Page 5

BEE WOKE HOURS LATER to the tantalizing trail of her husband's fingers drifting over her naked back. Pleasure lazily fanned out through every inch of her body, gently stirring her humming senses into life.

A helpless smile touched her lips as she felt his hand grip one side of her waist. She let him turn her over, her cheeks turning a pale shade of pink as she felt the covers slip down her naked body, enough to expose her already pouting breasts.

But then she saw him, and embarrassment was quickly forgotten as a wanton rush of uncontrollable desire surged inside of her.

He was seated on the edge of the bed, naked save for a pair of sweat pants that hung low on his hips.

She tried not to stare but once again found it impossible.

He was so breathtakingly georgous, with every inch of him bronzed and hard, and she wasn't at all surprised to feel her stomach cramping as she watched his lips seductively curve into a devastatingly sexy smile.

Mine .

Butterfly wings fluttered in her stomach at the thought.

This man was mine .

But just as she started to shyly return his smile, a growling sound incongruously shattered the silence between them, and it came all the way from her empty stomach.

Bee's eyes widened in horror.

A second later, and a tiny, high-pitched moan of mortification escaped her lips, and hearing it, Nicholas threw his head back with a laugh.

She let out another moan, but the sound was immediately muffled as he swept her up, making Tabitha straddle his lap just as his mouth covered hers in a ravenous kiss.

The kiss went on far longer than Nicholas intended, her taste intoxicating him like no other woman's did, her hold on him incomprehensible but undeniable.

When he finally lifted his head, the sight of her kiss-swollen lips pleased him, but before he could even think of taking Tabitha back to bed, it made another sound, and his lips twitched in wry amusement even as her cheeks instantly reddened.

Bee wished the earth could just swallow her up. "I'm so sorry."

Nicholas grimaced. "Don't be." Self-mocking humor glinted in his gaze. "I should've fed you dinner first before satisfying my own appetite."

"I'm not complaining—-"

"It's my responsibility to look after you," he said gruffly.

"But—-" Tabitha gasped when he suddenly rose to his feet, with her still in his arms. "No, please, I might be too heavy—-" Bee awkwardly cut herself off as piercing green eyes bored through hers.

"You're too thin," Nicholas said gently. "And since I don't think it's because you're the type to get carried away with crazy fad diets...you'll tell me about it over dinner, mm?"

Bee looked at him uneasily. "But what if there's nothing good to speak of?

" Maybe others were fine with sharing their own sob stories, but a part of her had always found the prospect distressing.

She knew without being told that the story of her life was no fairytale, and she just didn't see any point in making others feel sad over it as well.

Having noticed the way Tabitha had become stiff in his arms, Nicholas glanced down at her and heard himself say, "Keeping secrets from each other will not bode well for our marriage."

He felt her tremble at his words, and his arms around her instinctively tightened. A moment later, he felt Tabitha place her hand over his heart, and his chest clenched.

"I'm sorry," Bee whispered. "It's just...ever since my parents...I've gotten used to thinking it would be better for everyone around me if I kept things to myself."

"Things are going to change now," he heard himself assure her, and Tabitha's answering smile hit him like a ton of bricks, the accompanying trust shining in her eyes making Nicholas feel strangely guilty and unworthy.

"Thank you," Bee said shakily. "It's just crazy how happy you've made me..." Her eyes teared. "I don't know whatever made Danny pick me over all the others—-"

You and me both, Nicholas couldn't help thinking.

"But I'll never stop thanking God that He's let me become a part of your lives..."

It was the most poignantly sweet thing anyone had ever told him, but before he could even figure out what to say, her stomach rumbled out another warning, and color burst in her cheeks once again.

"I am so sorry!"

I'm not, Nicholas thought, unable to help feeling that he had somehow been granted a reprieve just before things could get too complicated.

"I swear it's not always like this. It's just that I hadn't any time to eat after the flight..."

The miserable look on her face was too adorable to ignore, and he found himself pushing her against the wall, his mouth swooping down in a kiss that effectively turned her gasp of surprise into a moan.

He indulged himself with one last kiss as his fingers squeezed the now-familiar fullness of her breast.

"Nicholas."

He managed to find the strength to pull away before things completely got out of control. As he let Tabitha slide to her feet, he saw the way her dark eyes begged for more, and a strained chuckle escaped him. "Stop looking at me like that."

He gave her bare ass a light slap, and she half-gasped, half-giggled, unable to believe how much her life had changed in so short a time.

One week ago, she had been quietly crying her heart out, feeling dirty and violated.

And now...she was in this beautiful room, married to an equally beautiful man, and said beautiful man had just landed a playful slap on her bottom.

It was just too impossibly wonderful!

Nicholas was bemused when he saw Tabitha's hands suddenly lift to her cheeks. "Tabitha?"

Hands still on her cheeks, she confessed, "I feel like I need to pinch myself. Life's just been too incredibly amazing—-"

Nicholas put one and one together, and he drawled, "Did you come up with that just because—-" A smirk unfolded over his lips. "I slapped your butt?"

Bee froze. It was one thing to feel that way, but it was another thing to admit it out loud, and she found herself verbally grasping for straws. "I...um...err..."

The deep, sexy timbre of his laugh had her making a face, but even so the thought of refusing didn't even enter her mind as Nicholas took her hand and tugged her close towards him.

"I'll slap your ass as many times as you want later," he promised huskily.

"Nicholas!"

"But first, we need to get you fed."

Taking her to the en-suite bathroom, he pulled out a shirt from one of the drawers and turned to her, saying simply, "Up."

Even as Bee made a face at being made to feel like a child, she nevertheless did as ordered and raised her arms so he could slid his shirt over her.

Nicholas stepped back to observe his handiwork and immediately regretted his choice. While her slender body was easily lost under his shirt, her breasts were large enough to have the fabric stretch tautly over her breasts.

So damn sexy.

He saw her nipples pebble against the thin layer of cotton, and the sight proved impossible to resist. Hauling her to him, he bent down and drew one cotton-covered nipple in and suckled hungrily.

She let out a whimper, and the sound had him giving her nipple a final, playful bite before he forced himself to let go once more.

Bee could feel herself reddening anew the wet, telltale mark his kiss had left on her shirt. "W-What if people see—-"

"No one will see," he soothed. "This whole wing's mine."

Bee wondered if she had heard him right, but in the end, all she said was, "If you're really sure..."

"The first thing you should know about me," he murmured, "is how possessive I can get.

" As he spoke, his hand palmed her breast as if to emphasize his point, and his eyes glinted at the way her body automatically pressed closer to him.

"There's no fucking way in hell I'd let any other man see you like this. "

"I s-see." With his hand still holding her breast, her voice came out a little breathless, and the sound had him smirking.

How arrogant he was , she couldn't help musing, but for some reason, Bee also knew she wouldn't want him in any other way.

By the time they finally made it to the kitchen, even Nicholas was feeling a little hungry and after explicitly ordering Tabitha to stay put on one of the counter stools and let him serve her, he went to work, frying up some bacon and making each of them a Spanish omelette.

And throughout it, he felt her fascinated gaze following him wherever he went, and when he finally set the plated dishes on the counter, he watched her entire face light up with a radiant smile.

Beautiful.

The thought came out of the fucking blue, and the raw force of attraction that followed right after had him sucking his breath.

She was too goddamn beautiful, and if he wasn't careful, he might end up forgetting that their marriage was nothing but a sham.