The Holiday Escapes Collection. Sandra Marton

you’ve been sleeping with the hired help again?’ she said with a scornful look. ‘I thought you would have learned from your past mistakes.’

      ‘You have been the only mistake I have made and it is not one I am proud of,’ he bit out.

      ‘Gee, thanks,’ she tossed back. ‘Nice to know I made an impression.’

      His eyes went heavenwards as if in search of patience. ‘I do not want to argue with you. You are not well.’

      ‘How many times do I have to say I’m fine?’

      ‘I want you to stay in bed for the day.’

      She thrust the sheet aside and got out of bed to defy him. ‘I will do no such thing.’

      Black eyes warred with blue in a fiery challenge that Charlotte knew she had no hope of winning. Her stomach was already churning all over again and her legs wobbling beneath her.

      ‘Get back into bed,’ he said.

      She pulled back her shoulders. ‘No.’

      ‘Get in or I will make you get in.’

      ‘I’d like to see you try.’

      ‘Is that a dare?’ he asked.

      ‘No, it’s a warning that if you come anywhere near me I will scream.’

      He smiled a devilish smile as he stepped closer. ‘My mother will assume you are voicing your intense pleasure at being in my arms.’

      Charlotte looked for an escape route but the bed was in the way. ‘Don’t touch me.’

      ‘Why?’ he asked with a glint in his black eyes. ‘In case you respond?’

      ‘I am not going to respond,’ she said but she knew her voice lacked conviction.

      ‘How about we put it to the test?’ he suggested, cupping her face with his hand, his warm fingers immediately stoking a fire in her belly.

      She swallowed as he closed the distance between their bodies, his thighs brushing against the unsteadiness of hers. ‘D-don’t do this…’ she said on a whisper.

      ‘Don’t do what?’ he asked, bringing his mouth within a breath of hers. ‘This?’

      She closed her eyes as his lips brushed hers, the tingling of her mouth beneath the alluring pressure of his sending all thought of resisting him to some far-away unreachable place. His tongue broke the seal of her lips with a hot sensual probe that curled her toes and hollowed out her stomach. She pressed herself against him, her need spreading through her like wildfire. The heat from his mouth on hers fuelled the flames until she was only upright because he was holding her in his steely embrace.

      Her tongue flicked against the scorching thrust of his, making her senses instantly soar. Her blood leapt in her veins, her heart starting to pound in time with the throbbing pulse of desire she could feel spreading from deep and low in her belly to the achingly hollow place between her legs.

      She could feel his response to her, the hard ridge of his erection swelling against her stomach, and the increasing urgency of his mouth as it devoured hers. His hands moved over her possessively, shaping her breasts before he pushed her clothing aside to gain access to the satin of her skin. Her breath caught in her throat as his mouth moved from hers to suckle each tight nipple in turn until she was reeling from the passionate onslaught.

      His dark, triumphant gaze met hers, making Charlotte realise she was playing right into his hands by responding to him so unreservedly. She gave him a chilly look and rearranged her clothes, pausing for a moment before she lifted her hand to her mouth to wipe away the taste of him.

      ‘Get out,’ she said.

      His mouth tilted arrogantly. ‘You are angry at yourself, not me, agape mou,’ he said. ‘It annoys you that you cannot help yourself, does it not? You respond to me so delightfully every single time.’

      She tightened her mouth without answering, her hands going to fists at her sides.

      ‘You are mine, Charlotte,’ he said, tethering her to him by a handful of her hair as he brought his mouth back to hers. ‘You are mine, body and soul.’

      Charlotte fought against her response as his lips commandeered hers, but somehow the hands that had started to push him away were now clinging to his shirt front, her mouth kissing him back with teeth, lips and tongue with an almost savage intent.

      She swallowed his deep groan as she wrenched at his shirt, her hands skating over his naked flesh, her nostrils flaring so she could breathe in the clean male scent of him.

      She fumbled with his belt and trousers, relishing the sounds of his pleasure as her fingers finally found him, hot and hard and heavy in her hands. She slithered down his body until she was on her knees in front of him, her tongue tasting him in a tiny cat-lick fashion that brought another rough groan from the depths of his throat.

      His fingers were still in her hair, bunched against the maelstrom of feeling she was about to unleash. She felt his tension building, his legs braced as she lured him relentlessly to the point of no return.

      He shuddered and spilled himself, the sharp one word expletive bursting from his lips indicating to Charlotte that he had not intended to lose control in such a way.

      It was a salve to her pride as she straightened to see the somewhat bewildered expression on his face. She watched as he refastened his trousers, a dull flush running underneath the olive tone of his jaw.

      ‘I am sorry,’ he said, shoving a hand through his hair.

      ‘It’s fine.’

      His frown deepened. ‘Charlotte…’

      ‘It’s OK, Damon,’ she said airily in an effort to disguise how deeply affected she was. ‘I was getting my own back.’

      He gave her a puzzled look. ‘What do you mean?’

      She lifted her chin. ‘You think I have no self-control where you are concerned. I wanted to demonstrate that you are really no better.’

      ‘I have never denied my attraction for you.’

      She gave him a brittle glance. ‘No, that’s definitely true.’

      His expression clouded again. ‘Look, Charlotte, I have tried to make amends for how I treated you.’

      ‘How? By forcing me into a loveless marriage so you can have full access to your child?’

      ‘Marriage was the only option I could take. My mother is somewhat progressive in her outlook compared to other women of her generation, but I am a high profile person in a relatively close community. I would be looked upon with disdain for not marrying the mother of my child.’

      ‘Even though you hate me?’

      ‘Those are your words, not mine.’

      ‘You don’t need to say a word, your actions are more than loud enough,’ she said.

      A taut silence throbbed between them.

      ‘Have you heard from your sister recently?’ he finally asked.

      A small, barely audible sigh escaped from her lips. ‘No…’

      ‘Then you will be pleased to know she is doing remarkably well.’

      Charlotte began to gape at him. ‘Wh-what do you mean?’

      ‘I had a meeting with Stacey and I gave her an ultimatum. It was either clean up or be locked up. She decided a stint in a private detox clinic paid for by me was better than several months incarcerated in prison.’

      Her eyes widened in amazement, her heart leaping with hope. ‘She’s really going ahead with it?’

      He nodded. ‘I have left someone in charge to make sure she stays the distance. She has been there nearly three weeks.’