The Helen Bianchin Collection (Mills & Boon E-Book Collections) (243 page)

Yet how could it be, she agonized hours later as she lay spent beside him. A long, slow loving so incredibly tender she'd almost wept as he brought her to orgasm, then just as she thought it was over he took her soaring to impossible heights and beyond.

Afterward she had pleasured him, embracing every muscle, annointing every inch of skin in a flagrant trail that left him groaning with a need so intense it was almost beyond control.

What followed was nothing less than a pagan coupling, primitive and unrestrained as they were driven by an intoxicating frenzy that was wild, erotic and totally shameless.

Slowly, with infinite care, Stephanie slid out from beneath the covers, caught up her robe and moved silently down to the lounge.

Moonlight slipped through the partly open shutters, and she adjusted them slightly to ensure a clear view of the yard. Everything was still, and the moon cast long shadows from the few trees and shrubs.

In the distance a dog barked, then quietened, and
she stood gazing out into the opalescent night, silent and lost in introspective thought.

It was there Raoul found her, after stirring and finding an empty space beside him, and he'd moved quickly, silently, through the house until he reached the lounge and saw her slender form outlined beside the window.

Something tugged at his heart. She stood so still, so obviously lost in thought. How long had she been there?

Her arms were crossed at her midriff, and she looked so alone, almost forlorn.

‘Unable to sleep,
cherie?
' he queried quietly as he moved to stand behind her. He slid his hands around her waist and drew her back to rest against him.

Stephanie felt his lips caress the delicate pulse beat at the edge of her neck, and let herself sink into him.

‘It's a beautiful night,' she said huskily, and felt a sensation arrow through her body as he nuzzled an earlobe.

‘Oui.'
His fingers splayed down over her stomach and slid between the opening of her robe. ‘I have to fly back to Paris at the end of the week.'

Her heart lurched, then stopped beating for a few seconds. Pain seeped through every pore in her body, and she could almost swear she forgot to breathe.

The moment she'd been dreading had finally arrived. Why, in her wildest dreams, had she hoped that it wouldn't?

What could she say?
Don't go?

‘I want you with me.'

Paris?
Paris.
It wasn't possible. How could she even consider it? What about Emma? Celeste was wonderful, but she couldn't expect her mother… Besides, there was her job. ‘We live different lives on opposite sides of the world.' She was breaking up inside. ‘But we don't—'

‘Have a future?' His hands slid to her shoulders and he turned her around to face him. ‘Yes, we do.'

Pride was responsible for the way her chin lifted, and her gaze was steady. ‘As sometime lovers who spend a week or two together whenever the timing is right?'

‘No. I have something different in mind.'

‘I'm not
mistress
material,' she assured sadly.

His teeth showed white as his mouth curved to form a musing smile. ‘I'm relieved to hear it.'

‘I have a child, a career,' she stated.

‘This career,
here,
is too important for you to give up?' Raoul queried.

‘I have responsibilities, financial commitments.'

‘If the financial commitments were removed?'

‘What are you suggesting?'

‘Marry me.'

Shock deprived her of the ability to speak, and when she found her voice, the words emerged as little more than a whisper. ‘What did you say?'

‘Marry me,' Raoul repeated gently.

‘You're not serious?'

‘I can assure you I have never been more serious in my life.'

‘But—'

‘If a career is so important to you, I can arrange a position in marketing, or any field you choose.'

She didn't doubt it. ‘Raoul—'

‘I have an apartment in Auteuil, and a home in the Chinon wine region of the Loire Valley. Emma will delight in spending weekends and holidays there.'

‘You're going too fast,' she protested.

‘No,' he denied quietly. ‘I want you with me, as my wife, wherever I happen to be in the world. Emma is a part of you that is everything to me. Perhaps in a few years there will be a sister or brother for her to love and care for. But for now, we share whatever the future holds…together.'

Stephanie felt the prick of tears, and fought hard to control them.

‘I have important meetings in Paris next week. Four days,
mon amour,
then I'll be back and we will arrange our wedding. Your parents will return to Paris with us for Christmas.'

Christmas
was only weeks away. ‘It's too soon…we can't—'

‘We can. Easily.' Money, sufficient amounts of it, had a power of its own.

‘You love me.'

It was a statement, not a query. She could only wonder at her own transparency, and how long he'd known.

He cradled her face in his hands, glimpsed the fleeting emotions, and appraised each and every one of them. ‘I took one look at you that first day on the
film set,' he revealed softly. ‘And knew my life would never be the same again.'

Any minute soon she'd wake and discover this was nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of her subconscious mind.

‘Be with me, stay with me. Eternity.
Je t'aime, mon coeur.'

Her bones turned to liquid, and she wound her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers, initiating a kiss that reached to the very depths of her soul.

‘I fought against becoming emotionally involved with you every step of the way,' Stephanie revealed in a voice just above a whisper. ‘I tried so hard to convince myself you were a complication I couldn't afford. But everywhere I turned, there you were. I couldn't seem to escape you.'

His lips were creating an evocative path at her temple, and she could almost feel his smile.

‘You noticed.'

‘You didn't play fair. You charmed my daughter, not to mention my mother.'

‘They were my strongest allies.'

‘It was almost as if you had a hidden agenda.'

‘Assignment,' Raoul corrected, and nuzzled her soft curve at the edge of her neck. ‘Father to Emma. And husband…
yours.
'

It took her a moment to catch her breath, then a slow sweet smile curved her lips. ‘Reverse the order,' she teased unmercifully. ‘And I might think about it.'

‘Might you, indeed?' Raoul growled huskily. He swept an arm beneath her knees and lifted her against his chest.

A bubble of laughter escaped her lips. ‘What is this, persuasion?'

‘Sweet torture,' Raoul assured huskily. ‘Until you say
yes.
'

It didn't take long. Not very long at all.

T
HEY
were married by a Celebrant in a civil ceremony held in a restored nondenominational church set in beautiful gardens by the river. Stephanie's father gave her away, Celeste was matron of honor, and Emma the flower girl.

The bride wore a short cream dress overlayed with scalloped lace, while the groom was resplendent in a perfectly tailored black suit.

Afterward they ate fine food and drank Cristal champagne.

Two days later Raoul, Stephanie and Emma, together with Celeste and Philip flew to Paris where they held another ceremony, a reaffirmation of their vows, for the benefit of Raoul's family.

Sandrine and Michel attended, as did Anneke and Sebastian. Henri stood proudly as head of the family, and Madeleine, the elderly matriarch, gave her blessing and thanked Stephanie for introducing a great-grandchild into the family. Premature, perhaps, for the legal adoption that would change Emma's surname from Sommers to Lanier would not be official for a while.

Two Lanier wives hid a secretive smile, and remained silent. It was too soon to share the news that
next Christmas, God willing, there would be two babes for Madeleine to fuss over.

Raoul noted Stephanie's faintly wistful expression and linked her fingers with his own.

‘Happy?'

She turned her head toward him, and her radiant smile took his breath away.

‘Yes,' she said simply, amazed that he needed to ask, when every night she responded to his lovemaking with such a wealth of unbridled passion. ‘How would you feel about—'

‘Oui.'

‘I didn't finish.'

He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed a lingering openmouthed kiss to the pulsing veins at her wrist. ‘
Mon coeur,
you don't need to.'

Her eyes sparkled with wicked humor. ‘You read minds?'

‘Yours,
mon amour,
is particularly transparent.'

‘That's something I'm going to have to work on,' she said with mocking amusement, and heard his soft husky laughter.

‘You are the other half of me, part of my soul. I look at you, and know your mind, your heart, as well as I know my own.'

‘Tu es ma vie. Je t'adore.'

His mouth brushed her temple.
‘Merci, mon ange,'
he said gently, and felt her fingers tighten around his own.

Life, he acknowledged, didn't get any better than this.

ISBN: 978-1-474-05003-6

THE HELEN BIANCHIN COLLECTION

MARRIED FOR CONVENIENCE

Forgotten Husband
© 1995 Helen Bianchin
The Marriage Arrangement
© 2001 Helen Bianchin
The Husband Test
© 2001 Helen Bianchin

LATIN LOVERS

A Convenient Bridegroom
© 1999 Helen Bianchin
In the Spaniard’s Bed
© 2003 Helen Bianchin
The Martinez Marriage Revenge
© 2008 Helen Bianchin

MISTRESS ARRANGEMENTS

Passion’s Mistress
© 1994 Helen Bianchin
Desert Mistress
© 1996 Helen Bianchin
Mistress by Arrangement
© 1999 Helen Bianchin

GREEK’S PRIDE

The Stefanos Marriage
© 1990 Helen Bianchin
A Passionate Surrender
© 2002 Helen Bianchin
The Greek Bridegroom
© 2002 Helen Bianchin

THE MARRIAGE BED

An Ideal Marriage?
© 1997 Helen Bianchin
The Marriage Campaign
© 1998 Helen Bianchin
The Bridal Bed
© 1998 Helen Bianchin

SEDUCTION ASSIGNMENT

The Seduction Season
© 1988 Helen Bianchin
The Marriage Deal
© 1999 Helen Bianchin
The Husband Assignment
© 2000 Helen Bianchin

Published in Great Britain 2016
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins
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