It was the most delicious tease of sex to come. He was stroking against her and she was purring, her hips rising, begging that he fill her and for it not to stop.
‘Just a little way …’ Her voice was throaty, and he stared down at her, so pink and swollen. How could he not? He entered her just a little.
He was kneeling up, holding her buttocks, and his eyes roamed her body. He thought he would come. She was all blonde and tumbled, and in underwear that would make working beside her now close to impossible, because if he even pictured her in that … He pushed it in just a little bit more as Annika—shy, guarded Annika—gave him a bold, wanton smile that had his heart hammering. He pulled down the straps on her bra and freed her breasts, and she boldly took his head and led him there. She kissed his temple as he suckled her. He moved within her till he wanted more than just a little way, and so too did she.
He leant back and guided her, up and down his length. She had never felt more pliant, moving as his hands guided her. She could see his dark skin against her paleness, and she felt as if she were climbing out of her mind and watching them, released from inhibition. She cried out, could see her thighs trembling, her back arching. Then she climbed back into her body and felt the deep throb of an orgasm that didn’t abate. It swelled and rolled like an ocean, took away her breath and dragged her under, and she said his name, thought she swore. Still he was pounding within her, so fast and hard that even as her orgasm faded she thought it would happen again.
And it did—because he was mindful. Just as he satisfied her he gave in, pulled out of her warmth and shivered outside her. She watched. It was startling and beautiful and intimate.
Their intimacy shocked her.
It shocked her that this was okay, that they were okay, that they could do all that and afterwards he could just pull her to him.
They lay for a long time in delicious silence, and all Ross knew was that they had completely crossed a line—it wasn’t about condoms, or trips to Spain, or families, or all things confusing.
It was, in that moment, incredibly simple.
They were both home.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
‘YOU might want to get dressed …’ They were both half dozing when Ross heard the crunch of tyres. ‘I think we’ve got visitors.’
And, though they were miles from being seen, Annika was horrified. As she dressed quickly Ross took his time and laughed. She tripped over herself pulling on her jodhpurs.
‘No one can see,’ he assured her.
‘Who is it?’
‘My family, probably …’ Ross said, and then there were four blasts of a horn, which must have confirmed his assumption because he nodded. ‘There’s no rush; they’ll wait.’
‘I’ll go home.’ Annika was dressed now. The horses were close by, and she would put up with any pain just to make it to the safety of her car. ‘I’ll just say a quick hello and then go.’
‘Don’t rush off.’ For the first time ever he looked uncomfortable.
‘What will they think, though?’ Annika asked, because if her mother had turned up suddenly on a Sunday evening to find a man at her home she would think plenty—and no doubt say it too.
‘That I’ve got a friend over for the afternoon,’ Ross said, but she knew he was uncomfortable.
As they rode back her heart was hammering in her chest—especially when another car pulled up and several more Wyatt family members piled out. His father was very formal, his sisters both much paler in colouring than Ross, and his mother, Estella, was raven-haired and glamorous. Grandchildren were unloaded from the car. His sisters said hi and bye, and relieved them of their horses before heading out for a ride in what was left of the sun.
‘Hi, Imelda!’
The sun must have gone behind a cloud, because it was decidedly chilly.
‘This is Annika,’ Ross said evenly. ‘She’s a friend from the hospital. Iosef’s sister …’
‘Oh, my mistake.’ His mother gave a grim smile. ‘It’s just with the blonde hair, and given that she’s wearing Imelda’s things, you’ll forgive me for being confused.’
Ross’s brain lurched, because never before had his mother shown her claws.
She had never been anything other than a friend to him, but now she was stomping inside. A row that had never before happened between them was about to start—and it was terrible timing, because he had to deal with Annika as well.
‘Imelda?’
‘My ex,’ Ross said.
‘How ex?’
‘A few weeks.’
And she wasn’t happy with that, so she demanded dates and he told her.
‘Was there time to change the sheets?’
‘Annika, I never said I didn’t have a past.’
‘And I’m standing here dressed in her things!’
‘It’s not as bad as it sounds …’
‘It’s worse,’ Annika said. ‘Can you get my keys?’
‘Don’t go.’
‘What—do you expect me to go in and make small talk with your family? Can you please go and get my things?’
It was like two patients collapsing simultaneously at work. Two blistering things he had to deal with.
Annika refused to bend—she wanted her keys and no more.
Ross stomped into the house.
‘What the hell?’ His voice was a roar. ‘How dare you do that to her?’
‘She’ll thank me!’ Estella shouted. ‘And don’t, Reyes—don’t even try to justify it to me. “I’ve got to sort myself out.” “I want to find myself.” “I’m not getting involved with anyone …”‘ She hurled back everything he had said, and then she called him a cabrón too! He vaguely remembered it meant a bastard. ‘I had Imelda on the phone last night, and again this morning. You shred these girls’ hearts and we’re supposed to say nothing?’
‘Annika’s different!’
‘Oh, it’s different this time, is it?’ Estella shouted, and the windows were open, so Ross knew Annika could hear. ‘Because apparently you said that to Imelda too!’
And then she really let him have it.
Really!
She called him every name she could think of. Later, Ross would realise that she had probably been talking to Reyes senior. Every bit of hurt his biological father had caused his mother, all the shame, anger and fury that had never come out, had chosen that afternoon to do so.
And his time was up. Annika was storming through the house, finding her keys for herself as his mother continued unabated.
Ross raced out behind her to the car.
‘It’s not that bad …’
‘Really?’ Annika gave him a wide-eyed look as she turned the key in the ignition. ‘From the sounds inside your home, you’re the only who thinks that way.’
‘You’re just going to drive off …?’ He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t like rows, but he didn’t walk away from them either. ‘All that’s happened between us and you’ll just let it go …?’
‘Watch me!’ Annika said, and she did just that. She gunned the car down his drive, still dressed in Imelda’s things. His mother’s words