Page 35 of Modern Romance March 2025 (5-8)

Her heart inflated to dangerous proportions. It was the first time he’d admitted that their relationship had had more than just sex as its basis.

She pressed a kiss to his chest, then raked her fingernail over the flat nipple. His chest hair tickled her palm. Sudden tension filled his powerful frame.

“The mirror?” she said, looking up.

He laughed. “You’re quite the suspicious little thing, aren’t you?”

“It’s not just men who get jealous and possessive,” she said, raking her nails down his abdomen.

A hiss left his mouth.

She flushed as her gaze fell on the clear outline tenting the towel.

But before she could touch him, he shifted her so that they were facing the mirror. Behind her, he was all rough, rugged planes and masculine magnetism. Framed by the gilt-edged mirror, they looked like they…belonged together, she thought, with a shiver.

Their eyes caught and held, heat arcing around them like a coiled lash.

His erection at her back prodded her bottom even as his hands lazily drifted over her shoulders, grazed the sides of her breasts and then settled on her belly. “Remember the time I took you in the greenhouse?”

“You nearly shattered my orchid after I had just repotted it.”

He grinned. With his wet hair flopping onto his temple and his smile weaving crinkly lines at the corners of his eyes, he was a different man from the one the world saw. The one that had dismissed his entire board with one word that evening. The one that dealt with the forgotten scandal involving his wife and the mud raking that followed with harsh measures.

Maybe only she got to see this side, she thought, with a giddy joy. And maybe this passion and the trust they would build could be enough.

“You wouldn’t let me press you against the glass even though I told you no one can see us. Then when…”

“When you kept edging me without letting me come, I promised to let you do whatever you wanted in front of a mirror if only you gave me relief,” she finished, feverish tingles breaking out across her skin.

His hands cupped her breasts, the nipples poking through the satin. “Si.It was delivered here by mistake.”

Nyra threw her head back as he pinched one peak. “Okay, have at me, then.”

His teeth and tongue played havoc on the sensitive spot at her neck, while his fingers drove her wild. “Maybe some other time. Right now, I think I prefer the bed.”

“What?” she said, straightening. “Why?”

His palms cradled her belly protectively. “I should curb my more dangerous intentions for you for a while,si?”

She covered his hands with hers, loath to lose this one real, concrete thing between them. The pregnancy was already doing a number on her emotions. “Nosi. Nobueno. Adriano, I’m not fragile. Whatever you want, I’m up for it.”

“Nyra—”

“This is a fresh start for us. And maybe it’s not a big deal to you, but I went to a lot of trouble to please you and—”

“What trouble?” he said, widening his eyes exaggeratedly.

With a huff, she pushed out of his embrace and glared at him. “Now I feel like I’m truly married.”

His mouth twitched. “Such temper,cara!” Reaching out, he traced one finger from her neck down to her chest. “Look how prettily it paints your chest and neck…”

Then he prowled toward her like some great predator. He hooked one finger at her neckline and tugged until the nightie ripped straight down the middle.

“I just picked this from too many,” she said, holding the torn edges together. “I got my nails done, got waxed to an inch, got a facial and picked out a whole new wardrobe so that you’re not ashamed of me.”

He froze, his gaze a stormy gray now. “I never claimed I was.”

“There’s a reason we’ve never been out in public even once in all these months. I didn’t even meet your—”

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