One Night On The Virgin's Terms - Melanie Milburne Page 0,42

to voice it out loud. They were having a fling, not a relationship that followed a more traditional pattern of dating, courtship, marriage. She had no right to be offended that he didn’t offer to introduce her to his family. She wasn’t a permanent fixture in his life or at least not in a romantic sense. She had never envisaged him as a romantic partner, never allowed herself to think of him in any way other than as her brother’s friend. But one kiss had changed something inside her, which was faintly worrying. She was meant to have kept her emotions out of their arrangement. The last thing she needed was to complicate her life by falling in love with a man who had locked his heart away.

‘I totally understand. Just imagine if I brought you home with me to see my mum. She’d book a wedding planner on the spot and she’d probably beg to be my bridesmaid.’

Louis’ smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘Then it’s best we keep this trip to Paris to ourselves.’

‘Fine. Good plan.’

He moved closer again and leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips. When he pulled back, her lips clung to his like silk snagging on something rough. His mouth came down again, firmer, warmer, more insistent, and her senses skyrocketed. She opened to him and wound her arms around his neck, her body pressing against the hard planes of his frame.

His tongue met hers in a silken thrust that set off fireworks in her blood. Molten heat flared in her core and her legs trembled with the effort of keeping upright. He made a rough sound at the back of his throat and brought her even closer, one of his hands pressed against the curve of her bottom, the other buried in the tresses of her hair. The slight tether of his fingers in her hair felt almost primal, possessive, and a shiver coursed down her spine like a shower of champagne bubbles. Louis angled his head to change position, deepening the kiss even further. An intense ache spread through her flesh, centred in her core where a heavy pulse thrummed.

He lifted his mouth off hers, his breathing heavy, his eyes glinting with desire. ‘Hold that thought, ma chérie. I’d better not be late for my mother’s birthday dinner. I’ll finish this in Paris.’

‘Is that a promise?’

He smiled a sexy smile that made her inner core shiver in anticipation. ‘Damn right it is.’

‘So, Paris this week with Louis, huh?’ Millie said, watching Ivy pack her bag in her bedroom later that evening. ‘What happened to the one-night-only rule? Who changed it? You or him?’

Ivy folded a silk evening blouse and placed it in her bag on the bed. ‘He did.’

‘Woo-hoo. You go, girl. You must have some serious chemistry going on between you.’

Ivy put a matching skirt next to the blouse in her bag. ‘It’s just a fling, Millie. Don’t get too excited. He’s not the falling in love type.’

‘Maybe not, but you definitely are. Are you sure you’re not falling a teensy weensy bit in love with him?’ Millie pressed her thumb and index finger together in a tiny pinching gesture.

‘It would be crazy for me to develop feelings for him.’ Crazy, crazy, crazy—so she had to try even harder to ignore those soft little flutters in her heart every time he looked at her.

Millie picked up a pendant she’d designed for Ivy’s last birthday and ran the fine silver chain through her fingers. ‘Let me know if you want me to design your engagement and wedding rings for you. Mates’ rates and all.’ Her friend might not be able to keep a secret, but she was excellent at spotting a white lie when she heard one.

Ivy turned to pick out some underwear from the wardrobe. ‘Don’t be silly. There’s not going to be an engagement or wedding. We’re calling it quits after Paris.’

She gripped the edge of the drawer and tried to imagine going back to being friends with Louis instead of lovers. How would she be able to do it? How could she look at him and not think of how it felt to be in his arms? To have his mouth clamped to hers, his body buried deep inside her? To feel the stroke of his hand down her spine or to feel his arm slip around her waist and draw her closer? Her body literally ached when she wasn’t with him. She had relived his