A Christmas Night to Remember(21)
‘Meaning what, exactly?’ His voice was grim, his body tense.
She shrugged. ‘I suppose I mean that outside the Zeke James bubble people struggle to pay their bills each month, they work nine to five just to make ends meet, they strive all their lives and never really make it. They can’t just pick up the phone and have half a dozen people ready to jump through hoops and pave the way for whatever they want. They’ve never experienced walking into a store and being able to buy whatever they like without looking at the price tag. They have bad days, they get sick, they—they have accidents.’
She stopped abruptly. She wasn’t putting this very well. What she wanted to say had nothing to do with wealth and fortune. Not really. It was about Zeke belonging to her and she to him. ‘I can’t explain it very well,’ she added lamely.
‘Are you blaming me for succeeding in life?’ Zeke asked, his voice as even as a sheet of glass. ‘Because you’ll wait one hell of a long time for me to apologise for that. I pulled myself out of the gutter inch by inch, and I saw enough to know I’d rather slit my own throat than go back to it. Try living in a succession of rooms with the one person who’s supposed to love and look after you but who forgets you’re alive most of the time. Sleeping in filthy beds, eating half-mouldy food because if you don’t you’ll starve and no one will give a damn. Having no idea what a bath is but knowing other people out there don’t smell like you and your mother and her pals do. And when you’re finally dumped into care, longing to go back to that life, bad as it was, because it’s all you’ve ever known and you’re scared out of your wits.’
As if he couldn’t bear looking at her he stood up, turning away and taking a deep breath. For a moment his back was ramrod-straight and the muscles in his shoulders hard and tense. Every line in his body proclaimed how much she’d hurt him.
Horrified at the wounds she’d uncovered, Melody murmured, ‘Zeke, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… I’m sorry.’
He swung to face her and she saw the iron control was back. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ His face was relaxed, calm, but she knew he wasn’t feeling like that inside. ‘It was a long time ago. But don’t tell me I haven’t experienced life, Dee. I wasn’t brought up in what you call the Zeke James bubble. Blood, sweat and tears got me to where I am today—that and Lady Luck. But I’ll tell you one thing.’ He moved over to where she was now standing, his dark eyes fixed on hers. ‘I could give it all up tomorrow and walk away without a backward glance or an ounce of regret. You talk about my world, but let me make one thing perfectly clear. It doesn’t own me. I own it. There’s a difference. One hell of a difference.’
Melody stared into the rugged face. She wanted to believe him but she didn’t know if she did. And, anyway, did it really make any difference one way or the other? It was all relative.
This close, she was aware of the fresh soapy smell emanating from his body, of his still-damp hair falling into the quiff which was somewhat boyish and incongruous against the hard tough features. It strengthened his overwhelming maleness in a way that caused her heart to pound as the intimacy of the moment deepened. She felt the pull of his attraction drawing her.
He reached out and sifted a strand of her hair through his fingers, letting it fall back into the shining curtain on her shoulders as his eyes caressed her face. ‘You look good enough to eat,’ he said huskily. ‘Far more delicious than fondant fancies and infinitely more satisfying.’
Melody knew what was going to happen, and she also knew he was giving her time to move away, to break the spell which had fallen. The sitting room was lit only by a couple of lamps Zeke had switched on, and the soft mellow glow was enhanced by the swirling snow outside the window and the twinkling white lights on the little Christmas tree. It was cosy and snug, safe and warm, and the power of his sensuality wrapped round her as she gave herself up to the magic of his kiss.
His bare arms folded round her waist, tugging her into the cradle of his hips as he purposefully deepened the onslaught on her senses. She felt her breasts respond as the towelling robe pressed against the wall of his chest, their tips hardening and swelling as the blood heated in her veins.
His tongue probed the warmth of her inner mouth and the effect on her was electric. A little moan escaped her throat, vibrating against his mouth and causing Zeke to groan in return as her arms wound round his neck, her fingers sliding into the black thickness of his hair.