His firm lips quirked at the corners and he smiled down at her. ‘Is that what you want?’
Twenty-four hours ago she would have told him she didn’t give a damn what or who he did. But now, with his hand still clasping hers, and held in the strong, protective curve of his arm with the warmth of his naked thigh pressed against her own, she knew it would be a lie.
She did care. Because right or wrong she wanted him, and the very thought of him taking another woman to his bed made her sick to her stomach.
‘Yes, fidelity cuts both ways,’ she said flatly and, determined not to let him know she cared, she qualified her response sanctimoniously with, ‘We need to set a good example for Nicholas.’
‘You’re right, of course. I bow to your superior wisdom,’ he drawled with mock solemnity.
‘Very funny.’ She tried to pull her hand from his but he tightened his grip.
‘I am deadly serious, Helen. I am a hundred per cent in favour of a mutually exclusive relationship. I don’t need any other woman with you in my bed. So let’s call a truce. You stop resenting the fact that you enjoy sex. Relax and stop trying to fight me. And I will stop, what was it you said?’ He grinned. ‘I will stop sweeping you off your feet all the time. Agreed?’
His dark eyes smiled confidently into hers. The conceited devil knew he only had to look at her to figuratively sweep her off her feet, never mind physically, she thought wryly, but she could not help smiling at his audacious deal, and nodded her head in agreement.
She did not have a choice, because, whether it was just sex as Leon believed or something more as she feared, he had aroused a hunger in her, a need that she wasn’t ready to give up just yet. If ever, she thought as he tipped her back on the bed.
CHAPTER NINE
HELEN STIRRED, LAZILY conscious of the warmth of a hard male body pressed against her back, and the gentle caress of a hand at her breast. Her eyes flickered open and dreamily she registered the firm lips nuzzling her neck and instinctively turned towards the source of pleasure.
Her eyes widened. ‘Leon.’
His broad chest was angled towards her, a question gleaming in his dark smouldering eyes. A swift tug of desire plucked at her heart strings and she could no more deny him or herself as the events of last night flashed through her brain and, equally quickly, a blush covered her whole body.
‘I should hope so, Helen,’ he mocked, and his lips brushed lightly against her mouth sending a shiver through her. ‘I am your husband.’ He chuckled softly.
As if programmed to his touch her lips parted, her eyes drifted shut and she helplessly surrendered to the exquisite temptation of his kiss.
‘What the hell?’
She groaned at the abrupt withdrawal of his mouth from hers. She heard the roar and opened her eyes to see Nicholas scrambling up over Leon’s thighs towards her.
‘Helen.’ Chubby arms reached out to her, his little face all smiles. Immediately she raised her arms to cuddle him, but Leon sat up and took a firm hold on the boy.
‘Good morning, Nicholas,’ he greeted dryly, pressing a swift kiss on his small head. ‘You and I, young man, have to have a talk. First rule of the house is you do not barge into our bedroom at the crack of dawn. Understand?’
‘What are you doing in my Helen’s bed?’ Nicholas demanded.
‘We are married and married couples share a bed.’
‘So why can’t I come in at dawn?’
Helen glanced at Leon and hid a smile. He looked so adorable with his black hair curling haphazardly over his brow, and so magnificently male. His broad, muscular chest gleamed in the morning light and the swiftly placed coverlet he had dragged over his thighs did not quite hide the embarrassing state of his sex. The perplexed, frustrated expression on his dark face said it all. He was about to discover sex was not everything in a marriage. He was being thrown into fatherhood at the deep end and he hadn’t a clue, she thought, and waited to hear her very new husband’s answer.
‘Because Helen is my wife now, and I said so.’
What a cop-out. She watched with interest as the man and boy with almost identical eyes stared at each other, fully expecting Nicholas to yell his displeasure at being denied his early-morning cuddle.
But to her amazement he rested a hand on Leon’s chest and turned his big eyes to her. ‘Mark said that now you two are married that makes you my mum and dad. Is that right?’
It was Helen’s turn to be lost for words. But Leon had no such problem.
‘Mark is right,’ he said. ‘We are officially your mother and father.’
‘Then I can call you Mum and Dad?’
Helen was stunned and watched as Leon simply ruffled the boy’s hair with a gentle hand and smiled.
‘If you want to call us Mum and Dad, that is fine.’ Turning his head, he fixed dark eyes on Helen’s, a challenging light in the inky depths that she could not ignore. ‘Isn’t it, Helen?’
She tore her gaze from his and pushed a shaky hand through her hair, sweeping it from her face, and looked at Nicholas. His big eyes were dark and softly pleading and she knew she had reached the ultimate point of no return.
She had married Leon so she could stay with Nicholas, be a mother to him, but she had not really considered Leon as anything other than his uncle. In the back of her mind she had thought a man like Leon would not want too close a commitment to another man’s child—after all, he would probably want to father a child of his own one day.
He had shocked her with his instant acceptance of Nicholas’ request. Some day maybe she had thought Nicholas would accept them as his mum and dad. But that it had happened so quickly surprised her. His biological mother had died only two months ago, and though she knew Delia would only ever have wanted what made Nicholas happy she could not help feeling guilty. The death of her best friend had given Helen her dearest wish and the thought played on her conscience, life seemed so unfair.
Not just because of her guilt that Nicholas had accepted her as his mum so swiftly, but also because it had suddenly occurred to her that Leon had not used any protection after the first time they had made love. If he harboured some misguided belief that she would provide him with a child he was in for a big disappointment.
She would have to tell him.
‘Helen.’
She heard Leon prompt, and knew now wasn’t the time.
And unless she wanted to look like a wicked witch of the west to Nicholas, she had to agree, and in her heart of hearts she knew it was what she wanted, and with a silent prayer of thanks to Delia she agreed.
‘Yes, darling.’ She reached for Nicholas and cuddled him against her, tears of sadness and joy stinging her eyes. ‘Uncle Leon and I love you very much and we would be honoured to be called Mum and Dad, if that’s what you want. But you do understand you must always remember Delia with happiness and joy as the mother who gave you life. Okay?’
‘Yes, great… Mum,’ he said with a grin, and hugged her back.
‘Come on, Nicholas.’ Leon slid off the bed, tucking a discarded towel from last night around his lean hips, much to Helen’s relief, and plucked Nicholas from her arms.
‘I will help you get dressed, and Helen can have a rest. She needs it.’ He winked at her. ‘And you need a nanny.’
‘What is a nanny?’ Helen heard Nicholas ask as Leon swept him up on his shoulders and headed out of the room.
His answer was lost to Helen by the closing of the door. At the same time she realised another door had closed. Leon had laid down the rules and Nicholas saw them as