She slipped her feet into low sandals and went to the mirror to inspect her face. She grimaced as she saw her reflection. Her eyes were shadowed as well as red-rimmed and her nose was grazed from her trip through the sand. She applied some concealer to it before brushing her lips with lip-gloss. She left her hair loose, hoping it would provide some sort of screen from his penetrating gaze.
He was waiting for her in the lounge, thrusting the paper he’d been reading to one side as he got to his feet.
‘How are you feeling?’ he asked.
‘I’m fine.’
‘You slept for ages; I was worried.’
‘You had no need to be.’
‘All the same you had a nasty shock. It can affect you for hours later.’
‘As you can see, I’ve made a full recovery.’
He came closer and, bending down, inspected her nose. She had nowhere to look but into his eyes and her heart gave a sudden lurch as she saw the flicker of warmth smouldering there.
‘Does that hurt?’ He touched her nose so softly she wondered if she’d imagined it.
‘N-no.’
His eyes held hers for a long moment.
‘You’ve been crying.’
She lowered her eyes. ‘No, I haven’t.’
‘Are you feeling unwell?’
She shook her head without looking up at him.
‘Bryony.’
She tried to step away but his hands captured her shoulders, bringing her closer. She was surprised by the warmth of his gaze, the way it softened his features and loosened the tightness of his mouth into a relaxed smile.
‘Why do you keep insisting on fighting this?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ She struggled in his hold but he wouldn’t release her.
‘You are fighting yourself, Bryony, not me. I know you want me. We want each other and now there is no one to stop us from having what we both want.’
Bryony swallowed. He was right. She did want him. It didn’t matter that he had engineered their marriage for his own ends, the truth was she’d always wanted him and his seemingly outrageous proposal had given her the perfect excuse to have him, even if it had been on his terms and his terms only.
She was enslaved by her love for him. She didn’t want to think about a future without him. That was why she had put her own life at risk to save him. She just couldn’t bear another ten years without him in her life. Ever since the day he had kissed her she had felt connected to him in the most elemental way. For years she’d told herself it was her guilt over the way she had damaged his lip, but deep down she had known it was much more than that.
Kane completed her in a way no one else could. She felt half alive without him, her body craving the weight of his glance, let alone his touch. She ached for him to love her but was prepared to settle for less if only she could be with him.
Kane’s hands tightened on her shoulders as he looked down at her. ‘Deny what’s between us, Bryony, but it won’t go away. You can hate me all you like but you can’t hide the fact that you want me just as much as I want you.’
She didn’t bother denying it. Her body was already tingling with awareness, her breasts tight and her mouth swelling in anticipation of the pressure of his. She held her breath as he lowered his head, the warm dry brush of his lips on hers making her ache for more. When his kiss deepened she responded to it with the heated fervour of her desire for him. His tongue lit a flame inside her mouth, sending sharp arrows of need to the molten core of her where a pulse was already throbbing in preparation for the hard glide of his body.
Kane pressed her backwards against the sofa, his hands sliding down her body as he shaped her towards him. Bryony felt each hard contour of him against her, the heat and purpose of his body fuelling her need for even closer contact.
He slipped her dress and bra out of the way and his warm palm covered her breast in a gentle caress that made her feel totally feminine. His thumb rolled over the tight bud of her nipple and she arched her back in response, her senses teetering totally out of control when he replaced his thumb with his mouth, the shadowed skin of his jaw scraping her tender flesh as he moved to her other breast.
He moved from her breasts to her stomach, his tongue darting in and out of the tiny cave of her belly button before moving even lower in a slow tantalizing pathway to where her feminine pulse had become a dull, insistent ache.
She sucked in a prickly breath as he separated her, tasting her with such exquisite tenderness she felt herself melting, the dew of her desire anointing her in anticipation of his hard male presence.
She clutched at his shoulders as he deepened his caress, her head flinging back as the tiny tremors became earthquakes in her bloodstream. She shook against his mouth, her body racked with such intense pleasure she wondered if she would survive it.
Her eyes opened to see Kane looking down at her, his dark eyes smouldering as he took in her pleasure-slaked form underneath his.
She gave him a little shy smile, not trusting herself to speak after such a physically enthralling moment.
He gave her an answering smile, the tiny lines at the corners of his eyes softening his appearance.
She held her breath as his hand cupped the side of her face, his long fingers warm against her skin.
‘No regrets this time?’ he asked softly.
She gave a small heartfelt sigh. ‘No.’
‘So you won’t call me every type of barbarian for making love to you?’
‘I’m sorry…’ She bit her lip, her cheeks firing. ‘I shouldn’t have said that…I was feeling out of my depth…’
‘You are beautiful, do you know that?’ Kane’s voice was low and husky.
His words made her glow inside with liquid warmth. Bryony wondered if he could see the way he made her feel. Surely there was some sign of it on her skin, where his mouth and hands had touched, or in her eyes, which had been ensnared by the burning heat of his?
Kane touched a fingertip to the soft bow of her mouth as he held her clear blue gaze.
‘What are you thinking, little one?’
She moistened her lips with her tongue, her stomach rolling over when she saw the way his eyes followed the movement.
‘That you make me feel so…’ She struggled to find adequate words but the task momentarily defeated her.
‘I make you feel what, Bryony?’ he asked.
She held his probing look. ‘I…I feel alive when I’m with you.’
His dark gaze intensified as it dipped to the soft bow of her mouth before moving back to her shining eyes.
His continued silence made her reckless, her need for reassurance overriding her inbuilt sense of pride.
‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘What do I make you feel?’
The thick, slightly rough pad of his thumb traced a pattern on her bottom lip, the gentle movement causing Bryony’s breath to catch. When the seconds ticked by she wondered if he was going to ignore her question but then he smiled and tilted her head for his descending kiss, stopping just above her mouth to murmur softly, ‘How about I show you what you make me feel?’
‘Fine by me,’ she whispered as his mouth came down over hers.
CHAPTER TWELVE
BRYONY spent the next few days in a haze of sensuality as Kane lavished her with his undivided attention. She kept nudging her mind away from thoughts of the future in order to concentrate more fully on the here and now, content to be in his arms under the brilliance of the warm summer sun.
The fringe of sand on the beach had been their bed so many times she lost count, the intense pleasure she felt each and every time making her love for Kane grow and grow until it seemed to fill every part of her.
As to his feelings, she was none the wiser. He was an ardent and attentive lover and, while he was free and easy with the use of affectionate endearments, no words of love ever escaped his lips, even in the throes of ecstasy. She tried not to be disappointed but his emotional aloofness was at times
deeply unsettling. While his lovemaking more than made up for any other shortcomings, she couldn’t help feeling as each day unfolded into the next that she was on the same downward spiral as her mother, loving her husband so desperately while he remained untouched.
Bryony propped her chin on her up-bent knees where she sat on the beach, her eyes following Kane as he swam along the shore just beyond the breakers. The sunlight dappled the water and with every strong stroke of his arms she could see the myriad water droplets shining like diamonds as he progressed. The lonely cry of a gull and the hiss and suck of water were the only sounds she could hear, the isolation and solitude so soothing she almost dreaded returning to the city the following day.
Kane had informed her the previous evening of his need to see to some business matters as well as a trip to Melbourne which he could no longer postpone.
‘Why don’t you come with me?’ he’d suggested.
Bryony had so wanted to accompany him but as she’d already been away from the studio for over a week she knew Pauline would be feeling the burden of taking her classes as well as her own.
‘I really have to get back to work,’ she’d said, trailing her fingers down the length of his arm to soften the blow. ‘Maybe some other time?’
Kane had eased himself out of her arms and, although he’d smiled down at her, she’d known that somehow her answer had annoyed him.
‘I’ll hold you to that,’ he’d said, stepping back into his jeans.
She’d watched him leave the room, the words to call him back hovering on her lips but at the last minute her courage had deserted her, leaving the words unsaid.
He’d made love to her later that night with an edge of ruthlessness that had both thrilled and terrified her, her responses to him reaching new heights. She’d clung to him, her nails scoring his back as he brought her time and time again to the high pinnacle of pleasure, her body rocking with his until she felt totally spent. She’d lain in his arms for hours later, unable to sleep, wondering how he could possibly remain unmoved by what had passed between them.
Bryony watched as he came towards her after his swim, his body tall and strong and deeply tanned after days under the summer sun. His dark hair was wet and falling across his eyes and he brushed it back as he lowered himself on the sand beside her, some droplets of water from his skin falling on her, reminding her of all the physical intimacies they’d shared in the last few days.
She ran her fingertips along the length of his arm, the corded muscles never ceasing to amaze her, the masculine hairs springy but soft to touch. She became aware of his gaze, the way it lingered on her mouth before slowly dipping to where her bikini top cradled her already aching breasts.
‘Kane…’ She gasped his name as his head came down towards her mouth, his arms either side of her effectively trapping her.
‘We have less than twenty-four hours before we leave.’ He spoke against the soft surface of her lips. ‘How do you suggest we spend them?’
She sucked in a breath as his fingers moved to unfasten her bikini top, freeing her breasts into his waiting hands. Speech was almost beyond her as his head came down, his tongue rolling over her engorged nipple.
‘What did you have in mind?’
‘I was thinking we could do this…’ He sucked on her breast for a heart-stopping moment before releasing her to smile at her. ‘And then this…’ One of his hands slid down her body to the moist heat of her femininity, delving deeply before withdrawing with agonizing slowness. ‘What do you think?’
‘I stopped thinking about thirty seconds ago,’ she breathed as his finger dipped again, this time lingering over the tiny pearl that triggered her release. She shuddered as he coaxed her into a response that surprised her yet again, the waves of pleasure so consuming she had trouble keeping her head.
He waited for her pleasure to subside before he took his own with a series of deep thrusts that spoke of his control finally reaching its limits. She held him as he convulsed through his release, glorying in the feel of him so vulnerable in her arms, his breathing laboured and his skin slick with sweat as it rubbed intimately against hers.
The sting of the afternoon sun drove them indoors into a cooling shower where Kane held her against him as the water anointed their bodies, the sensuous feeling of soapy skin heightening Bryony’s awareness of his maleness where he pressed against her.
He kissed her lingeringly, his hands cupping her face so tenderly she felt the prickle of tears at the back of her eyes. He lifted his head to look down at her, his mouth tilting at one corner as he saw her struggle to regain her composure.
‘I hope those are tears of happiness,’ he remarked wryly.
She smiled a watery smile. ‘I never thought I’d be saying this, but yes, I am happy.’
He stood under the rain of water without responding, his dark eyes holding hers in a silent embrace which communicated much more than words could ever do.
Bryony felt the squeezing of her heart as she looked up into his face and wondered, not for the first time, how she had ever thought she hated him.
He kissed her again, softly and slowly, before reaching behind her to turn off the flow of water, his hard wet body brushing hers awakening every nerve along the surface of her tingling skin.
He took a towel from the rack and began drying her, each soft press of the fabric like a caress on her damp flesh.
‘You have such an amazing body,’ he said, lingering over the proud mound of one breast. ‘Perfect in every way.’
Bryony drew in a prickling little breath as his thumb rolled over her nipple, wondering if she would ever be able to resist his touch. She hadn’t been able to stop herself from responding to him the first time he’d kissed her at the lake, and now he’d awakened such fervent need in her she knew it would be impossible to withstand the lure of satisfaction in his arms.
Kane placed the towel around her back and, tugging gently on both ends, brought her close to him, his aroused length probing her with male insistence.
It was difficult to think clearly with him so near to where she wanted him, the heat of his body scoring hers like a laser beam. She slid her arms up around his neck and rubbed herself against him, shivering in reaction when his body surged into her moistness, his hips pressing hard against hers, his hand on the wall of the cubicle to anchor them both.
Bryony felt each and every deep thrust, bringing her closer and closer to the summit of sensuality, no part of her untouched by the impact of his masterful lovemaking.
She felt him check himself, pausing in his urgent movements as if he was fighting to control his response. It made her feel so desirable and feminine, making her hope he cared for her other than in a physical sense.
Kane groaned against her mouth, his large body tensing all over.
His deep shudders of release triggered her own, the convulsions of his flesh against hers intensifying her response a hundredfold. She couldn’t hold back her high gasps of pleasure as the tumultuous waves flowed through her with breath-locking power.
She felt herself sag against him, her legs shaking with reaction at the devastation of her senses. His arms came around her, holding her to his still heaving chest, his face burrowed in the soft skin of her neck, his warm breath a sweet caress.
‘You’re still wet,’ she said, running her hands down the silky texture of his back, her fingers skating lightly over the sculptured muscles.
He lifted his head, grinning at her as he reached for the shower nozzle, releasing a torrent of water over both of them.
‘So are you,’ he said and, before she could get her startled gasp past her lips, he bent his head and claimed her mouth in another drugging kiss.
On the way back to the city the next day Bryony tried not to think too much about Kane leaving the next morning for Melbourne, but the closer they got to his house in Edgecliff the tighter her chest felt at the thought of the separation.
As if sensing her pensive mood he flicked a glance her way as he w
aited for the last set of traffic lights to change in his favour. ‘Why the long face?’
She gave him a soulful look. ‘Do you really have to go tomorrow?’
His eyes held hers for so long an impatient driver tooted him from behind. Glancing in the rear vision mirror, Kane lifted his hand and drove on, his expression thoughtful.
‘I did ask you to come with me,’ he reminded her.
‘I know…but the dance studio—’
‘Employ someone to take your place,’ he suggested. ‘You don’t have to work full-time now, anyway.’
‘But I like working,’ she said.
‘You don’t need the money. I have enough for both of us.’
‘It’s not about the money.’
‘What is it about?’ he asked, looking at her briefly. ‘Your independence?’
‘Is the notion offensive to you?’ she asked with an arch of one brow.
He turned back to the traffic. ‘I told you the terms of our marriage. I want you to be available to me, not distracted by the demands of a career.’
She twisted in her seat to stare at him. ‘You surely don’t mean it?’
‘I thought over the past few weeks I’d given you every possible reason to believe I mean exactly everything I say.’
Bryony sat back in her seat in a combination of shock and sinking despair. Surely he didn’t mean to keep her chained to the kitchen sink like some poor housewife out of the nineteen-fifties?
‘My business demands are exacting and tiring,’ he went on. ‘When I need to relax I don’t want to have to be cooling my heels waiting for you to be free.’
‘I’m not a plaything you can pick up and put down when you feel like it! I have responsibilities to my students, not to mention Pauline.’
‘Those responsibilities will now have to take a second place to me,’ he insisted. ‘Besides, when we begin a family I want my child to have a proper mother.’
‘You’re very good at saying what you want and don’t want but have you for once considered what I might want?’ she asked. ‘As far as I recall, I’ve never indicated to you a desire to have a child.’
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