‘Why not? A man doesn’t like his wife to enjoy another man’s company more than his own.’
She stared at Reece over the roof of the Mercedes. ‘I usually don’t. But if you keep acting like this, I just might in future.’
‘Meaning?’
‘Nothing,’ she muttered. ‘I meant nothing.’
When she came round the front of the car and went to walk past him, heading for the internal access to the house, Reece grabbed her arm and spun her round to face him.
‘I won’t tolerate you sleeping around on me, Alanna,’ he ground out. ‘We might not love each other but we promised before God to be faithful.’
‘I would never break my marriage vows,’ she denied fiercely. ‘But I might ask for a divorce if you keep manhandling me.’
He didn’t let her go. Just glared down into her face, his own flushed and frustrated-looking.
‘That won’t get you a baby,’ he snapped. ‘Which is the only reason you married me, isn’t it?’
‘It was one of the reasons,’ she threw at him. ‘I told you I wanted a family.’
‘What were the other reasons? My money, I presume.’
‘I wanted security. Yes. But if you must know, I had no idea you were as rich as you were when I agreed to marry you. Now let go of my arm.’
He did so, but remained standing in front of her, blocking her way. When she stepped back a little, the front bumper bar of the car contacted her calves.
‘What about sex?’ he ground out. ‘You said at our first meeting that you discovered you weren’t cut out for celibacy. You implied you wanted a man in your bed every night for the pleasure he could bring you. Have I brought you pleasure, Alanna?’ he demanded to know.
When she went to move sidewards, his hands shot out to grab her shoulders, holding her and forcing her to look up at him.
‘Have I, Alanna?’ he repeated harshly, giving her a little shake.
‘You know you have,’ she choked out.
It was cold in the garages, but her sudden shivering had nothing to do with the air temperature.
He yanked her hard against him, his blue eyes blazing like a pitiless summer sky. His mouth was just as pitiless.
Reece knew exactly the kind of kissing she liked. Right from their wedding night she hadn’t been able to resist his kisses. By the time his head lifted, she was no longer shivering.
‘Lie back across the bonnet of the car,’ he commanded, his voice rough and thick.
Her eyes flared wide with shock. ‘But…’
‘Damn it, don’t argue with me,’ he ground out, then kissed her some more till all her defences were gone.
No protest came from her lips when he lowered her back across the engine-heated bonnet and started pushing her dress upwards. Up. Up to her waist.
Her heart pounded. Her skin flamed. Her head spun.
‘Oh, Babe,’ he groaned when he saw what she was wearing underneath her dress.
A red strapless corselette, with suspenders holding up her stockings, and only a wisp of a red lace covering her.
Her underwear had been a present from the bride. Not that she didn’t like sexy underwear. She did. She just didn’t usually buy red.
Reece ripped the lacy thong off her with a single yank, leaving her totally exposed. When he pushed her legs apart and leant forward, Alanna bit her bottom lip and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.
She tensed in anticipation of his mouth making contact, but it was his hands she felt first, touching her, exploring her, teasing her.
‘So wet,’ she heard him say, and knew it was true.
He made her wet so easily. Made her want to be made love to, even when she thought she didn’t.
His fingers continued to play with her till she almost cried out to him to stop. She wanted his lips. And his tongue.
When he finally did what she wanted, her head twisted from side to side, her face grimacing as the exquisite sensations he evoked brought with them an equally exquisite tension.
His sudden abandonment had her eyes flying open.
‘You…you can’t just stop!’ she cried out.
He laughed as he scooped his hands under her bottom and swept her up from the bonnet. ‘Oh, yes, I can.’
‘You bastard.’
His eyes glittered wildly down at her, his smile devilishly sexy. ‘Tch tch. You’re a lady, remember?’
‘I don’t feel much like a lady at this moment.’ Her frustration was at fever pitch, making her almost violent with need.
‘Tell me what you feel like,’ he challenged her as he carried her inside the house. ‘Tell me what you want me to do to you.’
Her already heated face must have gone bright red.
‘You can say it,’ he whispered wickedly in her ear. ‘There’s no one here to hear you but me. And I want you to say it, just the way you’re thinking it right now. Go on. Say it!’
She said it.
‘Don’t worry, Babe,’ he muttered, his arms tightening around her as he began mounting the stairs that led up to their bedroom. ‘It’ll be my pleasure to do that, and more.’
CHAPTER FOUR
REECE stared down at his still-sleeping wife, in two minds whether to wake her or not. It was Sunday and they had nothing planned for the day, knowing that they’d be tired after Richard’s wedding.
But it was approaching noon, and she’d been asleep for a good eight hours.
Reece wanted her company.
Wanted her, too. The new her. The one who’d emerged last night.
His flesh prickled at the memory of the woman he’d unleashed with that episode in the garage. She’d become quite aggressive after they’d reached the bedroom, stripping him of his clothes almost angrily, wanting to be on top, wanting all sorts of things.
They’d had their first shower together some time later—now that had been a mind-blowing experience!—after which he’d refused to let her grab a towel, or a nightie, to cover her beautiful body. After a momentary hesitation, she’d stayed naked for him.
But it was like having sex with a stranger. She was nothing like the Alanna he’d become used to, his elegant and coolly composed wife who had to be almost seduced at times. This Alanna had been totally different. Which Alanna would it be, he wondered, who woke up this morning?
Maybe last night was a temporary aberration. Maybe she’d had more to drink at that wedding reception than he’d realised. The champagne had been flowing and there’d been a lot of toasting.
Reece didn’t like to think her passion had been alcohol-induced. He’d really enjoyed her reaching for him so avidly. He’d been thrilled that she’d kissed him for a change, and had wallowed in watching her make love to him with her mouth.
Damn, but he had to stop thinking about that. If he didn’t, he’d be jumping back onto that bed with her.
Possibly, she wouldn’t object if he did. But maybe she would. Reece’s well-honed people instinct warned him to take it easy with her today; not to presume that there would be more of the same just yet. Alanna could be surprisingly touchy. She hated him to presume anything