Alex groaned his impatience.
‘Do it, Susan,’ he rasped out. ‘Don’t tease me any longer.’ He took her hesitating hands and guided them to his swimming briefs.
Looking away from Alex’s arousal and straight into his passion-glazed eyes, she knew she had to tell him the truth right then and there. She couldn’t let him take her to bed thinking that she was her sister. There had to be truth between them before they made love for the first time.
‘Alex, we have to talk,’ she began, her voice hoarse.
‘No,’ he said. ‘We’ll talk later.’
‘I can’t, I need to tell you —’
‘I know. It doesn’t matter.’
He didn’t know. He couldn’t.
Tension crept into her body, tightening the muscles in her neck. ‘I —’
‘Nothing matters to me, except being inside you.’
‘But you don’t know the truth. I have to tell you.’
‘Shh,’ he placed a finger to her lips. Then he kissed her with a tenderness that filled her eyes with tears.
Leah opened her mouth again to confess. He leapt on the opportunity and began to plunder her mouth until she found herself yielding to his hungry, unrestrained kisses, heart and soul. His teeth gently grazed her lower lip, his tongue dancing seductively with hers.
She reached up to stroke his face, running her hands over the high slant of his cheekbones and the hard line of his jaw. It was roughened by a day’s growth of five o’clock shadow.
As Alex broke off the kiss, he caught her hands in his. He placed a kiss on each palm, and allowed the tip of his tongue to flick the sensitive flesh of the inside of her wrist and stroke until a shiver of longing ran through her frame. The exquisite torment of his mouth continued as he captured one of her fingers between his lips and began to suck on it slowly and erotically.
‘Alex.’ Sanity tried to reassert itself. She had to talk to him before this went any further. ‘We must talk.’
‘We’ll talk later. Right now there’s only you, and me, and this moment in time. The future will take care of itself.’
His kisses, his caresses, made her weak with longing for him, and she clung to him in desperation.
‘But —’
‘No buts, thisavre mou,’ he insisted between kisses.
‘You want me as much as I want you, don’t you?’ It was more a statement than a question.
‘You know I do,’ she sighed. Her protests were soon forgotten in the blistering heat of her longing. Her passion reached fever pitch, the sensations of his lips and roving fingers arousing her all the more.
‘That’s all that matters,’ he said with finality.
He picked her up and carried her to his bed, lowering her down gently. She gave into her desires, allowing her hands to explore his body, reaching down to touch him intimately.
‘Theouli mou!’ he rasped. ‘You don’t know what your touch does to me.’
Gaining confidence, she let her nails run through the smattering of hair on his chest and flick teasingly at one tight male nipple. Watching the feverish glow of his eyes, she ran her fingers all the way down his body until they traced the firm, male shape of him.
Poised over the top of her, his expression turned to one of agonised need as she stroked along his length. It seemed as though it took every ounce of his willpower to hold himself back so that she could continue her leisurely, intimate acquaintance with his body. The muscles in his arms bunched with the effort of supporting his weight.
‘No more,’ he finally rasped. He claimed her mouth again, a deep kiss that left her chest rising and falling heavily with the effort it took to draw breath. His eyes followed the movement, and his gaze feasted on the swell of her breasts as he cupped their weight in his palms.
‘Your breasts are perfect,’ he said, almost reverently.
He claimed one dusky nipple in his mouth. Her hands moved up to cling to the solid muscles of his shoulders, looking for a place to anchor herself as his tongue began to lave her into mindless oblivion and the earth quaked beneath her.
She wanted to tell him how good it was, but all she managed was an inarticulate little whimper as her body arched off the bed in a bow of pleasure.
He raised his head and placed hot kisses in the delicate hollows near her collarbone and up the slender column of her throat.
Needing to return the volley of sensations, Leah shifted a little underneath him and moved her head forward so she could let her tongue flick over the flesh at his neck and along his shoulders. He’d told her earlier she tasted of the salty sea spray, and now she knew he tasted of it too.
‘I can’t wait much longer,’ he groaned.
‘Then don’t,’ she urged. She felt his knees move against her smooth thighs, pushing them apart, but she required no urging. The need to join her flesh with his consumed her.
Then his hand moved lower. The heat from his palm warmed her as he cupped the soft curls at the apex of her thighs.
An awareness unfurled inside her that underlined the aching emptiness deep within her. His fingers parted her feminine folds with an adeptness that spoke volumes of his experience. She knew a moment’s jealousy for the other women he’d known, but then his fingers moved along her slick wetness, found the spot that could bring her so much pleasure and played at her flesh like a virtuoso, wiping out all thoughts and bombarding her brain with blind ecstasy.
While his thumb continued to torment her, the fingers of his other hand glided with finesse over her silken mound. Her body lurched as they slid lower and delved in to explore her inner flesh. That subtle movement inside her set off an avalanche of unbelievable sensations that had her crying out, her body straining to reach a still higher peak.
‘You’re a modern day Circe,’ he told her huskily. ‘I didn’t mean for it to go this far, but I can’t stop. I’ve been drawn to you by your magic.’
She moaned in protest as he pulled his hand away. Then she saw that he’d stopped to get some protection and was grateful for his caution. Spellbound, she watched as he slid on the condom.
‘You’ve been driving me out of my mind all day,’ he said huskily. His eyes reflected his words, burning her with his desperate need.
‘Me, too.’
As he knelt beside her, he caressed the silken smooth skin of her body, brushing his knuckles from her collarbone all the way to her hipbone. Then he slid one hand underneath her hips and raised her up, angling her body so he could position his manhood just outside her soft opening.
This time there was no going back and no pulling away from him. Flickers of fire licked delicately along her limbs and found purchase around the core of her sexuality. Yearning for completion, she moved to greet his masculinity as he thrust into her. There was only a brief moment of sharp pain as he stretched her flesh and tore away the sheath of her virginity.
She stifled a startled gasp against his shoulder and then rejoiced as she was filled by him. She scarcely knew where she ended and he began, but marvelled at her untried body’s full acceptance of him. They fit together beautifully, the delicious feel of flesh against flesh, the press of hipbone against hipbone, the sheer divine weight of him — she loved every new sensation.
He began to withdraw from her, causing her a moment’s panic, before plunging in yet again, his body teaching hers the ancient primal rhythm. Sensation ripped through her body, carrying her to the edge.
‘Lift your legs up around my waist,’ he instructed, his voice ragged.
Leah didn’t hesitate. The different angle allowed him to penetrate deeper, and she found something she didn’t recognise coiling deep within her. It was need, a promise of imminent release that only this masterful, imperative driving of his body into hers could deliver. She wanted that vital revelation with a desperation that consumed her. Her body felt feverish, and she cried out her lust to her powerful lover.
‘Let go, matia mou,’ he encouraged. His face was a mask of raw intensity, his cheekbones prominent and t
he corded muscles of his neck standing out as he strained.
A vague awareness of her fingernails digging into the muscles of his back barely registered. Instead, she was overwhelmed as she felt her inner muscles clench and unclench around his hard length. Each movement of her hips was in counterpoint to his, drawing him deeper within her, helping to create the delicious friction that soon had her spasming around him with such ferocity and abandon that he found his release within her.
Mindless and exhausted, she lay there, replete with blissful satisfaction. Her limbs began to feel heavy, and she dropped her legs from around his waist. Suspended in a hazy cloud of ecstasy, she slid a hand around his neck and pulled his head down to deliver a long, lingering kiss to his lips.
‘Wow,’ she pronounced with a satisfied sigh. ‘How soon can we do it again?’
He laughed and moved his head at an awkward angle to look down at his shoulders. ‘Maybe we should wait awhile. My body will bear the scars of this amazing experience for some time to come.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ Leah was horrified to see that her nails had left marks on his smooth skin.
‘Don’t be,’ he reassured her. ‘I’ll wear them proudly.’
Alex felt blown away as he lay on top of her, still held within. His breathing was ragged. He’d bedded many women, but this surpassed everything he’d ever experienced. He raised one hand and mapped the structure of her collarbones with light strokes of his fingertips. He found himself becoming aroused again just thinking of what he’d just shared with Susan.
Levering himself up, he admired her flushed cheeks and the fullness of her lips, which were still slightly bee-stung from their kissing. Drawn to her succulent curves, he met her mouth with his own, slowly, gently, savouring her mouth once more — it tasted of everything he’d ever lusted for.
‘You’re right. That was amazing. You were amazing.’
She smiled dreamily at him, her eyes swimming with tears.
He smoothed her hair away from her face. There’d been a brief second when he’d thought he’d encountered a slight membrane of resistance and thought she’d tensed at the same time. But that was impossible. Was it a secret fantasy that he was her first lover? That he was the only one to have ever taken her to such heights?
He banished those thoughts from his brain. For the first time in his life, he felt uncertain. She’d climaxed, but he wanted to know it was as earth shattering for her as it was for him.
His eyes searched hers. His heart lurched as he saw his own wonderment mirrored in her eyes.
‘That was beautiful, Alex,’ she said. Her smile was tremulous, as if she was about to burst into tears. The moisture in her eyes showed him just how overcome she was by the experience. He felt profoundly moved.
He was hardening inside her, and she began tightening her muscles around him, urging him on.
‘No,’ he told her with determination. ‘There’s something I need to take care of.’ Withdrawing out of her, he got up and sauntered to the bathroom to get rid of the protection he’d been using.
When he returned, just a look at her lying in bed, with the rosy tips of her breasts exposed above the sheet and her short dark hair a little mussed up from their lovemaking, aroused him completely.
‘This time, I promise, it will be even better for you.’
‘It couldn’t be any better,’ she denied huskily — almost shyly.
He was completely enchanted. ‘Oh, yes, it will. I’m going to kiss every inch of your delectable body, know every part of you intimately. See, touch, taste…’
His hands moved through her hair, over the beautiful smooth skin of her shoulders and down to her breasts. He concentrated his attentions there and delighted in her response. He stroked her nipples with his tongue, suckled them, drew them deep into his mouth. The little noise of protest she uttered as he withdrew his mouth from her breast was reassuring.
‘Shh,’ he said. ‘I’m going to take you over the edge again and again.’ He allowed his hands to trace the softness of her body, and his mouth soon followed. His lips trailed a path of worship over her abdomen. Around her navel. Lower.
He stilled as he reached his intended destination.
It couldn’t be true!
His body was shocked rigid by the telltale show of blood which stained her inner thighs. He stared at it, then his eyes flew up to hers.
‘Alex?’
‘No,’ he declared. He shook his head, trying to make some sense out of the situation. His blood chilled as he recalled the slight sensation of resistance as he’d plunged into her, the momentary look of vulnerability that passed across her face before she’d buried her face against his shoulder. Looking back down at her thighs, he knew now that he hadn’t been imagining it.
Wriggling underneath him, she raised her upper body. He looked up. Saw her recognise the evidence on her thighs. Heard her sharp intake of breath.
‘You can’t have been a virgin, Susan,’ he denied. ‘How can this be possible?’
Chapter 9
Leah closed her eyes to block out the incredulous look on Alex’s face. Her flesh screamed out in protest as he moved away from her, right off the bed. This was her moment of truth. There was no escaping telling Alex the whole story right now.
‘I…I tried to tell you,’ she began.
Dark and threatening, he loomed over her. She could see him grappling with the evidence of her virginity and trying to reason with what he saw.
‘How is this possible?’
‘Alex, I wanted you to know before —’
‘You’re telling me this was the first time for you?’
She nodded.
‘But, the photos of you with those men —’
‘It wasn’t me in those photos —’
‘The photographer who sold me the photos assured me…’ He broke off and turned toward the door.
She heard footsteps in the corridor outside. Someone was approaching the room. She let out a pent-up breath, part of her relieved to have Alex’s attention temporarily diverted away from her.
He uttered something in Greek. Whatever it was, it sounded like a curse. ‘Cover yourself!’ His words were sharp. He reached for his shorts and threw her the white t-shirt he’d been wearing.
Was he expecting someone to burst in on them?
Grabbing for the t-shirt, she pulled it over her head, then scanned the floor for her shorts. The footsteps were closer. Almost at the door.
‘Alex!’
She stilled as she recognised the voice calling Alex’s name. A leaden weight of dread settled in her stomach.
Spiros was here.
No. Not now! Her eyes flew to the door in panic.
‘Stay put! I’ll deal with Spiros,’ Alex commanded, pulling up the zipper on his shorts.
It’s too late.
She sank back down and wished the bed would swallow her up.
Alex moved toward the door. Before he could reach for the handle, it was flung open.
Still naked from the waist down, she cringed under the bed sheets. She was ashamed by her deception. Now Alex would know her true identity, and he was finding out in the worst possible way.
She watched the scene play out in front of her like the scene from a horror movie. Spiros was shorter than his brother and of a heavier build, but there was a definite familial resemblance. Right now that was enhanced by the fact that the brothers stood head to head, anger firing off both of them like sparks from a welder.
‘You knew I was arriving. I expected you to have the courtesy to stay up,’ Spiros said in a belligerent tone.
Alex knew?
‘Get out, Spiros!’ Alex ordered, moving toward him. ‘Wait for me downstairs!’
Was her sister downstairs?
She shifted in the bed. Her movement alerted Alex’s brother to her presence.
‘Susie?’ Spiros’s confusion was etched into his features He stepped around Alex and into the room. ‘But… What the hell is going on? You told me you were
returning to London.’
Alex turned, and moved between them. ‘What are you talking about? She’s been here with me the whole time. That’s why she didn’t meet you in London so you two could elope.’
‘No,’ his brother shook his head.
‘She decided she wanted me instead.’ He paused, then emphasised, ‘She never loved you.’
Leah’s heart compressed as she realised Alex was using the situation to his advantage. He was thrusting a verbal knife into Spiros, twisting it hard. She heard his words cut and felt pained by his brutality.
How could he be so callous?
Spiros looked at Alex as though he was mad. Slowly, comprehension spread across his features.
‘Leah!’ he acknowledged. He turned to Alex. ‘What in God’s name have you done to Leah?’
Alex inhaled a sharp breath and turned to Susan. Her eyes were huge in her pale face, and she was biting her lower lip.
Leah?
He looked back at his brother, whose shock was evident on his features. Spiros was looking at Susan and calling her Leah.
Leah Bristow?
This wasn’t Leah Bristow. It couldn’t be. She was nothing like the woman whose photo was emailed to him. Then his breath caught. He remembered thinking that Susan’s friend looked familiar. The hair colouring was different, and Leah’s eyes were green but…
‘Well, Alex?’ his brother demanded. ‘Why is Leah here? What’s she doing in your bed?’
He staggered as if he’d been king-hit. The differences in appearance between Susan and Leah were nothing that couldn’t be changed by a bottle of hair dye, a pair of scissors, and some coloured contact lenses. Taking the difference in colour away, he could see the similarities. Tension spread very slowly throughout his body as realisation dawned.
He knew Leah Bristow was a teacher. Was she a history teacher?
The woman in his bed had read Homer, had known about consulting the oracle at Delphi – Susan wouldn’t have known those things. All the anomalies of Susan’s behaviour that had plagued his subconscious were finally, painfully, and shockingly resolved. The woman in his bed wasn’t Susan. That explained why the pathology tests had found no trace of drugs in her system.
Mistaken Identity Page 13
