Prologue #2
He had not been with an untouched woman since he was sixteen. But the need clawed at him ferociously.
"Kiss me back, baby." He breathed.
He felt her tremble, her slender curves arching towards him. Her slight hesitation did not go unnoticed. But it was fleeting.
Lifting her hands, she wrapped them around his neck and tilted her mouth to his. Stifling a groan, he toyed with her full bottom lip, one hand banding around her waist and lifting her even closer.
She smelled of honey and desire. The scent of daffodils, peonies and cabbage roses burst through the air like magic.
The entire night was magical, as if some higher hand had spun it just for them.
As the gentle night breeze rustled the leaves, Abby felt as if the world had faded away, leaving only the two of them suspended in this enchanted moment. The soft glow of the moon bathed them in silver, deepening the shadows and lending an otherworldly aura to their embrace.
Every heartbeat seemed amplified, every sensation heightened, as if the garden itself was holding its breath, waiting for their story to unfold.
Her heart opened up and swelled, taking it all in. Taking him in. Her head arched, lips eager to meet his. But he was not ready.
He had been playing this game for so long, he had become an expert. He knew when to ease back, when to tease and when to completely devastate.
For reasons he could not define, he wanted to prolong. She tasted sweet, her scent lingering on his tongue. And he wanted more. It surprised him how much more he wanted.
It was time to take the kiss deeper. Sliding his tongue between her lips, he tangled with hers, teasing, plunging slightly and then withdrawing, nibbling until she thought she was going clean out of her mind.
She had been kissed before of course. Gentle kisses from a boy she had had a crush on in high school and then when she went to college there had been others who had introduced her to something more.
But never like this. She felt as if she was being swamped. Sensations poured through her like white hot lava.
It occurred to her vaguely that she was dealing with an expert, with a man who had finetuned his skill of pleasing women.
But none of it mattered. His lips plundered hers. She clung to him, offering herself on the proverbial platter. Her senses swam; her knees went weak.
She who had abhorred and scoffed at the turn of phrases in the few romance novels she had deigned to read. She was practical, sensible and too smart to believe in love at first sight. Or that a kiss could transport you to beyond the realms of reason.
His mouth lifted, only to race over her neck and her throat. He nibbled there, tasting her skin and firing his own desire.
His hands cupped her breasts, thumbs slowly rubbing over the rigid nipples.
"I want you." His voice was thick and unsteady. He was damned if his body wasn't shuddering. Her effect on him was frustrating. He had to have her. Now.
It had to be now. He was starved for her.
"Cade..." She tried to surface from the incredible fog that covered her mind. Her body was lax and fluid.
"Don't deny me." His mouth raced up over her neck and covered hers before she could make any further protest.
The kiss drained her, sent hot flames licking through her body at an alarming rate.
"I want you." He rasped. She was helpless to say anything other than yes.
As soon as she uttered the word, he ended the kiss and took her hand, practically dragging her through the meandering path towards the parking lot. The desire thrumming through his body demanded haste.
Tossing the ticket to the attendant who hurried towards them, he kept an arm around her waist as if afraid she would bolt. But she was too weak, her mind was still cloudy, her head still floating.
She wasn't going anywhere.
*****
"Darling." Eloise Tyrell elegant in her rose-pink gown and decked out in diamonds, touched her oldest child's arm to get his attention, a slight frown on her smooth brow. "Have you seen your brother?"
Kevin cast his mother an indulgent smile as he took her hand in his. "The last time I saw him, he was making his way towards a young lady wearing black. They were dancing a few minutes ago, but I have no idea where they are now."
Her frown deepened. "Jane is also looking for him."
"I suspect she will be doing so for a while yet." Kevin grinned wryly and had to admire how smooth his brother was.
Both Kincaid and Katherine had inherited their mother's raving good looks and the advantages that came with it. He was more like his father, down to the sable brown hair and hazel eyes.
Both brothers had inherited their father's lofty height of 6'3". He was older than Cade by five years and unlike his flighty brother was already settled as a junior vice president in the company.
And he was completely in love with Sarah-Jane.
"Want me to try and find him?"
His mother sighed. "What would be the point. Go and rescue that poor man from your sister's clutches, will you? And if you happen to see that brother of yours, tell him..." She waved an elegant hand with delicately colored coral pink nails. "Oh, just tell him I need to speak with him."
*****
The apartment was one of theirs. An unassuming little building tucked into a dense and private and secluded area. He used it whenever he wanted to be alone or just wanted to be alone with someone.
He lived at the manor as did the rest of his siblings and was surrounded by what seemed like an army of servants. That did not afford a hell of a lot of privacy.
And it was perfect for what he had in mind. He barely managed to make his way through the traffic and turned off the narrow road.
He was impatient and eager to have her. They did not speak. Conversation wasn't necessary. The air was thick with passion and yearning.
Stopping the vehicle under a mulberry bush, he came around to open her door. Taking her hand, he brought her in for a kiss that melted her bones clear off her skin.
The light from the moon bathed the couple in silver. Birds chirped, squirrels scurried up trees, the faint sounds of water from the harbor joined the sounds of nature at work, but all of it was lost on them.
The passion was fierce and powerful. He could take her right here. Out in the open where the scent of jasmine and peonies dominated. Where the breeze trickled warmly over the skin.
His hands raced up and down her arms, then her back as he molded her against him. He swallowed her gasp of awareness and felt her slender body trembling as it came in contact with that part of him that was raging out of control.
It had to be now. The desire was strong enough to have his heart thudding like a sledgehammer. Sweat coated his armpits and slithered down his chest.
He had to have her now. The fever was there. Anticipation, the taste of her was on his tongue, inside his bloodstream. He wanted every part of her.
*****
"It only hurts the first time." He was struggling to control his breathing. His body was coated with a thin layer of sweat. "I'm sorry for it."
He had been right. A virgin, in this day and age.
"It's fine." She was still shaking and wanted to curl into him and hold fast. The pain had been fleeting, the pleasure, something she would never forget.
In the months to come, she would remember the slightest thing. The scent of him inside her nostrils, the feel of his lean body on hers.
It would all come back to haunt her.
Tucking his fingers beneath her chin, he studied her flushed face and slumberous eyes and felt the passion stirring again. He had tried to be gentle, tried to be patient with the intention of laboring over her exquisite body.
She was slender but had lush curves. Her breasts reminded him of juicy peach combined with honey. He wanted more. He had every intention of suggesting that they leave, that he take her back to the hotel, but he wanted more, craved more in fact.
"Sore?"
He was delighted with her lowered eyes and embarrassed look.
"Are you going to answer?"
Lifting her long lashes, she gave him a defiant stare. "No."
Chuckling softly, he lowered his head and teased her lips. The tremors came as desire stormed through her body. She reached for him and felt her young heart bursting inside her chest.
She had fallen in love with him. It was the heat of the moment, or it could be that she was an innocent under the magnetic spell of a man who had years of experience under his belt, but she knew at that moment, her heart and body belonged to him.
Completely.
But something kept her from blurting it out. She would always think of that night and be happy she kept it to herself.
For a few moments, neither of them spoke. The night air was heavy with the perfume of flowers and the distant hum of city life, yet within their small world, everything else faded away.
She lay quietly, savoring the lingering touch of his hands, the way his breath had mingled with hers, and the heat that still curled low in her belly. There was a tenderness in his touch now, a gentleness that contrasted sharply with the fierce urgency they'd shared just moments before.
He took her home instead of back to the hotel, gave her a hot steamy kiss on the mouth and lingered with his arms around her as if reluctant to leave. Then he was gone, and she was drifting upstairs to her room with a dreamy look on her face.
It never occurred to her until much later that he never made plans to call or see her again.
Two months later, she was pregnant and scared out of her wits. And whenever that happened she ran to her brother.
And contemplated getting rid of it. The thought of how disappointed her family was going to be was uppermost in her mind.
"I'm here for you." Andre told her quietly, holding her hand, his gaze steady. "Whatever you decide, I'm here."