‘I hurt you,’ he said quietly, and she followed his gaze to the faint marks on her upper arms.
Quickly she tried to move away, but he stalled her, and she felt him ease the zip of her dress down a little, enabling him to push the straps away so that he could view the marks. His eyes were dark with a mixture of regret and self-disgust, and she urgently sought to reassure him.
‘I bruise easily.’
‘Do you? Is that the excuse you give when your husband marks you?’ He brushed her hair from her temple, the bruise on her forehead a stark reminder that he had acted no better than the man she had married.
‘You were angry—’ she began, and his head came up, his eyes flashing fire.
‘And that’s an excuse?’ he bit out furiously, his anger directed solely at himself. ‘I have never used any kind of violent force on a woman. And you—you’re so tiny, so fragile I could crush your bones in my grasp. That doesn’t make it right. I’m not proud of losing my temper.’ His voice was so low it caressed her skin, and he lowered his head, his mouth moving in gentle contrition over the bruises on her arms.
Her dress slithered lower and for a second he hesitated, and then he reached behind her and slowly drew her zip down the length of her spine. Jenna discovered that she couldn’t move, could barely breathe, her gaze locked with his as the bodice fell to her waist, revealing the black lacy bra he had bought her, and she swallowed when he traced his fingers down to the valley between her breasts.
‘I’m sorry I hurt you.’ His husky whisper feathered across her skin and she could hear the remorse in his voice.
‘It’s all right.’ He seemed curiously vulnerable, stripped of his wonderful arrogance, and she ached for him, anxious to offer him forgiveness. ‘I know you didn’t mean to hurt me.’
‘Hurting you is the last thing I want to do.’ The room was so quiet she could hear the thud of her heart, of his, and for a second he hesitated, his gaze locked with hers before he uttered a low groan, his hand moving down to tug the skirt of her dress so that it fell in a pool of black silk at her feet.
‘You are exquisite,’ he breathed, his hands skimming her slender waist, her scantily cut lace panties, and coming to rest at the tops of her stockings.
Her stiletto heels made her legs seem even longer—she looked sexy and seductive, she realised with a shock, as she studied her semi-naked body in the mirror. Her hair fell over one shoulder and her eyelids felt heavy; there was a sultry gleam in her eyes that she could not disguise, and she made no demur when he drew her in his arms.
‘I want you,’ he admitted thickly. ‘But you know that, don’t you?’
Jenna said nothing. She seemed to have lost all power of speech, could only stare up at him, mesmerised by the sheer hunger in his eyes, her body jerking in response to the rigid set of his jaw as he fought for control. She wanted him to kiss her, wanted it so much she would surely die with wanting, and, unable to wait any longer, she stretched up on tiptoe to close the gap between them. She cupped her hands round his face, the faint stubble rough against her skin as she brought his mouth down to hers and initiated a kiss that stirred his soul.
Almost instantly he sought to take control, his mouth moving over hers, deepening the pressure, until she clung to him, his willing captive, while he continued his flagrant assault on her senses.
For a moment the room spun, and Jenna clung to Alex’s shoulders as he lifted her and moved over to the bed, depositing her on the sheets and instantly coming down beside her. He dominated her senses; there was no room in her mind for any other thought than him and her desperate need to be even closer to him, to feel him skin on skin. She fumbled with his shirt buttons, sighing her pleasure when at last she was able to push the material over his shoulders.
He had a fantastic body, powerful and muscular, as befitted a man who excelled at a variety of sports in his leisure time. She could feel the hardness of his arousal straining against his trousers, and with an impatient movement he tugged at the zip and shrugged out of them, so that his only covering was a pair of black silk boxers. The feel of his hair-roughened thighs pressing against her caused liquid heat to pool between her legs. She felt as if time was suspended and there was nothing but now, this moment and Alex. Only when she felt his fingers dip beneath her bra, easing the material aside to reveal her breast, did she open her eyes, the slumberous heat in his making her shiver with desire.
He deliberately held her gaze before lowering his head, and the feel of his mouth on her breast caused her to cry out as his tongue lapped the sensitive peak and a shaft of pleasure unfurled in the pit of her stomach.