Semua Bab COLLECTION OF LUST AND LOVE: Bab 211 - Bab 220

Lying on bed of blue-black velvet lay a shoal of opals, fashioned into in a dramatic waterfall of a necklace. Pamela drew it out of the box. The stones were dark grey—almost black—but as the necklace shimmered over her fingers she could see the transformation of each gem into a vivid rainbow.‘Do you like it?’ questioned Theodore.Pamela blinked. ‘It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,’ she whispered.‘I chose it myself,’ he said unexpectedly. ‘I liked the element of surprise. In some lights it looks quite subdued—while in other aspects it’s amazingly vibrant.’ His eyes narrowed and his tone was dry. ‘A little like you, in fact, Pamela.’Pamela suddenly became extremely preoccupied with the jewellery, swallowing down the glimmer of tears which were hovering at the back of her eyes. He’d chosen it himself. To her certain knowledge he’d never d

‘Not getting broody, are you?’ Flora laughed.It was perhaps unfortunate that the brothers’ conversation chose that precise moment to end and Theodore glanced up. He must have heard what they’d been saying, Pamela thought, her skin suddenly growing cold with fear. He must have done. Why else did he fix her with an expression she’d never seen before? A calculating look iced the ebony depths of his eyes which made her feel like some sort of gatecrasher.‘Of course I’m not!’ she denied quickly, reaching for a glass of water and horribly aware of the sudden flush of colour to her cheeks. Why was he looking at her like that—with his eyes full of suspicion? Did he think she was trying to ingratiate herself with the monarch and his wife? Or did he think she really was getting broody?One moment she had been part of their charmed inner circle—warmed by its privileged light—and now in an instant it felt as if she had been kicked out and left to shiver on the darkened sidelines.By the time the

She tried to convince herself that the nausea she felt was merely a lingering effect of a brief illness caused by some bad fish. The tenderness in her breasts, she reasoned, was just due to hormonal fluctuations and nothing more. After all, she was on the pill, and everyone knew the pill was a reliable safeguard against pregnancy.But the feeling of nausea began to worsen, a constant churning in her stomach that refused to be ignored. The aching in her breasts, too, became more pronounced, a persistent reminder that something wasn't quite right. She tried to dismiss these symptoms as mere coincidences or temporary discomforts, but an unsettling thought kept nagging at her. Then, Theodore said something that made her question whether she was indeed imagining things.It was during a weekend they had planned to spend together at his apartment. It had been so long since they had the luxury of two whole days to themselves, and she eagerly anticipated these rare moments. There was something

But her decision didn’t give her any peace of mind. She was still left with nagging doubts. Theodore was leaving to go back to his homeland, and suddenly she didn’t know where her place in his life should be. She struggled to a find common ground.‘Did … did your brother and his wife enjoy themselves in London last week?’ she asked.‘I assume so.’‘They didn’t mention it?’He raised dark brows. ‘Should they have done?’‘Just … well, I thought it was quite a fun evening, that’s all.’‘Indeed it was.’ He gave a brief smile, preoccupied with his forthcoming trip and pleased to have something to take his mind of the damned tension between them. ‘But they have a hectic life, you know, Pamela. Pretty much wall-to-wall socialising wherever they are.’It was the hint of aloofness in his tone which made Pamela stiffen. That and the patronising sense that she had stepped over some invisible line of propriety. As if she had dared to look on the King and his wife as some sort of equals, instead o

Effortlessly he picked her up, as he’d done so many times before, pushing open the door with his knee and going straight over to the bed, putting her down in the centre of it. Pamela felt the mattress dip as he straddled her, one knee on either side of her body. With fingers which were not quite steady he began to unbutton her dress, and Pamela held her breath as he pulled it open. But he seemed too full of hunger to study her with his usual searing intensity, and maybe he wouldn’t have noticed even if he had, for his black eyes were almost opaque with lust. Instead, he was unclipping her bra and bending his head to capture one sensitised nipple in his hungry mouth.‘I feel as if I have been in the desert,’ he moaned against the puckered saltiness of her skin.‘I th-thought you had?’‘Not that kind of desert,’ he said grimly.‘What kind, then?’‘This kind,’ he clarified, his li