Virgin: Undone by the Billionaire. Jennie Lucas
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here.”
The Irishwoman woke up and nearly gasped when she saw the tropical estate. “It’s beautiful! This is your home?”
“For a few days.” Roark unbuckled his sleeping baby from the car seat and tenderly took her in his arms, holding her against his strong chest.
Lia’s heart ached with the vision of seeing their daughter held so lovingly in Roark’s arms. How long had she yearned for just this moment? Since she’d found out she was pregnant, she’d wished she could give her daughter a father. A home.
And now, seeing their baby held this way by Roark made her want to weep. It was the fulfillment of one dream.
But never once had Lia thought if that dream came true, another cherished dream would die.
She’d been married twice. Her first husband had wed her out of obligation; her second husband had wed her to punish her. She would never know what it felt like to really love a man and be loved by him in return.
One dream gained; the other gone forever.
Or was it?
Was there any way he might someday forgive her? Any way to earn back his trust?
“The housekeeper will show you to your room,” Roark said to Mrs. O’Keefe.
“Shall I put the baby to bed, Mr. Navarre?” the nanny replied. “She hardly got any sleep on the plane …”
He shook his head, then glanced down at his sleeping daughter with a smile. “I’ll put her to bed. I’ve never gotten the chance to do it before.”
Lia could hear the blame in his voice, even though he didn’t look at her.
He greeted the waiting housekeeper and staff with a few brief words, then passed them through the sliding door.
Leaving Lia behind without a single glance or word.
A hard lump formed in her throat as she slowly followed her husband and child inside. She really was starting to question her own existence, so she nearly jumped when the housekeeper greeted her, “Aloha, Mrs. Navarre.”
“Aloha,” Lia sighed, looking around her in amazement. “This place is beautiful. I didn’t even know that Roark had a home in Hawaii.”
The housekeeper cleared her throat. “Actually, this vacation house belongs to Paolo Caretti. They’re friends. He loaned it to Mr. Navarre.”
“Oh.” Of course. Of course this house didn’t belong to Roark. Even a place as incredible as this couldn’t tempt Roark to want to settle down. Her husband only liked to create buildings that he sold to others. Then he always moved on.
And whatever she might wish, he probably wouldn’t stick around long enough to raise Ruby, either. Even if he loved his daughter, he would still leave her. Because that’s just how a man like Roark lived—with no commitments. Neither to places nor to people.
She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. Perhaps it was a good thing to remind herself of that, then. She’d already started to fall for him hard. She’d felt her heart break at the stark pain in his eyes when he’d spoken about losing his family. She’d felt her body explode with joy when he’d made love to her at the hotel penthouse.
So having him ignore her was a kind of gift, wasn’t it? It would keep her from loving him. Wouldn’t it?
She went inside the front door and saw a man-made waterfall that flowed into an indoor pond. Glancing down at the pond, she saw orange and gold fish swimming beneath the water. She walked though the Japanese-influenced design and modern architecture, crossing the pyinkado hardwood floors and through the shoji sliding doors.
She followed the sound of his footsteps through the cool, darkened house. She stopped in the doorway of a nursery and watched as he carefully set their sleeping baby down in a sleek, simple crib, still holding her cuddly blanket and wearing her soft knit clothing set.
“Do you need any help?” she whispered, because she couldn’t bear the silence any longer.
“No.” He spoke without looking at her. “Your room is down the hall. I’ll show you.”
After hours and hours of silence, he’d finally acknowledged her presence! That was something, wasn’t it? In spite of everything, she felt a tiny flame of hope in her heart as she followed him down the hallway.
He pushed open the sliding doors and revealed a large bedroom with a balcony overlooking the private beach. Sunlight sparkled over the bright blue Pacific like waves of diamonds over sapphires.
“It’s beautiful here,” she said.
“Yes.”
She felt him put his hands on her shoulders.
Questions trembled on her lips. Roark, can you forgive me? Can you change your wandering soul and stay with us?
But she didn’t dare ask the questions because she feared his answers. She closed her eyes as a breeze blew in from Hanalei Bay, warm against her skin. His body pressed against her back.
“It’s time for bed,” he said in a low voice.
The intent in his voice was unmistakable. Was it possible that he’d realized why she’d kept Ruby a secret and forgiven her? That he wanted and desired her as he had in New York—with a simple fierce longing that had led him to ask her to travel with him around the world?
Roark turned her around in his arms and she saw the harsh truth in his dark eyes.
No.
He still hated her. But that wasn’t going to stop him from taking her body. He intended to coldly possess her.
And as he lowered his head to claim her lips in a fierce, bruising kiss, God help her but she couldn’t deny him what he wanted. The heat and force of his embrace overwhelmed her senses. As he stroked her body, untying the back of her halter dress and dropping it to the floor, her longing was so sharp it edged between pleasure and pain.
He lowered her to the enormous bed. He looked down at her. He pulled off his jeans and silk boxers. She heard the roar and crash of the surf outside their open window, the warm breeze blowing in the hibiscus-scented air.
Then he possessed her roughly, without tenderness. But as she gasped with the joyful force of her pleasure, she could have sworn she heard him whisper her name as if it was torn from deep within his soul.
They settled into a pattern of sorts over the next four days.
Busy with work, overseeing the extensive remodel and expansion of a luxury resort on Hanalei Beach, Roark ignored her during daylight hours.
In the evenings he would come home for an elegant dinner prepared by the mansion’s chef. He spoke courteously with the staff and pleasantly with Mrs. O’Keefe. His handsome dark features glowed as he played with Ruby and read her a story before putting her to bed. But it was as if Lia didn’t exist.
At least not until dusk.
She existed only to pleasure him in the dark. And every night it was the same. No tenderness. No words. Just a fiercely hot possession taken by an unloving lover.
Roark came home early one afternoon, and as usual it was as if Lia were invisible. Lia watched him play with the baby on the private white sand beach, helping Ruby make a sand castle. When it grew too hot, he cradled the baby against his tanned, naked chest and carried her into the ocean to feel the water against her skin.
For a moment, the baby looked nervous and glanced back at Lia, as if considering whether to cry and reach her arms for her mother.
“You’re all right, little one,” her father said to her softly. “You’re safe with me.”
Ruby looked up at him, and her expression changed. She didn’t cry for her mother after all. Instead, she clung to Roark, giggling as her toes splashed in the water.
No