Page 31 of Storm over the Caribbean
The bodyguard did as ordered. Mr Ambrose stepped into the house—and instantly froze in place. I had seen him stiff before. Unmoving. Unreadable. But never had I seen him quite like this. Cautiously, I stepped forward to hug him from behind. Under my fingers, I could feel him tremble ever so slightly. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw his gaze transfixed on the opposite wall, and the sign hanging there proclaimingHome, Cheap Home.
“Do you like it?” I whispered into his ear.
“It is…adequate.”
I beamed. “So glad you love it!”
He turned his head, eyes boring into me with breath-taking intensity. “Love? I said nothing of the kind!”
Leaning forward, I gently brushed my lips against his. “I know.”
“You…” A growl erupted from his chest, and Mr Ambrose whirled around to face me, drawing me into his arms. “Come here!”
Karim cleared his throat. “I, ehem…shall go and clean my beard.”
Neither of us paid very much attention to him. Right now, he could paint his beard pink for all I cared! Which, considering the wall colour I had planned for a certain nursery, might very well be happening soon.
“My littleifrit…”
Not right now, though. Definitely not right now.
Swallowing, I lifted my head to gaze up into the icy eyes of Mr Rikkard Ambrose. And they were indeed like eyes. Shiny, beautiful and transparent, allowing me to see right into his soul.
“Upstairs!” The single word that entered my ear was both a command, and a promise of things to come. “Now!”
“Nah.” Grabbing hold of him, I started dragging him towards the sofa. “Why go all the way upstairs when we have a perfectly nice, cheap, second-hand sofa down here?”
Judging by the flash in my husband’s eyes, he seemed to agree. An animalistic sound erupted from his throat and, a moment later, he started hungrily kissing my cheeks, my neck, every single part of me he could reach.
“Ah.” I smirked. “So that’s the kind of thing that turns you on? Well, why not try my hand at a bit of dirty talk, Ambrose style?”
Standing up on my tiptoes, I brought my lips close to his ears and whispered: “I think you have been far toogenerouswithme, Sir. You should immediately implement areduction of my budget.Especially myclothingbudget. Don’t you agree?”
“You…!” Claiming my lips with a ferocious kiss, he swept me off my feet and crossed the distance to the chaise longue in three long strides.
“Or maybe just saving money isn’t enough?” I whispered, snuggling into his embrace. “You like to invest, don’t you? Invest in stocks? How about instead you divest me of my vestments? And my stockings? I’m sure you’ll find a lot to investigate.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. And it wasn’t the only thing of his that twitched. Smirking, I reached down to caress him.
“Ah…I see you’re focusing your cash flow on one particular area. Financing your companies can behardat times, can’t it?” I sped up my strokes. “Particularly when inmycompany. You—”
Before I could get another word out, his hands grabbed hold of my wrists and slammed them into the chaise longue, pinning me to the soft upholstery. When his voice came, it was so gruff it sent a shiver down my spine. “You’re playing with fire, Mrs Ambrose.”
“No.” Shaking my head, I gazed deep into his fathomless, dark, arctic eyes. “I’m playing with ice. And it’s all mine.”
Something flickered in those eyes of his. Something wild and…vulnerable. Swallowing, he glanced around at the newly decorated room.
“You shouldn’t have done this,” he murmured. “You shouldn’t have wasted money like this.”
Gently, I touched his face. “It wasn’t a waste.”
“Why?” His grip on me tightened, and he stared into my eyes as if he could find the answers to all questions of the world in there. “Why do all this?”
To that, there was only one answer. “Because you’re worth it.”
A muscle in his cheek twitched. “Worth spending my own money on something I most definitely didn’t ask for?”
The corners of my mouth twitched. “Exactly.”
