She smiled ruefully, knowing that whatever they said about Luc liking his solitude, he liked his home comforts too, and that there would be someone, not too far away, who would make sure that he had everything he needed.
‘Pedro’s wife,’ he explained, putting her mind at rest.
Leaning back against the wall, Luc stared at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. ‘I need to get some things off my chest.’
‘I know,’ she said quietly.
‘I’ve been married before.’
She didn’t know that, and couldn’t have been more shocked. The silence lengthened, and she was glad she was sitting down. This was the last thing she had expected. Her heart seemed to have stopped beating. Her throat had dried. In spite of the blazing fire she felt chilled and uncertain. Everything she had built her belief on when it came to Luc had turned out to be wrong. Lucas Marcelos, the man she thought she knew, was just a construct of her over-fertile imagination. ‘Married.’ Now she said the word, she didn’t know why the possibility of Luc being married at one time hadn’t occurred to her before.
‘My wife is dead.’
For the second time in as many minutes, she felt the world tilt on its axis. ‘How?’
‘She was killed with her lover in a freak accident,’ Luc explained in a voice that held no emotion.
Her lover? Luc’s wife had had a lover? That seemed incredible—unbelievable, to Emma.
‘I was very young,’ he explained. ‘She was too. We moved with the same fast set. I should have kept my baby sister away from them. That’s what crucifies me. Karina was just a little girl, wrapped up in the glamour of an aunt who was beautiful and exciting, and whose lover was careless and daring. The accident that killed my wife and my lover almost killed my sister too. He was showing off and ran his car off the road with my wife and Karina in it. Karina escaped with just cuts and bruises, but my wife and her lover were killed outright.’
The bitterness in Luc’s voice didn’t surprise her, and when he stopped telling her the story she could imagine him running it scene by scene in front of his eyes, and the true facts would only be embellished by his imagination. When the police had told her about her parents’ accident, it hadn’t been what they or the emergency services had told her, but what she’d pictured in her mind that still haunted her.
‘I will never forgive myself for exposing my sister to danger like that.’
‘But it wasn’t your fault, Luc.’
‘It was my fault,’ he insisted, pulling away from the wall. ‘I didn’t have to be at the scene of the accident for it to be my fault. I pushed my wife into the arms of her lover. If I had spent more time with her, instead of playing polo and building a business, she might not have taken a lover in the first place, but I was full of the arrogance of youth, and I neglected her. She was young and beautiful, and she wanted a life. She didn’t want to be sitting at home, waiting for me to come back. And why should she? I was in the wrong, Emma. I treated my wife like just another possession—as I treated you when we first met.’
‘But at some point you have to forgive yourself, Luc.’
‘As you have forgiven yourself for your parents’ deaths?’
She couldn’t answer that without admitting that she was always looking for something she’d missed—something that could have saved them long before they’d gone on that drug-fuelled journey to disaster.
‘Guilt isn’t easy to shift. I just don’t want to do that to anyone else, and I almost did...with you. And with you it’s worse.’ Luc’s gaze steadied on her face. ‘I thought I loved my wife, and I felt betrayed when she took a lover, but now I know that I didn’t love her, and that what I felt was an adolescent emotion so very different from what I feel for you.’
‘I’m sorry for her death,’ Emma said quietly, reeling as she tried to take in what Luc had just said.
The silence that followed was absolute.
‘We can’t decide the path that others take,’ Luc said at last, ‘But actions have consequences, as I have proved yet again. And I’m frightened, of losing you, frightened of making the same mistake again. I’ve never been frightened like this in my life before.’ His eyes searched out her gaze.
Standing, she took hold of his hands and held them firmly in hers. ‘Love is terrifying. You feel so much, and then there’s this point where you’re totally committed to that one person, but you’re not sure that they feel the same. That’s frightening. That’s walking a tightrope without a safety net. But you have to take that risk or you’ll never know.’ She paused for breath. ‘I love you with all my heart. There. I’ve said it. I can’t help myself. I can’t stop myself—’
‘Agradeço a Deus por você!’
Luc’s voice was muffled in her shoulder. Winding her fingers through his hair, she held him close, and for a few moments they stood together, breathing in harmony as they accepted that maybe they didn’t have to go on alone from here.
‘Translate,’ she whispered.
Lifting his head, Luc stared into her eyes. ‘Thank God for you, Emma.’
His heart welled with love for Emma, and for the stand she was taking. He loved her for her resilience, whatever life threw at her. This was the woman he wanted at his side. This was the woman who would fight for his children and protect them to her last breath. He had wasted too much time indulging in thoughts of revenge, when there was no revenge possible as the protagonists were dead. Was he going to allow the past to colour every decision he made? Wasn’t it time to move forward, instead of looking back?
‘What are you doing now?’ Emma demanded as he knelt at her feet.
‘I’m humbly asking you to be my wife.’
‘Humbly?’ she said, raising a brow.
‘As humbly as I can.’
A smile lit up her face. ‘Not humbly at all, then.’ She was silent for a while as they stared at each other, and then she frowned and said, ‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’
‘Never more so,’ he admitted.
Pressing her lips together, she smiled and shook her head. ‘Do you have to look like such a bad boy when you say such lovely things?’
He tipped his chin as he admitted ruefully, ‘Apparently so.’
‘In that case...’
Kneeling in front of him, Emma reached out and he took her hands in his.
‘I’m even more frightened now,’ she admitted.
‘You, frightened?’
‘Well...’ Her slanting smile lit up her eyes. ‘Perhaps a little apprehensive of what I’m taking on.’
‘Not half as apprehensive as I am,’ he admitted drily.
‘Love has been an alien and scary concept to me too,’ she admitted, ‘and for so long. My weird, dysfunctional past has left me wary like you, but I know that what I feel for you, and what I feel for our child is one of life’s gloriously unavoidable emotions, and it’s taken hold of me and will never let me go. It heals, it hurts, it thrills. It’s love. And I am a hostage for life.’
‘So that’s a yes?’
‘I think I’ve kept you on your knees long enough,’ she teased. ‘Yes. That’s the happiest yes you’ll ever hear.’
Bringing Emma into his arms, he kissed her, then raising her to her feet, he backed her towards the bedroom. ‘Food can wait,’ he said, nuzzling his lips against her neck. ‘You’re not going to faint with hunger, are you?’
‘Only with pleasure,’ she said, her eyes laughing into his.
* * *
She was shivering with need as Luc moved over her. She quickly helped him to take off her clothes. Sensation was everything. Heat was firing along every nerve ending she possessed. She was desperate to feel him naked, skin to skin. She seized hold of his shirt, dealing with the buttons frantically and then sliding it from his shoulders. Her hunger mounted as she felt h
is muscles ripple and bunch beneath her hands. Grabbing the buckle on his belt, she loosened his trousers. She felt for him and he sprang free. She clasped him, laughing softly at the fact that her hand would barely encompass him. ‘I want to taste you,’ she said.
‘Be my guest.’ Removing his jeans, Luc tossed them away. Rolling onto his back he meshed his fingers through her hair as she moved down the bed and took him. Suckling and lapping, for the sheer pleasure of hearing him groan, she stroked his powerful chest as she pleasured him, her own arousal mounting as she anticipated the moment when the tables would be turned. She didn’t have long to wait. Luc was impatient to have her. They were both greedy.
She laughed with excitement as he brought her beneath him. Lifting her so her head was on the pillows, he moved slowly down the bed. Taking hold of her wrists, he held them above her head. Closing her eyes as he kissed his way around her body, she smiled as sensation flooded her, and her heart throbbed with love.
‘I should have remembered how greedy you were,’ Luc said, his voice tight with lust as she raised her hips, demanding more contact. Resting her legs over the wide spread of his shoulders, so that she was completely exposed, completely vulnerable, he kissed her. Luc was a master of seduction, an expert at temptation, and he knew exactly which buttons to press. ‘No,’ he warned softly. ‘Not yet.’
He made her wait, which made her hungrier still for him, and it seemed for ever before he eased back, and then very slowly moved forward again. Taking her, he stretched her and filled her as he claimed her. He was so careful with her, so controlled. She trusted him completely, and the feeling had never been more extreme as he took her deeply. Pausing a moment to allow her to grow used to the sensation, he only had to roll his hips to make it impossible for her to hold on. Crying out wildly and repeatedly, she ceded control of everything gladly, to pleasure and to oneness with Luc.
‘More?’ he suggested with amusement when, after the longest time, she finally grew quiet.
Her answer was a look as she bore down firmly, taking him.
Luc answered this by pinning her hands above her head. He loomed over her, and then he took her fast and hard. Her world exploded. His did too.
She wasn’t sure how long exactly they stayed in bed. The time they spent together couldn’t be measured in hours, only in pleasure, and that was extreme. She went for water in the kitchen and when he found her there, they made love again. Luc lifted her onto the counter and nudged his way between her thighs. Then he carried her back to bed and made love to her again. His stamina was inexhaustible, and when she woke the sun was streaming strongly into the room and Luc was working some magic with his hands.
‘Your needs match mine,’ he whispered as she stared at him sleepily.
‘What a great way to wake up.’
Eventually they fell asleep again, entwined in each other’s arms, and when she woke dusk had fallen, and Luc was behind her, one hand pressing her down so he could watch as he pleasured her. ‘Maybe this is the best way to wake up,’ she gasped into the pillow, crying out as he tipped her over the edge. Reaching back, she moved fiercely with him, gripping his buttocks with fingers like iron, working him mercilessly until Luc fell too. They slept some more and then they bathed together. She sat between his legs in the tub, resting back against his chest as Luc kissed her neck and lazily soaped her.
‘You’re so relaxed after sex,’ he commented, nuzzling her hair back so he could expose her sensitive skin.
‘I’m exhausted,’ she admitted, smiling.
‘At last.’ He laughed.
Leaving the water, he pulled a towel down from the heated rail and held it out for her. She was practically purring as he cocooned her in its fluffy warmth. Resting her head against his shoulder, she smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. There was nothing else on earth like this. Just being with Luc was enough.
She’d left his ranch in such a rush she hadn’t thought to bring any spare clothes with her. She borrowed his shirt—a shirt for a giant. She wore it like a dress. Her feet were bare and her hair was gathered back in a ponytail. There was no artifice between them, no tension, no pride. They made a meal together in the kitchen, laughing as they shared the tasks. It seemed like the most natural thing on earth to her. She had never been more relaxed.
‘So, soon-to-be Senhora Marcelos,’ Luc murmured, standing behind her so he could wrap his arms around her waist. ‘When you live with me and be my love, and we have a football team of children, will you still find time to work and help me build up my business?’
‘Don’t worry about my commitment to my work. I will be energised. I have every intention of adding a human touch to your increasingly efficient machine.’
‘And you’ll still find time to make love with me?’
‘If we’re going to have a team of children, I think I’ll have to,’ she pointed out pragmatically.
‘I’ll have it written into your contract, just to be sure,’ Luc said, acting stern. ‘Along with my promise to love and cherish you, even when I teach you to ride—’
‘Oh, that,’ she said.
‘Yes, that.’
‘I’ve been meaning to talk to you about those riding lessons.’ She grimaced.
Luc held out his hand to her with a wicked smile on his face that she recognised at once. ‘Come,’ he coaxed. ‘I’ll teach you the basics in the bedroom.’
‘In that case...’
Suddenly riding didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
EPILOGUE
‘NOW WE JUST have to find a man worthy of my new sister,’ Emma insisted as Karina cradled the two new additions to the Marcelos family in her arms. They were all staying on the ranch for a while to give Emma a chance to settle into her new role as the mother of twins, while Karina, who was staying in one of the guest cottages, had the opportunity to get to know her baby niece and nephew.
‘A man for me?’ Karina huffed. ‘Not interested. I’ve had enough of men to last me a lifetime. Sorry,’ she added, not sounding sorry at all as she handed over one of Emma’s twins. ‘I do realise you’ve got to put up with Lucas, and though I’d love to be a sister-in-arms at this stressful time for you, I prefer my freedom. Can’t even pretend for your sake that I’m in any hurry to bring another rampaging barbarian into my life.’
‘Lucas hasn’t left your life. He never will.’
‘I believe you—unfortunately.’ Karina laughed. ‘So, what are you cooking up for me on the man front?’ she demanded with a suspicious look.
‘Nothing,’ Emma protested, not very convincingly. ‘Luc’s bringing some friends over for supper, that’s all. Why don’t you stay? You don’t have to dash back to the guest cottage right away, do you?’
Karina raised a brow. ‘Stay and play dangerous games with bad boys? No, thank you. You’re already drowning in hormones so the testosterone overload will barely touch you, but I’m vulnerable to attack.’
Emma laughed. ‘I don’t think any man could get the better of you, Karina Marcelos. What?’ she pressed when Karina fell silent.
‘It has been known,’ Karina admitted. ‘When I was young and foolish.’
‘You fell for someone?’ Emma pressed.
‘Just no polo players, okay?’
Knowing when to leave things alone, Emma changed the subject. Putting the twins down in their respective cots, she went to join Karina at the window and they chatted until the door swung open and a group of men arrived in arrow formation, headed up by Luc. He walked straight to Emma and, oblivious to the fact that there were other people in the room, he drew her into his arms and kissed her as if they were alone. ‘I love you,’ he whispered. ‘I’ve been away for far too long.’
‘You’ve been away on this ranch within half a mile of here for half a day’s polo training,’ Emma pointed out as Luc nuzzled his stubble against her neck
, making her shiver with desire for him.
‘Half a day is too long,’ Luc growled ominously. ‘I brought the team home to see the twins. I hope you don’t mind.’
‘No, of course not.’ Emma turned to Karina, only to confront her ashen-faced and on the point of leaving. ‘Is something wrong? Won’t you stay?’ she said discreetly.
‘No, thank you.’ Karina gave her a warm hug. ‘I haven’t changed my mind. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘Why are you in such a rush? Just give them a chance,’ Emma said, glancing at the group of good-looking polo players—big, tough men, currently cooing over the next generation of the Marcelos dynasty.
‘Because I already gave them a chance,’ Karina said in a forced whisper.
‘All of them?’ Emma queried, opening her eyes.
‘One of them,’ Karina said with a meaningful look. ‘And I don’t need another rampaging barbarian in my life. I’m going to leave you to it—okay?’
Karina had almost made it out of the door when Luc put out a hand, stopping her. ‘You know Dante Baracca, don’t you, Karina? And this is my wife, Emma. May I present the latest recruit to Team Thunderbolt?’
Something told Emma that Dante Baracca was no stranger to Karina. He certainly wasn’t interested in anyone else in the room, though Karina seemed tense and angry as she nodded her head in acknowledgement that she already knew the dark stranger. It couldn’t be just the look of him, Emma reasoned. With a brother like hers, Karina had grown up with men like Dante. The entire Thunderbolt team conformed to the same dark and swarthy, hard-muscled type. Extending her hand in greeting, she weighed up the new arrival. ‘Pleased to meet you, Senhor Baracca.’
‘And you, senhora.’ Dante Baracca bowed over her hand, but his heat was reserved for Karina. There wasn’t so much a crackle of electricity between them as a lightning strike, Emma thought, looking on with interest as they eyed each other up like a matador with a bull. What was the matter with them both? Why had this suddenly become a scowling contest? ‘Do you two know each other?’ she asked Karina, tongue in cheek as they walked together to the door.
Brazilian's Nine Months' Notice Page 15
