The Millionaire's Convenient Bride (4 page)

The vast oak door stood before him as he approached Louisa’s room. Without knocking
, he let himself in, knowing that like him, she read long after she had gone to bed. His brain scrambled to think of an excuse to see her at this late hour as he walked the short distance between her room and his. None had come to mind until he had entered her room, and he said the first thing that came to him.

“
The chopper will be here by lunch time if the weather holds. I’ll meet you on the landing at noon,” Dominic said, as he entered the dim lit room. She had left the door ajar, or he would never have entered unannounced. Her light was visible from his room. He had fought with himself for an hour before making his way across the hall.

Her eyes roamed the pages of the borrowed book but widened as he entered. He cursed to himself
, having forgotten that he wore no shirt as he had been intending to go straight to sleep. He felt a pressure as his manhood grew with her eyes roaming his naked form, resting on the trail of fine dark hairs leading beneath the waist of his pants. She seemed to catch herself and made an effort to control her expression before she answered.

“
Will we go straight to my office?” she asked her voice little more than a whisper, matching the calming vision of her curled up in the heavy bed sheets.

“
Yes, I want this out of the way as soon as possible.” He imagined a brief expression pass her face that made him hope that she might have wanted to spend more time with him. But it was gone before he could be sure, to be replaced with a smooth look of indifference.

“
Okay,” she said, and bowed her head to return to her reading.

He pulled the door closed behind him and stood for a moment listening to the rustle of the sheets as she shut off the reading light and settled down to sleep. His feet padded across the cool floorboards as he moved back to his room. He was thankful for the effect the cool air in the house had on his rapid heartbeat
, which throbbed around his body and sent heat to the long-dormant mass now twitching with desire in his pants. His thoughts drifted to her bare shoulders and how her hair curled from the damp of her shower. It lay against her chest just above the covers with loose tendrils sticking to her pale pink cheeks.  It was an image that he clung to, fearing that he might never get another.

*
***

Another knock on Louisa’s door just moments after Dominic left made her pulse beat in her ears. Could he have come back? Her body pulsed at the thought of him standing at her bed, half naked, his chest as wide and perfect as she remembered it.

“Louisa, are you awake?”

She let out the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding
. It was just Sophie.

“
Yes,” she called out switching the lamp back on. Sophie came in, and Louisa wondered if she had passed her brother on her way here. The idea of what the younger girl might think of the late night visit made her smile at the scandal it would cause.

“
I just wanted to tell you that my brother has arranged a chopper for you both tomorrow to take you home,” she said, sitting on the end of Louisa’s bed.

She stopped herself from saying that Dominic had already told her the news, not wanting the
inevitable questions that would follow as to why Dominic had gone into her room after she went to bed.

“
No problem, thanks,” Louisa said, and expected the other woman to leave.

She made no move only shifted so that she could fold her legs up under her on the covers. Her eyes seemed to plead with Louisa to hear her out, which made her more nervous as the younger girl picked at the covers as she waited. 

“Please try and understand how it is,” she said, her hand resting on Louisa’s leg through the covers. “Cole and I have our own lives and hobbies to keep us occupied. Dominic was taken from his life of carefree heir and thrown into the head of a business he never liked, as well as having to deal with Father’s passing. He hides it well but has been taking his frustrations out on those who mean to care for him.” Her large brown eyes pleaded with Louisa to understand.

She had never seen Sophie in such a state and was certain what she said must be true for her to be so anxious. She was concerned for her brother.

“It’s okay. I understand. It was hard on all of us when he passed.”

“
Not all of us.” Sophie smiled, the corners of her mouth wavering at the effort.

It was true that her father
had never liked his daughter, but had she really not cared about his death? She already knew that Dominic put a mask on every time his father’s name came up. Could Sophie be doing the same?

“
It’s more than that with Dominic though. You broke his heart, more than I think you, or he, realise. He wasn’t the same after you left. He went inside himself and put on a face that didn’t suit him. He slept with any woman who would have him. Regardless if they liked him he would eventually leave. No one woman lasted more than a month.”

Her words stung Louisa
, and she wished she would stop. When had Sophie gotten so involved with her brother’s life? And what right did she have to lecture Louisa about something that happened so long ago? Her fist balled on the covers at the injustice. Dominic was as much at fault as she was. Didn’t Sophie understand that? Through their teenage years they had flirted until things had come to a head in college and they had let their feelings show. But he tried to control her from the first date. He had held too hard, and she had fled, scared of the life she wasn’t ready for perhaps. It was childish, but at the time it had seemed like the right decision no matter how had it had been to make. Still, she had expected him to show some pull for her. Maybe a phone call to try to convince her to stay. All she had received was that stupid note saying he had moved on. She felt it was clear he had never loved her at all.

“
I'm tired,” Louisa, her voice tight with emotion, said by way of hoping the other woman would leave.

Sophie, always alert to others feelings must have sensed that her message had gotten through. She rose and kissed Louisa’s cheek,
and without another word she left her to her thoughts. 

*
***

Louisa stood to the side of the landing pad at the back of the lodge. It was just a raised platform that they used so that the chopper wouldn’t have to land in the deep snow that covered the ground and weighed down the trees. Dominic climbed aboard first to speak with the pilot as Louisa kissed Sophie goodbye. It had been a surprise to hear that she wouldn’t be travelling back with them, but this was her home after all.

“Don’t let him get to you,” Sophie said as she hugged Louisa. “Remember what I told you last night.” She waved from the platform, her hair blowing in the wind from the chopper blades as she pulled her coat tighter around her small frame.

The ride to the airport was a fast one. The view from the chopper was spectacular with the
snow-capped houses, which was lucky as the conversation was non-existent. The noise from the motor was not so loud that they couldn’t be heard over it, but neither Dominic nor she made any attempt to spark a conversation.  They boarded the private jet that Dominic requested as soon as they landed. This would be her first trip in it as they had spent those lost days so long ago in his penthouse, not at the lodge. The interior was much as she had expected, but she still felt impressed by its comfort. Cream leather chairs lined the sides for take-off and landing. Small plasma screens sat at the front and rear of the cabin, displaying the local weather. A small wet bar sat in the middle where the two flight hostesses stood to take their belongings. Dominic selected a seat in the centre. Louisa sat herself opposite him so they wouldn’t be in each other’s way. She prayed the flight was a short one as she didn’t know if she could handle being alone with him for long in such a confined place.

“
I’m sorry, sir, but take-off has been delayed for several minutes due to a hold up on the tarmac.” One of the flight attendants leant down to inform Dominic.

Louisa couldn’t help but notice the way her breasts fell forward in her tight uniform as she said it
, something she was sure Dominic had noticed also.

“
That’s fine.  Inform the pilot to take off whenever we have clearance. In the meantime I’ll have a scotch.”

The hostess looked put out at being dismissed but regained herself enough to ask if Louisa would also like a drink before take-off. She ordered tonic water
. She was still on pain killers and didn’t want the liquor to react with them. The hostess set it down on the small table in front of her without a glance, before busying herself with pouring the scotch in front of Dominic. He kept his eyes on his laptop, and eventually the hostess returned to her duties.

“
How long will the flight be?” Louisa asked, wanting some form of conversation even if it was forced politeness.

Dominic adjusted himself in his chair
. “A few hours if there is no turbulence.”

Louisa tried not to stare at the way the small movement shifted the fabric on his chest to tighten over his body. She took a deep breath to calm herself
. She breathed in the scent of his cologne which was being pushed around the cabin by the vents. The image of his strong body beneath hers flooded her senses. A memory of their time spent together. A time when her senses felt alive with the touch of his hands on her skin, the softest caress bringing goose bumps to her flesh and a jagged edge to her breathing.  His hot mouth found hers and pressed hard to her lips, his tongue tracing her bottom lip. A rare breeze came in through the open balcony door, and Louisa shifted, feeling the warmth of the hard bulge pressed to her stomach.

“
Please prepare for take-off.” The pilot’s voice came over the intercom.

Both Dominic and Louisa jumped. Louisa snuck a glance at him and found his eyes on her. His gaze was firm,
and his eyes crackled with intensity so strong that she felt as if she should cringe back.

“
Please don’t watch me like that,” she said, placing her hands in her lap to keep them from betraying her emotion.

“
I didn’t mean to upset you. If you prefer I will leave you in silence for the remainder of the trip.”

She could tell that he was testing for her reaction. She hated herself for taking the
bait, but he had always wielded a strange power over her.

“
You know I would rather speak to you, Dominic.” She kept her voice quiet so that the two flight hostesses didn’t over hear their conversation.

The smallest of smiles flinted behind his eyes but was quick to be cast away. The take-off was smooth
, and they soon flew at a height that allowed them to remove their seatbelts.  Louisa ordered some food, which she knew would ease her stomach on the long flight. The altitude was playing havoc with her head, and she was growing concerned that she may throw up or pass out. The thought of doing that in front of Dominic made her queasier. Her efforts were wasted. He had always been far too observant of her and picked up on her growing unease.

“
Louisa, are you well?” he asked, folding the screen down on his computer. 

Louisa tried to smile and nod
. The action brought on another dizzy spell, and she swayed in her seat. Dominic moved to her side with one hand on her back and another on her shoulder to steady her.

“
It’s just the pain-killers I think.” Louisa tried to lie. In truth she had never been a good flyer.

“
Come with me and lie down.”

The very phrase made her tingle all over. She sucked in a breath to steel herself. Before she could refuse his offer he scooped her up into his arms with one firm hand around her back and another supporting her legs. Her vision blackened for the smallest of moments before it
swam back into focus, her hand pressed against the warmth of his chest. She tried to move so that she was not pressed so close to him, but his hold was too tight on her body. He carried her to the room at the rear of the plane, which held a queen bed for longer trips. He laid her on top of the sheets, his hands lingering on her skin before he rose to close the cabin door.

“
Really I’m fine. Please don’t fuss.” Louisa tried not to let her feelings swell with the thought of being shut in a room alone with him.

“
Louisa, when will you learn that we do these things because we care for you?”

She heard the hesitation in his voice as he said
“we”. He sat beside her on the bed and placed a cool hand on her forehead. She closed her eyes, savouring the sensation of his hand against the soft skin of her cheek as he drew it down her face. Her lips parted before she caught herself and opened her eyes. His features softened. The look was one that Louisa knew too well, one that he reserved for those he cared for, but Louisa had never seen it used on her.

“
Why did you leave me?” he asked.

A tight look of torment creased his handsome features
, making Louisa’s heart miss a beat.

“
You told me to.” Her voice broke on the words. How could he be doing this to her? Now, after she had got her life back in order. She struggled to keep the lump in her chest from overwhelming her, a feeling she knew meant she was about to lose control of her barriers, of her emotions.