Master of Her Virtue - By Miranda Lee Page 0,66

of. What if the pimples come back?’

Leo’s heart turned over when he saw the immediate panic in her eyes. Poor darling. As if he would love her any less with a few pimples. But he could see that it would definitely bother her. Those teenage scars had indeed run deep.

‘I very much doubt that would happen now, Violet,’ he reassured her. ‘But if you’re worried you can go see a skin specialist first. London has the best doctors in the world.’

‘The best movie directors in the world too,’ she told him with a warm smile.

Leo was touched by her compliment, and by her obvious love for him. He still could not believe his luck in finding this wonderful girl to spend the rest of his life with. She was so very special. So unique.

‘I could be the best in the world,’ he said warmly, ‘with you at my side. We make a great team. Now, if you’ve had enough of that coffee, it’s high time we retired to our boudoir and celebrated our engagement in a more...private fashion.’

Violet’s pulse-rate soared as they both stood up and Leo put his hand in hers.

‘You’re not going to tie me up again, are you?’ she whispered to him as he led her away.

‘Not unless you want me to,’ he whispered back.

‘No, not tonight. Tonight I want you to make love to me with our arms around each other and our eyes meeting.’

‘You mean in the missionary position?’

‘That’s a silly name for it. I’m renaming it the loving position.’

By then they’d reached the lift and didn’t have to whisper.

‘Okay,’ Leo said. ‘I just hope I can remember how to do it that way. It’s been a while...’

Violet glared up at him and he laughed.

They made love in the loving position not once but twice, Leo realising as he drifted off to sleep afterwards that sex was extremely satisfying that way when the couple loved each other.

Which they did.

Oh yes, they did indeed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

New Year’s Eve, eight months later

‘YOU MAKE A VERY beautiful bride,’ Violet’s mother said. ‘I just love you in that dress. It’s glorious. Don’t you think so, Vanessa?’

‘Absolutely,’ Vanessa replied warmly. ‘Leo’s one lucky man.’

‘I think I’m the lucky one here,’ Violet said as she thought of the man she was about to marry. He was everything she’d ever wanted in a husband, and more. Not just strong, sexy and successful, but sensitive too. And generous to a fault. He’d paid for her whole family to fly down to Sydney for their wedding. He’d also paid too for them to stay at a five-star hotel and be chauffeured around in not one, but two limousines. There were, after all, eight of them now that Gavin had snared himself a fiancée of his own, a truly nice girl who was obviously in awe of the man her future sister-in-law was marrying tonight.

She wasn’t the only one. Her parents thought Leo was the ant’s pants. So did Gavin and Steve. Vanessa was the only one in her family ever to have expressed any doubts over their relationship. Initially, she’d worried that Leo might be too much a man of the world for Violet. But once she’d met Leo, and he’d worked his charm on her, all her doubts had disappeared.

A tap on the door of Henry’s bedroom had the three women turning to see who it was. Henry popped his head inside.

‘Not to worry,’ he said smilingly. ‘It’s only me, not the groom. I do know the tradition, girls. But I have a little surprise for Violet. And here she is!’

So saying, he pushed the door open and in walked Joy, looking extremely elegant in pale grey.

‘Oh!’ Violet cried, delighted almost beyond words. ‘But...but...’ Joy had been invited, of course, but she’d said she couldn’t come, that her arthritis was too bad to sit on a plane that long.

Joy grinned. ‘At the last minute I decided to take up Leo’s offer to fly first class. He’s a very persuasive man, that fiancé of yours.’

Violet laughed. ‘Tell me about it. But I’m so glad to see you,’ she said, coming forward to give her dear friend a big hug.

‘Me too, love. So this is your mum and your sister, I presume? What a good-looking family you have.’

Violet had to smile whilst her mother and sister preened under Joy’s compliment. Leo wasn’t the only charmer in her life, it seemed.

Another tap on the door sent all four women whirling to face it.

‘Just me again,’ Henry said