Master of Her Virtue - By Miranda Lee Page 0,54

this holiday was give her pleasure. And now he’d gone and spoiled things with his impatience.

He sighed. ‘I still shouldn’t have kissed you till we got back to the privacy of the hotel,’ he grumbled with true regret in his voice. ‘I knew if I did I wouldn’t be able to stop. I’m sorry, Violet. Truly sorry. It’s just that I’ve been so damned frustrated. Three months is a long time for a man to go without sex.’

Leo could not believe how relieved he was when she smiled at him.

‘I could have said no, Leo. It was as much my fault as yours.’

God, but he loved how honest she was. Because it was true, in a manner of speaking. At the same time, he could see that something was still bothering her. Her smile certainly didn’t match the smile she’d given him when she’d first climbed into the back of the limousine. Perhaps because it didn’t reach her eyes. Violet had very expressive eyes.

‘I still shouldn’t have started it,’ he admitted, his eyes searching hers. ‘You’re angry with me, aren’t you?’

‘Of course not,’ Violet said. She was angry with herself for being foolish enough to believe that Leo might actually have fallen in love with her. Joy had been right and she was wrong: Leo was a womaniser. Why he’d gone three months without sex to wait for her was anybody’s guess. Possibly because it was something he hadn’t tried before, using enforced celibacy as a type of foreplay. It had certainly made her desperate for him. Had he known that? Was that why he’d made her promise not to date anyone else? It certainly hadn’t been because he would have been jealous.

Joy’s advice about enjoying her Parisian holiday for what it was had been spot-on as well. Clearly, all Leo was offering her was a few days of sightseeing and sex, with the emphasis on sex. If only she could accept that. If only she could stop hoping for more...

Time to grow up, Violet. Time to get dressed as well.

She shuddered at how it would look if someone opened the door and saw her sitting astride Leo in her birthday suit. They would assume—rightly so—that she was a very wanton creature. To claim that it was love which had made her act so shamelessly would not wash. She wasn’t so sure that it washed with her. Leo had once said that lust was much more powerful than love. Violet was beginning to see what he meant. If anyone had told her that she would have sex with Leo in the back of a limousine within minutes of arriving in Paris, she would not have believed them. Lord knew what else was in store for her during the next five days!

Violet tried to drum up some much-needed sense of decorum. But suddenly, her head and her body were overwhelmed by the most corrupting excitement. She knew if she didn’t get off Leo’s lap right then and there she might do something seriously wicked. Because she still wanted more. More and more and more.

Leo saw her face flush as she lifted herself off him and reached for her underclothes. It bothered him that she still felt ashamed of what they’d just done. Possibly it wasn’t shame responsible for the pink in her cheeks, just a return to the physical shyness she’d suffered from when he’d first met her.

And, whilst Leo had been initially captivated by Violet’s innocence and inexperience, he did not want her to stay that way. It certainly wasn’t good for her to develop negative feelings where sex was concerned. Hopefully, during the next few days, Leo could help her see that nothing they did together was shameful or wrong. There was nothing embarrassing about showing him her very beautiful body either. If he had his way, she’d be spending a lot of time naked during their stay in Paris. And not always just in bed.

Still, he made a point of not watching her whilst she dressed, lest it make her uncomfortable. The driver’s announcement through the intercom that they would shortly be arriving at the hotel coincided with Violet reaching for her last piece of clothing, her jacket.

‘Here. Let me help you with that,’ he offered.

‘Thank you,’ she said politely.

Too politely, Leo thought, like they were strangers. Or enemies. She was avoiding his eyes as well. He had to say something to break the ice, for that was what he was getting from her suddenly. A distancing chill.

‘I