She had warmed to Liza’s kindness instantly and for the first time since Raphaël’s birth, Harley felt she could relax and trust that her baby would be well cared for. Over the next two days, she began to appreciate Liza’s advice. The accident had taken its toll and she was shocked at how tired and emotionally all over the place she felt. The sound of laughter from the nursery indicated that Raphaël was perfectly happy with the nanny, and it made a welcome change to have a temporary reprieve from her responsibilities. To her relief, Harley saw little of Armel. He had left for his office before she woke in the mornings and didn’t return until late in the evening. Some things hadn’t changed, she mused wryly as she recalled the long, lonely days she had spent when she had lived with him, waiting for him to return from his office or one of his frequent business trips. A few times, Armel had taken her abroad with him. ‘Dynamico’s owned stores in se

It was almost midnight when they bid Marcus and Diane Reese goodnight and drove back to the penthouse. Harley wished she were tired but to her dismay, she felt wide awake and filled with a wild, reckless energy. Those few moments of madness on the dancefloor with Armel had inflamed her senses and left her body aching for his full possession. But her body was going to be disappointed since she intended to go straight to her room the moment they entered the apartment. But Armel’s butler, Alain, greeted them with a tray of coffee and petits fours that he had prepared especially for their return.“If you don’t mind, I’m quite tired… I’d really like to go to bed now,” Harley muttered to Armel as he ushered her into the lounge in the wake of the butler.“And upset Alain?” His eyebrows raised a notch.‘You’re a brave woman… O might add, you’re much braver than me when it comes to upset Alain.” Stifling a groan, Harley dredged up a smile and a

His deliberate crudity made her wince, but when she attempted to move away from him, Armel slid his arm around her waist and held her in a vice-like grip.“Why aren’t you wearing the support bandage on your wrist?” he demanded roughly.“I thought I’d manage without it for a couple of hours.” The butler, Alain, was heading down the hall followed by Armel’s guests and, despite feeling as though her heart had been put through a pulping machine, she forced a brittle smile.“At least, the necessity to go and put it on again will give me a reason to leave the room and excuse myself from your vile company.” From that moment on, the evening became a hellish ordeal that Harley longed to end. Being there, and acting like everything was alright was absolutely excruciating. Fortunately, no one attending the dinner had known her during the few months she had lived with Armel and awkward explanations were avoided. His guests were frighteningly sophisticated b

Eventually, Armel rolled off her to lay flat on his back, his silence growing more ominous to her ears by the second.“I’ve decided that I want you back, Harley,” he said in a voice devoid of all emotion. “I want you to live here as my mistress the way we once were.” He turned his head on the pillows and stared at her coldly. She was in shock…“You’re like a drug in my veins and, although I despise myself, I seem to be addicted to you,” he grated harshly. “I’m prepared to overlook your… indiscretion with Miller, and if you stay, I’ll accept your child and provide for him as if he were my own. But if you ever look at another man the way you looked at Olivier Garrel tonight, so help me, chérie, I will not be responsible for my actions.” After the initial shock, Harley stared at him in stunned silence while her brain assimilated his words. Bitterness, humiliation, and rage froze her blood and she closed her eyes for a moment, stunned by the level of pain Ar

         The effect on Harley was electric and she arched her back so that her breasts thrust provocatively towards him, the taut, swollen peaks begging for his possession. She was shaking… Or was it him? she wondered feverishly as she pushed his shirt over his shoulders and ran her hands over his smooth, tanned skin.          This was madness but they were both caught up in the conflagration that threatened to consume them in a flame of white-hot need. With a rough, almost violent movement, Armel grabbed the hem of her skirt and jerked it up to her waist before skimming his hand over the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs.“Armel…”          His name escaped her lips like a plea rather than a protest. She lifted her hips and he dragged her panties down before spreading her legs with a deliberate intent that made her trem