Page 36 of Stranded with His Runaway Bride

She was expecting to come back up, but he held her there, his gaze on her mouth. Then suddenly he tightened his grip, lifted her towards him and pressed his lips to hers.

They were soft and warm and Violetta, caught off guard, let them move over hers. Her hand slid up his arm to curl about his shoulder.

He pulled her closer, deepened their kiss, and a pulse throbbed hard between her thighs.

A soft noise rolled in her throat. Her fingers on his shoulder dug in. She pressed closer so more of her body connected to his. He was all hard muscle and heat and she wanted more.

Reason, common sense, dreams and determination were forgotten...or were they? What about her people? What about San Nicolo?

Her eyes fluttered open.

It might all be lost if she allowed herself to be seduced. Distracted from the course she knew she must take.

From somewhere she found the strength to break the kiss and push him away.

Leo leant forward wanting to taste those lips again, but his met thin air. She’d lurched back in his arms and planted a hand firmly against his chest.

‘That’s enough of that. I know what you’re planning and it won’t work.’

Planning?

He’dplannedto kiss her again, to savour the delight of her mouth and hadn’t thought of a thing beyond.

She pushed at him, wriggling to get free. Reluctantly he let go.

Looking thoroughly flustered, she instantly rounded the table to put it between them. She scooped up her wine glass and knocked back its contents.

‘I won’t be falling for your seduction technique.’ She sloshed another measure of wine into her glass and gulped that down too.

‘You might want to slow down,’ Leo cautioned.

‘Don’t tell me what to do.’ She slashed an angry hand through air. ‘I’ve had enough of men like you telling me what to do.’

Leo shrugged. ‘Okay, but you may regret that in the morning.’

She sank down into a seat. ‘The morning,’ she said, almost wondrously. ‘I’ll be free. I’ll be Grand Duchess, and no one will ever tell me what to do again.’

He didn’t have the heart to remind her that her life was about to get a lot more complicated. Being the sole decision maker wasn’t going to be the easy route.

CHAPTER SEVEN

INONERESPECTLeo’s wedding night was much as he might have expected. He’d barely slept.

However, that was where all of the similarities ended. He’d spent the night entirely alone, listening to the ravages of the storm outside and the restless pacing of the woman in the room next door.

More than once he’d been on the verge of leaving his room to hammer on her door and pick up where they’d left off, but he knew it wasn’t the answer.

He checked his watch, seven o’clock on the day of Violetta’s twenty-first birthday. She was now officially Grand Duchess and his chance at easily claiming San Nicolo had passed. Oddly, that didn’t bother him as much as he’d have expected, and today was another day. If yesterday was anything to go by, who knew what it might bring? With the woman next door anything could happen and while the storm raged there was nothing anyone could do to move things along.

Despite their circumstances Leo had enjoyed his evening. Unexpected in the scheme of things. He hadn’t imagined they’d have been doing quite so much talking, expecting to be engaged in something less cerebral and more physical. But he’d liked it.

She was an excellent dinner companion, entertaining, energising. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed an evening so much.

Of course there’d be no repeat. He needed a wife. She’d declined that position and he had neither the want nor desire for a woman in any other capacity. Why would he?

A twig, torn from a tree somewhere and still bearing its lush, fresh leaves, landed with a splat against the window then was wrenched away again.

Grimentz was still in the grip of a storm. Here, in this sheltered valley, it was bad enough but what was the rest of his country suffering? While he was trapped here and powerless to do anything but wait it out.

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