Effortless. Lynn Montagano
Читать онлайн книгу.
I laughed. “When did you turn into my mother?”
A sharp squeeze at my waist made me flinch. “I see your smart mouth also made the journey across the Atlantic.”
“It’s a package deal, Holden.”
Uncoiling a bit from his annoyance, Alastair kissed me firmly. “We could get married this weekend,” he said, playing with my hair. “Have a civil ceremony at Islington Town Hall. It would be just the two of us.”
The thought left me breathless. Every cell in my body, from my toes to the tips of my fingers, hummed with anticipation. Images of us exchanging vows and spending the entire weekend blissfully alone and entwined with each other filled my mind. It was perfect. It was…
“My family will kill me,” I blurted.
Alastair raised an eyebrow. “Not if I have anything to say about it. Besides, they’ll get over the shock. We’ll have a massive party back in the States. That’s why everyone has a wedding anyway, right? For the party.”
“But don’t we need, like, paperwork and licenses? And witnesses? We can’t just walk in and—”
He kissed me quiet and essentially halted all talk of eloping. “You really need to do something about this habit of overthinking.” The smile in his eyes and on his lips sealed the deal for me.
“Fine. You’re right.” I tugged on his tie. “Is there a reason why you’re still in CEO mode at home? I mean, the suits are hot and stuff but it’s well past quitting time.”
“There’s no rest for the wicked.” He smirked. “Would you rather I sat here naked?”
I slung my arms around his neck and grinned. “It would be an improvement.”
“Cheeky.” He felt his way down my body. “We do have some unfinished business to attend to, don’t we?”
Capitalizing on his softened mood and flirty playfulness, I nuzzled into his neck, kissing his warm skin and enjoying the low groans vibrating in his throat. “That depends.”
“On what?”
I loosened his tie and slid it off his neck. “Did you think about me all day?”
Yearning filled what little space there was between us as he knotted his fingers through my hair. We were so close our mouths nearly touched. “Trying to turn the tables on me, kitten? If I remember correctly, it was you who had all the thinking to do.”
The gentle but firm tug he gave my hair resonated deep within me. A little smile pulled at his mouth when I tried to move.
“I have you just where I want you, Lia. Tell me” -he nipped at my bottom lip- “every thought that crossed your mind.”
I’d have figured by this point in our relationship I’d be a little more immune to his level of seduction but I wasn’t and he knew it. If that satisfied grin on his face wasn’t so damn hot I’d have been able to form some sort of response. Leveling a dangerously sexy stare at me, he wet his lips.
“Are you going to tell me?”
“I’m going to show you,” I replied in a much lower, much more seductive tone than I normally used. Alastair’s grin grew larger but he wouldn’t loosen his grip on me.
“Fancy a shag on the desk, do you?” He pulled on my hair again. “I’d rather you come to my office building for that.” He sucked on my earlobe, making me squirm with pleasure. “I’ll spread you out on my big desk and have you for lunch. I do like the way you taste.”
An animalistic, guttural moan rushed out of my mouth so hard I clutched onto the back of the chair. I swear, his level of sexy should be illegal.
“Is my kitten enjoying herself?” he asked, keeping his mouth so close to my ear I could feel his lips brushing against it. I’d be lying if I said no. This more aggressive side of his had me firing on all cylinders.
Peeling my fingers off the chair, I ripped his shirt open. Blinded by the raging lust that overpowered me, I couldn’t move my hands fast enough to undo his belt. If I didn’t have mind-blowing sex with him right now, I’d go insane.
I stood up and yanked my dress over my head, dropping it to the floor in an unceremonious heap. Pushing himself off the chair like a predator about to strike, he pulled me against his body.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” I said, grabbing at the waistband of his pants.
I was a split second away from shoving him back onto the chair so I could mount him when I was halted by the detached way he looked at me.
“What is it?” I asked.
Shaking his head, he lifted my left hand and turned it towards the light so the diamond and emeralds sparkled. Immense sadness seized his beautiful face for the briefest of seconds but it was enough to deflate my mood.
“This was my mum’s ring,” he said in hushed tone. “It’s been sitting in a box at the house in Ascot for years. My aunt told me it was mine to give to the girl I wanted to marry.”
Oh my God…NOW he wants to get all emotional?
“She would have liked you.”
Partly controlled by my ravenous libido and partly by my fierce love for him, I lunged forward, knocking him back onto the chair and climbed on his lap. Holding both sides of his face, I covered him in kisses before hugging him tight. I knew how difficult it was for him to talk about his parents. Running my knuckles down his cheek, I tried to compose myself. I think he sensed I was having a problem with that and smirked.
“Did I interrupt your saucy ways by being too soppy?”
“Yes.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“Shit. I mean…you didn’t but…” I was so wired and flustered that nothing was coming out right. “You just have me so turned on and I’m a little buzzed and then you drop that on me out of the blue and it…what you said is so sweet and romantic and I just…I’m so focused on wanting to…to fuck your brains out that—”
“You thought it was sweet and romantic?”
“I…yeah. Who wouldn’t? It’s your mom’s ring. And coming from you that means a lot to me.”
“Does it?”
“Of course, Alastair. But you could have given me a plastic ring from a toy dispenser at a bowling alley and I would have loved it all the same because it’s from you.”
He looked thoughtful. “So I’ve finally conquered being cheesy, then?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “For now, Mr. No-Relationships-Non-Dater.”
“You,” he grabbed my waist and squeezed, “are asking for trouble.”
“No. You are. I was all ready to—”
“Fuck my brains out?” The dominant spark returned to his eyes, which drove me wild.
“If you keep interrupting me, then no.”
He squeezed my waist harder, making me jump. “I’m going to keep you up all night, kitten.”
“You don’t have an off switch, do you?”
“Not when it comes to you.” Running the pad of his thumb along my mouth, he remained quiet for several seconds. The same sadness that ghosted across his face before returned.
“Hey,” I said. “What’s going on in there?”
My pulse revved up as he caressed my cheek. A suffocating aura of want enveloped us. Hovering his lips above mine he said, “I love you.”
The vulnerable edge to his tone hit me hard. Hearing him say those words to me was a rare occasion. Sure, he showed me