Forgotten Husband by Helen Bianchin Read Free Book Online Page A

knowledge that eluded her conscious mind, and she gave a tiny despairing moan as his tongue slowed its masterful stroking dance with her own as a prelude to retreat.
     
    As he lifted his head her eyes clung to his, wide and almost trance-like, for several long seconds before his features swam into focus.
     
    Elise glimpsed the passion held severely in check, the deep slumbering emotion that darkened his gaze, and something else she couldn't quite define.
     
    Her lips were swollen and the inside of her mouth so acutely sensitised that she wondered if she was capable of uttering so much as a word.
     
    Never had she felt so hauntingly vulnerable, or so fragile. A pulse thudded visibly at the edge of her throat as the blood drummed through her veins, and she lifted her left hand, only to let it fall helplessly to her side.
     
    'Bed, I think,' Alejandro decreed, his eyes narrowing as he glimpsed the effort it cost her to retain some measure of control.
     
    His hand cupped her left shoulder, then slid to her breast, slipping beneath the silk to shape the tumescent mound with exquisite care.
     
    She felt it swell beneath his touch, the peak tautening in sensitive arousal, then his mouth assumed a wry humorous twist as he lifted both hands to frame her face.
     
    'Television, or would you prefer to read?'
     
    It took considerable effort to summon a faint smile as she allowed him to lead her towards the bed. 'Television,' she declared unevenly. 'Providing I get to choose the programme.'
     
    'Brave words, querida,' he teased lightly. 'You will probably be asleep by the time I have shaved and showered.'
     
    She was unable to still the faint fluttering of butterfly wings inside her stomach, and her gaze became pensive as he stripped down to his briefs, then crossed to the en suite bathroom.
    He was an enigma, Elise decided thoughtfully as she endeavoured to concentrate on the images flickering across the screen.
     
    Darkly intense, almost frightening. Yet he could be gentle and considerate. A difficult mixture to comprehend, she accepted silently, wondering if there had ever been a time when she had understood him.
     
    Thinking about it made her tired, and her lashes drifted down as she lapsed into dreamless oblivion.
     
     

 

     
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
    The days ran one into the other, each following a similar pattern to the one preceding it. They rose early, dressed, and went for a walk along the deserted beach, then returned to eat a simple breakfast out on the covered terrace, after which Alejandro would disappear into the study for an hour.
     
    It was his only concession to maintaining a check on business interests, and although there was a phone in the car, and a mobile cellular unit tucked into the pocket of his shorts whenever they moved away from the house, only once did either ring. His instructions on each occasion had been chillingly brief.
     
    Occasionally he would pack a picnic lunch and drive to one of the neighbouring beaches, or a designated park. Sometimes they stayed at home and watched videos. Late each afternoon they embarked on a leisurely walk along the beach.
     
    With every passing day the pain in Elise's hand lessened, the bruising faded, and she was soon able to don and shed her clothes without help, something she considered to be a milestone.
     
    Alejandro appeared to be attuned to her every mood, watchful that she didn't become tired, and able to coax her into laughter with very little effort at all, until gradually she began to relax and regard him with hesitant affection.
     
    She became accustomed to the light brush of his fingers across her skin, the touch of his hand on her arm, cupping her shoulder, resting at the small of her back or curved round her waist. The light touch of his mouth against her own was something else, and more than once she was barely able to suppress a tide of sensation as he instigated a teasing kiss. At night she no longer felt uneasy when he joined her in