Modern Romance December 2019 Books 1-4. Maisey Yates
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‘It’s not like that,’ Leo delivered harshly. ‘I wanted you the first time I met you and I fought it. Now we’re married and it doesn’t make sense for me to go out and look for another mistress when the only woman I want right now is my wife.’
‘Don’t you dare call me your wife!’ Letty fired back at him hotly. ‘I married you to be a mother to your sister’s children and that was all you asked of me. I’m entitled to receive the agreement I signed up to and the terms I legally approved. You are not entitled to demand anything more from me. Is that clear?’
Shocked, Leo scrutinised her, registering that her passion that night in the limo should have forewarned him that she could have a much more tempestuous nature than he had initially appreciated.
‘Yes, I can see you’re shattered by that news. You know why, Leo? Women are too easy for you. Today, in the space of a few short hours, I had Mariana, Katrina and my Aunt Elexis all drooling over you and hating me for marrying you.’
‘Is that my fault?’ Leo asked with the first hint of anger he had shown. ‘Is it my fault that two women I have never been intimate with lust after me? Am I supposed to apologise for that? Clearly, it annoyed you, but—’
‘I didn’t say it annoyed me,’ Letty bit out in haste, recognising that she had hit the wall with that comment because it really wasn’t fair to blame him for being gorgeous and rich and highly desirable to other women. ‘What annoys me is that with clear forethought and planning you brought me here to a house with one bed and one bedroom in expectation of a positive answer!’
‘Theé mou…there’s nothing positive about your attitude,’ Leo acknowledged grimly, his lean dark face set in forbidding lines. ‘In fact, everything you think about yourself and my interest in you and our marriage is incredibly negative in tone. I didn’t mention my intentions before the wedding because I had to stay in Greece until shortly before it and it was scarcely a subject I could tackle on the phone.’
‘Whatever!’ Letty waved an angrily dismissive hand and hauled open the patio doors to walk down onto the sand, desperate for some fresh air and the space to think after that incredibly volatile rush of rage that had so disconcerted her, never mind him.
‘It’s dark out there!’ Leo asserted in warning from behind her.
Letty swung her head back, her honey-blonde mane fluttering in the cool breeze, green eyes gleaming like sea glass polished by the surf. ‘I’m not thinking of going for a swim!’
She stomped along the beach, powered by anger, frustration and a whole host of other emotions she could not immediately neatly label and identify. How dare he? She grimaced. Leo would always dare. Leo didn’t respect boundaries and assumed every woman was available should he show interest. But, even if that had been his experience, he shouldn’t assume the same thing about her!
And then that mortifying incident in the limo returned to haunt her and she groaned out loud because she had given him very willing signals that night, making it obvious that she was attracted to him. Perhaps it wasn’t quite so shocking that Leo had expected a positive response from her when she had already given him that much encouragement.
She hitched up her skirt as her heels sank into the sand and, with a muttered curse, bent down to flip off her shoes and walk barefoot, her shoes dangling in one hand.
Slowly, her breathing steadied and her heartbeat stopped thumping madly in her ears. Mariana was no longer his mistress and her departure from the scene had created a vacancy, which Leo hoped to fill with her. It was a practical proposition from a man who clearly saw sex as a need that had to be met. She didn’t think that he attached much more importance to sex than that or that he was offering to throw anything more lasting into the mix. Yet the suggestion that they make their marriage the real deal was still light years removed from what he had originally proposed. And that made Letty intensely curious to know what it was about her which had brought about that amazing change in attitude.
It was about her—it truly was about her. Leo had the hots for her and a choked little giggle erupted in the back of her throat, making her feel remarkably like a teenager again. She raised her brows and continued walking, although her pace had slowed. In the sense that Leo was highly desirable in his own right, his interest made her feel ridiculously flattered but, in another sense, it offended her. If they had sex, and she was honest enough to admit to herself that she was physically willing, where did they go from there? That was the big question.
Back at the beach house, Leo tossed back a brandy and paced, wondering where he had gone wrong in his approach because Letty had gone up in flames and that had never happened with a woman before, most definitely not when he was trying to show a woman attention. Was she still so locked into that ‘sacred bond’ viewpoint that she could not see past it to appreciate that there were other kinds of relationships that functioned perfectly well without twinned souls and romance and all the rest of that nonsense? Leo reasoned impatiently. In a sudden movement, he set down the glass and strode down onto the sand.
Registering that she was cold, for an October night on a Greek island was not that warm with a breeze blowing, Letty had started walking back towards the house. Seeing Leo’s tall powerful figure approaching in the moonlight, she sighed and wondered what she was going to say to him.
‘I am not an unreasonable woman,’ she told him before he reached her. ‘If we make this a real marriage, where do we go from there?’
‘I don’t have a crystal ball,’ Leo told her succinctly.
‘No, but you do have to think deeply about what you’re doing,’ Letty countered. ‘And I’ve yet to be convinced that you do think that much when it comes to women.’
‘Theé mou…’ Leo ground out.
‘You would have to promise to be faithful,’ Letty informed him ruefully. ‘But you said you couldn’t do that.’
‘No, I said I didn’t want to risk breaking a promise of fidelity,’ Leo qualified. ‘That was what that clause in the prenup meant.’
‘That still won’t work for me. Either you’re mine or you’re not mine. There’s no halfway house option on offer.’
Surprisingly, Leo felt amusement lick up through his dark mood of dissatisfaction. ‘You drive a hard bargain.’
‘But you expected that from me,’ she guessed.
A wolfish grin slanted Leo’s wide sensual mouth and he jerked his chin in acknowledgement. ‘If I am with you, I will be with no other woman,’ he intoned. ‘If I am not content with that, however—’
Shivering, Letty lifted a determined hand to silence him. ‘No, you don’t get to qualify it with me. It’s either yes or no; you’re all in or all out, no escape clauses, no excuses. But that’s not all I have to say. Are you viewing this marriage as a temporary aberration or as something that could have a future?’
Leo expelled his breath in audible frustration, his lean dark features taut as he started unbuttoning his shirt. ‘I don’t know the answer to that.’
‘I don’t want to enter into a “try before you buy” scenario, Leo. I’m worth more than that,’ Letty assured him, throwing her head high, her honey-blonde tresses blowing in the breeze, her clear gaze reflecting the light bouncing off the sea. ‘I won’t come cheap or easy. I’ll make demands. I’ll have expectations. I have no idea how a mistress behaves but I would imagine that if a woman is dependent on a man’s continuing interest she has to refrain from demands and expectations.’
Leo slid fluidly out of his shirt and draped it