He gave a throaty laugh of incredulity. ‘I think you have been keeping the wrong company.’
She twisted in his arms and flipped onto her stomach, resting her chin on her elbows and affording him an excellent view of her breasts. ‘And you’re the right company?’ she challenged.
He was definitely the right lover.
‘It felt pretty right to me.’
‘So what happens now?’
His wicked grin flashed. ‘Give me five minutes.’
‘I mean after this?’ Had he really been serious about moving her and the twins into the gatehouse?
CHAPTER NINE
‘I THOUGHT I had already made that clear.’
‘But after?’ Isandro was hot for her now, but Zoe did not anticipate the situation would last and when he lost interest, what then? ‘When I am no longer flavour of the day?’
‘That moment,’ he purred, stroking the silky smooth skin of her forearm, ‘feels like a long way off.’
‘But it might not be.’
‘Well, that is catered for. You will continue to live in the gatehouse for as long as it pleases you. It seems to me a win, win situation.’
He could say that but he wasn’t on the brink of falling in love. Who was she kidding? Zoe thought bleakly. She was already in love and had been for the past weeks. She was going to be devastated when this was over, but she was going to be devastated anyway so why not have some weeks of delicious mind-blowing sex with this gorgeous man to remember and some financial security for the twins?
‘All right, but no.’ She twisted away from the hand that reached for her, knowing that once he touched her she wouldn’t be able to think straight, let alone consider consequences. ‘There have to be some rules.’
Isandro stared at her, taken aback—he made the rules.
‘I don’t want this to affect the twins. I don’t want them to know about us. We have to be discreet. We know this is just sex but they are just…’ Whichever way she looked, there were aspects to this arrangement that didn’t feel right.
He tipped his head. ‘That seems fair.’ He tangled his fingers in her hair and kissed her mouth. ‘Do not look so worried. We have weeks of pleasure ahead of us. You are not some little girl seeking the attention of men and mistaking it for love. This is an equal relationship of two people who know what they want.’
‘What do you want?’
‘You, querida, you in so many ways.’
She shivered. ‘Many ways?’
His smile made her heart flip. ‘Come here and let me show you.’
Zoe and the twins had been established in the gatehouse for six weeks. Her passion with Isandro had not flagged, and six weeks was new ground for him. Abiding by rules set by someone else was also new and on occasion frustrating.
There came a tapping on the window of his study—which had recently been knocked through to make room for the extra office equipment he needed since he had made the decision to do more work from home.
Isandro looked up from the computer screen.
When the red-headed figure at the window saw him she began to gesticulate wildly. A second later she vanished, and there was a clattering sound.
With a sigh Isandro levered himself up from his chair, stretching the kinks from his spine as he walked towards the window. Pulling up the sash, he leaned out. Georgina was lying beside an overturned crate she had presumably dragged over to the window and fallen off. She was picking herself up.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Looking for you, obviously.’ Ever irrepressible, she dusted off the seat of her jeans.
‘Did you hurt yourself?’
The kid treated the question with the scorn she appeared to think it deserved, shaking her head and looking offended by the question.
Like aunt, like niece, he thought.
‘I would have gone to Chloe but they’re not back until tomorrow. I can’t wait to see Hannah again and she’s walking with crutches, and there isn’t really anyone else.’
So not first choice, or even second. ‘I feel honoured.’
‘If Zoe died, would we get put in a home?’
His half-sardonic smile snuffed like a candle caught in a chill draft and Isandro did suddenly feel as though a cold fist had plunged deep into his belly.
‘Zoe is not going to die.’
‘No…?’ Her niece sounded scarily uncertain.
‘What has happened to your aunt Zoe?’ he asked, ruthlessly reining in his imagination and struggling to keep his tone light.
‘She says she’s fine but she doesn’t look fine and she—’
He held up a hand. ‘Wait there. I will be with you momentarily.’
Snatching up his jacket on the way out, he paused only to close his laptop before leaving the house. Outside Georgie was trotting around the side of the house to meet him when he emerged.