Ruthless Russian, Lost Innocence, стр. 39

‘I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Ella,’ he said softly. ‘Will you marry me, my angel?’

He felt her tremble, and mistook her joy for apprehension. ‘I know you have bad memories of your parents’ marriage, but I would never do anything to hurt you. I intend to spend the rest of my life taking care of you, and the baby, and any other children we might have.’

Ella’s heart turned over at the urgency in his voice. ‘I think we’d better concentrate on one baby at a time,’ she teased gently. She hesitated, and then said huskily, ‘I thought you had buried your heart with Irina.’

Vadim shook his head. ‘I loved her, but I’m ashamed to say that I took her for granted. I was ambitious, and often I was so busy chasing deals that I put her second to my business. When I met you, you dominated my thoughts from the start-and I knew I was in trouble when I realised I would rather spend time with you than at work. I thought I could have an affair with you and then dismiss you from my life, but deep down I think I always recognised that you are the other half of my soul, angel moy, and I will love you until I die.’

He cupped her chin and lowered his mouth to hers, claiming her lips in an evocative kiss that made her feel as though fireworks were exploding inside her. ‘I was determined not to fall in love with you,’ she whispered. ‘But I couldn’t resist you. And eventually I was forced to admit that I didn’t want to run from you, but to you. You are my life, my love…’

‘My wife?’ he queried gently.

‘Yes.’ Another tear trickled down her face and he caught it with his mouth, so that she tasted the salt on his lips when he kissed her again, this time with a sensual passion that sent fire coursing through her veins. He was the love of her life, and she told him so when he parted her silvery robe and it whispered to the ground. She stood before him, pale and ethereal in the moonlight. She told him again when he kissed her mouth and throat and breasts, catching her breath when he caressed each dusky nipple with his tongue before he knelt to press hungry kisses over her flat stomach, where their baby lay, and down to the cluster of gold curls between her thighs.

The sensation of his wickedly inventive tongue probing her slick wetness made her cry out, and she curled her fingers into his thick black hair as the intimate caress sent her close to the edge. He stripped out of his clothes with an uncharacteristic lack of grace that made her love him more, and then he spread her on the sand and moved over her, his brilliant blue eyes locked with hers as he entered her and made them one.

‘I thought it was just good sex,’ she said shyly, her eyes widening until they reflected the silvery gleam of the moon as he set a rhythm that drove them both higher.

‘It was never just sex with you, angel,’ he groaned, feeling the first delicious spasms of her orgasm close around him. ‘Every time I made love to you it was with my heart as well as my body-I just didn’t want to admit that you had such a hold on me.’

He moved inside her, and suddenly there was no need for words when their bodies could express the deep and abiding love they felt for each other. It was a love that would last a lifetime and beyond, Vadim vowed, and was finally able to translate the Russian words he had whispered to her every time they had made love, so that she was in no doubt as to how much she meant to him.

EPILOGUE

THEY were married a month later, in a simple but moving ceremony in the grounds of the Villa Corraline. Vadim’s close friend Sergey Tarasov acted as best man, and Jenny flew over to be Ella’s maid of honour. At the reception, Lena Tarasov commented that she had always suspected Vadim had fallen for Ella like a ton of bricks, and the love that blazed in Vadim’s eyes when he looked at his new wife supported her theory.

They returned to London so that Ella could continue to play with the RLO, but, much to Marcus Benning’s disappointment, she announced that she no longer intended to pursue a solo career now that she was going to be a mother.

Their baby daughter was born the following spring, when the cherry blossom trees in the garden at Kingfisher House were in full bloom. They named her Odette, because in the womb she had kicked hardest every time Ella played Tchaikovsky’s score from Swan Lake, and from birth she was instantly pacified by the sound of the violin.

‘Perhaps she’ll grow up to be a famous virtuoso,’ Ella mused one evening as Vadim cradled his newborn daughter, who was refusing to go to sleep and squawked a protest every time her mother put down her bow. ‘Although, of course, she might be a genius business tycoon like her father.’

‘Whatever she chooses to do in the future, she will always know that she is loved,’ Vadim replied deeply. ‘Just as I hope her mother knows that she is the love of my life.’

He lifted his head and trapped her gaze, the tenderness and love in his brilliant blue eyes filling Ella with joy. ‘As you are mine,’ she promised him fervently. ‘Now and for always, my love.’

CHANTELLE SHAW

CHANTELLE SHAW lives on the Kent coast, five minutes from the sea, and does much of her thinking about the characters in her books while walking on the beach. An avid reader from an early age, she found that school friends used to hide their books when she visited, but Chantelle would retreat into her own world, and she still writes stories in her head all the time.

Chantelle has been blissfully married to her own tall, dark and very patient hero for more than twenty years and has six children. She began to read Harlequin^® romances as a teenager, and throughout the years of being a stay-at-home mum to her brood, she found that romance fiction helped her to stay sane! Her aim is to write books that provide an element of escapism, fun and of course romance for the countless women who juggle work and a home life and who need their precious moments of “me” time. She enjoys reading and writing about strong-willed, feisty women and even stronger-willed sexy heroes.

Chantelle is at her happiest when writing. She is particularly inspired while cooking dinner, which unfortunately results in a lot of culinary disasters! She also loves gardening, taking her very badly behaved terrier for walks and eating chocolate (followed by more walking-at least the dog is slim!).