In Bed With...Collection

‘You know the wanting is real, Bryce. How could it not be when…’ She blushed at the memories of her deeply primitive response to him.

He reached up and ran his fingertips over the self-conscious heat, his eyes burning into hers as he softly asked, ‘Did you fancy me rotten before you broke with Derek?’

Her skin became even hotter under his questing touch. The intensity he was projecting seeded a wild thought. Was he jealous of the relationship she’d had with her ex-fiancе?

‘You must be aware of how attractive you are physically, Bryce. I think any woman would fancy you. The saleslady who sold me my wedding dress certainly did. But I didn’t know you in any personal sense…’

‘And now that you do?’

‘Derek belongs in the past. It’s you I want.’

She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him to prove there was no looking back on her part. He was her husband now and she wanted no other.

Bryce stormed her mouth with a passionate possessiveness that swiftly moved into much more than a kiss. They made love in a frenzy of desire for each other, craving an affirmation that their marriage was right and always would be.

It was hours later, when they were dressing for dinner—Bryce insisting she wear the cream lace gown again for the six-course ‘wedding feast’ he planned to order at the gourmet restaurant in the lodge—that Sunny recalled the question raised at lunch with Will Templar.

‘Are you in competition with your half-brother, Bryce?’ she asked bluntly, wanting to know the truth.

‘Damian?’ He looked amused, his eyes mocking the suggestion as he answered, ‘My father cares too much for Templar Resources to ever put Damian in control of it, Sunny. He knows it. I know it. It’s not an option.’

‘Then why did he threaten it?’

Bryce shrugged. ‘It’s simply a measure of how much he wants me to have a child.’

She frowned. ‘You played it like a power game, saying we might wait.’

‘A gift is one thing, a pressured demand quite another.’

‘What would you do if he did give the CEO position to Damian?’

‘Go into opposition. In effect, my father would lose me.’

And you would lose him, she thought.

‘He won’t go that far, Sunny. Don’t worry about it.’

All the same, she couldn’t help thinking it would be best—easier all around—if they did have a child straight away. And Bryce had to be thinking that, too.

A productive honeymoon…

CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#ud535c0fb-8216-5cc4-a273-7d8e9771b73f)

SUNNY was not the least bit nervous about introducing Bryce to her family. She was happily looking forward to it as she settled herself to sleep away some of the hours on the long flight from Los Angeles to Sydney. Travelling first class gave her much more leg room to make herself comfortable and the wider seat took away the sense of feeling cramped. She tucked the airline blanket around her, sighed contentedly and closed her eyes.

‘Sweet dreams,’ Bryce murmured indulgently, leaning over from the seat beside her to drop a kiss on her forehead.

She smiled. He made her feel loved. During their whole honeymoon, which Bryce had extended to ten days, he had made her feel loved, and she knew now that she loved him. The words had not been spoken but that didn’t matter. The feeling was there, which meant nothing was missing from their marriage…except a baby…and since she may well have conceived already, Sunny was not going to let that concern weigh on her mind.

She had such good memories to dwell on; action-packed days, touring the rim of the awesome Grand Canyon, cruising Lake Powell, hiking the trails through the breathtaking beauty of the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon—well named, her husband had jokingly declared—and absolutely blissful nights, revelling in the sensual pleasures of intimacy.

Her sleep on the plane was deep and untroubled. She awoke with a sense of well-being that stayed with her until the plane circled over Sydney before landing. The view of the harbour, the great Coat-hanger bridge, the gleaming white sails of the opera house, the sparkling blue of the water…it suddenly grabbed her heart and gave it a twist. This was home. What had she done, abandoning it for a host of unknowns?

A rush of strong emotion brought tears to her eyes. She blinked rapidly to drive them back. It was silly to let a familiar view get to her like this. People were more important than places. She had Bryce. And right on that thought, he reached across, took her hand, and gently squeezed it.

‘A touch homesick?’

‘It’s just so beautiful,’ she excused.

‘Yes, it is. One of the most beautiful cities in the world,’ he said warmly. ‘We will be back, many times, Sunny.’

She flashed him a watery smile. ‘It’s okay. I do want to be with you, Bryce.’

He nodded and interlaced his fingers with hers, reinforcing their togetherness. There were times when he seemed ruthlessly intent on not allowing anything to shadow it.

He had arbitrarily dismissed the idea of staying in her Sydney apartment, booking an executive suite at the Regent Hotel for the duration of their visit. Sunny suspected he didn’t care to be anywhere Derek had been, but he argued comfort and the fact that it would complicate her task of clearing everything out and ending the lease. Which was true enough.

She was thankful she and Derek had maintained separate apartments, never actually living together. At least she didn’t have the complication of dividing up possessions. That would have been really messy. They had never swapped door keys, either, which was probably just as well, given their bitter parting. Sunny saw no problems in doing what had to be done today.

Although they had left Los Angeles on Wednesday night, crossing the dateline meant they were arriving in Sydney on Friday morning, and they’d be flying out again on Sunday. A packing company had already been lined up to help her at the apartment. Bryce wanted to spend the day in the Sydney headquarters of Templar Resources and he offered to collect her personal belongings from the office where she had worked.

This, Sunny realised, neatly avoided any unpleasant encounter between her and Derek, so she had agreed to the plan, but she did regret missing the opportunity to say goodbye to the people she had been friendly with. Though they were mostly men who would probably side with Derek, she argued to herself. Since her life was now with Bryce, it seemed wiser to simply stay out of the situation.

The plane landed safely at Mascot Airport. A limousine took them to the Regent Hotel. They had time to freshen up, eat a light second breakfast, and go over their plans for the day in case something had not been thought of. Satisfied that everything was in hand, Bryce left for head office and Sunny took a taxi to her old neighbourhood in the suburb of Drummoyne, only a short trip from the centre of the city.

It was strange, moving around the apartment she had occupied for the past four years, wondering what to do with everything she had collected here. There was no point in taking anything but clothes, photo albums and those personal possessions which were especially dear to her. Having spent the last day before their flight to Sydney at Bryce’s home in Santa Monica, Sunny was only too aware that it wanted for nothing.

Bryce had advised sending her surplus stuff to a charity but she didn’t feel right about that now. It was like irrevocably sweeping out her past—everything that had made up her life before she had gone to Las Vegas. It seemed like saying none of it had any value anymore—all she’d worked for over many years. To just get rid of it because Bryce could provide more and better…it simply didn’t sit well with her.

While she waited for the packing people to arrive, she telephoned her mother, letting her know what was happening and asking if there was anything she would like from the apartment. To Sunny’s intense relief, her mother suggested sending everything to her. It could be stored in the garage and the whole family could pick and choose what they could use.

‘Better we keep it for you,’ her mother added. ‘You never know, dear. You might not be happy living so far away in another country.’

‘Mum, I’m married,’ Sunny protested.

‘Yes, and I’m sure you’re wildly in love. I truly hope this marriage works out wonderfully for you, Sunny, but…it was rather hasty, dear. And he is an American, not…well, not what you’re used to. If sometime in the future you want to come back home…’

‘I’m not thinking like that, Mum.’

‘I understand, dear. I’d just feel better about it if we keep things for you.’

Insurance against some unforeseen future?

Sunny frowned. Did she herself feel that? The idea warred with her sense of commitment, yet…who could really know what the future held? All she knew was that keeping her things did make her feel more comfortable.

‘Okay, Mum. The boxes should arrive this afternoon.’ Her mother and sisters lived at Quakers Hill, on the western outskirts of Sydney, not more than an hour away if the truck went there directly. ‘Will you be home to direct where they’re to be stored?’

‘Yes, I’ll be home. What time can I expect you and Bryce tomorrow?’