The Billionaire's Bride of Innocence

‘Not just now,’ she said tersely, and pulled her hand out of his hold.

James frowned as only James could, his thick dark brows beetling together, his black eyes glittering with instant disapproval. ‘As much as you’re looking incredibly lovely today, my darling, you don’t want to lose any more weight. Not if we’re going to try for another baby.’

Her nostrils sucked in sharply before she could stop them.

‘Is there a problem with that?’ he demanded to know straight away. ‘Is it still too soon for you?’

A hundred years would be too soon, she wanted to scream at him. Oh, God, what if she never wanted to have another baby? What if this fear never passed?

‘The doctor said there was no physical reason for you to have another miscarriage,’ James went on before she could find the right reply. ‘Look, you said when we married that you wanted a big family.’

‘Yes, I know I did,’ she said tightly. And she still did!

It was all so impossible, Megan realised despairingly.

‘Tell me what’s bothering you,’ he persisted.

‘I can’t.’

‘You can, you know,’ he said, reaching over and touching her hand again. ‘You can tell me anything. Would it help if I said I already know what it is?’

Megan snatched her hand away from under his. He knew she didn’t want to have a baby? Knew she was on the Pill?

‘You think you don’t want sex any more,’ he pronounced baldly as he sat back in his chair.

Megan almost laughed, just managing to hide her reaction by looking away and picking up her orange juice.

Any secret amusement—however perverse—was soon squashed when he rose abruptly from his chair and strode round to hers. Megan froze whilst he swept the glass of juice from her hand and banged it back onto the tray. Two seconds later, her chair had been twisted away from the table and he was pulling her up into his arms.

‘I should have done this last night,’ he growled as his mouth swooped.

Megan didn’t want him to kiss her, not right now!

But there was no stopping him.

She tried not to respond but it was a futile struggle from the start. Her mind quickly dissolved, along with her body. There was no thought of resistance. There was nothing but blind acceptance that this was where she wanted to be. In his arms. She forgot, in the heat of the moment, that her period had arrived just before dawn that morning…

Chapter Four

YES!

A wild elation swept through James when Megan finally responded. For a moment there, he’d thought she was going to reject him again.

But there was no rejection in the way she was suddenly pressing herself against him.

God, but he’d really missed her. Missed this.

She was so sweet, he thought as his mouth softened against hers. Delicious, really. His mind was already racing ahead of his actions, thinking of how for once he would make love to her out of a bed and in broad daylight. Soon he’d pick her up and carry her over to the red leather sofa under the window. Soon he’d be inside her.

First, however, he would have to get her a little more excited, or she might object. She really was incredibly shy.

He lifted his mouth from hers but he didn’t let her go, turning her round in his arms so that her back was against him. His left arm wound tightly around her waist, his right hand left free. Free to slide into the neckline of her robe and cup her breast, playing with her nipple through the thin silk of her nightie.

It was larger than he remembered. Larger and more responsive. Megan moaned softly as he played with it.

James was stunned when she wrenched herself out of his arms and whirled away.

‘You…you have to stop,’ she said, her voice shaking.

‘But why?’ he snapped. ‘You want it. I know you do.’

‘Yes, I do,’ she admitted, her face flushing. ‘I’m sorry, but we…we can’t do anything right now. I have my period.’

James almost swore. But just as well he hadn’t: Megan was not the sort of girl one used words like that with.

‘For how long?’ he asked, still a little sharply. But, hell on earth, he was in agony.

‘Till Friday at least,’ she said.

That was five whole days away! For a few seconds James struggled with his frustration before realising that those five days would eventually pass. After which…

‘Will your period definitely be finished by Saturday?’

‘Saturday should be fine,’ she said, and blushed prettily.

His eyes raked over her, noting that her eyes were sparkling and her nipples hard as rocks. It was going to be difficult keeping his hands off her till then.

He’d have to work out even harder in the gym this week to work off his frustrations.

‘We’ll fly out to Dream Island first thing Saturday morning,’ he pronounced firmly.

Megan’s eyes widened. ‘But you haven’t even booked yet. How do you know you’ll get a booking for next Saturday? Or even a flight?’

‘Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that. I’ll organise everything. Come Saturday, we’ll be on Dream Island.’

‘How long will we be gone for?’ she asked.

James was about to say a week. He really couldn’t afford to be away from the office for longer than that at the moment. He’d just started up a new addition to his business: a casting agency to cater for the increasing number of movies being made in Australia. But then he remembered that he wasn’t just whisking Megan away to have a twenty-four-seven sex-fest with her. He wanted to get her pregnant.

He’d forgotten that for a moment!

He quickly worked out the dates from what she’d told him about her period. Her peak time for conceiving would be a fortnight from today, give or take a few days either way. If they didn’t leave Sydney till Saturday he’d have to extend their holiday to at least ten days, just to be on the safe side. He couldn’t rely on getting her pregnant after they came back. She might go back into her shell when she returned. No, he would have to strike whilst his wife was hot. Which she was—very hot.

‘I thought ten days,’ he said.

She suddenly began to look worried again, for some reason.

Despite his earlier resolve to keep his hands off, he swiftly gathered her back into his arms, and kissed her again. It was worth the pain to feel her melt against him once more. Still, it was going to be a long week, sleeping beside her in bed and not being able to touch her. Knowing him, he was sure to try something and spoil everything. Better to keep her at arm’s length.