Lifelong Affair (16 page)

He
laughed softly, getting out of the car as the doorman of the hotel came over to
open Morgan's door for her. "We'll discuss that after dinner,' he
promised.

The
hotel was one of the most luxurious in London, and the honeymoon suite had been
reserved for them. Morgan's eyes widened as she heard this. She would have
thought Alex the sort of man to prefer to keep quiet about their newly married
state, not broadcast it so obviously. Although it might have been a little
difficult to keep it quiet anyway, as they were both covered in confetti!

Alex
had the arrogance and bearing to have the best service wherever he went, and
within five minutes of
entering the hotel they and their luggage had been
effortlessly transported to the top floor, their luxurious c occupying most of
it.

Dinner
was a lighthearted affair. Morgan was not even aware of what she was eating,
enjoying Alex's company too much to really care.

Now
about that early night . . .?' He raised dark brows as they sat together in the
lounge. The hotel is so tall that none of the noise of London could be heard all
the way up here, giving a strangely disorientated feeling.

"It's
after eleven!' she taunted.

'In
London that's early.'

She
smiled. 'I'd like to shower first.'

'Of
course. I'll use the other bathroom,' he nodded distantly.

Alex's
abrupt attitude made her wonder if he weren't a little disconcerted by their
wedding night too. That thought gave her a little more confidence in herself
and the night ahead of them.

She
took her time in the bathroom, and her whole body felt smoothly oiled and
perfumed by the time she had finished, smelling of her favourite Estee Lauder
body lotion. The sheer white nightgown did nothing to hide the perfection of
her slender curves, being almost completely transparent, reaching down to her
bare feet.

For
a moment when she entered the lounge she thought Alex was still in the second
bathroom, then she saw a movement by the window, walking over to his side to
gaze over the thousands of glittering lights that were London.

He
turned to look at her as he sensed her presence, his breath catching in his
throat as the perfection of her body was clearly revealed to him. Morgan looked
up at him with fearless green eyes—his bare chest darkly
  
tanned,
  
covered
  
in
  
thick
  
dark
  
hair,
  
his
shoulders powerfully muscled, black silk pyjama trousers,
his only clothing, resting low down on his hips. He looked magnificent, his
eyes becoming smoky grey with desire.

'Morgan
.. .?' he groaned.

She
moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, not wanting to talk, but knowing
there were some things she had to tell him before they made love. 'Have you
noticed that I've worn white today, Alex?' she asked gruffly.

His
eyes narrowed. 'I've noticed, he nodded.

'I—I've
worn it for a reason.'

'Yes?'
he said tautly.

She
launched into speech before she lost her nerve, his cynicism making it hard for
her to talk at all. 'When Glcnna and I were children, we used to talk a lot
about when we got married. Of course it was all a fantasy,' she laughed at the
idealist she had been then. 'By the time we'd grown up there were no dashing
heroes about like Errol Flynn. But it was fun to dream anyway. And we made each
other a promise, one that we both kept.'

'Yes?'
Alex was very tense.

She
looked at him with unblinking green eyes. 'Alex, do you mind having a virgin for
a bride?' she asked bluntly.

His
eyes narrowed, his arms tightening on her arms, hurting her. 'A virgin?' he
echoed disbelievingly,

'I'm
afraid so,' she nodded. 'And you don't find many of them at twenty-six any
more!'

Don't
joke about this, Morgan,' he rasped, shaking her slightly. 'It's too serious.
Are you telling me the truth?'

'A
fun-loving actress with no morals?' she mocked brittly. 'I'm afraid so, x\lex.'

He
released her, drawing in a harsh breath, then expelling it slowly, looking at
her as if he had never seen her before. 'Is this the reason you held back the
Other night?'

She
nodded. 'A shock, isn't it?' She hated herself for Making light about something
that was so important to her, but Alex's feelings, other than surprise, weren't
yet apparent to her. 'In this day and age too! But I'm afraid I've always
considered my body, and myself, to be more important than becoming just another
notch on some man's bedpost. I suppose I could have started collecting notches
myself, but somehow that never appealed to me either. It's too easy to fall
into a sexual relationship with someone now, and I've never liked doing the
easy things in life. Of course, if the idea of being the man to initiate me
into making love doesn't appeal to you .. .' She looked at him challengingly,
holding her breath as she waited for his answer.

'You
know it does,' Alex finally spoke. 'You're one hell of a woman, Morgan
Hammond,' he shook his head. 'I'm beginning to wonder just what I've taken on
by marrying you. A virgin, and yet you married me partly because you wanted
me!' he realised incredulously.

'Terrible,
isn't it?' she mocked, relief flooding through her. Alex did still want her!
'You make me feel quite shameless, Mr Hammond.'

'I'll tell you how I feel as I make love to
you,' he groaned against her throat. And I'll try not to hurt you. Dear God,
Morgan, you aren't innocent enough not to have
  
'

'No,
no, I've taken care of that,' she assured him hastily. 'As you say, I'm not
that innocent.'

'Thank
God—I wouldn't want anything to spoil vour pleasure.'

Alex
-----
!'

He
looked down at her with amused eyes. 'I think you make me feel shameless too,'
he smiled, swinging her up into his arms with ease.

Her
arms encircled his throat. 'What are you doing?' She snuggled against him.

'Whatever
it is, you aren't fighting it,' he derided, striding determinedly towards the
bedroom they were to share tonight.

'I
trust you implicitly,' she murmured against his throat, her lips warm and
probing.

He
seemed to tense. 'Implicitly?'

She
looked up at him. 'Yes. Now tell me why you carried me here?' she asked
dreamily as he put her down on the double bed. 'I would quite happily have
walked.'

'It was the nearest I could come to carrying
you over the threshold,' he told her throatily as he came down on the bed
beside her. 'Morgan, are you sure you want me to be the first
 

Her
fingertips over his lips stopped further words. 'I'm very sure. I want you,
remember? You're the only man I've ever wanted.'

'Wanton
hussy!'

She
squirmed with pleasure as his mouth plundered hers, tasting and devouring as
the first passion overtook him, his powerful thighs surging against hers. She
kissed him back wildly, aware that the situation was spiralling quickly out of
Alex's control, a control he had sworn never to lose.

'Morgan!'
he buried his face in her throat, soothing the passion between them to
simmering point with his slow caresses down the length of her

body. 'Darling
      
!'
His mouth claimed hers gently

this
time, his lips moving erotically against hers, his hand travelling from her hip
to capture one thrusting breast through the silky material of her nightgown,
moving with slow caressing movements over the taut peak, the caress causing a
pleasurable sensation down her spine.

One
 
thin
 
shoulder-strap
 
was
 
slipped
 
down
 
her
shoulder, and her breast was bared to the warm cavern
of his mouth, his tongue tasting and sucking the nipple further into the hot
vortex, making Morgan cry out with pleasure, hardly aware that the silky gown
had been slipped completely from her body. Alex slid down her body with it as
his hands continued to caress her breasts, and fire shot through her as he
kissed her inner thigh with nibbling caresses.

'Alex
---
!'
she groaned as a sensation such as she had never known before surged through
her body, her arms and legs thrashing about beneath him.

'Don't
fight it, darling,' he encouraged huskily, his face flushed with his own
arousal. 'This is all part of making love.'

'But I—I can't—Oh!' she moaned as
the pleasure became too much for her. 'Alex, am I
      
'

'Not
yet,' his mouth returned to hers. 'You aren't ready yet. I forget how
inexperienced you are. You drive me insane with wanting you, Morgan,' he
groaned in an aching voice.

'Show
me how to please you, what you like,' she encouraged eagerly.

His
mouth twisted. I don't know what I like from you yet.' He lay back on the bed.
'You'll just have to find out for yourself, won't you?' He looked at her
encouragingly.

He
liked everything, it seemed—every touch, every caress, the way she kissed
his hardened thighs as she slipped the pyjama trousers off his body; both of
them were completely naked now, even the sight of her nakedness lovingly bent
over him causing him to shudder with pleasure.

'I
think I like it too much!' he groaned, stopping her caresses. 'No more, Morgan.
I can't take it!'

It
was her turn to be caressed once again, his touch raising her to such ecstasy
that when his body at last joined with hers she cried out only once at the
moment
of penetration, her movements matching his as if by
instinct after that, their bodies reaching a tumultuous climax in unison, the
moment held and captured only for a moment before it spiralled out of reach,
leaving them spent and exhausted in each other's arms.

CHAPTER
SEVEN

Morgan
woke with a feeling of well-being she had never known
before, her body having a languorous ache that made it throb and glow at one
and the same time, the body that Alex had claimed as his once more in the
night, her own claim being made just as strongly. It had happened so easily, so
naturally. Both of them had seemed to wake at the same time, turning to each
other compulsively, making love slowly this time, with none of the driving
fierceness that had claimed them last night. And yet the result had been the
same, that bone-melting pleasure that actually made it seem as if they became
one being, feeling the same pleasure, the same ecstasy. Morgan had known too
much of the uncertainty of loving Alex, now she knew the ecstasy once again.
There was no doubt which emotion she preferred!

'What
are you smiling about?' Alex asked lazily beside her.

She
turned comfortably in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. 'I was
thinking of you.'

He
smiled. 'I like the idea of that. Erotic thoughts, were they?' he teased.

'Definitely!'
she laughed, loving this new relaxed Alex even more than the old one.

'Feel
like putting those thoughts into action?' he encouraged throatily.

She
moved above him, pinning him to the matress with her light weight. 'I was
thinking,' she said slowly, suggestively, 'that I would overpower you with the
sight of my naked body on yours, that I would kiss and caress you all over.
Then I thought—Alex, what
are you doing?' she squealed as his hands
closed possessively about her hips.

'Putting
words into action,' he growled. 'You've aroused me just by talking about making
love to you.'

'But
I didn't. I was going to make love to_vou.'

'Be
my guest.' He lay back invitingly. 'Or my wanton wife. I think
 
prefer the latter he smiled roguishly.

If
the waiter who brought their breakfast noticed the silly smiles on their faces
then he gave no indication of it, but served their meal with straight-faced
efficiency before leaving them to it.

Morgan
spluttered with laughter once they were alone, unable to contain her humour any
longer as Alex tried his best to look his usual dignified self, dressed
casually in a cream shirt and brown trousers as they sat at the dining-room
table, Morgan just as casually dressed in white trousers and a white blouse.

He
scowled at her laughter. 'I wish I hadn't chosen the damned honeymoon suite! It
broadcasts the fact that we've been making love all night.'

'And
couldn't we be doing that in one of the other suites too?' she teased.

'Of course. But
-
'

'Oh,
Alex, I don't give a damn if the whole world knows!' Morgan stood up to go
round the table, putting her arms around his neck and over his chest, resting
her head on the top of his.