Page 25 of Driving the Billionaire Wild

‘I wish I’d found you,’ he said. ‘I hate that you endured that alone.’

Her eyes shone with emotion for a brief moment, before she turned her face away from him. ‘I wish you had too. For Luca and for you.’

‘For all of us. I would have done the right thing then, you know. I would have asked you to marry me and made us a family.’

‘You don’t need to say that. It’s in the past.’

‘No. Don’t hide from me, not here. What happened to us…it’s not something either of us caused or can change. But I need you to know that, from now on, you have me. I’m not going anywhere, Astrid.’

His control snapped and he claimed her lips in a kiss filled with all the longing and need her story had unlocked in him. The past was done but the present was right here: she was here in his arms. She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him back, her lips slow and explorative at first before she leaned in and forced a groan from him. His hands roamed down her back, finding the curve of her bottom and pulling her into where he was hard and aching for her. Apollo drew back with great effort, leaning his forehead against hers.

‘I deliberately opted to bring you here, where there were crowds, so that this wouldn’t happen… Though, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about ways to seduce you back into my bed from the moment we arrived here and you laid down your gauntlet.’

‘Apollo…’

He raised her hand, pressing it against his lips, needing to show her that what they had could be more than just stolen kisses or one night of passion.Theycould be more. But he still wasn’t sure that wouldn’t make her run.

‘I know what I want, Astrid. I know that I can giveyouwhat you need. I can’t stop thinking about you, looking at you, wanting you…’ He ran his hands upwards along the smooth skin of her shoulders before cupping her jaw delicately. Another man might think of the way she looked up at him through her lashes as shyness. But his Astrid was not shy. She was cautious, yes, and perhaps a little prim at times, but she would not shy away from him. Not here. Not tonight.

As if she heard his thoughts and was determined to prove him right, she stepped closer, pressing her ample chest against him and letting out the most delicious little sigh at the contact.

‘Perhaps giving this speech before I got you to our next destination was premature.’ He laughed. ‘This was not my plan.’

‘Plans are overrated, right?’ She smiled, her eyes filled with mischief. ‘Let’s forget the plan, Apollo. You said I should have more fun. Let’s just live in the moment.’

‘You’re sure?’ he murmured. ‘We can go home if you’re worried.’

‘And interrupt the sleepover? I’ll never hear the end of it.’ She paused for a long moment, her eyes searchinghis. ‘Apollo…what if I don’t want to go back yet? I want to stretch this one night out a little longer…and just be me. Just be us.’

‘One night was never going to be enough. If you haven’t figured that out by now, I think I need to try a little harder.’

And then his lips were on hers again, hard and demanding. Her hands touched him now with abandon, her pointed little nails scraping up the back of his neck and sending ribbons of fire down along his nerve endings. This was the Astrid from his memories, the woman who had passionately kissed him in a darkened lift and stolen part of him in the process. Her hands roamed under his shirt, her fingertips caressing his stomach, then moving lower towards his belt.

Her breath caught as he nipped her lower lip with his teeth, capturing her hands above her head. ‘Is this not against the rules, Astrid? Trying to undress me in the dark again?’

‘I’m thoroughly enjoying being corrupted by your influence.’ She smiled wickedly.

‘You won’t enjoy us being arrested for indecent exposure.’ He raised one brow, reaching out to grab her by the hand. ‘Come on; I have somewhere I’d like to show you.’

Maybe seduction was part of the plan, he rationalised. He’d meant to wine and dine her, to gradually lead her round to the subject of marriage. Her revelations from her past had given him pause, but they’d helped him understand why she was so focused on avoiding mistakes and conflict. He needed to prove to her that marriage to him would not be a mistake. If she still thought that he simply wanted one night of passion to draw the line under their sexual history, he’d show her why walking away from him was not a possibility.

Chapter Twelve

APOLLO LED HERalong a pathway through the foliage and up along a rugged cliff edge, and as they climbed the carved stone steps he pointed to the various sights of St George visible in the distance. He told her how every aspect of the resort had been thought out and planned to keep the natural shape of the island and avoid inundating the landscape with more concrete and glass. She heard her own swift intake of breath when they reached the top step and she caught sight of what he’d told her was one of his favourite places in the whole of Grenada.

His treehouse, as he called it, wasn’t quite built up into the trees so much as it had been nestled between them so that it almost blended seamlessly with its surroundings. It was fully fitted out inside, with tiled floors and running water, and all the modern amenities that one might expect of a wealthy man’s home. But it was quiet and cut off from the rest of the island in a way that suited the deepest part of him.

‘This place is amazing, Apollo.’

‘Not here,’ he growled, easily lifting her up in his arms. ‘Fair warning: when I finally get you into a bed, I don’t plan on letting you out of it for a very long time.’

She was vaguely aware of him lowering them both tothe bed, tucking a pillow beneath her head before pulling back. His eyes were dark and attentive as he smoothed a hand along her jaw in that way she liked—the way that made her feel treasured and possessed all at once.

‘Please, Apollo,’ she urged, reaching for him, but he was already sitting back on his heels, staring down at her.

‘I’m going to take my time now, I think,’ he said, his voice a husky murmur as he trailed his fingertips down her neck and along the sweetheart neckline of her sundress. ‘I finally have you in my bed, right where I want you… I don’t want to miss a single second of you losing control for me.’

Oh…he was a dirty talker, alright. The memory of the sinful words he’d rasped in her ear all those years ago came flooding back with full force and she practically whimpered at the need to feel his body against hers. This felt like a punishment and reward all at once, finally having his full attention.