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Chapter 21
He appreciated that this couldn’t have been easy for Helena. That it had taken great courage for her to come here like this today and tell him of the baby. She could have had no idea how he would react to the news.
He was just so frustrated with her refusal to marry him!
It was pretty obvious she wasn’t going to change her mind without a fight, either. A fight Bryan didn’t believe she was emotionally or physically equipped to deal with right now.
He raised his lids, his eyes widening as he saw that her face had a slightly green tinge to it. ‘What is it?’ he asked with immediate concern.
Helena swallowed hard. ‘I don’t think I should have put this much parmesan on my pasta….’ The pungent odour of the cheese on the hot food was making her feel extremely nauseous.
Bryan reached across the table to remove her plate and replace it with his own ungarnished pasta.
‘Oh, but—’
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COLLECTION OF LUST AND LOVE Chapter 22
Helena stared at that hand, feeling suddenly shy with him, never having quite appreciated before how in other circumstances Bryan might have been Prince Smith. But it was all too easy, in these grand surroundings, to imagine him as such—to recognise his innate air of command, to acknowledge him as the powerful and much-respected head of the Smith family.Bryan was offering to share all of this with her, to make her his wife, the mother of his child—children…? For she didn’t doubt that Bryan would want more than one child to continue the Smith line. Any other woman would have grabbed the offer with both hands, Helena knew. Was she being rash in refusing to marry Bryan? Was she being fair to their son or daughter by denying its birthright?She was no longer as sure about that as she had been…But maybe that had been Bryan’s intent in bringing her here?Perhaps it was, but being here with him like this, with the magic of Venice and the Smith palace surrounding them, Helena was finding it
COLLECTION OF LUST AND LOVE Chapter 23
One thing at a time, she reminded herself. One problem at a time. And she had enough of those already without thinking of ones that hadn’t even arisen yet!‘Helena, what is it?’ Bryan queried urgently as he watched her cheeks pale. ‘Helena, you will tell me what is wrong!’ he demanded forcefully, totally frustrated with her complete intractability concerning the idea of a marriage between them.Could she not see that it was the only solution? That he would settle for nothing less?And what of Helena's wants and needs? came the unbidden thought….He thrust it aside. Helena was pregnant—a time during which a woman’s hormones and emotions reputedly made logical thought and decisions virtually impossible. The fact that she was pregnant with his child, that he wanted to marry her, surely made her decision never to marry again totally illogical?Helena firmly closed her mind to thoughts of what Bryan might
COLLECTION OF LUST AND LOVE Chapter 24
Tears swam in her beautiful green eyes. ‘I’m sorry.’ She hastily wiped away the tears before they could fall onto the paleness of her cheeks. ‘I believe pregnant woman tend to be a little—over-emotional,’ she whispered.Bryan felt like a complete heel now. He hadn’t intended to make Helena cry—hadn’t intended to upset her at all—but she was just being so damned stubborn by continuing to refuse to marry him!He closed his eyes briefly, but could still inwardly see her woebegone face and tear-wet lashes.He appreciated that this couldn’t have been easy for Helena. That it had taken great courage for her to come here like this today and tell him of the baby. She could have had no idea how he would react to the news.He was just so frustrated with her refusal to marry him!It was pretty obvious she wasn’t going to change her mind without a fight, either. A fight Bryan didn’t believe she was emotionally or physically equipped to deal with right now.
COLLECTION OF LUST AND LOVE Chapter 25
Helena, accompanying Bryan up the wide staircase to the first floor, had never seen such a beautiful house. The decorations were ornately gold, the lavish furniture obviously genuinely antique. Huge paintings hung on the walls, and a crystal chandelier was suspended from the high ceiling above them.She followed Bryan as he threw open tall doors that led into what was obviously the drawing room. The domed ceiling of this room held Helena's attention, painted with cherubs and maidens, with more ornate gold filigree work and yet another crystal chandelier also suspended above them.Having grown up in Whitelemon Hall she was, of course, used to big houses, but the Smith palace was in a class completely on its own; it was unbelievably magnificent in its opulence.She gave a choked laugh. ‘Emma told me it was beautiful, but I had no idea…’‘Come and look at the view,’ Bryan encouraged huskily as he opened the doors out onto the b
COLLECTION OF LUST AND LOVE Chapter 26
She had said she didn’t want him to talk of marriage again this evening—would not even contemplate staying here with him until he made such a promise. So could it possibly be marriage itself that she feared? And if it was, what could possibly have happened to Helena to make her look so fearful at the prospect of marriage? Had her husband hurt her in some way? Perhaps been unfaithful? Was that the reason for the short duration of the marriage?Bryan felt a wave of anger deep inside him as he contemplated anyone—most of all Helena's ex-husband, a man pledged to love and protect her—having hurt her in any way.But it was an anger he would control until he could return to England and possibly seek out the man Helena had been married to so briefly; he certainly did not intend to shake their fragile relationship by questioning Helena about it, either now or in the future.His thumbs moved caressingly across the paleness of her cheeks as he smiled gently down at her. ‘I promise I will not me
COLLECTION OF LUST AND LOVE Chapter 27
Bryan didn’t reply, but he made no effort to disguise the heat that darkened his eyes or the flush against those hard cheekbones as he tightly clenched his jaw.Helena swallowed hard, knowing that whatever happened next—or didn’t happen—it was completely her choice. She knew from Bryan’s gentlemanly behaviour last night that he would not try to initiate anything between them that she didn’t absolutely want.At this moment she knew she wanted him.Badly!The reason for her initial sleeplessness last night had been a half-hope, half-dread, that there would be a knock on the communicating door announcing that Bryan had changed his mind about leaving her to spend the night alone. When the knock hadn’t come, Helena hadn’t known whether she was relieved or disappointed!But looking at him now, recognising his arousal, at least she knew that Bryan’s decision not to come to her last night hadn’t b
COLLECTION OF LUST AND LOVE Chapter 28
Her gaze returned to his tensely waiting face. ‘So are you, Bryan,’ she breathed. ‘So are you!’ She reached out her arms to him, drawing him warmly against her as he moved to lie down on the bed beside her, and she parted her lips to receive the fierce possession of his.She could feel the muscles rippling in his back as he half lay across her, his mouth tasting the column of her throat, and she ran her hands down the length of his spine to cup the muscled contours of his buttocks.Bryan truly was beautifully male—like the statue of David. Although she thought, from her memory of that particular statue, that Bryan was better endowed down below than—My God, what was she thinking?It was impossible to stop the burst of laughter from escaping, although her smile quickly faded as Bryan raised his head to look down at her with enquiry; it really wasn’t the time or place for her to have laughed.‘No, do not stop smiling, Helena,’ Bryan encouraged as he saw the fading of that smile, the exp
COLLECTION OF LUST AND LOVE Chapter 29
‘No,’ Helena assured him breathlessly, her eyes feverish, her lips red and swollen. ‘The doctor told me it’s perfectly safe for me to continue normal sexual relations. But as my “normal sexual relations” at the time were non-existent I—Oh…!’ She moaned weakly as Bryan moved between her thighs to position himself gently against her entrance.Slowly, oh so slowly, inch by inch, Bryan entered her, watching the deepening pleasure on Helena's face even as he kept a tight rein on his control so that he wouldn’t just surge deep within her in hard, thrusting possession, stroking rapidly until they both climaxed in wild, mindless ecstasy.His!Helena was his—all his, Bryan cried silently as he buried himself inside her to the hilt, halting all movement as he gave her time to adjust to his hard length, his jaw clenched in his effort to slow down.Helena, sensing the sheer effort of will Bryan was exerting, and knowing his caution was unnecessary, began to move her hips against him, and his own
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