Pride demanded she not surrender to the feelings which his touch was evoking. But, oh she wanted to. Wanted to say, yes, yes, I liked your mouth on mine. And, yes, I’d happily go to bed with you, with or without a certificate of marriage.
Somehow, she managed to keep her eyes steady and her heartbeat from totally going off the planet. ‘You’re a good kisser,’ she said with superbly feigned composure.
‘I’m an even better lover,’ he told her.
What an ego he had!
‘And who told you that?’ she threw at him. ‘Surely you haven’t been believing the gold-diggers you’ve been dating. Women like that tell men like you whatever they want to hear.’
For a split second his eyes darkened, but then they cleared, and he smiled.
‘Then I suggest you follow their lead. You’re the one who wants this house, and I don’t think you’re going to get another man to marry you at this late stage.’
‘You really are a wicked devil.’
‘You can always say no.’
‘I could.’
‘But you won’t.’
‘No,’ she said slowly, doing her best to remain calm. ‘I won’t.’
‘Shall we seal the deal with a kiss?’
He didn’t wait for her to answer, just gripped her shoulders with firm hands and lowered his mouth to hers.
She held her breath, willing herself not to move, not to part her lips, not to give him any more satisfaction.
She might have succeeded if he’d been rough. But he wasn’t. His mouth was gentle, his lips brushing lightly over hers, back and forth, back and forth. When he started running his tongue-tip over them, Kathryn knew she was lost.
When she moaned and opened her mouth, Hugh experienced a rush of dark pleasure unlike anything he’d ever felt before.
He hadn’t wanted to blackmail her into his bed. Hadn’t wanted to take such a ruthless line of action. But, damn it all, it was exciting. She was exciting.
Because she wasn’t faking it. He could tell. She didn’t want to enjoy his kisses, didn’t want to respond. But she did, nevertheless. And now there was no going back, for either of them.
His tongue drove in deep, his arms sweeping down around her bottom so that he could pull her hard against him and show her how much he wanted her.
She groaned and struggled against him. But he held her fast, held her and kissed her till she dissolved against him one more time, sliding her arms up around his neck and showing him that she was his, in the only way he cared about.
It was at that precise point that Hugh lifted his mouth, removed her arms from his neck and took a step backwards. Her wildly dilated eyes were immensely satisfying; so was their glazed expression—not quite adoring yet, but he was hopeful.
‘I think,’ he said, doing his level best to ignore his extremely painful erection, ‘that we should postpone this till we are somewhere more suitable. And more private,’ he added, nodding towards the nearby beach, where several groups of people were enjoying the hot weather as only Australians could.
He had to admire the speed with which she gathered herself.
‘If you think I’m going to sleep with you before we’re married, Hugh Parkinson,’ she said sharply, ‘then you can think again.’
Hugh toyed with the idea of taking her right then and there, but decided that having to wait a while would multiply his pleasure a thousandfold. Not five weeks, though, that was ridiculous.
‘In that case, I’ll organise a special licence.’ He’d organised one for Russ to get married before Christmas. There was no reason why he couldn’t do the same for himself. Money opened all doors. He didn’t even need a legitimate excuse. ‘We’ll be man and wife before the week is out.’
Kathryn’s mouth dropped open, then snapped shut again.
She still couldn’t get used to Hugh wanting to sleep with her this much.
Why? What was it about her which was making him go to such ridiculous lengths to have her? She wasn’t beautiful. Neither did she have a great body, having an inclination to put on weight easily. Daryl had commented early on in their relationship that she could do with losing a few pounds, which was why she’d started going to the gym. Not with any great success so far. She was still way too hippy, and with far too much bottom. Her breasts were OK, she supposed, but they needed good support to look their best. All in all, she couldn’t compare to the stunning-looking women who’d regularly graced Hugh’s arm in the past.