Hold on to the Nights Read online

  “I can hardly accept his marriage proposal while I’m still legally wed to you, can I?” she asked. “So yes, I guess that makes you an encumbrance. But then, I doubt you want to be married to me, either. I mean, look at you. You’re the number-one fantasy on the mind of every woman between the ages of fourteen and—and a hundred and fourteen!”

  With a huff of annoyance, she made to move away from him, but he caught her arm. She glanced up at him in alarm, and Graeme forced himself to keep his expression shuttered. No way did he want her to guess how much her words affected him.

  “And what about you, love? Am I the number-one fantasy on your mind?”

  Lara swallowed hard and he thought he saw an expression of longing flitter across her features. Then it was gone.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” she muttered. “I may have lived in a fantasy world when I was a little girl, but I’m all grown-up now. I need more than fantasies to keep me happy, Graeme.”

  “So I take it you’re not writing anymore?”

  She grew still and stared at him. “What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.

  “I only meant that five years ago you were happy enough writing fantasy stories. Don’t tell me you’ve given up writing?”

  “I still write,” she finally admitted, “but the stories aren’t for publication. They’re for a—a unique audience.”

  “Ah,” he said, filling his voice with meaning. “So you write strictly for your own pleasure, do you?”

  Lara eyed him warily. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”

  “You let me read your writing once.” He arched an eyebrow at her.

  She swallowed hard. “Yes, well, those days are gone.”

  “So nobody reads what you write these days?”

  “I didn’t say that, but if you’re asking me to share my stories with you, then the answer is no.” She gave her arm a tug and Graeme released her. “My stories have changed since the days when I let you read them. You’d be shocked.”

  “Really? In what way?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Suffice to say they’re still fantasies, and I’d rather keep them private.”

  “Ah, but you haven’t completely given up on fantasies,” he pressed, enjoying her discomfort. Or kept them private, he thought.

  “Maybe not,” she admitted, “but at least I no longer expect them to come true.”

  Graeme remembered a time when both he and Lara had lived in a fantasy world, and he’d been her knight in shining armor. He’d thought that they would have their happily ever after, but it had turned out to be nothing more than a badly written fairy tale. He didn’t mind so much for himself. He was accustomed to a certain amount of disillusionment.

  He’d grown up in the tough south-side neighborhood of Glasgow. His mother had worked three jobs so that she could send Graeme and his brother to the exclusive Glasgow Academy, rather than the inner-city school near their home.

  Graeme had been thirteen, and he still remembered how excited he had been on that first day of class. But he and his brother hadn’t been welcomed by the other boys at the school, and before the week was through, Graeme had been involved in three fights.

  Worse, the boys from the south-side neighborhood had taunted them as they’d arrived home each day in their Academy uniforms. Graeme might have been able to ignore them if he had been by himself, but when they’d begun pushing his younger brother around, he’d seen red and beaten one of the boys bloody. A week later, he’d been expelled from the Academy and forced to return to public school. He’d struggled and worked hard, and had managed to put himself through the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, but he’d seen the worst side of human nature along the way.

  Disillusionment had been part of his life for as long as he could remember, but to see Lara—sweet, idealistic Lara—speak with such disenchantment, caused his chest to tighten.

  He pulled her toward him, seeing the wariness in her eyes. “Let me make you happy, love,” he said, his voice low and husky. “I can make you happy.”

  Sliding a hand beneath her damp hair, he cupped the soft nape of her neck and tipped her face up, his eyes raking her flushed features. She exhaled softly and her lashes fluttered, and Graeme bent his head to cover her lips with his own.

  9

  FOR JUST an instant, Lara stood stiff and unresponsive in his arms. Then she made an incoherent sound of need and wound her arms around his neck, her fingers tunneling through his hair and holding him still as she kissed him back.

  And she didn’t just kiss him. She devoured him. Her lips were soft and urgent, her tongue warm and sweet against his own.“I know,” she whispered into his mouth. “I know you can make me happy.”

  Her husky admission obliterated the miniscule vestiges of control he’d struggled to retain since he’d first entered her room. He’d promised himself that he wouldn’t do or say anything to make her run away again, but he needed to know why she’d sought him out, why she’d given herself to him.

  Being in her hotel room with her reminded him of the weekend that they’d eloped. They’d booked a room at a small Scottish inn and hadn’t come out for two days. In fact, if Lara’s father hadn’t found them and forcibly dragged Lara from his arms, he’d bet they could have happily stayed in that room for a week or more without ever coming out.

  Now here he was, surrounded by her belongings, with her familiar scent filling his senses, and feeling for the first time in a long time that he was where he belonged. Seeing the silver locket had made him realize that he’d been a part of her life for the past five years, whether he’d realized it or not. She hadn’t forgotten him.

  Now, with a hoarse groan, he hauled her against his body, feeling the soft crush of her breasts against his chest. He slanted his mouth over hers, knowing he needed to slow down and do this right, but too desperate to claim her as his own now that she’d dropped all pretenses. He’d thought of her—wanted her—for too long. He’d kept his distance for five years—no longer.

  Lara’s hands were frantically working the button on his pants, hastily and inexpertly, with none of the finesse or teasing she’d demonstrated just an hour or two before.

  “Easy,” he breathed against her mouth. “Here…let me.”

  With their lips still fused, he released the fastening at his waistband. Lara hummed in approval as she slid her hand beneath his jeans and cupped him in her palm.

  Groaning heavily, Graeme dragged his mouth from Lara’s and pressed his lips against the tender skin beneath her ear. His breathing sounded harsh in the quiet room. Lust ricocheted through his gut, and he wanted nothing more than to strip her clothes from her body, drag her to the floor and consume her. The sheer ferocity of his thoughts shocked him, and he forced himself to slow down and gentle his touch.

  “Lara,” he said hoarsely against her neck, “I need—”

  “—to hurry up,” she interrupted. “Please, hurry.”

  Graeme ditched his good intentions. Her voice trembled with urgency, and there was no way he could refuse her. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this aroused. Okay, that wasn’t strictly true; he’d been pretty damned hot for Lara just a while ago in his penthouse suite. But aside from Lara, he couldn’t think of another woman who turned him on so completely. He felt desperate and his fingers trembled as he cradled the fragile line of her jaw in his hands. He searched her eyes and saw the same need reflected there before he angled her face for his kiss.

  She moaned softly against his lips. Her mouth was soft, but her tongue slid strongly against his even as she pushed her free hand beneath the hem of his shirt and over his skin. She sucked on his tongue, drawing a hoarse moan of pleasure from him. He cradled her scalp in one hand, and covered her breast with his other, reveling in the lush fullness.

  Lara dragged her lips free, breathing heavily. “I have to see you,” she said huskily, and pushed his shirt up over his chest. Graeme helped her, pulling it over his head and tossing it onto the floor.

  Her ha
nds were everywhere, sliding over his pecs to his shoulders, and down the length of his ribs to his abdomen, and then lower, to where his jeans were unfastened.

  “You’re so beautiful,” she breathed, pressing her mouth against his chest. “Even more beautiful than I remembered.”

  “You’ve got it all wrong, love,” he rumbled, dragging her T-shirt up over her head and tossing it onto the floor near his own. “You’re the beautiful one.” He cupped her breasts, lifting them and circling the dusky nipples with his thumbs. “So pretty,” he murmured, before bending his head to flick his tongue against one distended tip.

  Lara gasped softly and her hands moved to his head, her fingers tunneling through his hair as she hummed her approval.

  “Take these off,” she demanded, and Graeme swiftly complied, kicking off his sandals and shucking his jeans. Lara leaned back a little and her eyes darkened to cobalt as she devoured the sight of him.

  “Oh,” she murmured, and her hand closed around his jutting erection. “You’re so gorgeous.”

  Graeme couldn’t help but laugh a little, but the sincerity in her voice caused him to swell even more. “And you’re wearing too many clothes,” he replied gruffly, grasping her by the hips and pulling her closer. “These need to come off.”

  He helped her strip out of the panties, bending to slide the scrap of lace down the length of her legs. When, finally, she wore nothing, Graeme’s mouth went dry. He hadn’t thought anything could be as erotic as her slave-girl costume, but he’d been wrong. Seeing her standing in front of him, looking simultaneously shy and sexy, exceeded all the fantasies he’d had of her, and he’d had plenty.

  He didn’t have time to stand back and admire her, though, because as soon as he straightened she launched herself at him, sliding her arms around him as she pressed her body against his.

  “The way you look at me makes me feel all hot and quivery inside,” she said against his skin. “I like it.”

  Graeme smiled and smoothed his hands over her back to the silken curve of her buttocks, pulling her flush against his body. He couldn’t explain the way he felt, and wasn’t sure he wanted to. Holding Lara felt right, but beneath that he was aware of an aching sensation that began deep in his chest and blossomed outward.

  She wanted a divorce.

  He would give it to her, of course. He’d made a promise to her father that if she came to him and asked him to release her from the marriage, then he would do it. Right now, however, he didn’t want to think about letting her go. Didn’t want to think about her with any other man. For the moment, at least, she was his.

  “You feel so good.” She sighed in pleasure, rubbing herself against him like a sensual cat. “I want to touch you everywhere.”

  As if to prove her words, she slid her hands down to stroke his back, before moving lower. Graeme couldn’t prevent a small growl of satisfaction when she cupped his buttocks and pulled him closer. For just an instant they stared at each other. Graeme saw the need and promise in her eyes, and with a groan of surrender, he bent his head and fastened his mouth over hers. Her lips opened beneath his and her tongue slid against his own. A fresh wave of desire swamped his brain and traveled down his spine like an electric current, shutting down any ability to think rationally.

  With an urgency he couldn’t control, he smoothed his palms over the slender curve of her back to cup her buttocks. She moaned into his mouth and squirmed against him as her hands clutched his back. Graeme could feel her heat pressed against him, and the scent of her desire wafted over him until he felt dizzy with the force of his lust. He’d forgotten how good she smelled. He could easily become intoxicated on the taste of her.

  With a small grunt, Graeme lifted her up, gratified when she hooked her legs around his hips. She wound her arms tightly around his neck and speared her tongue against his, making small noises of approval in the back of her throat. Her fingers dug into the muscles of his back, but Graeme hardly noticed.

  He turned with her in his arms, still holding her luscious rear in his hands, until her back was pressed against the nearest wall. His cock was right there, pressed against her center, and it took no more than one powerful thrust to bury himself in her slick heat.

  Lara cried out softly, and then used her thighs to leverage herself up and down on his shaft. Graeme thought he’d never felt anything as amazing as the sensation of Lara’s body fisted tightly around his own. She weighed nothing, and it was no effort at all to support her in his hands as he angled his hips upward, each thrust driving him closer to release.

  But he wasn’t ready to end their lovemaking so soon. He wanted to make it last, because once they were through they were…well, through.

  Lara wound her arms tighter around his shoulders and her breath came in quick, warm pants against his neck. “Please, please,” she gasped.

  “Ah, damn,” he groaned. “This feels too good. Here, let’s do this.”

  He turned without withdrawing from her body and in one stride, reached the enormous bed. He eased Lara onto the mattress, gritting his teeth against the sensation of pulling free from her heat. She refused to release him entirely, hooking her hands behind his neck and pulling him down beside her.

  “Don’t leave.”

  “I had no intention, love,” he said grimly, and shifted her so that he could lie alongside her. “There’s something I want to do.”

  Lara twisted to look directly at him, her eyes still hazy with sexual pleasure. “Anything you want,” she said, smiling as she read the intent in his expression.

  Graeme slid one arm beneath her shoulders, pulling her into a more comfortable position against his chest. He tipped her face up and lowered his mouth back to hers, feasting on her lush lips and using his tongue to tease her until she shifted restlessly against him.

  He smoothed his free hand down the length of her body, palming her soft breasts and teasing her nipples until she moaned into his mouth and pushed her hips against his. Graeme knew what she wanted, and he slid his hand over her stomach until he reached the apex of her thighs, urging them apart. He parted her damp curls until he found her center, and swirled his finger over the slick little nub nestled there.

  “Oh,” Lara gasped, and her thighs fell open to grant him better access.

  Graeme smiled against her lips, absorbing her small noises of pleasure. Her arousal thrilled him, made him feel as if he was king of the world because he was the one who doing this to her, making her crazy with need. He increased his movements until she trembled and pushed her hips against his hand. When he eased a finger into her, she gave a soft cry, and arched toward him, sliding her thigh over his hip as she strained for more of the intimate contact.

  She was wet and swollen with desire, and Graeme carefully inserted a second finger, stretching her to accommodate him, and used the pad of his thumb to torment the small rise of flesh.

  “Oh, Graeme,” she said brokenly.

  “I’m here, love,” he said, his voice roughened with emotion. He used his tongue to open her mouth, sweeping inside even as he increased the movement of his fingers. Lara trembled, and her hands clutched at him convulsively.

  “Omigod,” she gasped, dragging her mouth to stare up at him with something like amazement. Her lips were parted and swollen from his kisses, her eyes heavy-lidded and dazed with arousal. “I’m going to come.”

  Graeme’s body responded to her words, his cock so heavy and aching that it took all his restraint not to push her legs apart and sink into her slick heat. But he wanted this to be about her pleasure; he wanted to make her happy, even if it was just for a short time. He wanted to memorize how she looked, wanted to lock this moment into his brain so that he could replay it in minute detail later on. So he swallowed thickly and watched in utter fascination as she stiffened in his arms and then shuddered, her entire body flushed with her building orgasm.

  Her eyes locked with his as her inner muscles contracted around his fingers and her hips bucked, and a harsh cry was torn from her th
roat, until finally she went limp and her head dropped back to the mattress, her breathing ragged.

  “Oh,” she finally breathed, “that was…incredible.”

  Graeme tightened his arm around her and pressed his lips against her temple. Watching her had been amazing. He didn’t think he’d ever tire of seeing her come undone with him.

  Unbidden, an image of her doing this with another man filled his head. Jealousy, fierce and hard and hot, swamped him. He rolled onto his back beside Lara and flung an arm over his eyes, as if by doing so he could block out the mental pictures that played through his mind.

  He felt the mattress dip as Lara raised herself on one elbow and looked down at him. When she cupped his jaw with one hand, he cracked an eyelid to look at her. Her face was flushed, her damp hair beginning to dry in wild disarray around her face. Her eyes were clouded now, watching him with a mixture of trepidation and concern.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, and caught her lower lip between her teeth, nibbling on the fullness.

  Graeme groaned and reaching up, buried his hands in her hair and drew her down for a kiss that seemed to reach into his very soul. When they finally pulled apart, they were both breathing hard. Lara’s hair curtained their faces as she traced a finger along his lower lip.

  “You always were a good kisser,” she murmured reflectively.

  “You always made it easy for me,” Graeme said huskily, fastening his gaze on her lips. “Your mouth drives me mad.”

  He watched, entranced, as her face and neck blushed with color. Leaning forward, she gave him a soft, moist, openmouthed kiss that ricocheted straight to his groin and caused him to swell even more.

  “My mouth is going to drive you mad,” she promised, and before Graeme could guess her intent, she began working her way down the length of his body, stroking him with her hands as she covered his bare skin with hot, wet kisses.

  He bent his arms behind his head to watch her, knowing more than just her mouth drove him crazy. In fact, he was beginning to suspect that he was falling hard for his own wife.