Page 41 of Bound by Their Christmas Baby

Did that excuse his behaviour?

Did anything?

Making sure Abby married him was one thing; using her innocence and desire against her to keep her in his bed was another. He had kissed he

r and she’d quivered. She’d said she hadn’t been with anyone else and he believed her. It wasn’t as if she’d had a multitude of opportunities since she’d been so sick while carrying his baby. But if he hadn’t brought her to Italy? No doubt she would have found someone to share her life with.

The very idea filled Gabe’s mouth with acidity.

In bed she was putty in his hands and there was so much he could teach her, so much he could do to help her forget how imperfect their situation was. Keeping her in a sensual fog so that she never stopped to question the madness of what they were doing. Was he really capable of that? Could he stoop so low?

His expression was grim because, deep down, he knew that as long as she was under his roof, with his ring on her finger, he would do whatever it took to have her.

He would never love her—never trust her—and nor would he ever forgive her; but he would make love to her often because they both wanted that. That was the only part of this whole plan that made sense—the rest was a minefield…

She laughed again with Raf, and certainty formed as a rock in his gut. She was his.

* * *

‘I have to go to Rome.’ His voice came from the door to her room and Abby paused her reading, pressing a finger against the page of her book and looking up in the hope it wasn’t obvious what effect his appearance was having on her.

Had it only been a day ago that they’d made love? For confirmation, her eyes flew to the dressing table where a solitary ornament remained.

‘Rome?’ She sat up straighter in bed, her heart hammering against her ribcage. He was wearing a suit, just like the first night they’d met, and he looked so damned handsome it was impossible to remember that she was still frustrated with him. With great difficulty, she did, though.

Her voice was cool. ‘Well, have fun.’

Gabe stepped into her room, closing the door behind him and striding across to the bed. Abby’s pulse accelerated.

‘I would have more fun here,’ he admitted gruffly. His strong, confident hands caught her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the bed; Abby’s breath caught in her throat and she stared up at him with such obvious passion that she knew he must see it, must comprehend.

‘Do you remember what we discussed?’ he asked, moving his head closer to hers so only an inch separated them.

She shook her head, merely because she couldn’t think straight and needed to buy time.

He lifted a finger and pressed it to her cheek, then ran it down her jaw to her neck, and to the pulse point hovering at the base of her throat. ‘You are mine,’ he said simply.

She opened her mouth to argue, to say something to assert herself, but he took the opportunity to kiss her, his lips taking hers, pressing her back to the bed so that his body was on top of hers and she moaned into him, such a sweet sound of innocence that his gut twisted.

‘I want you to share my room,’ he murmured, the words seductive, as was the way he moved his kiss to her throat, nipping her with his teeth while his hands ran over her body, finding the flesh beneath her shirt. She wasn’t wearing a bra; he was easily able to cup her breasts, to feel their warm sweetness, her tight nipples.

She made a noise of acquiescence, a garbled sound of pleasure.

‘You’ll move in with me,’ he said, a little more confident now but still miles from his usual arrogance.

‘I have moved in with you.’ She said the words into his mouth, kissing him, her ache to be possessed by him profound.

‘You know what I mean.’

He seemed to be asking, to want something from her without simply demanding it. She tilted her head to the side. ‘I’ll think about it.’

He lifted his head and his eyes glowed, but he wisely chose not to push the point.

Distance knifed between them and she wanted to bridge it, but he was already straightening, pulling further away from her.

‘How long will you be gone?’ She tried to make the question sound casual when in fact she was irrationally bothered by the idea of him so far away.

‘A day or so.’ He took a step back, his eyes holding hers, the rapid shift of his chest the only sign that he had been at all affected by the kiss they’d just shared.

---