After an eternity her lashes lifted. Dark blue hypnotic pools pulled me in, threatening to drown me.

‘Say the words. I want to hear them,’ I pressed, aware that my voice was a gravel-rough mess.

She inhaled. ‘I’ll take the leap with you. For now.’

I had to hand it to her—she knew how to time her negotiations to maximum effect. But I’d given my word and I wouldn’t go back on it. Besides, the earlier we excised this fever from our systems the earlier we could start the extrication process.

The earlier I could return to my life as I knew and preferred it.

The punch of satisfaction I expected never arrived.

More...

‘For now?’ I repeated, dismissing the hollow echo of the words.

I steeped myself deeper in the moment. Revelled in the fingers gripping my shirt as if the small scrap of cotton would ground her. She swallowed again, then gave a nod.

I crooked a finger under her chin and nudged her head upward. ‘Tell me, pethi mou,’ I insisted.

‘I want you,’ she whispered.

The breathy little sound washed over my chin and throat, making something frenzied and untamed leap inside me, filling me with the prospect of what ‘more’ could mean.

‘More...’ I pressed, wanting irrevocable confirmation that she wanted this.

Her chin lifted, her eyes gleaming boldly. ‘I want to be in your bed. I want you to take me.’

I slid my hand up her delicate spine to tangle in her hair. To grip it and keep her attention on me. ‘I want to make you mine again. Tell me you want that.’

Her fists bunched, a breathy little sound escaping her throat as she swayed closer. ‘I want to be yours.’

Like over a breached dam, a torrent swelled inside me. Removing her silk dress was as simple as catching the fragile material and ripping it off her body.

She gasped, staring down at the tattered fabric at her feet before attempting to glare at me. ‘I don’t believe you did that.’

A smile caught me unawares. ‘I didn’t think you were that attached to it. If so, I’ll buy you a dozen more,’ I vowed thickly. Because the sight of her body, displaying changes after bearing my son in the form of slightly thicker hips, a rounded softness in her belly and, best of all, the heaviness of her breasts, had intensified the throbbing in my groin.

I was barely aware of sinking to my knees, framing her lush hips and pulling her to me. I welcomed the fingers clenching tight into my hair as my lips found the sensitive flesh below her navel and brazenly tasted her creamy skin. When she sagged against the door I went lower, removing her panties before catching one leg and throwing it over my shoulder so I could find the heart of her, the true feminine core that called to me with the strength of a dozen sirens.

‘Ax!’

Her sweet cry urged me on, her taste a drug surging with unstoppable force through my bloodstream. I didn’t relent until she was splintering in my arms, her moans music to my ears. Only then did I scoop her up and carry her to my bed to begin all over again.