All Chapters of DESPERATE THIRST FOR LOVE: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Once the legal team and the rest of the crew had been seen during the week, Elvie didn’t see Zander again until the day before the scheduled honeymoon, when she arrived at his private retreat via a helicopter he had chartered to meet her at the airport. Her week had been a nightmare of juggling work, Thea’s never-ending questions about her dad, and arranging and packing for their ‘honeymoon’. Every time she even thought of the word, much less said it, it made her pulse gallop. She knew he wasn’t the sort of man to force himself on her. It was her own uncontrollable desires that she was worried about. But yeah, they talked about what happened in the closet and agreed to never let it happen again.Yeah, full of bull, because she knew it would eventually happen again.Soon…Bella was right. How on earth was she going to resist him? Spending a week on a yacht with Zander was going to test her resolve like a chocolate addict standing in the middle of a chocolate fountain with her mouth ope

Elvie walked back along the sand to the pathway leading to the villa, with Zander’s hand holding hers. Her body was still vibrating with aftershocks from the pleasure he had evoked. It made her aware of every inch of her flesh, as if all the nerves had been given steroids and were twice their size and three times as active. How did it happen? How could she let herself go? How could he let him touch her like that again? How could she be so stupid and naive again? Why had she allowed Zander to touch her like that? He hadn’t followed through to claim his own pleasure, so didn’t that make her seem a little pathetic? Like that teenage girl she used to be? Her wanton response to him demonstrated her vulnerability. She was a fool to give him more ammunition. She was supposed to be resisting him. Rejecting his advances and not encouraging such intimate contact. Not only encouraging it but responding to it like she had never responded to anyone before. Her breasts felt fuller and more sensiti

"This—I mean, this is over the top Zander, we go through all this for a show. This isn't a real honeymoon; there is no need to—" "Is it?" Zander said as he drew Elvie closer and pressed his mouth to hers in a kiss that felt unlike any other kiss he had ever experienced. It wasn’t because of the witnesses gathered from not so far away, taking pictures, or the solemnity of the show, like it was a movie set. It was a kiss that had a sacred element to it. A promise had been made, and this kiss sealed it. Her lips clung to his, her hands resting against his chest, her right one over the thud of his heart. Elvie smelled of summer flowers, and her lips tasted of strawberries. Zander held her against him, praying his erection would cool it in time to turn to walk back through the gathered paparazzi. He’d always considered it tacky when a kiss went on too long. But now he wishes he could freeze time. Stay right there and sup at her mouth until this burning ache in his flesh subsided—if it eve

Elvie closed her eyes before responding, "Yeah?""You okay?""Yes. A little dizzy, but erm, I think I’ll have a drink. Would you like champagne? I feel like some, don’t you? This is a good one. Wow, I’ve been to the vineyard. It was amazing, so picturesque." She fumbled with the foil around the top of the bottle, sudden nerves and shyness assailing her.Zander came over, took the bottle from her, and placed it back in the ice bucket. He put his hands on her waist, his expression as tender as she had ever seen it. "You’re nervous. Why is that?" He said it as a statement, not as a question. Elvie pulled at one side of her lower lip with her teeth, her cheeks feeling as if someone had lit a fire under them."It was probably a fluke down at the beach. I might not be able to do it again."He lifted her chin with the tip of his finger, holding her gaze with his. "No one’s keeping time here, wife; we can do whatever we want. Hmmm, what do you want us to do anyway?" He teased her. "You can ta

A few hours later, Zander stood and breathed in the warm night air scented with the brine of the sea. He loved being out on the water, away from all his responsibilities. Out here, he could breathe. He could reflect on the goals he had achieved instead of dwelling on the ones he hadn’t. He wasn’t sure why he’d told Elvie about his past—not in so much detail. But she had shared a lot about herself—deeply personal stuff that couldn’t have been easy to share.He enjoyed being out here with her—maybe a little too much. The desire that roared between them wasn’t something that was going to fade away any time soon. Not on his part, anyway.Zander didn’t know what it was about her that made him so fired up. She was beautiful, but then he slept with many beautiful women. No, it was more than that. She was captivating, she was pure and honest; she was too kind for her own good, she wasn't selfish, she was everything he wanted for a woman—for a wife. She was smart and funny, and she responded t