It was the first time she had set foot in Alistair’s bedchamber at Craigdale. It was completely different from the one at Ells Hall. Huge windows that faced the loch let light flood into the high-ceilinged room. The pine paneling glowed softly on the lower half of the walls, while the upper half was covered with ivory silk and dark-caramel damask. An antique desk and a high backed chair stood in a corner facing two armchairs and a small round table. Set against the furthest wall, a giant ornately carved four-posted bed faced the windows. The decor imparted an airy, uncluttered atmosphere.
He shook his head and sighed as she looked around.
“It’s beautiful.”
“My mother’s work—” Fuck. What am I doing? “Shower, Sophia.”
“You’re funny, you know that?” she said, amazed.
What the fuck? Funny? Half of his anger drained away by the absence of defiance on her face when she turned to him. “And you’re mad. Completely and utterly mad.”
He advanced and started to tug her long-sleeved shirt out of her jeans and to undress her as if she were a disobedient child. “You are taking a shower and going to rest. Rest!” He pinned Sophia with the full force of his glare. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, my lord,” she mocked, even more amused than before and raised her arms so he could pull off her shirt. “Are you going to wash my back?”
Alistair’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. Women had always been afraid of him when he was displeased. And he liked his dominance. Be it by love or fear. But he didn’t know how to deal with a fearless Sophia.
Sophia smiled, endeared, wrapping her arms around his waist. She kissed his jaw and apologized, “I’m sorry, Handsome, but I couldn’t say no to the children. Besides, it was only a silly ball game.”
“I worry,” he sighed, his anger further deflated by her gentle embrace.
“Come. Let’s shower,” she invited.
Alistair was too busy shaking his head, struggling to reason with his inner self, to notice the mischievous smile that spread on Sophia’s lips.
9:57 p.m.
I think we should call it an early night,” Alistair said to Sophia as they exited the dining room.
Finally! The shower was sexless and she’d been aroused ever since. She turned to the rest of the family and eagerly waved. “Good night, everyone.”
They exchanged goodnights and Alistair directed her to the lifts.
As soon as the doors closed, Sophia nipped him on the jaw with her teeth.
“Stop,” he growled. “No’ tonight.”
“Why not?”
“You are going to sleep.” He chuckled at the hunger showing in her eyes. “I don’t want you to exert yourself. Dr. Colton said light exercise.”
“Haven’t you missed me touching you like this?” she asked, in a scorching whisper as she rubbed her hand over his crotch.
Alistair groaned and his hand gripped hers impeding her advance. He tightened his hold. “I can deal with cuddling for a week.”
She huffed and shook her head helplessly. “You try my patience, stubborn Highlander. I know you’re as aroused as I am.” She cupped him over his jeans to prove her point.
“My first priority is you, no’ my cock.” He pulled her hand away from his erection. “I don’t believe sex fits into the category of light exercise.”
Sophia laughed at this and grabbed her iPhone. “Let’s see.”
“You are going to call your doctor at this time of night?” He gaped at her. “You are too spoiled. Hasn’t anyone ever told you nae?”
“Oh, yeah, they have. That’s why nowadays I don’t accept it so easily.” She smirked at him. “Dr. Colton? Hi, it’s Sophia Leibowitz. Don’t worry, everything’s perfectly—”
“Give me this.” He took the phone from her hand and she rolled her eyes at him. “Dr. Colton, Alistair Connor MacCraig. Sorry to disturb you at this hour, but Sophia is…misbehaving.” He frowned at Sophia’s laughter. “Aye. Well, after a full day, flying up here, playing with the kids, rowing—Nae, I did. And—” He paused to listen to something the doctor said while he entered his room and flung himself in the armchair. “Okay, so I have a question. Is sex allowed?”
Sophia tried to discover what Dr. Colton was saying from Alistair’s reaction, but his poker-face gave nothing away. She shrugged and entered his dressing room, taking her nightie and wrap from her suitcase. She was about to enter the bathroom when she noticed he was leaning on the doorjamb, hands shoved in his pockets.
“So?” she asked, already guessing the answer.
He looked sheepishly at her and muttered under his breath, “Stubborn woman.”
“Stubborn Highlander!” she retorted as she sashayed to the bathroom, swinging her bordeaux lace nightie by the thin straps on her index finger in blatant defiance.
As Alistair followed her trail, he thought that no sane man, much less himself, could resist the happy and naughty smile that illuminated Sophia’s face.
Chapter 24
Ethan Ashford’s Penthouse
Saturday, March 27, 2010
1:05 a.m.
Goddammit. Ethan had checked and rechecked his BlackBerry for Scott’s email. His assistant hadn’t been able to obtain Sophia’s medical report yet, but he had informed Ethan that Alistair had taken her to Loch Carron for the weekend.
He was worried.
Ethan emailed Scott new orders. He drank his port, remembering their first night together. And another night, from long ago, supplanted it.
Niarchos Angepopoulos’s House
Sunday, January 29, 1989
9:51 p.m.
Niarchos squeezed Isis’s hand, calling her attention to him.
“Oui, mon chèr?” she purred.
Niarchos smiled at her and raised his hand to his lips, kissing it. “I owe you.”
“Ooh-la-la!” She put her hand dramatically over her heart dragging his attention to her full bosom. “This is not something my old heart could endure. Niarchos Angepopoulos owes me.”
“Look at him, Isis. Three days and he’s a different person already.” His sharp eyes noticed how Ethan put his arm on Eve’s waist and boldly pulled her to him. “I was so worried.”
Isis pursed her lips in a charming pout. “He is very handsome, Niarchos. Eve is delighted and she promised she’s going to take good care of him,” she said with a smile. “I just wish I was younger.”
A hungry look came over Niarchos’s face. He stood up lithely and commanded, “Come. I’m going to show you that experience is better than youth.”
Isis threw her head back in a laugh and eyed Niarchos’s fit body with unmasked pleasure. “Niarchos, mon chèr, your grandson has much to learn before he can step into your shoes.”
Monday, February 6, 1989
12:01 a.m.
A low knock on the door startled Ethan. His hand stopped and tightened around his stiff arousal. He cursed softly and quickly redressed, pulling his T-shirt loosely over his tented pajama shorts.
“Yes?” he asked when he was by the door.
No one answered.
He cursed again and turned back to his bed to finish masturbating.
He was going crazy over Eve’s playing. He wanted more. He wanted everything. He had come in his trunks, in her hand, on her belly. But she didn’t allow him to make love to her, saying she was still a virgin and she was afraid.
Another knock made him turn again. This time a hesitating one, followed by his name spoken softly.
Ethan heaved as undiluted desire made his erection even harder. Is it possible? Then he remembered it was February six. My birthday. I’m sixteen years old.
He opened the door and his heart leaped in his chest.
Eve was wearing a white see-through nightgown, a matching wrap, and minuscule white lace panties. As the soft corridor lights illuminated her from behind, creating tantalizing shadows, Ethan’s imagination went crazy.
“Come in,” he whispered. As she hesitated, he asked, “Please?”
r /> She swayed from one foot to another, biting her lip, and looking at him from her lowered lashes.
“Eve?” Ethan held her hand gently, tugging it.
She lifted her beautiful brown eyes and looked at him shyly. “I don’t know if I should. But…I can’t resist you,” she murmured.
He tugged again. “I won’t do anything that you don’t want.”
Ethan felt powerful when she entered his bedroom and looked from his face to his big bed, biting her lip.
“Happy birthday,” she whispered shyly.
He locked the door, put one hand on her waist and breathed on her lips, “Thank you.”
Blinking, Eve wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body onto his. “Oh, Ethan, you make me feel so good every time we’re together. I want…”
“What, Eve?”
“Can I ask for a gift? Even though it’s your birthday?”
“Yes, of course.”
She stood on her tiptoes and rubbing her breasts on his chest, whispered, “Make love to me. Show me what it’s like to be a woman.”
Ethan’s mind flooded with desire and his arms hugged her closer, his hands wandering over her round buttocks, pressing her to his ready body. As he kissed her, he promised himself he would be as gentle and as patient as he could. That he would satisfy her as she had satisfied him. This is my birthday gift. A special gift.
Nonetheless, even though Eve knew Ethan Ashford was a virgin, shy and a bit awkward, she would make sure that, in the morning when she left his bedroom, both of them were fully sated and delighted.
That night she would give herself to pleasure.
Ethan breathed on Eve’s lips, “You are so beautiful.”
She smiled and her slender fingers caressed his nape. “And you are so handsome.”
His mother’s face came to his mind briefly. It was the only thing she liked to brag about when she talked about him, but just because he looked like her.
This is my birthday and I’ll enjoy it. There was a slight hesitation when his hands hovered over her shoulders for a minute and he remembered his grandfather’s firm voice and wise advice. He pushed her wrap off her shoulders.
Aphrodite and Venus. Jezebel and Delilah. And Eve. Goddesses and revered women. Trouble and Temptation. Every last one.
Then her nightgown also fell to the floor, and he forgot all about religion and mythology. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked down at her.
Kiss me. He was afraid to speak and break the magic. He willed her closer, gently pulling her forward.
Her fingers twisted in his hair, drawing him close. She breathed over his mouth, her tongue sliding over his lips. Just a shallow, teasing pass at first. Then, on the second attempt, she pressed in, slowly, tantalizingly, and sighed into the kiss.
The faint sound blazed through him, kindling his every nerve ending, like a fuse. Her fingers left his hair, and he worried for a moment that she might have regretted starting this. But they wandered down, looking for the hem of his shirt.
“Take it off.”
Passion was an emotion he was quickly learning to identify on her face. Ethan obliged her. His hand was drawn to her full breast and he began to massage, his thumb drawing circles around her taut nipple.
Her palms roamed over his neck to his shoulders and down his chest until they rested over his ribs. Her fingers suddenly dug into his skin firmly and she pushed her breasts onto his chest.
He broke the kiss and looked at her. She was so sexy with her head thrown back in abandon that he couldn’t resist and his head dropped to suck a nipple into his mouth.
“I like that. Don’t stop,” she said breathlessly.
But he paused, disappointing her. It only lasted a heartbeat because his mouth moved to the other breast.
Eve closed her eyes, stood on her tiptoes and arched her back to give him better access. He was still untrained so she coached, “Suck it harder.”
Ethan was a quick learner and a devoted student. He decided he would learn every trick. He growled when she grabbed his head, her fingers sliding into his hair, clutching him to keep him in place and whispered, “Yes. Now, use your tongue to tease the tip.”
He didn’t need experience to follow her directions. He released one breast to give the other his attention.
Ethan was reeling. Sensations overtook everything as pleasure and need filled him. He didn’t even notice that Eve was not behaving like an inexperienced schoolgirl.
Eve moaned and hiked up a leg as he sucked on her breast in strong tugs. A sweet ache radiated to her belly. “Ethan,” she pleaded.
His mouth released her as he lifted his head to look at her. “What do you want? Tell me. I’ll do it.”
The way he spoke did funny things to Eve. His voice was deep and it exposed his need, urging something inside her.
She let go of his head, one hand cupping his face, the other sliding down into his shorts, curling her fingers over his arousal, stroking him. “You.”
He rumbled a grunt of pleasure and approval and pushed down her panties, letting them fall to the floor. One of his hands moved to the middle of her thighs, asking for access. He closed his eyes while his fingers probed and teased her opening gently.
She moaned and he lifted her in his arms, gathering her close to him as she let her head fall to his shoulder.
He marveled at her innocent face and beautiful body. He couldn’t believe his luck. When he placed her on the bed, she reached for him, bringing him down for a kiss. A hungry kiss this time.
He took off his pajama shorts and lay on top of her, careful with his weight.
She pushed him lightly and he rolled away.
His face registered the frustration he was feeling, but as she shifted and kneeled between his thighs, running her hands up and down his legs, he propped on his elbows in awe.
She smiled at him and her tongue flicked on the head of his cock.
“Eve,” he growled, shuddering from that simple, tiny contact. His head fell back with a groan as Eve took him into her mouth.
Ethan was completely lost as Eve sucked him. With a front row seat, he could only watch while she used one small hand to reach between her legs and caress herself as she pleasured him in an erotic rhythm. She moaned and looked at him, telling him that she loved the act as much as he did. Soft sounds of her mouth and tongue and his grunts filled the room. The sight of her on her knees, her lips stretched to accommodate him and her hand caressing herself drove him mad. He felt her tongue stroke him rapidly as her cheeks hollowed to suck him deeper.
I need to come. Right. Now. “Eve!” He wanted to touch her, to caress her breasts and her soft body. He wondered about her taste.
She moved and her silky hair curtained her face as she angled her body over his and carefully lowered herself on him. She pretended to struggle to take him, clenching her inner muscles, and said, “Oh! You are big.”
This is so good. Hot desire pumped into Ethan’s manhood, making him swell even more and he grabbed her hips and thrust into her. He gasped as he burrowed deeper, “You feel so good, baby.”
Eve closed her eyes tight and let out a faked gasp of pain.
He stopped, unsure. “Did I hurt you?”
She bent down and whispered in his ear, “Just a bit. But it’s okay.”
Damn, Ethan. She’s a virgin. “I’m sorry.” He cupped her face and kissed her lips gently.
“Don’t stop, Ethan,” she pleaded, and moved down more.
Awkwardly, Ethan thrust up as she rocked down.
“Am I doing this right?” she asked shyly.
I don’t have a clue, but it seems so. “Perfect.” Ethan felt her lips searching his, felt her hands gripping his shoulders and her body tightening around him.
They found a more tuned pace and finally set in a fine tempo.
Ethan closed his eyes tight as a starburst took him and exploded, sweeping him in light, washing away every previous fear, replacing it with a pleasure so deep he thought
he’d died.
The unexpectedness of Eve’s orgasm only made it more intense, and she shuddered and whispered his name as she came, burying her face on Ethan’s chest.
He settled on the pillows with a satisfied sigh and looked up at the ceiling, caressing her back. He wanted to ask if everything was all right; if he had hurt her too badly, but didn’t know how.
Eve raised her head and smiled at him. “Oh, Ethan. You were so gentle. Thank you.”
“Did you like it?” Ethan asked, his voice full of concern, betraying his nervousness.
She bobbed her head. “It was wonderful. Can we do it again?”
A happy grin spread his lips. “I guess so.”
Ethan slowly pulled away from beneath Eve’s sleeping body. She moaned softly, but didn’t wake up. After the second time they’d made love, they’d talked about nothing and everything, and then made love again. Afterward, they held each other in silence and she drifted off to sleep.
Ethan walked to his veranda and stretched, looking at the sky. The night was beautiful, the stars were bright, reflecting on the Mediterranean Sea. The weather was cooler at that time of the night, but he didn’t care. With every second that passed with Eve, his life seemed to righten. He wished it would never end. He returned to bed and pulled her into his arms.
And then, with his body sated and his mind near sleep, he began to understand that even with the deep scars his parents had left on his soul, he could enjoy life.
Chapter 25
Ethan Ashford’s Penthouse
Saturday, March 27, 2010
1:27 a.m.
Ethan shook his head hard. He didn’t want to remember Eve. Even after all these years, the betrayal hurt still. In spite of everything, he knew he also had to be grateful.
His eyes searched for the beautiful Buccellati silver frame. Sophia.
His gaze swung to the woman on the bed. He knew that she had been making an effort to please him by emulating Sophia’s style. In the last few days, she had become even more like the love of his life. He smiled sadly. No one can replace Sophia.