The Affair

“Twins,” he said hoarsely after a moment. “It’s Chinese for twins.”

Her fingers stilled and then resumed tracing the intricate markings.

“What was he like? Your brother?” she wondered cautiously. He had told her on the day of Cristina’s funeral that he didn’t want to talk more about Adrian, but that unknown little boy seemed so present at times. Or was that Emma’s overactive imagination?

He exhaled heavily. She waited, but she didn’t feel the tension leap back into his muscles that she’d half expected.

“He was dreamy. Sweet,” Va

“Two sides of a whole,” Emma whispered, a sharp, cutting feeling rising in her chest, making drawing air difficult. What would it be like, to feel so co

Now Va

No child should have been left to feel so much. No man forced to feel so little.

Cristina’s remembered voice rose into her consciousness. The ache in her chest swelled. Cristina had been talking about Va

He rose suddenly and flipped onto his back, effortlessly scooping her into his arms. Her head rolled onto his chest, her cheek pressing to a wall of dense muscle and springy hair. She pressed her lips to his warm flesh, trying to calm the upsweep of emotion she’d experienced. His open hand swept up her spine, making her shiver. He cradled her head in his hand, his fingertips rubbing her scalp.

“Va

“Enough,” he said.

“But there was something she said—”

“I don’t want to discuss it. I told you. I heard enough,” he said, and she could tell by the cool, clipped finality of his tone that it wasn’t a topic they’d be broaching anytime soon.

He felt her tense slightly in his arms and frowned. He hadn’t meant to sound so sharp. She had no inkling of how raw he felt. How exposed. He needed distance.

He required it.

Yet he couldn’t bear to part from her at that moment.

“I told you that the next time we were together, I’d take you someplace nice,” he said, his fingertip ru

“That’s okay,” she murmured. “You don’t have to.”

“I know I don’t have to.” He leaned down and kissed her. He’d meant it to be a brisk kiss, but he caught her flavor and scent, and lingered. She smelled like lemons and honey. Even the taste of her sweat was sweet. “I want to,” he said a moment later, looking into her sex-flushed face. His gaze ran down the length of her appreciatively. Unable to stop himself, he caressed a pale breast and delicate pink nipple. Desire flickered in him when he felt her bead beneath his touch. Five weeks? Would it be enough? he wondered idly. When she set the limit, it had initially a

Emma made everything so easy. Certainly his desire had never been this sharp, ready to rear up and clutch at him with just a glance or a touch.

“Why are you frowning?” she asked softly, touching his furrowed forehead and splintering his thoughts.

“I took you very hard. I hadn’t intended to. Waiting all week for your answer . . . it made things very trying . . .” He faded off. “Are you all right?”

She gave him a half-shy, half-mischievous glance. “Yes. It was incredible.”

“It was,” he agreed. He smoothed her hair back from her forehead distractedly. “Come on, I’ll take you into the city for di

“Tomorrow morning?” she asked, clearly surprised

He turned, rolling off the bed. “We’ll stay the night at my place in the city. I’m not flying to Nice until late tomorrow.

“You have a place in the city?”

He nodded. “My plant is in Deerfield, but I have a business office in the city. I need a place there for when I work late.”

He felt her eyes on him as he walked around the bed toward the bathroom. He was starting to think he’d feel her eyes on him even in his sleep.

Chapter 18

Her mind was preoccupied almost exclusively with one—admittedly stupid—thought all the way home. Should I ask him inside my apartment, or would he prefer just to wait in the car? Asking Va

Earlier in his suite, he’d asked her politely if she’d like to shower there or at her home, to which she’d answered the latter. Then there’d been nothing left for her to do but sit in a chair in the sitting area and watch in mounting fascination the tail end of his grooming/dressing ritual.

He’d quickly showered after they’d made love, and then changed into a suit. It was a dark gray, with which he wore a white shirt, a slim black tie with two white stripes, silver cuff links, and a crisp white pocket square.

He’d do