Billionaire Doctor (House of Kolovsky) - Carol Marinelli Page 0,22

the door and slam it shut. How did he know what a dangerous game she’d been playing this week? How could he possibly have known that murky piece of her past when every calorie had been counted and exercised away, where every piece of her flesh had been critically scrutinized and loathed. ‘It really was just for one week... ’ Annie closed her eyes for a second. ‘And today was just an oversight...’ Her voice faded, because she had been quite a silly girl this week.

Or, rather, a silly woman.

She should have known that with her past a crash diet was something she should never have toyed with.

She wanted him to go, wanted him the hell away from her, the tears she’d held back all day spilling out now, and she didn’t want him to see.

But he did.

The man who had kept her at arm’s length all week suddenly pulled her in, and when he wrapped her in his embrace, it was such a sweet relief to give in.

And suddenly the last thing she wanted was for him to go—her heart was hammering again, her breath coming hard and fast, but for entirely different reasons now. She’d never been held like this. Even if she knew she should push away, she didn’t want to. For the first time in the longest time, for the first time in for ever perhaps, she didn’t have to pretend, at least for a minute or two.

‘Go to bed.’ His words were soft, it was the nicest he’d ever spoken to her. The pad of his thumb wiped away a few stray tears. But he was just being nice, wiping away her tears like he would those of a niece or a cousin, because a man like Iosef Kolovsky could never look at someone like her as a woman. So why then were his lips on hers, why wasn’t she gasping in shock at his audacity, why, why why, were her own lips moving to his? The velvet of his flesh was on hers and it was as soothing as it was disturbing—because if ever there was a perfect kiss she’d found it now. There was none of the awkwardness that usually accompanied a first kiss—no ducking to the left as he moved to the right, almost like kissing a long-time lover, his touch, his mouth familiar almost. But never, not for a single second as his tongue chased hers, not for a single second as his hand pressed her face deeper to his, was it accustomed, each stroke of his tongue, each taste of him causing a mini-riot inside her. The only awkwardness was in a mind that was whirling frantically, yet her mouth, her body was utterly at peace with the barrage of sensations he delivered. And most unfamiliar of all— for someone so gauche, for someone light years in experience from the man she was kissing—was the inner confidence, this deep primeval knowing almost, as she kissed him back, that he was lost in it too. Enjoying, relishing it just as much as she was, and as she pulled away and stared long, long into those gorgeous eyes, she knew that no other kiss would ever equal the sheer perfection of this one.

‘Go to bed.’

She could taste him on her lips, her tongue running over them, sucking in the last dregs, seeing her own moisture around his full mouth and shamelessly wanting to kiss it off. Impetuous decisions took but a second to come to, and her mouth opened to deliver a reckless offer.

‘Bed!’ He barked the order, cutting off whatever she was about to say, and turned and slammed the door shut. She wasn’t upset or disappointed at his rapid departure, just stunned at the turn of events. She stood in her hallway, her heart leaping inside, veins thrumming, twitching with lust, stunned, incredulous as she savored again every delicious, breathless, silent moment.

That was his kiss!

If that was his kiss, what the hell would it be like to make love with him?

Chapter 5

It was a fabulous wedding!

All the meticulous preparations paid off in the end. The bride was glowing, the flower girl was adorable and the bridesmaids were stunning!

Despite Annie’s reservations, the spray-on tan hadn’t turned her orange and her hair was still perfectly in place when the speeches ended and the dancing started.

‘Thank God that’s over...’ Melanie was working her way down a bottle of champagne and frantically looking around to see where George was. ‘Do you think we’ll get