Lora_Leigh_Bound_Hearts_2_Submission[1].pdf (2 page)

cheekbones. Her lips were colored with a soft dawn shade, and at the moment the

lower lip appeared slightly swollen, as though she had been biting at it as she walked

upstairs.

“I’m not a teenager, Ella.” He watched her carefully, aware that her blue eyes were

a shade darker than normal, the pupils slightly dilated. He wondered if her pussy was

wet, or if she had mastered control over even that part of her body.

“I’m aware of your age,” she said coldly. “I’ll leave you then to get settled in. If you

need anything, the house is laid out fairly simple, and everything is easy to find. I’ll talk

to you later.”

“Ella?” He stopped her as she turned for the door.

He caught the ready, tense set of her body, as though she were preparing herself for

a battle. She turned back to him, her expression carefully closed, cool.

“Yes, James?” She kept her voice well modulated, soft yet not simpering.

“Am I allowed to come out of my room if I’m a very good boy?” James kept his

voice low, teasing. There was no way in hell he was going to get close to her if she

didn’t loosen up a little.

She was wary, almost frightened of him, and she almost succeeded in hiding it.

Almost. He knew her better than she knew herself in some ways. She stiffened further,

her perfectly arched brows snapping into a frown.

“I’m not in the mood for your games.” Her voice was non-confrontational, but the

flush along her cheekbones warned him of the coming storm. Damn, he loved pissing

her off. Watching her eyes glitter in ire, her pale cheeks flushing so prettily. It gave him

a glimpse of what she would look like in passion.

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He tilted his head curiously. “Shame. Tess assured me you would welcome my

company. I’m feeling as though I’m putting you out, Ella. Perhaps I should stay in a

hotel until the house is ready.”

For a moment—a very brief, infuriating moment—satisfaction glittered in her eyes,

until she remembered Tess and her promise to make James comfortable. Her lips

thinned as she drew in a deep, careful breath. The smile that she pasted on her face had

little to do with warmth; it damned near caused frostbite.

“You’re perfectly welcome, James. Tess’s little friends are always welcome in my

home, you know that.”

Ouch. Little friends? He chuckled silently. She was finding every opportunity to

remind him that he was several years younger than she was. The six years made little

difference to him. As a matter of fact, it seemed perfect. An older man would never

keep up with the passions he knew ran beneath that cool exterior.

He allowed a smile to curve his lips as he stared at her intently. “Little friends? I’m

hardly that young, Ella.”

“Not far from it,” she grumbled. “I have work to do, James. Make yourself at home,

and perhaps I’ll talk to you later.”

But not if she could help it.

“What type of work?” He stopped her again. “I was unaware you worked. Jase

should have given you a very healthy settlement from the divorce.” By God, if he

hadn’t, James would be talking to him about it.

“That’s none of your business.” She frowned again. “What I do, James, I do for my

own pleasure and how Jase decided to pay me for the divorce is none of your concern.”

Pay her for the divorce? James was damned well aware that she was much less than

happy in that marriage, yet she sounded bitter, rejected. Had she cared more for Jase

than he had once thought? That idea didn’t set well in his mind, or in his heart.

“Ella, you weren’t happy, and neither was Jase,” he said softly.

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“I refuse to discuss this with you.” She straightened her shoulders majestically, her

lips thinning as her anger grew. “I don’t mind your presence here, James, but I don’t

have time to entertain you. You’ll have to find your amusements elsewhere.”

“But you said no women.” She stopped again as she turned to leave.

“No women.” She shook her head tightly, her voice strained. “Not in my home,

James. Never again in my home.”

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“You know, you need a housekeeper or a cook.” James’ voice early the next

afternoon had her jumping in startled awareness as she finished filling the coffeepot.

She turned, facing him, thinking what a shame it was that one man would have such

sexual presence.

He stood propped against the doorway, dressed in dark blue silk slacks and a

lighter blue silk shirt. His jacket was held at his shoulder by the crook of his finger, and

his green eyes regarded her with lustful secrets.

“I’m perfectly capable of cooking my own meals and cleaning my home.” She

shrugged. She had been raised to do for herself, and cleaning gave her something to do,

a way to occupy her hands when her body was filled with restless energy.

He straightened from the doorframe, walking to the table with a casual male grace

that threatened to take her breath. She turned quickly from him, moving to the cabinet

to retrieve her coffee cup. She fought to still her shaking hands, the nervousness in her

stomach that wouldn’t seem to go away. She felt immature, like a quaking child before

him. It was…unbalancing.

“What if you became busy? Or found a lover?” he asked her then.

Ella fought back her panic. She felt aged, past the time when she could have

worried about the future, or a man in her life.

“I’m not looking for a lover, James.” She poured her coffee, moving with what she

hoped was casual unconcern to the work isle in the center of the room.

She leaned her hip against it, lowering her head as she concentrated on stirring

cream and sugar into the dark liquid. She was aware that he was watching her, his eyes

dark, intent. She was well aware of his desire for her; a desire she knew wouldn’t last

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beyond the moment. She had no illusions about herself. She was growing older, and her

body was slowly showing the signs of it. It wasn’t something she worried much about,

until she was faced with James. He made her feel young, made her feel desired, and it

was dangerous to allow herself to be convinced that it could go further. Too dangerous

for her heart.

She watched as he laid the jacket over the back of a chair then moved to the cabinet

and snagged a cup for himself. His arm reached up, muscles bunching in his shoulders

and back. She shivered, her hands itching to touch him, to feel the strength of motion

beneath his flesh.

He turned back to her, leaning against the counter as he regarded her quizzically.

“Do you have a lover?”

His voice was whisky rough and dark. It caused arousal to zip along her nerve

endings, her skin to become sensitive, needy for his touch. She hated it.

“That’s really none of your business.” She fought to stay in control. He would leave

soon; she knew Jase depended on him at the corporate offices. Not that she understood

any of the legal talk she had ever heard in the past, but his job, she knew, was

complicated and often required late nights and full days. She was hoping that would

keep him out of her hair for the most part.

“Maybe I want to make it my business.” His voice hardened imperceptibly as he

watched her, his gaze brooding.

Ella couldn’t stop the surprise that she knew was reflected on her face. She blinked

over at him, her chest tightening in unwanted excitement, her vagina throbbing in

unwanted preparation for his touch.

“Why would you want to?” She couldn’t understand his desire for her in any way.

“I’m not in the market for complications, James. A lover is, by his very nature, a

complication.”

He tilted his head, his lips quirking in amusement as she raised the coffee cup to

her lips.

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“Don’t you ever get horny, Ella?” She nearly dropped the cup. The coffee she had

just taken into her mouth threatened to choke her as it went down the wrong way.

She wheezed, her eyes widening, tearing as she stared at him in shock.

“For God’s sake,” she bit out when she could breathe again. “Is that any of your

business, in any way, James?”

“Actually, it is.” He shrugged his shoulders with deceptive laziness. “I want you,

Ella. I want to lay you down and touch you in all the ways a man can. I want to fuck

you until you’re screaming out in agony, because it feels so damned good it hurts. So

yeah.” He nodded. “It’s my business.”

The breath lodged in her throat. She felt her cunt cream, her thighs tremble at the

thought of him powering into her, fucking her as she screamed. She had never

screamed, never wanted anything desperately enough to beg. But she couldn’t have

James. Anger, directed at herself, at him, poured through her.

She felt her face flush, her body tremble, as she fought for control.

“Sorry, James.” She smiled tightly. “I’m really not in the market for a toy boy this

year. I guess you just lucked out.”

She didn’t give him time to reply. Before he could cut her down, before he could

tempt her further, she swept from the room, rushing to the safety of her bedroom where

her control wasn’t as important. Where it wouldn’t matter if the tears that filled her eyes

escaped. All that mattered was that James didn’t know.

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She wouldn’t survive this. Ella escaped to her bedroom, locked the door clumsily

behind her and stood against it, breathing raggedly. She was flushed, heated, her body

tingling. She hated it.

Her fists clenched as she felt her vagina spasm, growing wetter by the second as she

remembered the sound of his dark, velvet voice. The deep baritone stroked over her

senses then plunged heatedly into her womb. How was she supposed to maintain her

control this way? She despised the person she had been while married to Jase. She had

acted like a harpy, her fury and fears driving her to rages that had terrified her.

For years. Years she had fought him and what he wanted from her. Because she had

known how much he wanted from her. The sexual excesses he enjoyed. She pressed her

fists to her stomach, fighting the driving, insidious images that pounded at her brain.

She could have tolerated it, she told herself. She could have allowed herself to let go if

she hadn’t known the man who would eventually arrive.

Jase was nothing if not honest. He had never lied to her when his sexuality had

begun emerging. They had been in their early twenties, and his need to dominate, to

control her sexual responses had at first seemed merely harmless play. He hated her

controlled sexuality. Her fear of letting go, of giving him the responsibility of pleasing

her.

Ella had hated his need for it. She had married him because she was pregnant. She

had cared for him, had felt a warmth and gentle desire for him, but what he needed she

had never wanted. Until she met James. Until she saw in his wicked, knowing eyes, the

truth about herself.

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God, he had been twenty-six, and she was already in her thirties. She had felt like a

cradle robber, looking at him, feeling her pussy gush with moisture, her breasts

swelling in desire. And then, she had begun to fantasize. When Jase took her, his cock

burrowing into her as he held her to the bed, she imagined it was James.

When he tied her to the bed, her nipples would bead instantly as she thought of

James tying her down, thought of James tormenting her body, driving her ragged with

need. And when Jase had suggested a ménage, she had thought of James, yet still

pretended her husband wasn’t truly serious.

Until the day James had walked into the room Jase had set up for his play. Tied to

the narrow bed, her legs gaped open, as Jase grew more and more frustrated over her

lack of response. James had walked in, his brilliant eyes going to her smooth, bare

pussy and she had creamed instantly. She had fought Jase, vowing to never allow him

to touch her again. The screaming match that ensued lasted for years. Until the divorce.

She couldn’t stand it. For years she had pushed her own needs back, fought to

forget James and the terrible desires that raged through her system. Until she walked in

and saw Tess with Jesse, James’ twin brother. Betrayal had sliced through her soul. And

Jesse, damn his black heart, had known. She had seen it in his eyes, in the sardonic lift

of his mouth.

Her hand raised to one throbbing breast as the ache in her nipples seemed to only

grow. Her fingers glanced over the hard point beneath the silk blouse and sheer bra she