
‘So are you,’ he said, closing the bedroom door, peeling off his jacket, ripping off his tie and his shirt with an urgency that thrilled her.
‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this,’ she framed without much vigour.
Nic spun her round, ran down her zip and the dress fell to her feet. ‘But it is ...’
While she kicked off her shoes, Nic stripped off his clothes and she couldn’t take her eyes off that lean, muscular physique of his and the heated ache at the core of her merely gathered strength. With new decisiveness, Lexy reached behind herself to undo her bra and cast it off, wriggling her hips to shed her knickers. Even while she was doing such things, she was marvelling at the new confidence he gave her. But then a guy viewing her body with the same appreciation he might have awarded a goddess was pretty encouraging, she thought, helpless to resist such silent flattery.
He came down on the bed with her, all urgent and aroused and reaching for her, and her heart was hammering so hard she was out of breath, losing herself in the allure of his hungry kiss, the crushing of her lips by his, the sensual exploration of his tongue that sent sensation winging through her whole body.
‘I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you,’ Nic growled, spreading her across the bed to work a slow steady passage down over her slender curves, long fingers touching, teasing, penetrating, watching as her spine rose and a gasp escaped her. ‘And I really couldn’t wait any longer tonight.’
He made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world and when she looked at him his sheer gorgeousness almost overpowered her because, realistically, Nic Diamandis had been her fantasy from the first moment she saw him. She ran admiring fingers through his thick black hair, moaned as he found a raspberry-pink straining nipple with his devouring mouth and moaned even louder when he traced the most sensitive spot of all and shifted his attention there with keen concentration. Her first orgasm hit her like a train roaring down a hill and, moments later, he tilted her up and thrust into her slow and deep.
‘Ah...’ she sighed because as her body so welcomed the invasion of his, it felt impossibly good and little quivers of response eddied through her pelvis.
He flexed his hips and changed speed with a grunt of pleasure as she lifted up to him. From that point, self-control fled Lexy, if it had ever existed. Excitement vanquished discipline and drove every thought out of her head. Sensation was cascading through her willing body in a dam burst of elation. Breath caught in her throat, her heart racing, she was flying higher and higher, particularly after he slid off her, flipped her over and grabbed her hips to raise her again and drove back into her in that new position. She hit an explosive climax right then again, pleasure surging afresh when he kept going, jolting her with ever deeper thrusts. A shriek she muffled in the pillows erupted from her as she reached the plateau again and finally flopped down, convinced she would never move again.
‘That was...’ Words escaped her.
‘Wild. You like it fast and hard...as do I,’ Nic informed her, words not evading him.
Lexy grimaced into the pillows and flipped over again. ‘Just don’t ask me to comment afterwards,’ she mumbled awkwardly. ‘This is all still too new to me for me to feel comfy talking about it.’
‘Still?’ he queried.
‘Well, when on earth could I have had the freedom to do this with anyone else?’ she shot at him irritably.
Nic pulled her close, tossing the rumpled sheet over her, leaning back, feeling fairly pleased with the world in general because she was simply amazing in bed. And she was his wife, something of a sobering recollection, he registered. His wife for at least a year, maybe even longer. Well, there was no reason why they shouldn’t enjoy their time together. Temporary truce for a temporary marriage.
But a thought crept in... A divorce would mean Lexy and his children moving into their own accommodation. Like that chateau in France Angeliki had had the bad taste to mention. He wondered what he was going to do about his half-sister. At the wedding she had behaved a little like a jealous girlfriend and he didn’t want Lexy to end up in Angeliki’s line of fire. It would have been so much easier if Angeliki hadn’t tried to seduce him that night. If that hadn’t happened, he would have felt able to tell her immediately that they shared a father. At least if he told her the truth about their blood relationship, she would back off and stop acting so possessive, he reasoned, resolving to move ahead with telling his best friend the truth to stop her interfering in his life.
He pictured Lexy as lady of the chateau in France. She wouldn’t be on the single shelf for very long, he ruminated, growing increasingly less relaxed as that reality sank in on him hard. He was appalled by the idea of her with another man. In fact, the concept almost made him feel sick. As for the children moving out from under his roof and a potential stepfather pushing his way in? Well, those possibilities held no appeal either. He released his breath in a pent-up rush. There was no need to think about all that stuff now. Presumably a few months down the road he would feel differently.
After all, there wasn’t any way he would tie himself down for any longer to a liar, was there? No guy in his right mind would do that.
‘I suppose I should get up. It’s only half eight,’ Lexy lamented.
Nic locked both arms round her, trapping her without even thinking about it. ‘No. I have plans for you.’
‘Really?’ Looking at him upside down, Lexy’s eyes widened.
‘Yes, we stay in bed and use the opportunity,’ he murmured, moving her onto the bed beside him and claiming her swollen mouth with his again.