Page 7 of The Nicolaides Baby

“Mmm-hmm,” he’d hummed. His hands had coasted over her bare legs while his mouth explored the cheeks of her ass and his devilish fingers had flirted with her front. “I want to uncover them myself to see.”

“To see what?” she’d whispered as he’d stood up and turned her near-naked body toward him. He’d stayed a breath away from her and taken the cups in his hands, slowly pulling them out of her grasp and letting her bra drop to the floor. Then he’d brushed her hands away from where she’d still shielded herself.

“How many freckles you’ve been hiding from me.”

“Oh.”

“And how prettily your whole body might blush.” He’d raised his hands and cupped her breasts while his thumbs played over her nipples. He’d glanced up. “Take your hair down for me.”

“It’ll take a few minutes,” she’d barely been able to croak out.

“Humor me.”

She’d done her best to find and pull out every pin, but Leo hadn’t made it easy. While she’d had her hands behind her head working to loosen her hair, he’d taken the time to lick and suck on her raised breasts she’d presented to him. By the time her hair had fallen around her shoulders, she’d been just about ready to lose her mind. And all he had done was keep his undivided attention on her breasts.

She remembered thinking,Dear God, what is he going to do to the rest of me?

He’d pulled her against him and groaned when he’d run his hands through her hair and held her still for more sweeps of his lips and tongue over her mouth. She’d pressed up against him. Nothing had prepared her for the sensuous rasp of his clothed body rubbing over her naked one or how the sensitive tips of her nipples had hardened as they’d raked over his dress shirt until he’d crushed her to him. She’d clutched at his sleeves and then gripped them harder when he’d lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed where he’d laid her in the middle before stepping back.

And while beautiful may have been a word he’d used for her, in her mind he had been the beautiful one. Then he’d mesmerized her with the slow reveal of his own body.

He’d left her speechless. What followed had been unlike anything she’d ever known in her limited sexual experience.

Rowan took in a quick breath as more memories assailed her—lips caressing over valleys and plains, hands and mouths touching hidden places, Leo’s unwavering gaze holding hers as he’d finally filled her.

She shook her head at the way she’d lost every inhibition she’d ever had throughout the night. Leo hadn’t allowed it. He’d wanted her to know every part of him, just like he had taken his time in exploring her in excruciatingly slow, mind-numbing, body-trembling, thorough detail.

She crossed her legs under her desk at howthoroughhe had been.

It had been a night she’d relived over and over since.

A night ruined as dawn had broken the next morning.

The muffled buzzing of her cellphone alarm going off had brought her awake to a darkened room. It had been early, so she’d leaned back against the warm shelter of Leo’s body, grinning when he’d muttered something incoherent and snuggled his nose into the back of her head.

It had been a quiet, perfect moment after a night filled with lovemaking. And with Leo’s even breathing ruffling her hair, it had been easy to lull herself into hoping maybe?just maybe?the night had meant just as much to him as it had her. She’d thought, how hard would it be to forget about her flight, forget about the job waiting for her, forget about home? Her grin had broadened, thinking she could easily change her plans. Santorini had become Sierra’s new home, after all. And with her grandmother gone, she would be all alone in Raleigh. So why not stay?

About that time, Leo’s heavy arm had pulled her tighter against his chest, his deep sigh against her back filling her with contentment as she’d settled against him.

“I could get used to this,” she’d barely whispered before frowning at the continued intermittent buzzing of her phone. After several more rounds of trying to ignore it, she’d finally forced herself to slip out from under Leo’s embrace and search the room for wherever she’d dropped her purse the night before. She’d found it, dug out her phone, and turned off the offending alarm.

But without Leo’s warmth sheltering her body, a chill had raced over her naked skin and she’d shivered?not only from the cold, but from the unwanted dose of reality and uncertainty of staying wriggling its way in. So she’d stood in the middle of the room and stared at the time displayed on her phone and then glanced back at the bed and the silhouette of the man who’d made himself as familiar with her body as she was.

“What am I doing?” she’d breathed out on a slight whimper. Every argument she’d made to Sierra the previous few days had come back to haunt her as she’d tiptoed across the room and picked up her overnight case before going into the bathroom to start the shower.

How could she give her heart to a man she’d just met and uproot her life? How could she take a chance on forever with a virtual stranger? An answer hadn’t come to her by the time she’d twisted up her hair and stepped under the hot spray of water.

Rowan rubbed her hand over her chest at the memory of how her heart had hammered as she’d scrubbed away the dried remnants from the first time Leo had taken her. The timing had been close in her cycle, but far off enough the chances of pregnancy had been slim to none. Besides, she’d figured they’d used condoms the rest of the night, and it had only been that one time. So she’d let out a slow, relieved breath as she’d stepped out of the stall and dried off.

It hadn’t taken her long to dress in jeans and a causal top before she’d walked out of the bathroom with her bag, only to stop short. Leo had turned on the bedside lamp and sat glaring at her from his place among the rumpled sheets.

“You’re leaving,” he’d stated, deadpan, his scowl going from her hair she’d managed to tame into a ponytail down to her sneakered feet.

Up until that point, Rowan hadn’t let what she was doing actually sink in. But after hearing him say the words, she’d finally admitted to herself leaving was exactly what she had to do—regardless of the fact her heart had begged her to climb back into bed with him. She’d attempted a smile but had only managed a pained grin as she’d gripped the handle of the bag tighter. “My flight leaves in a couple of hours, so?”

“So.” Leo had skewered her with his angry gaze as she’d moved further into the room. “What? You were just going to sneak out without saying goodbye?”

“I didn’t want to wake you.”

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