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CHAPTER 12
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IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 13
It was almost midnight when they bid Marcus and Diane Reese goodnight and drove back to the penthouse. Harley wished she were tired but to her dismay, she felt wide awake and filled with a wild, reckless energy. Those few moments of madness on the dancefloor with Armel had inflamed her senses and left her body aching for his full possession. But her body was going to be disappointed since she intended to go straight to her room the moment they entered the apartment. But Armel’s butler, Alain, greeted them with a tray of coffee and petits fours that he had prepared especially for their return.“If you don’t mind, I’m quite tired… I’d really like to go to bed now,” Harley muttered to Armel as he ushered her into the lounge in the wake of the butler.“And upset Alain?” His eyebrows raised a notch.‘You’re a brave woman… O might add, you’re much braver than me when it comes to upset Alain.” Stifling a groan, Harley dredged up a smile and a
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 14
Harley held her breath, torn between the need for him to continue his wickedly intimate caresses and the dictates of her pride, which were telling her that she must stop this madness now before it was too late. But Armel was a master of seduction and his skillful fingers continued to move inside her, while his thumb pad stroked with delicate precision over her ultra-sensitive clit, building her excitement so that she twisted restlessly and tried to control the delicious spasms that were threatening to overwhelm her.“Oh, Armel…” she said his name in a whisper, her head falling back as she moaned low, as wave after wave of incredible sensation tore through her. His eyes were focused on her face and there was something shockingly erotic about the way he was watching her while he pleasured her. She was going to die of shame, but his fingers were moving faster in a sensual dance. She jerked as Armel continued his movements, dipping his fingers ins
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 15
His deliberate crudity made her wince, but when she attempted to move away from him, Armel slid his arm around her waist and held her in a vice-like grip.“Why aren’t you wearing the support bandage on your wrist?” he demanded roughly.“I thought I’d manage without it for a couple of hours.” The butler, Alain, was heading down the hall followed by Armel’s guests and, despite feeling as though her heart had been put through a pulping machine, she forced a brittle smile.“At least, the necessity to go and put it on again will give me a reason to leave the room and excuse myself from your vile company.” From that moment on, the evening became a hellish ordeal that Harley longed to end. Being there, and acting like everything was alright was absolutely excruciating. Fortunately, no one attending the dinner had known her during the few months she had lived with Armel and awkward explanations were avoided. His guests were frighteningly sophisticated b
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 16
“I am a patient man, Harley,” Armel stated with a mind-boggling disregard for the truth, “but I’ve had as much as I’m prepared to take from you.” Frozen to the bed, Harley watched him activate the remote to turn off the television before his hands moved to the belt of his robe.“Uhm… Obviously, I was wrong about Mademoiselle Lasalle. I’m sorry,” she muttered thickly. Harley watched him with wide, disbelieving eyes, her blood pounding in her veins when he loosened the belt and shrugged out of his robe to stand before her, gloriously and unashamedly naked.“Armel!” She swallowed hard and tried to tear her gaze from the masculine perfection of his body. His skin gleamed like polished bronze in the lamplight and her eyes skittered down over the rippling muscles of his abdomen, following the path of dark hairs that arrowed down his taut stomach to his thighs. He was aroused and it was the sight of his boldly erect manhood that finally penetrated the
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 17
Eventually, Armel rolled off her to lay flat on his back, his silence growing more ominous to her ears by the second.“I’ve decided that I want you back, Harley,” he said in a voice devoid of all emotion. “I want you to live here as my mistress the way we once were.” He turned his head on the pillows and stared at her coldly. She was in shock…“You’re like a drug in my veins and, although I despise myself, I seem to be addicted to you,” he grated harshly. “I’m prepared to overlook your… indiscretion with Miller, and if you stay, I’ll accept your child and provide for him as if he were my own. But if you ever look at another man the way you looked at Olivier Garrel tonight, so help me, chérie, I will not be responsible for my actions.” After the initial shock, Harley stared at him in stunned silence while her brain assimilated his words. Bitterness, humiliation, and rage froze her blood and she closed her eyes for a moment, stunned by the level of pain Ar
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 18
Once Harley said those words, she glared at Armel, and a frisson of unease ran the length of her spine when he stood up and strode around the desk.“Really? Well, I have news for you, chérie… You’re not,” he said steadily, his eyes narrowing when she jumped up and backed away from him.“Are you serious?” she almost whispered. “You can’t keep us prisoners here…” Armel could see the hurt and confusion in her eyes and felt a flicker of remorse. But when he closed the gap between them and noted how her pulse was jerking frantically at the base of her throat, he felt a surge of quiet satisfaction. Sexual alchemy was a potent force that held her in its thrall, however much she might resent its power. There was no point in denying that he was deeply sho
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 19
The effect on Harley was electric and she arched her back so that her breasts thrust provocatively towards him, the taut, swollen peaks begging for his possession. She was shaking… Or was it him? she wondered feverishly as she pushed his shirt over his shoulders and ran her hands over his smooth, tanned skin. This was madness but they were both caught up in the conflagration that threatened to consume them in a flame of white-hot need. With a rough, almost violent movement, Armel grabbed the hem of her skirt and jerked it up to her waist before skimming his hand over the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs.“Armel…” His name escaped her lips like a plea rather than a protest. She lifted her hips and he dragged her panties down before spreading her legs with a deliberate intent that made her trem
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 20
“Are you crazy, Armel? Why did you do this? Have you lost your damn mind? God, I can’t believe you said that to your mother… And you lied to her with such nonchalance…” Harley yelled at Armel as she stormed down the hall after him and followed him into his bedroom.“I can see we’re going to have to come to some sort of arrangement so that you can see Raphi regularly since you’re suddenly determined to win the award for ‘Father of the Year’, Harley continued sarcastically since he wasn’t replying. “But I’m not moving into the penthouse just for your convenience, mister. I do have a life of my own, you know,” she added sharply. Her temper rose when Armel went on ignoring her. Breathing hard, Harley glared at him, her brain barely registering the fact that he was unbuttoning his shirt.“W-what… W-why are you doing this?” she demanded angrily trying not to let the sight of him undressing get her mind away from the issue at hand. “Armel, let me go… Please! You don’t wan
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IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 35
He lost his breath at her response, at the complete abandonment she gave him. The way she filled him.“I need you in me, Armel,” she said breathing hard while he tore at his pants, releasing the agonizingly hard flesh that strained against the zipper. Gripping the shaft, he straightened, and pressed closer, until the head was pressing against the clenched opening. Leaning back, Armel watched as he began to penetrate her. The heavy, wide flesh pressed inside, parting her as the folds of her sex began to grip and hug the heavy erection.“So perfect…” Armel said. “Take me in, mon ange…” And she took him in, caressing him with her femininity in the most intimate way. Her hands gripped his arms as her neck arched, her hair falling around her shoulders as slumberous green eyes stared back, locked with his gaze. Making love to her was pure pleasure. It was pure rapture. It was sweet, hot ecstasy.“There, mon amour,” Armel crooned, his voice rough. “Let
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 34
She looked up at him and caught the flare of pain in his eyes before he quickly masked his thoughts. He’d said that he loved her and he adored their little blonde angel…“Armel… I understand everything you’ve told me, but… I still can’t understand why you want to postpone the wedding…” she murmured. “If you love me…”“More than life, mon coeur,” he vowed fiercely. “I love you more than you can ever know.” He slid his hands up her arms to cup her face and she could have died at the expression in his brilliant blue gaze, the faint sheen of moisture that revealed his vulnerability and his deep, abiding love for her.“So, if you love me, then why?” Harley asked in a desperate tone.“When I received the results of the paternity test, I was desperate to know if I carry the gene and the likelihood that I had passed it on to Raphi. I contacted medical experts who specialize in genetics and discovered that in the last two years, a reliable test has been developed, which mea
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 33
For a few seconds, the floor beneath Harley’s feet seemed to sway and she inhaled sharply.“Postpone the wedding… I see,” she managed at last, past the constriction in her throat.“I doubt it,” Armel murmured, and his light, almost casual tone opened the floodgates of sheer agonizing pain.“You’re right, Armel… I don’t see, and I certainly don’t understand this whole situation… I don’t understand you…” She flew across the remaining few feet that separated them and halted in front of him, bewilderment, hurt, and sheer fury blazing in her emerald eyes.“Marrying you was never my intention… This whole thing was your idea and I went on with it. After we talked about it last time, I thought we’d agreed that we could make our marriage work, for Raphi’s sake, at least.”“Well, I thought so too, but I realize that I can’t go through with it… Not right now, anyway,” Armel said grimly, a nerve jumping in his cheek as he stared down at her. The patio lights cast long
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 32
The truth… The truth was that loving him was tearing her apart, and that was a truth impossible to reveal.“Nothing’s wrong, Armel,” she lied. “I’d just rather sleep on my own tonight.” Her pride refused to allow her to confront him about Chantal’s allegations. If he suspected she was jealous of the glamour model, Armel might realize that she was in love with him and she would rather die than have him feel sorry for her. Armel briefly considered hauling her into his arms and kissing her until he broke through the barriers she had erected, but Harley looked achingly vulnerable and he accepted that, for once, making love to her was not the answer. Instead, he gave an angry shrug of his shoulders.“Très bien… (Very well),” he snapped, “If this is what you want, go ahead… Sleep on your own. But a week from now you will be my wife and you’ll share my bed every night. There will be no separate rooms, c’est clair? (Do you understand?)”“Oh, yes,” Harle
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 31
For those few unguarded seconds, Armel had been unable to disguise his look of dismay at the idea of them having another child, and her little flame of hope that their marriage could work flickered and died right there, on the spot. The band struck up a popular tune and people began to drift onto the dance floor. Armel seemed to have regained his composure and glanced down at her.“Would you like to dance, chérie?” His eyes gleamed wickedly.“I have vivid memories of the last time we danced together.” Harley blushed at the shaming recollection of how he had brought her to the peak of sexual pleasure simply by holding her close and hastily shook her head.“Oh, I… Ehm… I just need to go to the ladies’ room… But perhaps Mireille would care to join you on the dancefloor… With Stéphane’s approval, of course…” Armel’s eyes narrowed on her flushed face and she turned and hurried away before he could stop her, desperate to be alone for a few mi
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 30
Three weeks later, Harley was still questioning her sanity at her decision to marry Armel. Undoubtedly it would be best for Raphaël, but could she ever be happy, married to a man who was only proposed to her just to give their son a home? The only thing she was absolutely certain of was their physical compatibility, Harley acknowledged ruefully. The long hours of loving in his bed each night proved irrefutably that her body had been exclusively created for Armel, for his hands, for his lips... The way he was making her body sing every single time he touched her, or kissed her was out of this world. When Armel reached for her, Harley went immediately into his arms, her heart pounding with anticipation of the delight to come when he caressed every inch of her. His hands and mouth were instruments of sensual torture that he used without mercy, exploring each sensitive dip and crevasse of her body before gently parting her and stroking her until she hovered
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 29
For a long while, neither of them spoke and only the steady tick-tock of the clock broke the intimate silence. Armel had rolled onto his back, taking Harley with him, keeping her wrapped in the circle of his strong arms.“It was mind-blowing,” he whispered. “Your body, how it responded to me was like… never before. I don’t know how to put it in words… It left me speechless.” She lifted her head and met his slumberous gaze. Maybe it had been different because she didn’t have sex with him, but she made love to him. And maybe this was the right time to tell him that she was in love with him. That her heart was still his. That staying there, right in his arms, exhausted and sated, was all she wanted to do for the rest of her life.“Armel…”“Oui, chérie (Yes, darling),” he said looking at her with a bright smile on his lips.“I… I need to thank you for everything you’ve done this last week,” Harley murmured huskily. “The way you cared for Raphi… The way you cared for m
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 28
It was still dark when Harley awoke. Not the inky blackness of midnight, but a soft, shadowy darkness as dawn crept closer. ‘This is Armel’s room,’ she realized as her eyes slowly adjusted to the lack of light. She was in Armel’s bed and it had been his arms holding her close throughout the night. He was still holding her, Harley amended when she turned her head and met a wall of warm, satin skin. The rhythmic rise and fall of his chest told her he was sound asleep. She shouldn’t be here and now was the ideal opportunity to slip back to her own room. But the temptation to remain close to him, cocooned in this twilight world with the man she loved, was too strong to resist. With a small sigh, Harley closed her eyes and inhaled his clean, masculine scent. Slowly, inexorably, her senses stirred until she was conscious of each separate nerve ending tingling in illicit anticipation. Common sense warned her to flee before Armel ope
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE CHAPTER 27
One week later, Harley stood in the nursery, struggling to hold back her tears as she stared into the crib. Raphaël was now sleeping peacefully, his long eyelashes feathering his cheeks that were now flushed with healthy color once more. The hours after they had arrived at the hospital, had been fraught with tension as the little boy underwent a series of tests, and the eventual diagnosis that he did not have meningitis had only been a partial relief. Raphaël had been suffering from a virus that had taken a hold on his young body. For the next three days, he had lain in his hospital bed attached to wires and monitors and despite the efforts of the excellent medical team, had shown no signs of recovery. But on the fourth day, his high temperature had gradually dropped back to normal and when he’d woken from a long nap, he had sat up, demanded some apple juice, wolfed down a banana, and only been persuaded to remain in bed because his teddy bear w
