The Return of Antonides: Christmas at the Castello(37)

'Such a tease,' he growled, pushing her back down onto the rug. 'This is my fantasy, remember?'

Leo grabbed the waistline of her pencil skirt, tugging it low on her  hips before removing it completely. What he saw beneath made his eyes  widen and his heart thump uncomfortably. Delicate thigh-high stockings  covered her legs, held in place by a black lace garter belt.

'This is new.' He felt his throat run dry.

Dara's blush deepened. 'I had a feeling you'd like it.'

Leo ran his hand across the flimsy lace, feeling the heat of her skin  underneath. A matching thong was the only thing that lay between his  fingers and the moist heat of her delicate skin beneath.

'I planned to take my time...' He bit his lower lip, watching her eyes  darken as she arched her hips against his hand. He leaned down, taking  the lace between his teeth as he undid one catch and rolled the stocking  slowly down the smooth skin of her thigh. Discarding it on the floor,  he turned his attention to the other thigh and repeated the action. Dara  shivered, unconsciously spreading her thighs wide for him. Or maybe it  wasn't unconscious at all; maybe she was deliberately trying to drive  him insane.

Pushing the thin lace to one side, Leo trailed one fingertip along the  slick crease between her thighs. Dara moaned under his touch, pressing  closer into his hand. He could tell that she was ready for him. But a  wicked part of him made her wait a moment longer. He leaned just close  enough to blow a single breath of hot air against her sensitive flesh.

Dara gasped, gripping the hair at the nape of his neck to pull him closer.

The action drove him wild. She was flushed and breathing harshly. Leo  obeyed her breathless plea, pressing his lips to her tender flesh and  hearing her groan in response. He moved his mouth in sync with his  fingers, driving her closer and closer to that point of no return. He  felt her body tense under the onslaught of pleasure. A single curse  escaped those delicate lips as she reached her climax.

No sooner had her aftershocks subsided than he was thrusting deep  inside her, sinking into her molten heat with a muttered curse of his  own. 'Oh, Dio, I've missed this.' He groaned as he built up a steady  rhythm, spreading her legs wide as he leaned down and took one taut  nipple into his mouth.                       
       
           



       

Dara caressed his back with her fingertips as he drove into her with all the control he could muster.

His release came hard and fast, taking them both by surprise.

Once the wave of pleasure had subsided, he sank down on the rug by her side and exhaled hard.

Dara sat up on one elbow, tracing the hairs on his chest idly. 'That was worth the wait.'

Leo murmured his agreement, feeling her hands on his chest and listening to her rhythmic breathing as his eyes closed.

* * *

Dara couldn't sleep. She stared up at the two stockings that hung over  the fireplace. They looked so plain, so small on that huge mantelpiece.  That same feeling that had plagued her for the past few months  threatened to overcome her again.

This wasn't about the stockings.

The same way as her frequent trips to Syracuse had nothing at all to do with business.

Since they had opened up their charitable project, the Valente  Foundation, she had been required to attend a handful of fundraisers and  benefits. Her presence wasn't necessarily required in any of the  institutions they supported on a day-to-day basis, and yet she had found  herself taking on the role of patroness at the Syracuse orphanage with  the aim of being a silent figure.

The first couple of trips had been to check on the progress of some  renovations, and then she had arranged for a new playground to be built.  That playground had been finished in the summer, and yet she still  found reason to visit as often as she could manage. With Leo away she  had found herself making the hour-long trip up to three times a week.  Even the ever-smiling house matron had begun to look confused at her  continued presence.

There were stockings up on the fireplace at the orphanage too.  Seventeen of them, side by side, hanging on a string in the common room.  Now that Leo was home she supposed she would find no reason to go to  Syracuse again. He would ask questions about why she visited only one  orphanage-why not all the others? Why not the hospitals? He would know,  just as she knew, that her actions weren't about being charitable at  all.

The press had been merciless in the beginning: everyone had wanted to  see Leo Valente transformed from playboy to father. Dara had never made a  secret of her inability to bear children, so it had been no surprise  that the press had caught wind of it soon after their wedding. The  rumour mill had gone into overdrive. Would they adopt? Would they use a  surrogate? They'd been a hot topic for quite some time.

They had decided that their business was their own, and that their choice to remain childless was both private and definite.

Hot tears threatened to fall from her eyes now, as emotion built in her  throat. It just didn't make sense. She had made it clear from the  start-before they married-that children were not in her future. She'd  made her peace with that on a hospital bed, upon being informed that her  condition was incurable. She hadn't been foolish enough to hold out any  hope of some day carrying a child of her own. It was better to be  realistic. She had never had strong maternal tendencies anyway. For  goodness' sake, she was a workaholic and a complete neat freak-both  qualities didn't exactly mix well with motherhood.

She knew all this and yet she had been selfish enough to go back to the  orphanage after that first time. Selfish and inconsiderate.

She had been plagued by a sense of restlessness these past few months.  Married life was wonderful, and her success in her career was at an  all-time high. And yet it seemed as if the only time she felt whole  these days was when she was there.

The children were wonderfully well behaved, thanks to the efforts of  the brilliant schoolteachers led by Matron Anna. Each visit brought with  it new adventures filled with laughter. Life was less serious, less  stressful.

A vision of small brown eyes and a playful grin filled her mind. A  small hand holding on to hers so tightly. She couldn't keep lying to  herself. There was only one reason why she kept going back there, and  that reason had a mischievous smile and liked to curl up on her lap to  read.

She heard the sounds of Leo waking up behind her and tried to wipe away  the tears from her cheeks without him noticing. Tried and failed.

'Dara?' He was up in an instant, sleep clouding his eyes. 'Has something happened?'

'I'm fine-let's just go up to bed.' She shook off his embrace, pulling a blanket from the sofa to drape around her shoulders.

'You've been crying.'

'I'm fine...honestly.' She tried to avoid his penetrating gaze, turning to poke at the dwindling embers in the grate.

'You've been acting strangely since we got here. I thought you loved  this place-I thought being here on a more permanent basis would make you  happy.'                       
       
           



       

'It does. I'm looking forward to us spending Christmas here together.'

'Dara, I don't know what is going on with you. You've been avoiding  some of my phone calls while I was away. Even when I specifically called  when I knew you'd be finished with work. And today my driver mentioned  that you've been disappearing by yourself for hours at a time. With no  reasonable explanation-'

'You had your driver keeping tabs on me?' Dara was incredulous.

'I wasn't going to pay it any attention, because I trust you. But  dammit, Dara, you're hiding something from me and I want to know what it  is. Now.'

'What do you think? That I'm cheating on you?'

Leo crossed his arms, looking darkly into the glowing fire. 'I'd like to think I know you better than that.'

Dara placed her hands on her hips. 'Well, it sounds like you're  accusing me of something. I'm entitled to some level of privacy. Just  because we're married, it doesn't mean we need to live in each other's  pockets, for goodness' sake.'

She moved to walk away and felt his hand move gently to her wrist.

'Dara...'

His voice was quiet, and something in its tone appealed to her logic.  She knew she was behaving out of character. And that he must be  concerned. He had flown for almost twenty-four hours to come here and  surprise her, and here she was shouting at him for asking if she was  okay.

The realisation brought even more tears.

'I'm sorry.'

She sat down heavily on the sofa, hiding her face in her hands. She  felt him come to her, felt his solid warmth slide alongside her and  envelop her as she sat there trying to make sense of why she was falling  apart.

'I've been going to the orphanage in Syracuse,' she admitted. 'It  started as a simple project to update their facilities. But then it  became...more.'