Page 68 of 2 Books in One Bundle

‘Do I have to move in with you? Are we going to live together as husband and wife for the next year?’

‘Maybe,’ he said with infuriating calm. ‘Or maybe we’ll simply live separate lives. It depends on whether I’ve managed to explore our relationship to its fullest extent.’

‘Youdon’t get to decide that,’ she snapped, losing patience and forgetting she was supposed to stay in control of her temper. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, I have a say in this, as well.’

‘Oh, I haven’t forgotten.’ His cold voice was abruptly full of heat, and brilliant gold gleamed in his eyes. ‘Believe me, I haven’t forgotten.’

He was looking at her again that way, that fierce, intent way, and she could feel something throb deep inside her. An ache, a longing.

She liked the way he looked at her. Shewantedit.

You can’t want it too badly, and you really can’t let him get under your skin.

That was true, that was a good reminder.

Isla swallowed. ‘Fine. I guess since I have no choice in the matter then I’ll stay. And I’ll do your excursions. But I’m not sleeping with you again, Orion. And that’s final.’

Orion sat behind his desk and stared at the self-contained little woman on the other side of it. Today she was in jeans and a soft-looking jersey in light blue cashmere, and her hair was hanging in the most glorious golden curls over her shoulders and down her back. The colour of her jersey highlighted the blue of her eyes and one shoulder had slipped down revealing her silky, pale skin.

He was already hard and she hadn’t even got close to him.

He kept getting fixated by a couple of marks on her neck that he’d left on her during the previous night, and finding it oddly satisfying to see them there. He also kept thinking about how he wanted to leave more, and of course she’d let him, because how could she not? When their night together had been so intense?

He’d risen early that morning to speak to the board and to organise the rest of their honeymoon, already thinking of taking her back to bed after they’d had breakfast together.

He hadn’t thought that first she’d tell him she needed to return to the UK as quickly as possible, before not only looking distinctly unimpressed by the trips he’d planned, but also coolly informing him that she wouldn’t be sleeping with him again.

That wasn’t what he wanted. What he wanted was to get to the bottom of his fixation with her, especially now that the fixation had a physical aspect to it, and so he hadn’t been able to resist goading her. He wanted to see her lose that cool of hers, especially after last night.

Oh, yes, most especially after that. He’d underestimated their chemistry considerably, which had led to a loss of control he hadn’t experienced since he’d been sixteen and Cleo had first come on the scene. That hadnotended well to say the least and he’d been adamant with himself that it wouldneverhappen again.

Until Isla. Until those long, hot hours he’d spent exploring her, releasing her passion again and again. It had been addictive that passion and it had haunted him all morning. He’d been impatient in dealing with all the loose ends from their wedding and discussing the ins and outs of their marriage was the very last thing he wanted.

What he wanted was to take her to bed and explore their chemistry in greater depth, because now he’d had a taste, he couldn’t wait to find out more.

Still, there was no point revealing how annoyed he was by her decision not to sleep with him again, so he only looked back at her calmly. ‘Are you sure?’

‘I think so.’ She sounded cool and yet a deep red flush had stained her cheeks. ‘It was a night to remember certainly, but I feel no need to revisit it.’

‘Really?’ He pushed his chair back. ‘That must be why you refused to sleep until I made you come a third time. Because all your curiosity was satisfied and you feel no need to revisit it.’

Her blush deepened further and she carefully clasped her hands in front of her. ‘I’m sorry if that makes you unhappy. But we made no promises to each other.’

It shouldn’t matter to him. This need to keep pushing for more from her shouldn’t be so intense, and he certainly shouldn’t be quitesodisappointed by her refusal. And yet...

Hunger pulled at him, along with that nagging sense of fascination. As if she was a book he was desperate to read, written in a language he couldn’t quite understand, and he knew that if he studied her long enough, everything would become clear. Every secret would be revealed.

He couldn’t give that up. He wouldn’t. His fascination hadn’t become less for having slept with her. If anything, it had become more intense, as if the night they’d shared had created some kind of bond between them, a physical bond that deepened what was already there.

The intensity of his own need was slightly unsettling, but since the whole reason she was here was so they could explore that connection, he didn’t see any need to be too concerned. No doubt his obsession, if given free rein, would soon pass.

‘Wrong,’ he said and got to his feet. ‘We certainly did make promises to each other. To love, honour and cherish, if I remember correctly. Till death do us part, et cetera.’ He moved around the desk, then leaned casually back against it. Getting closer to her, but not too close, observing what his nearness did to her.

She took a half step back, the pulse at the base of her throat beating faster, and he could feel satisfaction dig its claws in. She might not want to sleep with him again, but that didn’t mean he didn’t affect her.

‘But you didn’t mean them and neither did I,’ she said.

Orion folded his arms. ‘How do you know I didn’t mean them?’

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