The Millionaire's Convenient Bride (13 page)

She closed her eyes and imagined his hand brushing her hip, firm and commanding as he pulled her in for a kiss. She could taste him
, and she brushed her fingers over her lips feeling him there. There was the faintest breeze behind her before a strong arm wrapped around her waist and spun her around until she was pressed to a hard chest and looking up into the dark eyes of the very man she had been dreaming of.

He didn’t speak to her
, just held her to him as he claimed her lips, lifting her so that they were pressed even closer together. She sighed at the passion he had, a passion that she craved like a hunger. A weight lifted when he was there with her, one she hadn’t known she carried when he was away.

“
Have you missed me?” he asked, as he pulled back.

“
No. Why, did you miss me?” He answered by lifting her and setting her on her desk. The room was dark with only the city lights to light the room. She watched the shadows play across his body as he removed his shirt and pushed her hair back off her shoulder so that he could place a kiss on her collar bone. He followed with light feathery kisses down her chest until he came to the first button on her simple dress. His hands found hers as he pulled her arms up over her head. Pressing her, he held them against the desktop. With his other hand he unbuttoned her dress down to her navel. There he let his breath warm her skin as he trailed his tongue across her stomach. She could feel his excitement through his trousers, pressed to her leg. She shifted so that she was pushing against him. He moaned, and his breath let out in a gust against her skin. She shivered at his feather-light touch and raised her hips to meet him. He laughed and pulled his body farther away from her.

“
Tease,” Louisa panted squirming under his body. He chuckled again and reached a hand up the soft fabric of her skirt and pressed his hand to her warm mound. She gasped and moaned under his touch. His fingers worked circles on her, building her pleasure. She squirmed and brought her knees up placing her ankles around his waist and pulled him against her.

“
If you insist,” he said before in one move he loosened his trousers and guided himself inside her. She met his thrusts urgently, their bodies coming together hard and fast as his hands worked her to orgasm. They climaxed together, his moan matching her own as they lay panting on the desk, still joined. They lay for a moment before he released her hands. Without a thought she slipped off the desk and turned him so that he leant against it. She teased the tip of his manhood with her tongue before sliding her lips along its length. His hips bucked against her mouth as she felt him grow again in her mouth. She could feel him pulsing as she worked him with her lips. Teasing him as he had her, each time she felt him getting close she eased off and just used her hand to keep up the motions. He shook his head at her, his face giving away how much he needed her to finish. Smiling at her he reached down and guided her mouth back around him. He controlled the speed as she brought him to the edge again then thrust against her until he came. He pushed her back and guided her to the floor where he returned the favour. They lay together through the night. Louisa lost count of the number of times she climaxed under Dominic’s touch. By morning they had both exhausted themselves. Louisa lay on his chest, her fingers twined in the soft fur that covered it, listening to his heartbeat. She was content, and more than that, she was happy.

“
What are you thinking?” he asked her as he stroked her hair.

Louisa shook her head, not wanting to break the moment.

“Well I can tell you what I’m thinking,” he said. “I am thinking that marrying you was the best idea I have ever had.”

She laughed and claimed his mouth for a moment before jumping up and attempting to find her clothes.

“Where do you think you are going?” he asked, stretched out on the carpet like a statue of a Greek god lounging on one elbow.

“
We can’t lie here all day, although I wish we could. I thought you could show me around the city?” she said, hoping he would agree.

“
What would you like to see?” he asked not taking his eyes from her as she dressed.
He jumped up, taking her by surprise and pulled her against the wall kissing her until her knees went weak. He had to stop doing this to her before she hurt herself from distraction.

*
***

Dominic watched Louisa with a mixture of humour and pride. She sat next to him in the chopper with the headphones on, staring out the window with a huge grin on her face. He reached out and took her hand pointing to the buildings that were coming up out his
side of the chopper. She leant over him to look, seemingly unaware of her effect on him in pressing her legs against his groin to get a better view. He laughed at her enthusiasm. It was nice to see her so relaxed again. She had tensed up right after the wedding, and he was afraid she would pull out. Last night was the best night of his life, he knew. A small part of him also remembered that she would cease to be his bride in a few weeks, a thought that he didn’t like to dwell on.

They didn’t try to talk on the trip
. The sounds of the motor were too loud to do so, and he didn’t think that Louisa could tear herself away from the windows long enough to answer him anyway. The chopper took them around the city twice as Dominic felt that Louisa was still too enthralled to do just the regular trip. They landed on the outskirts of a large concrete building, and Dominic helped her from the plane.

“
Where are we?” she asked, looking around at the empty part of the city.

“
You will see. A friend of mine has a rather unusual home, and he has let me visit here whenever I like.”

“
This is someone’s house!”

He could understand her reaction. It was the same one he had had when Michael had first taken him there.  They had met at college and remained good friends
. Dominic also donated to his collection when he could to ensure it remained here for him to see. He led Louisa up the back of the building and into a small service door. The corridor was dark as it wasn’t used often. He took Louisa’s hand and guided her up the corridor. He knew it well enough to know where he was going. They reached the end and stood at a small door. He smiled to himself in anticipation and opened the door. Louisa’s reaction was more than he had expected. She stood on the spot staring open mouthed at what lay before her. The blue light coming through the aquarium illuminated the room enough that the marine animals that swam in the tanks were thrown into stark relief.

“
Afternoon, Mr. McKillip.” Penny, one of the marine biologists who cared for the collection greeted him.

“
Dr. Penny Joseph, this is my wife, Louisa.”

Penny smiled as she shook Louisa’s hand
. Louisa was still staring at the fish and looking a little abashed at her surprise.

“
What is this place?” she asked again, stepping forward to place a hand on the glass.

“
Dr. Richards has the largest private collection in the Northern hemisphere. Daisy here is expecting a calf in about a month,” Penny said as she gestured to the small nurse shark that swam past the glass. The tank wrapped around the long room and into the next. Several smaller but no less impressive tanks stood throughout the room housing the smaller fish that didn’t mix well with others. More like Daisy would eat them.

“
It’s nearly feeding time. It was nice to meet you, Louisa.” Penny smiled at the younger woman and left them.

“
I'm sorry, I must have seemed rude. I just can’t believe that this is here, right in the middle of the city.”

“
I thought you might like it.” Dominic watched the light reflect off the water and swirl around Louisa’s body. The tank held more species than Dominic knew the names of, clown fish, eels, sting rays, several nurse sharks, and a coral collection that was being used for research by several universities around America. It was also a place where students could come and gain work experience in marine biology and the ecological effects on different species in captivity.

Dominic walked with her as she inspected the length of the tank.
“I did have an ulterior motive for bringing you here.”

“
Oh?” she asked distracted.

“
Michael wants to open the aquarium up to the public two days a week and needs a lawyer to handle the insurance on the place.”

She turned to face him now. He couldn’t get over how beautiful she looked in this light.
He resisted stroking a lock of hair back off her face.

“
A client?” she asked, as if she didn’t understand what he was saying.

“
The first of many. You are a brilliant lawyer, Louisa. People know your name, and most won’t listen to idle gossip about you. I have several other clients who would like to meet you and want to offer you their business.”

“
I won’t take clients out of pity, Dominic,” she said, serious once again. He reached up and smoothed the frown lines in her forehead.

“
It’s not pity. They need a lawyer, and you are the best. You will see. You will have people lining up to hire you once they know you have time available.”

She seemed to think on that for a moment
, watching the progress of a lone sting ray that looked for food along the bottom of the tank. Penny popped into view in her scuba gear and waved before she begun feeding her charges.

“
I will have to review their accounts first,” Louisa said, the smile back on her face as Penny made a ray slide up the glass so that Louisa could see its underside as she fed it.

“
They would expect no less.” He smiled at her as she turned back to him. He reached out and pulled her to him with one arm around her waist before claiming her mouth. How had he been so lucky to have this incredible, smart, sexy woman fall right into his arms? She kissed him back, pressing her body to his. He made to deepen the kiss, but she pulled away.

“
Penny,” she said by way of explanation.

He just smiled. What else could he do
? He wouldn’t be able to change her mind, and he decided that he wouldn’t even if he could. They toured the aquarium hand in hand, Louisa seeming fascinated at the way the animals could co-exist without eating each other.

“
I don’t understand why you are so surprised. They, unlike us, only eat when they are hungry. Penny and the other scientists keep them well fed so that they won’t want to snack.”

She laughed as her stomach grumbled.
“Maybe I could grab some of that sea food for myself.”

“
I don’t think the chum would agree with you, my dear. How about I take you to a real meal?”

They climbed back into the chopper after waving goodbye to Penny
, who was still in the tanks. “What will it be? There is a wonderful place in the city that has a chopper pad on the roof.”

Louisa shook her head making her hair fall across her face.
“I know the perfect place.”

Dominic couldn’t believe it
. He sat on the metal chair admiring how good the Subway Louisa had picked for him tasted.

“
I can’t believe you have never eaten Subway. What do you eat for lunch every day?”

“
We have a catering service that my assistant orders from for me at the start of the week.”

Dominic inspected the cookie that Louisa had insisted he have with his dinner and nibbled the side. It was better than he had imagined
, a lot like his nanny used to make for them as children. Louisa was smiling at him as he ate.

“
What?” he asked smiling back at her. He couldn’t help but be happy around her. She just brought out the lighter side of him.

“
You’re like a kid eating ice cream for the first time. It’s just a sandwich.”

“
Yes, but I got to choose what went on to it. You may take that for granted, but I have always had my food chosen for me. My secretary chooses my lunch and often orders my dinner, too. When I’m at home I have a chef, and when I’m at the penthouse my brother and sister choose what we eat. It’s been a long time since I have had something that I have chosen for myself.”

“
You are a strange man.” Louisa laughed. Dominic laughed with her and leant forwards for a kiss. Louisa wiped ranch sauce off his chin before she kissed him. A rich smell of fresh baked cookie reached his nose, and he leaped up to buy some for them to take home with them.

“
You picked dinner, so I get to choose dessert.”

“
That sounds fair. Where are we going?”

“
You will see.”

Louisa stared as they landed on the top of her new office building.

“We are going to work?” she asked, surprised as they took the lift down to her office. They walked in, and Louisa gave a startled laugh. In the middle of the room was a table set for two. Hundreds of candles burned around the room giving it a warm glow against the harsh city lights below them. She couldn’t see anyone else in the room, but the table was already set with their dessert of chocolate mousse and crème brûlée, both her favourites.