His Paris Affair (The Albury Affairs) by Christina Ow Page A

the top of her head he said, “I could make love to

you until we are both breathless, but right now I just want to hold you. Maybe

kiss a little, touch a little…but I want us both to be conscious of this

moment, of us together not mindless with lust and ecstasy. Just like we used to

be before we got married.”
    Melody felt her eyes burn with tears. “It’s not safe

travelling down memory lane Ruiz,” she whispered back.
    He tipped her chin up so that they were face to face. “Why

not? I think that’s exactly what we need to do. Remind ourselves why we were so

in love with each other.”
    She swallowed hard. “Were?”
    He nodded, pressing his forehead against hers for a moment

before he pulled back looking her in the eyes. “If you truly loved me, with all

your heart, you would have trusted me.”
    “But Ruiz after—”
    He shushed her. “And if I truly loved you, I wouldn’t have

let you go so easily. We both have issues in our past that brought us to the

decisions we made a year ago. All I’m saying is, let’s start again.”
    Tempting, what he was proposing was so tempting, but things

weren’t the same. Over a year ago, when they were falling in love, they didn’t

have huge threatening obstacles standing in their way. She wasn’t keeping an

equally huge secret from him that would test his love, his trust for her double

of what led her to running from him a year ago. He would hate her for this,

there would be no forgiveness.
    “What about Antonio?”
    “Forget about him. You are my wife not his. I don’t care

what stupid paper you signed here.”
    “Ruiz—”
    “You don’t sleep with him and I’m sure you have separate

rooms.” When she went to protest he pressed his thumb over her lips. “Don’t

even try to lie to me. You were tighter than a fist when we made love last and

there is no way that would have been possible if you shared a bed with that

idiot. Which makes me all the more curious why you married him in the first

place—but, I’m not going to push anymore about that. When you are ready you’ll

tell me and we’ll fix it together. Just don’t say no to this.”
    Melody nibbled on her lower lip fighting indecision. She

didn’t want to hope, but how could she not? This was a chance for them for

their family. They owed it to Esme to at least try.
    She nodded her assent. “Okay Ruiz Albury, let’s fall in love

again.”
    His lips spread in a wide grin before he kissed her. “Let’s

fall in love again, Mrs. Albury.”
    A shiver ran through Melody at that. It felt so good when he

called her that, when the words rolled off his tongue like a lovers caress. “I

love it when you call me that; the way you say it.”
    “Aha,” he pulled her into him, pressing her tighter against

him. His lips hovered over her parted ones as he said, “Well Mrs. Albury, I’d

like to get to the kissing and touching now.”

 
    * * * *

 
    With a groan, Melody pressed her forehead against the top of

the new—but inexpensive in case Ruiz decided to slam someone else on it—desk,

and covered her head with her hands. She had hoped things would be different on

the second day but all she’d managed to do is hold Ruiz down almost sitting on

him several occasions when a fired employee exploded at her. It was normal, no

one took firing easy, but her employees were taking it rather personally. Some

broke down in tears and others yelled, cursed and screamed and all she was

getting out of it was a splitting headache.
    She felt Ruiz’s hands on her shoulders and she spread her

hands on the table to give him room to massage her. He had the best hands—hard

and heavy against her softness. It always made her feel like clay when he ran

them over her body, massaging her, caressing her and all the other little

things that turned her into a horny putty in them.
    She sighed as he took her tension from her. What she would

give to just disappear for a few hours…or a day.