Bound by Their Love Page 11

  Greta wrapped her arms around her stomach. Turning, she looked out the window again. The singing kookaburras had stopped their sweet serenade and the tree branches were bare and lonely.

  Symbolic of her life: lonely without the touch of a soul mate.

  Chapter 16

  Even the sanctuary of his design studio didn’t appease the frustration coursing through him. Jeffrey reached out and picked up one of Greta’s shoes, twirling it in his hand.

  He’d gone up to her room to drop her luggage off after their kiss. Expecting to find her lying on the bed, he was surprised when the bed was empty. As he put her bags down, he heard the shower. He left the room quickly after that, not wanting to give into the temptation to join her in the shower.

  That had been two hours ago. He’d been sitting on his stool, staring blankly at the design he was supposed to transfer from paper into the gold and stones sitting in front of him.

  Ever since he’d returned from Perth, his mind and heart wasn’t on his design work. His mind was on the woman upstairs in the guest room. He refused to think or acknowledge that his heart might be up there too.

  Jeffrey quashed the thought as ridiculous. He lusted after Greta. Lusted after having those long legs curl around him. Lusted after tasting her over and over again. What he was experiencing was a basic male reaction to a beautiful female. Pure and simple, nothing more.

  Throwing down the shoe, he got up and left the studio, locking it on his way out. He knew he’d be back there later in the evening. He’d always kept erratic hours. Stopping only when he remembered to eat or sleep. He couldn’t afford to spend his whole evening with Greta. She was far too tempting for him.

  Perhaps it had been a stupid idea to bring her to his house. Maybe he should’ve listened to Luc when he’d cautioned Jeffrey that he might regret opening his home to Greta. Luc had no idea how far things had progressed between him and Greta. He hadn’t told Luc or Nick that he was going to be a father. Or that Greta was his baby’s mother.

  He made his way into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Popping the top, he walked over to the sliding glass doors; opening them, he stepped out onto the deck. The sun was starting to lower in the sky. He swallowed some beer and wondered if he should go and wake Greta up. If she slept too long, she may not be able to sleep later on.

  Jeffrey placed his beer bottle on the small outside table and headed back into the house, halting when he saw Greta entering the kitchen.

  ‘Hey, did you have a good sleep?’ he asked as he stuffed his hands in his jeans pocket. Greta’s black hair swirled softly around her shoulders and he wanted to reach out and touch it. Slide his fingers through it and bring her face close to his so he could kiss her. The loose-fitting dress she had on was long, finishing just at the ankle. The thin straps beckoned him to slip them off with the slightest flick of his finger.

  His body reacted to his thoughts, tightening and straining against his zipper. He wanted to march over there, pick her up and carry her to his room. Bury himself deep inside of her.

  God how he wanted her.

  ‘Yes, although I hadn’t planned on sleeping as long as I did.’

  Jeff blew out a breath, hoping to cool his hot body. It didn’t help. Maybe boring chatter would be as effective as a cold shower. He needed to do something. He needed to control himself.

  ‘Do you want something to eat? You missed lunch and it’s not quite dinnertime yet.’

  She pointed to the fruit bowl sitting in the middle of his island bench. ‘I’ll just have an apple.’

  An uncomfortable silence surrounded them. They’d never been awkward around each other before. Not even that first day, when she’d walked out on their lunch.

  ‘What are we doing, Jeff?’ Greta asked, breaking the silence.

  He sighed. ‘I have no idea. Look, why don’t we go outside and sit on the deck.’

  ‘Okay.’

  Once out on the deck, he picked up his bottle and took another long swallow, grimacing slightly at the warmness of his beer.

  ‘I think I should probably go to the resort tomorrow and stay there. Clearly I’m making you uncomfortable in your own home, and that’s not what I want to do.’

  Greta was right. She was making him uncomfortable, but not in the way she was thinking.

  ‘Do you want to know the truth?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I don’t want to sit here and make idle chitchat with you.’ The words came out harsher than he meant them and Greta stood abruptly.

  ‘Well, if that’s wh—’

  He moved just as quickly and grabbed her wrist, halting her departure. He pulled her until she was flush against him. There was no way she couldn’t feel his desire for her. It was causing him pain. ‘This is what I want. I want you. I need you, Angel.’

  He swooped in and captured her lips. He tasted the tartness from the apple on her lips. He sunk his fingers into her hair, twisting it around his fingers. Their tongues met and duelled, each trying to get the upper hand.

  Jeffrey pulled his lips away from Greta’s and loosened his grasp on her hair. ‘Tell me you want this too. Tell me you want me as much as I want you.’

  ‘Yes, Jeff. Yes. Oh God, I need you too, desperately, and it scares me. This need scares me so much.’

  ‘Angel, it scares me too. I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you.’

  Jeffrey took possession of her lips again, this time gentler than before. He scooped her up and carried her toward his room. He was eternally grateful that his room was downstairs. He didn’t think he could wait to carry her upstairs to have her.

  Shouldering his way into his room, he laid her down on the bed, as if she was the most precious diamond he’d ever handled. And she was. She was the mother of his child. He relinquished her lips and looked over to the side table, at the grainy photo of their child propped up against the table lamp.

  Jeffrey leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her belly. ‘I know it wasn’t planned and I don’t know how it happened, but I’m glad it did.’

  ‘Oh, Jeff.’

  He looked up and her and saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. ‘Shhh, don’t cry. Everything will be all right. I’ll make sure of it.’

  ‘I believe you.’

  Jeffrey toed off his shoes and lay down next to her, his finger tracing the neckline of her dress. The way it hugged her breasts. He noticed that they looked fuller than they had before. As he’d wanted to do in the kitchen, he slipped the thin straps from her shoulders. The movement caused her dress to lower, exposing more of her glorious breasts. He leaned down and placed soft kisses on the mounds.

  Her moan ignited the fire within him. He pulled himself away from her and got off the bed, ripping his shirt over his head, before he divested himself of his jeans and boxers. Climbing back on the bed, he traced her jawline with his finger. Her skin was soft beneath the pad of his finger.

  Taking both of her hands in his, Jeffrey encouraged her to sit up until she was kneeling. He framed her face with his hands. ‘You take my breath away, Angel. You’re so beautiful.’

  Greta ducked her head, causing her hair to fall over her shoulder and cover her face. Jeff was saying the most amazing things to her and she didn’t know how to take it. No one she’d ever been with had made her feel so precious. As if she’d break with the slightest touch. For the first time in a man’s arms she felt cherished. Wanted for herself and not just for a quick lay. Everything she had always wanted in her previous partners.

  ‘Don’t hide. Let me worship you like you should be worshipped.’

  ‘Oh Jeff,’ she whispered, as she copied his action and framed his face with her hand. ‘Make love to me.’

  A smile like she’d never seen before on him broke out over his face. ‘Absolutely.’

  Her hands went to her dress and pulled it over her head; smiling as she saw his nostrils flare when her bare breasts were exposed to him.

  She held out her hands toward him. ‘Take me, Jeff. Make
me yours.’

  Jeff took hold of her hand, brought it up to his mouth and placed a kiss on top of it. ‘Wait right here.’

  He moved off the bed and out the room, grabbing a pair of shorts that were lying over the top of a chair and putting them on.

  Greta felt very exposed. One wall of Jeff’s room was made up with floor-to-ceiling windows, taking advantage of the view yet again.

  Was the whole damn house made up of windows?

  They were in the middle of nowhere and no one could see, but she pushed the excess pillows off the bed, removed her underwear and got under the sheet.

  Where had he gone? Why had he gone? They were about to get hot and heavy and he walked out. It’s not like he could disappear on her. She was in his house.

  Greta picked at the sheets and looked out the window. The view seemed to have lost its lustre.

  ‘I’ve got something for you, Angel.’

  She looked up and saw him standing in the doorway, sans shorts. His cock standing out proudly. It was what he had dangling from his fingertips that had her gasping in surprise.

  ‘My shoes?’

  The shoes she’d worn the day they’d met. The shoes she thought she’d lost. The shoes that had started the journey they now found themselves on.

  He strolled into the room and she noticed he had a blue box in his other hand. Why was he bringing a piece from his collection into his bedroom?

  ‘Why do you have my shoes, Jeff?’

  Jeff placed the box on the side table and the shoes at the foot of the bed. He slid under the covers and lay down next to her. ‘I went back to the resort after I left you that day. I wanted to see you again but you’d checked out. I sweet-talked the receptionist into letting me get into your room.’

  Greta was stunned by his revelation. ‘I don’t think Luciano would like hearing his staff let random people into empty rooms.’

  Jeff laughed. ‘True, but it’s not like I’m some random stranger. She’d seen me meeting with Luc and Jasmine earlier that day. She knew who I was.’

  ‘Perks of living in a small town, I guess. But why did you take my shoes?’

  ‘Angel, when I saw those shoes lying discarded on the floor, I knew I had to have them. I can’t explain the reason for wanting them. I just knew if I didn’t have them I’d regret it.’ He reached down and picked up one of the shoes, caressing it like he’d caressed her face.

  It should be creepy hearing that he took something that had belonged to her after only knowing her for a few hours. But she couldn’t help but be flattered.

  He put the shoe on the ground and took the blue box from the table. Opening it, she watched as he pulled out the ankle cuff she’d first seen in the Morelli Corporation’s boardroom.

  Jeff held it in his hands, turning it so the sunlight shining in the room caught the diamonds and sapphires cleverly placed so the cuff glittered from every angle.

  ‘That is exquisite. Can I,’ she hesitated and crept closer to him on the bed. ‘Can I touch it?’ It seemed a silly request. She’d already touched it, but somehow in the bedroom it seemed more intimate than in the cold confines of a boardroom.

  Instead of handing it to her, Jeff pushed back the sheet, exposing her naked body to him. ‘I’ve got a much better idea.’

  He ran a hand down her body. His fingers taking the time to circle her nipples, making them pucker enticingly toward him. He replaced his fingers with his mouth. When his lips closed over her distended peaks she moaned in delight. Sensations fired through her, splintering toward her pussy. She fell back against the mattress, giving herself over to feelings she had no hope of controlling.

  Jeff’s mouth brushed over the lips to her sex, before kissing her inner thighs. She moaned, wanting to grab his head and direct it back to her core. He laughed, the sound vibrating against her sensitive skin.

  ‘You don’t play fair.’

  ‘I’ll come back, trust me. But first I need to do this.’

  His hand continued its movement down her leg until he reached her ankle. Greta held her breath, waiting to see what Jeff was going to do. The next instant, cool metal encircled her ankle.

  ‘Exquisite. Looks perfect on you, just like I knew it would,’ he said, as his finger followed the vine pattern of the cuff.

  ‘I feel like I shouldn’t move.’ Greta lifted her leg, twisting it one way and then the other. She had to admit it did look pretty good on her leg.

  Jeff moved back up until his face was on the same level as hers. ‘Trust me, it won’t fall off and you can move all you like. In fact,’ he leaned closer to her. ‘I’m going to make love to you with it on.’

  She shivered in delight at the thought. ‘What did you mean when you said you knew it would look perfect on me?’

  A look settled over Jeff’s face. If she didn’t know better, she’d almost think he was embarrassed by what he was about to say to her. ‘It goes back to the first time I saw you and those shoes. An image of the cuff blasted my mind. Picturing a design in its entirety doesn’t happen often. When it does, the image doesn’t leave me until I get it down on paper.’ He pointed to the lone shoe at the end of the bed. ‘The person who owns these shoes is the inspiration for my whole collection. The collection you’re now developing the campaign for. This is your collection, Angel.’

  It was impossible to form any words in response to Jeff’s declaration. She couldn’t believe they were having this conversation in bed. Not long ago hunger for each other swirled around them. Now the hunger was simmering below the surface of something so much more important. They were on a precipice of changing their relationship status, and not just because of the baby. Greta had a feeling even without the baby they would’ve reached this point.

  ‘What do you mean it’s my collection?’

  ‘During the presentation process, the collection was always referred to as the Jeffrey Courteux Regent Collection. I spoke to Luc the other day and told him the name of the collection was changing.’

  ‘What’s it going to be called now?’

  ‘It’s going to be now called The Angel Collection. You were my muse. Now you’re the mother of my child. It’s only fitting that my best collection be named for you.’

  If she’d thought she was speechless before, now she was mute. Tears welled up in her eyes.

  This man.

  This charismatic, elusive man made her feel like the most important person in the world.

  ‘I don’t know what to say. I’m honoured that you would name such an amazing collection after me. But won’t everyone think that the only reason my firm got the account was because of our relationship?’

  ‘Only you and I know the special meaning behind the word Angel. No one else does, and no one needs to know.’

  ‘As flattered as I am, I don’t think you should rename the collection.’

  A hard gleam entered Jeff’s eyes. ‘Tough, Angel. I’m not changing the name.’

  ‘Jeff, be reasonable.’

  ‘I’m tired of talking. I’d much rather kiss you.’

  Greta knew she should protest more. Knew the conversation was far from over. It had been a bizarre last few minutes. They’d gone from a no strings attached one-night stand that had been extended to a couple expecting a baby who were not really a couple having a deep conversation while naked in bed.

  Jeff sighed against her hair as his arm snaked out and pulled her close. ‘I promise we’ll talk about it later, Angel.’

  ‘Is this a promise you can keep?’

  His eyes lit up in amusement as he remembered their previous conversation. ‘Yes. Keeping my hands off of you is the only promise I like breaking.’

  Giving in to what she’d wanted all along, Jeff in her arms about to possess her, she reached her arms up and encircled them around his neck. ‘Break away.’

  Their lips met and she stopped thinking, giving herself over to the sensations and emotions being in Jeff’s arms brought.

  While his lips ravished hers, his hand started its to
rtuous progression down her body. Massaging her breast before sliding over her stomach until it slipped between her legs. She arched her body into his touch, moaning against his mouth as his finger dipped inside her.

  While his fingers were busy stroking her, bringing her close to her climax, his mouth broke the kiss. He gave her a wicked smile before he moved down the bed and settled himself between her legs. At the first touch of his tongue on her hot flesh, her eyes closed; the image of him between her legs imprinted behind her lids. Her hips undulated in movement with his tongue. Greta reached down and gripped the back of his head, applying pressure at the back, forcing his tongue deeper inside of her.

  The spasms started slow, butterfly strength, before building and building until she cried out her release; her muscles pulsating around his tongue as the aftershocks of her orgasm rolled through her.

  He lay still between her legs, kissing her inner thigh before crawling up the bed and gathering her close. His hard length rested against her belly. She reached down between them and stroked him.

  His breath hissed against her cheek as she grasped him and brushed her thumb across the head of his penis. His hips pushed against her hand.

  ‘I need to be inside you now. Is it safe?’

  Greta kissed his lips. ‘Yes, it’s fine. The doctor said any sexual activity will be okay.’

  His hand went to the drawer of the beside table before stopping. ‘I guess I don’t need a condom.’

  She laughed. ‘No, it’s a bit late to prevent a pregnancy. And if you’re concerned about any other issues, you don’t need to be.’

  ‘You don’t have to worry about me either.’ He changed his position so that his lower body was nestled between her legs. ‘Now, Angel?’

  She lifted her hips. ‘Now.’

  Jeff grinned and slid into her. Then he was moving slowly, pulling himself almost all the way out before plunging back inside of her. He repeated the action, each time increasing his pace, her body matching the pace he set. Her blood tingled to life. She wound her legs around his back. Greta was sure the cuff was digging into his arse, but she was beyond thought. Feelings and sensations were taking possession of her. She cried out her second release as Jeff plunged into her one last time, groaning her name against her ear.