Page 27 of Pregnancy Clause in Their Paper Marriage
‘What?’ she said finally. ‘You’re...’ She meant to say joking, but at the sight of the almost sombre look on his face, she found she couldn’t.
‘I’m serious,’ he replied in the affable tone he so often used, but she sensed something underneath—an uncertainty, perhaps, or a defensiveness. ‘Although admittedly, it wasn’t for lack of trying, at least at first.’
She frowned, unsure how she felt about that. ‘What is that supposed to mean, exactly?’
He shrugged as he walked into the bedroom, towards the champagne. Lana watched him peel the foil from the cork and realised she was still only in her underwear, and right then it felt a little...exposing. She grabbed the thick, velvety-soft robe off the back of the bathroom door and shrugged into it, the heavy material enveloping her like one of the fur coats from the kids in Narnia.
‘Christos?’ she prompted when it didn’t seem as if he was going to say anything more.
‘When we first made our deal,’ he explained carefully, his gaze on the bottle of champagne he was opening, ‘I thought I’d do exactly what you’d suggested, and have...liaisons. Very discreet, very brief ones. It seemed reasonable, considering our arrangement as well as your own suggestion, and I decided it didn’t go against my personal ethics.’
No surprises there, then. Lana folded her arms and waited for more. Christos popped the cork on the champagne and then neatly poured two flutes right to the top, managing to make sure that the fizz didn’t overflow.
‘Very nicely done,’ she murmured, and he gave her a quick, rakish smile before handing her a glass. ‘To us,’ he said, and Lana clinked glasses.
‘To us,’ she agreed, although she wondered what aspect ofushe was referring to. The deal they’d made three years, or three days ago? The incredible sex they’d just had, which she was still reeling from? ‘So, you tried to have a...liaison,’ she stated after she’d taken a sip of the crisp bubbles, realising she didn’t actually like to imagine it in any detail. ‘What happened?’
Christos grimaced wryly. ‘Well, I won’t embarrass myself by going into the specifics, but let’s just say it didn’t go according to plan.’
‘What does that mean?’
His grimaced deepened, although she could tell he was trying to find the humour in it. ‘Let’s just say I disappointed the lady in question.’
Lana was surprised to find a bubble of laughter rising up in her throat. ‘Are you implying what I...think you’re implying?’
Christos shrugged, his eyes sparkling over the rim of his glass as he took a sip of his champagne. ‘Fortunately, this lady did not take it as a personal insult.’
‘I can’t believe—’
‘I couldn’t, either. And I don’t intend to find myself in that situation ever again.’ His eyes glinted into hers. ‘And considering what happened just now, I don’t think I will.’
Lana’s stomach fizzed as much as the champagne she was drinking. No, she didn’t think he would, either. Having Christos want her so much, so obviously, had been the most intoxicating aphrodisiac she’d ever experienced. She’d felt powerful in a way she never had before, powerful and desired. Two things she’d never felt with another man, and especially not Anthony. But she didn’t want to think about Anthony now.
‘You must have tried again,’ she remarked after a moment, her lips pursed. She realised she did not like the thought of it. At all.
Christos shook his head. ‘No, trust me, once was enough for that kind of experience.’ He gave a not-so-mock shudder. ‘In any case, after that... I realised I took my marriage vows more seriously than I’d thought.’
Lana took another sip of champagne, mainly to hide the expression on her face—not that she even knew what it was. She felt extraordinarily touched by his admission, as well as pleased, and also disconcerted. Christos was meant to be the master of no-strings sex and yet he’d abstained for three years because of the vows they’d made, back when they’d barely known each other? There seemed to be a fair amount of emotion inthat.
‘I don’t know what to say,’ she said at last. ‘I never thought... I never expected...’
‘I know.’ He put his glass down. ‘And to be clear, I don’t hold you to the same standard, for those three years. Although going into the future is another matter entirely.’
Since he’d been so honest, she felt she had to be, too, and in truth, to her own surprise, she realised she wanted to be. How novel. Howodd. ‘I’m afraid I’m the winner if you want to play that game, Christos,’ she told him with a shaky laugh. ‘Because I beat you by a country mile.’
He stilled, his hazel gaze searching hers. ‘Oh?’
Lana nodded. ‘By quite a few years. Nine, in fact, give or take a few months.’ She swallowed hard, toying with the sash of her robe. ‘Although I thought you might have guessed that, based on some of my reactions.’
‘Well, I suppose I wondered.’ He looked down for a moment, his expression thoughtful and maybe even a little sad, and then he glanced up and a smile spread across his face, humour lighting his eyes, giving them a golden sheen. ‘What a pair we are, eh? Clearly, we have a lot of lost time to make up for.’
Lana found herself smiling back, suddenly almost dizzy with something that felt like more than relief, closer to joy. ‘Clearly we do.’
He closed the space between them in two prowling strides, tugging gently at the sash of her robe, until it came undone, and the robe fell away. His hands slid around her waist, spanning its width and settling there as Lana swayed towards him. Her body was still weak and relaxed from their last bout of lovemaking, but amazingly she felt ready again, and, it seemed, so did he.
‘Are you going to take off your clothes this time?’ she asked wryly, and his eyebrows lifted.
‘Only if you’ll do it for me.’