Three Rich Men: House of Midnight Fantasies / Forced to the Altar / The Millionaire's Pregnant Mistress

Again she glanced back at Adrien only to discover he’d moved closer. “I’m feeling a bit like a voyeur.”

“I think it’s an interesting commentary on the mores of the past,” he said. “But if it makes you uncomfortable, hand it to me and I’ll read it.”

She noted the challenge in his tone, and she intended to answer it. After all, they were both adults, and she highly doubted anything written in this journal would compare to what was featured in modern literature in terms of sexuality. “I’ll do it.”

After drawing in a deep breath, she turned her attention back to the journal entry. “‘In Z.’s arms, I am a wanton. I barely recognize myself. I allowed him to lower my chemise, allowed him to touch my breasts. Never before have I experienced such pleasure. Never before have I been so open or so free. I wanted more. I wanted all that he could give me.’”

Selene’s words faltered when a hand came to rest on her shoulder. Adrien’s hand. As his fingertips idled over her bare arm, she tried to ignore the rhythmic, enticing motion. Tried to disregard the frisson of pleasure brought about by his touch. “Continue,” he whispered. “It only gets better.”

Good judgment failed Selene and so did her resolve to avoid this very thing. “‘He lifted my skirt and slid his hand beneath my drawers. He touched my most secret place, touched me in ways I had never imagined. My body was no longer mine. It belonged to him …’”

Adrien chose that moment to slide his hand down Selene’s hip, brushing her pelvis briefly before settling his palm on her lower abdomen. She studied his golden skin against her white slacks, the width of his hand, his blunt fingers. He moved completely against her, his solid chest meeting her back.

She only had enough strength to close the journal and mutter, “That’s enough for now.” But she didn’t push his hand away. Didn’t scold him. Didn’t move.

“It’s not enough.”

As if he’d bound her with invisible twine and gave it a tug, she slowly turned to face him. She knew exactly what he planned to do when the image flashed in her mind a split second before he lowered his head.

The minute Adrien’s mouth met hers, Selene stepped into a sensory minefield, bombarded by his subtle, clean scent, the taste of scotch on his lips, the suggestive foray of his tongue against hers. And suddenly it seemed she’d melted into his body, into his soul, experiencing his pleasure as well as her own. Because of this psychic communion, she also knew he needed more from her, wanted more from her.

Still, she had no desire to escape him, no will left to fight. No cause to loosen the grasp she now had on his shoulders even though she’d lost all grip on reality. But the mental as well as the physical connection ended when he stepped back and scrubbed a hand over his jaw.

“My apologies,” he said. “I forgot myself for a few minutes.”

As far as Selene was concerned, he hadn’t forgotten a thing. The kiss had been part of a carefully crafted plan of seduction, and she’d walked right into his trap without a moment’s hesitation.

She reached back, picked up the journal from the desk and tapped it against her open palm. “I’m going to read the rest of this later, and we’ll forget what just happened.”

He backed up a few steps and hid his hands in pockets again. “Go ahead and try to forget it.”

I won’t ….

His thought came to Selene as sharp as a dagger, traveled along the mental passage connecting her mind with his. “We need to maintain a professional relationship.”

He brandished his grin like a pirate wielding a sword, cutting her determination to shreds. “A little late for that.”

All heaven and hell might break loose if she didn’t escape that instant. Self-preservation sent her to the door, clutching the journal to her chest. “I’m going to my room now.”

“One more thing, Selene.”

The soft sound of her name sliding from his lips acted on her like a potent magnet, drawing her around to face him, where she found him holding out a cardboard tube. “What’s that?”

“The plans for the house.”

She moved only close enough to take the tube from his grasp. “Thank you.”

“And let me set you straight on something. I didn’t hire you. Ella did. As far as I’m concerned, you work for her, not me. Which means we don’t have a professional relationship. In fact, if I’d had my way, you would already be gone.”

Selene was so incredulous she almost couldn’t speak. “Is that what this whole thing is all about? You’re trying to drive me away?”

“In the beginning, yes. But not now. Not any longer. I’ve decided I like having you here.”

Without responding, Selene turned, sprinted down the narrow steps and kept a fast pace until she reached the safety of her bedroom. But she feared she might never be safe as long as she lived under the same roof with him.

As she readied for bed, her thoughts kept turning to the absolute bliss she’d experienced in his arms. Too many years had passed since a man had touched her that way, or kissed her with such command.

Looking for a distraction, Selene climbed into bed and opened the diary to the place where she’d left off earlier.

We met again today at the cabin although I realized the risk in that. Yet I could not stay away from Z. He kissed me again and again, and I trembled with pleasure. I craved his touch. He then took my hand and placed it against his trousers where I felt his hardness. He said that when he was certain I was ready, he would join his body to mine. I insisted I was ready, I pleaded with him to show me. At first he denied me, but when I opened my arms to him, it was as if I had unleashed something wild in him, my sweet, gentle Z. He tore away his clothes and removed mine before laying me back on the cot to fill my body. I experienced some pain, as he told me I would, but the pain did not compare to the pleasure.

I knew in those moments I was forever his. I knew that no matter what the future held, he would always be mine. But I fear our time might end in terrible ways after today, for as I left the cabin, I saw one of my father’s field hands lurking in the swamp, and knew I had been caught. I have no idea what fate awaits me and my lover when my father returns from Savannah tomorrow. I only know that whatever happens, every moment I have spent in Z.’s arms will have been worth it. He is my all. My one true love.

Disappointed to find the journal ended with that passage, Selene closed the diary, turned down the light and tried to sleep. She thought about the mysterious lovers and questioned how a man could have so much power over a woman that she would risk it all to be with him. Perhaps even risk her own life.

No doubt about it, Adrien Morrell had cast his spell over Selene. Now it was up to her to break free, before she, too, found herself caught in the clutches of obsession and allowed him to do anything he pleased.

She was quickly becoming his obsession.

Adrien knew all about obsession. Possession. Once he set a plan in motion, be it business or pleasure, he dove in with dogged determination until he got what he wanted. And he wanted her.

Tonight had been a first step toward his goal. A good step. He’d expected her to resist him a little more, but instead she had responded to his kiss with surprising enthusiasm. Unfortunately, even that minimal contact had set him on fire.

After stripping out of all his clothes, he downed the last bit of scotch, set the glass aside and walked to the double doors leading outside. He parted the curtains to see if Selene had ventured onto the veranda, as she had the other night. He found only an empty balcony to match the emptiness in his soul.

He shut off the lights, stretched out on his back across the bed and ran a slow hand down his abdomen. Knowing Selene was only a few steps away made him harder than he’d been in some time. Had him gritting his teeth and firming his resolve not to go to her. He wouldn’t do that until he had an invitation. And he expected to have one, signed, sealed and delivered, very soon.

Right now, he would do whatever he had to do to keep his need for her in check—until the time was right.

He sat motionless at the end of the veranda in the same wicker sofa he’d occupied when Selene had first met him. The full moon cast his imposing frame in bluish light, yet it failed to soften his features, particularly his eyes. Those spellbinding eyes that he kept aimed on her. He looked every bit the stoic king holding court. A dark king.

Totally entranced, Selene maintained her distance a few feet away, watching, waiting. Waiting for him to speak, to move. To say her name.

Like a practiced hypnotist, he called to her simply with his gaze and a slight nod of his head. She effortlessly walked toward him, her mind caught in a fog, her lungs all but absent of air. She noticed immediately the lack of noise— no rustling breeze, no sounds from the swamp below. Not even the chirp of a cricket. Although she found that odd, she kept moving forward until she stood before him. She also realized he was completely nude—and aroused.

Though he didn’t utter a word, she recognized exactly what he wanted. As if bankrupt of free will, she clasped the hem of her gown, pulled it over her head and dropped it onto the ground beside her. Without the least bit of hesitation, she reached out and took his extended hand, allowed him to position her thighs on either side of his thighs. She released a soundless sigh when he lifted her up, then guided himself inside her. The sensations were potent, indescribable. She wanted more, needed more. Needed him to alleviate the dull ache, erase all the years of disappointment. Yet when he failed to move, she knew what he was asking of her. Knew that he waited for her to move first. She began a steady cadence and, in that moment, she became a woman she didn’t recognize. An uninhibited woman who strived to please him, as well as herself, as he joined her in reckless abandon.

Still, there was no noise, no sounds of broken breaths, no quiet moans of satisfaction. Only absolute silence. Selene could feel the beat of her heart, the flutter of her pulse, the pressure beginning to build as she hurled toward a climax. Then Adrien stopped moving altogether and buried his face in the cleft of her breasts.

She wanted to ask why he had stopped, but she couldn’t speak. She could only lift his head and force him to look at her. Again she saw his utter pain immediately before his face began to blur and fade completely, followed by a flash of white light that blinded her.

Selene forced her eyes open and bolted upright. She wasn’t on the veranda, or outside at all. She was in bed.

Frantically she searched the darkened room, only to discover she was completely alone. She patted her body to find her gown was still intact. Obviously she’d been dreaming. A very detailed dream that had seemed so very, very real.

Then awareness dawned. No, not a dream at all. A fantasy.

His fantasy.