The Crown Affair

by Lucy King

  God, who cared if she couldn’t resist? If this was wrong, why did it feel so right? Her gaze dropped to his mouth and her heart hammered. Desperation to taste him clawed at her insides and she had to bite on her lip to stop another whimper of need escaping.

  ‘It doesn’t look as if you need stitches,’ he murmured, ‘but you’ll have quite a bump.’

  What?

  Laura froze. The whimper died in her throat. For a moment bewilderment besieged her brain. And then clarity dawned and she went scorchingly hot.

  Agh. The bump on her head couldn’t possibly be any bigger than the one she’d just had crashing back to reality.

  What on earth was the matter with her? How could she have got it so wrong? Thank God Matt had drawn back before she’d lost patience and grasped the initiative.

  At the thought of just how massive a fool she could have made of herself mortification roared through her and made her cheeks burn. God, was there no hope for her?

  Suddenly desperate to get away, Laura wriggled in his arms and pushed against his chest. When his arms loosened she stepped back. And nearly collapsed all over again.

  ‘Steady,’ he said, putting his hands on her shoulders and keeping her upright.

  Laura summoned strength to her watery limbs, shook herself free and forced herself to meet his gaze. ‘Look,’ she said with a calmness she really didn’t feel. ‘Thank you for catching me and everything, but you must be busy and I’ve imposed quite long enough. I think I should go.’

  Ten minutes ago Matt would have been first in line to agree. Now, with lust ricocheting around him so violently it made his head spin, he wasn’t so sure.

  He could still feel Laura in his arms, all that warmth and softness crushed up against him. Her scent, something light and jasminey, was still floating around inside his head. The memory of the smoothness of her cheek beneath his palm and the silkiness of her hair winding round his fingers made his hands itch to touch her again.

  When she’d looked up at him with those extraordinary eyes of hers, her mouth parting and her breathing shallow, practically inviting him to kiss her senseless, it had taken every ounce of control he possessed not to do exactly that. Quite apart from the fact that he’d decided he really couldn’t go there, she’d just banged her head. She might well have concussion.

  Matt gritted his teeth and fought back the desire to haul her into his arms. Maybe he’d banged his head, too. Maybe he had concussion. What else could be causing this pummelling urge to disregard his common sense, throw caution to the wind, drag her down to the sofa and sink himself inside her?

  It would be utter madness. He was about to disappear off to another country. He could promise her nothing even if he’d wanted to.

  But it would also be fantastic. Dynamite. It would certainly beat chopping logs the whole weekend. It had been too long since he’d had a woman in his bed and who knew when the opportunity would next arise? Who knew when he’d have the time?

  Desire pounded through him and his control began to unravel.

  ‘Matt?’ she said with a sexy kind of breathiness that had him envisaging her saying his name in a whole lot of other ways.

  At the images that spun through his head, the last vestiges of his resistance crumbled and Matt gave in. He wanted her. She wanted him. Why shouldn’t they go for it and to hell with the consequences?

  Ruthlessly ignoring the little voice inside his head demanding to know what on earth he thought he was doing, Matt tilted his head and gave her a slow smile. ‘I think you should stay.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  STAY?

  Oh, goodness.

  Laura hadn’t thought it possible for her heart to beat more rapidly than it had when she’d been draped in his arms, but she’d been wrong. It was now galloping so fast she feared it might leap out of her chest.

  The atmosphere had turned electric. Something about the way Matt was looking at her made every hair on her body leap to attention and quiver. The intensity of his gaze, the tension in his body and the smouldering smile… A lethally attractive combination that made her stomach lurch. God, if she wasn’t careful she’d be in so much trouble.

  ‘For what?’

  Matt shrugged, but his eyes glittered with intent. ‘Lunch. The afternoon. Whatever.’

  Lunch she could do. The afternoon would probably be manageable, too. It was the whatever that concerned her.

  ‘I can’t,’ she said a little hoarsely, and cleared her throat.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I have plans.’ That sounded good.

  ‘Cancel them.’

  ‘No.’ Excellent. Firm and uncompromising, that was the thing.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I’m on sabbatical.’

  ‘From lunch?’

  ‘From everything.’

  ‘Why?’

  No way was she spilling out all the details of her disaster of a life. ‘I have my reasons.’

  Matt’s eyes darkened. ‘I’m not suggesting you give up your sabbatical altogether. Just take a quick break.’

  He ran his gaze over her and her body burned in the wake of its trail. Her breasts swelled. Her nipples hardened and molten heat pooled between her legs. Desire whipped through her and she had to fight not to tremble.

  A one-night stand. That was what he was suggesting, wasn’t it? How disgraceful. How offensive. And, what with the lust hurtling around inside her, how completely and deliciously tempting.

  ‘That’s outrageous,’ she breathed, sounding less than convincing.

  ‘Is it?’

  ‘I might be concussed.’

  ‘Are you?’

  ‘Well, no, I don’t think so, but that’s not the point.’

  ‘Then what is?’

  ‘We barely know each other.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘I don’t do that sort of thing.’

  ‘Neither do I.’

  ‘Then why me? Why now?’

  A muscle ticked in his jaw and his eyes burned with desire. ‘Because of this,’ he muttered fiercely, closing the short distance between them, wrapping her in his arms and slamming his mouth down on hers.

  Laura didn’t have time to protest. Didn’t have time to resist. Because the minute his lips touched hers what little rational thought she had left shattered. Fire licked through her veins. Beneath his mouth she moaned. Wound her arms round his neck and threaded her fingers through his hair. Pressed herself closer, parted her lips and felt her entire body soften.

  When his tongue slipped into her mouth, seeking hers, finding hers, her knees buckled. If she hadn’t been locked in his arms she’d have crumpled to the floor.

  Sensation after sensation cascaded over her. Matt slid his hand over her waist, stroked it up her side and cupped her breast. Laura shuddered as his thumb brushed over her straining nipple and arched her back.

  Drowning in pleasure, she sank into his kiss. No one had ever done this to her before, she thought dazedly. No one had ever turned her bones to water with nothing more than a kiss and a caress.

  And she wasn’t sure she’d ever done this to anyone, either. Matt was kissing her as if it were his sole mission in life. So focused. So damn good. His mouth seemed to have been made for hers. She fitted his hands perfectly. He would fit her perfectly.

  A wave of lust rolled over her and she couldn’t stop herself tilting her hips and rubbing herself against the rock-hard length of him.

  Her control began to spin away and, totally unsure of whether to be scared witless or tumble him down onto the sofa, she gave in to the pleasure.

  When Matt finally lifted his head, she could hardly breathe. Unlocking his arms from around her, he took a step back, his eyes blazing and his breathing jerky. At the sudden absence of his support, his heat, Laura shivered and swayed for a second.

  ‘That’s why,’ he said, drawing in a ragged breath and shoving his hands through his hair.

  Laura blinked and touched her lips with trembling fingers. ‘That’s why w
hat?’

  ‘Why you.’ His eyes, still dark and unfathomable, gleamed. ‘As for the why now, well, I have the entire weekend free.’

  Ah. ‘I see,’ she said a little shakily.

  ‘You know,’ he said, looking at her as if he wanted to devour her all over again, ‘I really think you should cancel those plans of yours.’

  Burning up beneath the heat of his gaze, Laura suddenly couldn’t remember why she’d mentioned the non-existent plans in the first place.

  Her heart skipped a beat. Oh, heavens. She wasn’t seriously contemplating what he was suggesting, was she? She’d be mad to agree. She barely knew him. It was insane. She didn’t do one-night stands. Had never wanted to. She preferred to date, assess and evaluate before leaping into bed with someone.

  But where had that sensible, cautious approach ever got her? Dumped, that was where. Relationships sucked. Relationships belonged to the old Laura. Why shouldn’t one-night stands belong to the new?

  Besides, to have someone want her with this intensity, this hunger, when she’d been so recently rejected by someone she’d been with for years…

  Her self-esteem, which had taken such a battering, was already rocketing. And to want someone quite this badly, when she’d thought she’d never be interested in anyone ever again, was heady stuff.

  Her breath caught.

  Standing in front of her was the most devastatingly gorgeous man she’d ever met. Who for some reason appeared to fancy her rotten. Would it really be so bad to go for it?

  Suddenly sick and tired of evaluation and analysis, Laura made up her mind. ‘How long are you here for?’

  ‘I’m leaving tomorrow.’

  ‘Are you planning to come back any time soon?’

  ‘No.’ His eyes bore into hers, burning with desire but offering nothing, apart from an afternoon of unimaginable pleasure.

  Laura’s heart pounded. That did it. No mess. No threat of entanglement in another debilitating relationship. Just the promise of hot sex and maybe lunch. ‘OK, then.’

  For a big man he moved surprisingly fast.

  Even though she was ready for it, had been waiting for it, sort of knew what to expect, nothing could have prepared her for the sheer force of the desire that slammed through her at the feel of his arms whipping round her and the touch of his mouth to hers. The floor beneath her feet rocked. Her entire body buzzed with sensation.

  Now that she made the decision to go for it, it was as if a dam had burst deep inside her. Any inhibitions she might have had fled.

  His hands settled on the bare skin of her back and the electricity that flowed through her made her nerve endings jump.

  She pressed herself closer, rubbing her aching breasts against his chest, needing the friction to provide some sort of relief.

  As he explored her mouth with his tongue, Laura slipped her hands beneath his T-shirt and ran them over the muscles of his back, pushing the fabric up. She felt him tense and break off the kiss for a second while he pulled the T-shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor. Then his hands were at the hem of her top and seconds later it joined his.

  Somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind she thought she ought to be faintly embarrassed at getting naked with someone she didn’t know. Or at her desperation to have him inside her at the very least. But with his mouth sliding over her jaw, her neck and then down over the slope of her breast, Laura couldn’t feel anything except the mindless pleasure sweeping over her.

  Cupping his hands under her bottom, Matt lifted her and she wound her legs round his waist as he carried her to the nearest available flat surface. He set her on the edge of a table and began to push her back.

  Laura’s blood roared in her ears as she eased back but then she caught something out of the corner of her eye and went still. ‘Wait.’

  Matt jerked back and frowned down at her. ‘What?’

  ‘We can’t do this.’

  The blood drained from his face and his features turned grim. ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘Deadly.’ She paused and caught her lip. ‘At least we can’t do this here.’

  ‘Why not?’

  Laura glanced down at what she was perched on and then back up at him. Poor Matt looked as if he were about to explode with frustration. ‘This is a solid mahogany Regency breakfast table. It must be worth thousands.’

  Matt let out a sharp breath and his expression relaxed. ‘Then it was built to last,’ he said, planting his hands either side of her and setting his mouth to the side of her neck.

  ‘It was built to have breakfast on,’ Laura said, putting a hand on his chest and nudging him away. ‘Not wild uncontrollable sex.’

  He lifted his head and one corner of his mouth hitched. ‘Wild uncontrollable sex, huh?’

  ‘You promised.’

  ‘Did I?’

  Laura nodded. ‘Not in so many words. But these kisses of yours suggest a lot. I’m expecting combustion at the very least. And if we stay here I won’t be able to concentrate.’

  ‘Well, we can’t have that,’ he murmured. ‘I doubt the insurance would cover sex-induced fire damage.’ Pulling her upright, he glanced around. ‘Do you have any such concerns about the sofa?’

  Laura wound her arms around his neck. ‘Is it flame-proof?’

  ‘I should imagine so.’

  ‘In that case,’ she said, smiling up at him, ‘none at all.’

  ‘I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear it.’ He scooped her up and strode over to the sofa.

  Setting her on her feet, he unclipped her bra and let it drop to the floor. ‘These hot pants are going to haunt my dreams,’ he said roughly, dragging them together with her knickers down her legs.

  ‘You want me to apologise?’ she breathed as she kicked them away.

  ‘I want you to want this as much as I do,’ he said, stripping off the rest of his clothes and tumbling her onto the sofa.

  ‘I do,’ she said, drawing in a shuddery breath as she ran her gaze over him. God, his body was every bit as incredible as she’d imagined. Muscled, powerful, lean and tanned.

  And any minute now it was all going to come down on top of her. Her gaze dropped to his erection and for a second she went dizzy. ‘Oh, I really do.’ She bit her lip to stop herself whimpering. ‘More probably.’

  ‘I doubt that’s possible,’ Matt said tightly.

  Laura let her gaze wander up him, over the dips and ridges of his chest, the strong tanned neck and the square jaw and into eyes so dark they were almost black.

  She swallowed and delicious anticipation began to thunder through her. Matt was radiating so much tension, looking as if he was having to battle so hard to cling on to his control that she wondered with a thrill what would happen when it snapped.

  God, she thought with a tiny surge of satisfaction. Going for what she wanted was great. The sense of power it gave her was awesome. Who knew?

  Lifting her arms above her head, Laura arched her back and batted her eyelashes as she smiled up at him. ‘Why don’t you come down here and join me and we can figure it out?’

  ‘Just so you know,’ he murmured, lowering himself on top of her and bearing his weight on his elbows, ‘I always win.’

  ‘I’m sure you do,’ she said softly, loving the feel of his body trapping hers. Look where she was. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t at least try. ‘You know what I’d really like?’

  ‘What?’

  She lifted her face and looked straight into his eyes. ‘I’d like you inside me. Right now.’

  She felt his heart thump. Saw his jaw clench. Felt his whole body tighten. Aha. Who was winning now? ‘Is that right?’ he murmured, staring down at her but not moving an inch.

  ‘It is,’ she said softly.

  ‘I’ll bear it in mind.’

  Oh. That wasn’t the outcome she’d hoped for. ‘Please…’ she breathed, batting her eyelashes and smiling up at him.

  His erection leapt. Feeling a tiny stab of triumph, she tilted her hips aga
inst him and let out a sigh of longing.

  Matt growled. ‘You,’ he said, his mouth tugging into a faint smile, ‘are irresistible.’

  ‘I know,’ she said smugly, and then gasped as his mouth landed on hers.

  Hot and demanding, it began a devastating assault on her senses. His tongue drove into her mouth, tangling with hers, pushing her to the edge of reason. His hands settled on her arms above her head and then slid down her body, making her burn and tremble.

  He dragged his mouth away from hers and dropped a trail of scorching kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Her head fell back and she moaned. His mouth moved lower, lower, until it closed over her aching nipple and she nearly leapt off the sofa. But he was pinning her down with his weight and all she could do was succumb.

  Frankly why would she want to do anything else? Laura clutched a cushion with one hand. Grabbed his head with the other as he sucked, stroked, licked and nibbled and she started to lose it. Great waves of pleasure began to roll over her. Desire drenched her and she ached with the need to be filled with him.

  ‘Please, Matt,’ she breathed, no longer conscious of what she was saying. ‘I don’t think I can bear it.’

  His mouth still on her breast, Matt swept his hand down over her hip, round, covered the triangle of hair at the top of her thighs and slid a finger deep inside her. Laura groaned and felt her inner muscles tighten around his finger. He pressed her clitoris with his thumb and her breathing shallowed as she felt herself begin to break apart.

  No, she cried silently, clinging on to her control, she didn’t want it to be like this.

  She wanted him, all of him, all that strength pounding into her.

  She wanted him to lose control the way she was about to.

  ‘Are you going to make me beg again?’

  ‘Would you?’

  ‘If I have to. But I’d probably hate you for it.’

  Matt let out a ragged breath. ‘I wouldn’t want that,’ he murmured.

  ‘Then help me out here,’ she said desperately, dimly aware that he was leaning down and fumbling around on the floor. The sound of a packet tearing, the rolling on of a condom barely registered.