reality.
Since when had she become so cynical?
A hollow laugh rose and died in her throat, for she could pinpoint the date, the time almost to the minute.
The car turned off the New South Head Road into Point Piper, and reached the magnificent set of gates guarding the entrance to Loukasâ mansion.
A modem released the gates and simultaneously lit the curved driveway as he eased the Aston Martin towards the garage.
A sense of restlessness invaded her body as she ascended the stairsâ¦a feeling she attempted to dismiss without much success on entering the master suite.
She became extremely conscious of Loukasâ presence as he shed his jacket, then loosened his bow tie.
Smooth easy movements that were uncontrived as he moved to free the buttons on his dress shirtâ¦and she focused on discarding her evening shoes, her jewellery.
All the time she was acutely aware of himâ¦the faint thud as he removed his shoes; the almost undetectable slide of a zip fastening and the soft slither of material as he freed trousers.
The image of his tall, near-naked frame was hauntinglyvivid. Hell, she had no problem visualizing the impressive breadth of his shoulders, the superb musculature tapering to a sculptured waist and lean hips.
Would there ever be a time when she could feel sufficiently confident to seduce him? Boldly explore and tease until he groaned beneath her touch?
To have him reach for her in the night and gift him the freedom of her bodyâ¦to exult in untold pleasure?
She drew in a ragged breath, then released it slowly. Oh, for heavenâs sake⦠stop .
Get rid of the dress, gather up your sleepwear, escape to your en suite, remove make-up, brush teeth, fix hair into a ponytailâ¦then go to bed.
She did all that and re-entered the bedroom to find Loukas stretched comfortably beneath the covers, arms crossed pillowing his head.
âGoodnight.â Her voice sounded slightly strangled even to her own ears as she slid between the sheets and he doused the lights.
âSleep well.â
As if that were going to happen any time soon.
Perhaps if she lay perfectly still and conjured only pleasant thoughtsâ¦
Except nothing helped, and her thoughts assumed a kaleidoscopic mix that subdued the colours and brought Sethâs image into stark black and white focus.
Go away. A silent entreaty, harsh only in her mind, had no effect whatsoever.
There was a need to remain awake, for at least then she retained a measure of control. If she slid into sleep all control would be lost and his image would emerge to haunt her as it had too frequently in the past.
She needed to winâ¦she had to.
Yet slipping from her bed and joining Loukas in his took more courage than she possessed, for what if he mistook her for a former flameâ¦or, worse, he rejected her?
So much for that plan.
Afterwards Alesha had no memory of when her subconscious led unerringly into the familiar nightmare. She only knew she was fighting to escapeâ¦crying out as she shielded her face from the stinging slaps, the harsh bite of cruel hands pinning her down, the sound of her name on his lips.
Then she came sharply awake to a room flooded with lightâ¦a room different from the one sheâd occupied in her mind, and the man leaning close to her wasnât Seth.
It took one brief horrifying moment to shake free of the starkly intrusive images, and she was barely conscious of the concern evident in the dark eyes of the man watching the range of fleeting emotions chase her expressive features before she gained the control to mask them.
Loukas lifted a hand, saw her eyes flare with sudden fear, and swallowed the curse that rose to his lips as he smoothed a wayward lock of hair behind her ear, then let his hand trail along her jaw to cup her chin and press a thumb to her quivering mouth.
There seemed no past, only the present, and words fell from her lips without conscious thought. âPleaseâ¦â
She
Since when had she become so cynical?
A hollow laugh rose and died in her throat, for she could pinpoint the date, the time almost to the minute.
The car turned off the New South Head Road into Point Piper, and reached the magnificent set of gates guarding the entrance to Loukasâ mansion.
A modem released the gates and simultaneously lit the curved driveway as he eased the Aston Martin towards the garage.
A sense of restlessness invaded her body as she ascended the stairsâ¦a feeling she attempted to dismiss without much success on entering the master suite.
She became extremely conscious of Loukasâ presence as he shed his jacket, then loosened his bow tie.
Smooth easy movements that were uncontrived as he moved to free the buttons on his dress shirtâ¦and she focused on discarding her evening shoes, her jewellery.
All the time she was acutely aware of himâ¦the faint thud as he removed his shoes; the almost undetectable slide of a zip fastening and the soft slither of material as he freed trousers.
The image of his tall, near-naked frame was hauntinglyvivid. Hell, she had no problem visualizing the impressive breadth of his shoulders, the superb musculature tapering to a sculptured waist and lean hips.
Would there ever be a time when she could feel sufficiently confident to seduce him? Boldly explore and tease until he groaned beneath her touch?
To have him reach for her in the night and gift him the freedom of her bodyâ¦to exult in untold pleasure?
She drew in a ragged breath, then released it slowly. Oh, for heavenâs sake⦠stop .
Get rid of the dress, gather up your sleepwear, escape to your en suite, remove make-up, brush teeth, fix hair into a ponytailâ¦then go to bed.
She did all that and re-entered the bedroom to find Loukas stretched comfortably beneath the covers, arms crossed pillowing his head.
âGoodnight.â Her voice sounded slightly strangled even to her own ears as she slid between the sheets and he doused the lights.
âSleep well.â
As if that were going to happen any time soon.
Perhaps if she lay perfectly still and conjured only pleasant thoughtsâ¦
Except nothing helped, and her thoughts assumed a kaleidoscopic mix that subdued the colours and brought Sethâs image into stark black and white focus.
Go away. A silent entreaty, harsh only in her mind, had no effect whatsoever.
There was a need to remain awake, for at least then she retained a measure of control. If she slid into sleep all control would be lost and his image would emerge to haunt her as it had too frequently in the past.
She needed to winâ¦she had to.
Yet slipping from her bed and joining Loukas in his took more courage than she possessed, for what if he mistook her for a former flameâ¦or, worse, he rejected her?
So much for that plan.
Afterwards Alesha had no memory of when her subconscious led unerringly into the familiar nightmare. She only knew she was fighting to escapeâ¦crying out as she shielded her face from the stinging slaps, the harsh bite of cruel hands pinning her down, the sound of her name on his lips.
Then she came sharply awake to a room flooded with lightâ¦a room different from the one sheâd occupied in her mind, and the man leaning close to her wasnât Seth.
It took one brief horrifying moment to shake free of the starkly intrusive images, and she was barely conscious of the concern evident in the dark eyes of the man watching the range of fleeting emotions chase her expressive features before she gained the control to mask them.
Loukas lifted a hand, saw her eyes flare with sudden fear, and swallowed the curse that rose to his lips as he smoothed a wayward lock of hair behind her ear, then let his hand trail along her jaw to cup her chin and press a thumb to her quivering mouth.
There seemed no past, only the present, and words fell from her lips without conscious thought. âPleaseâ¦â
She
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