Once Upon a Stormy Night Read Online Free PDF

With him, she had a connection, a communion. She’d give everything to be able to hold on to that certainty, to have it wrap her whole existence, spend every moment of her life in sheltered bliss.
    All for naught.
    But that’s what she’d signed up for. Too late now to renege on the terms. She had agreed, and now she’d have to pay the price.
    His heavy body lowered onto hers, but before he could smother her with his weight, he wrapped his strong arms around her and rolled them onto their sides. His cock still inside her, he wrapped one hair-roughened leg around her thigh, holding her in place. He settled his chin atop her head, and when she breathed in, the spicy, warm scent of his skin drifted up her nostrils.
    Again, perfect. That one certitude refused to leave her.
    His breathing eased, grew regular. He hovered between wakefulness and slumber, probably unaffected by the fact they’d be going their separate ways when the night ended.
    Live for the moment , she reminded herself. Except that this moment represented where she wanted to be for the rest of her life, with him, in his arms, enveloped by his tenderness, his caring.
    She didn’t even know his name…
    Just as well—he’d be easier to forget, to obliterate, once she stepped out of the villa. Something she’d have to do very soon, that she’d prefer to do without him knowing she had left. In a few minutes, he’d be fast asleep, and she’d work her way out of his embrace and leave.
    But right now, she could still be with him, hold on to these stolen moments.
    Who is he ?
    I don’t want to know . She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, so the coppery tang rode on her taste buds.
    Simmi stopped fighting. What would it hurt if she knew?
    “Hey,” she said.
    “Hmm?” The sound rumbled from his throat.
    “What does elksling mean?” That’s how he’d pronounced the word. Twice now, he’d called her so.
    He snuggled her closer to him. “Darling, in Swedish.”
    Simmi gasped, but she smothered the sound and the sob that tore up her throat.
    She had been wrong—it did hurt to know. That little tidbit had told her he had ties to Sweden, and he’d probably cared…
    But for no more than one night. That’s what the deal entailed. Madame Eve paired them for the night—not for any longer.
    Being with him, in his arms, showed her what she could have, if she were ever lucky enough to have a man like him in her existence, every day…
    How would she live the rest of her life without him, with nothing more than the memory of their encounter?

 
     
    Chapter Four
     
     
    The sound of rattling glass panes tore Lars out of deep slumber. After the first time with Simmi, he’d taken her again. They’d indulged in long, sensual games of kisses and caresses. It seemed to him she grew more frantic with every minute that passed, desperation creeping into her touch, her kiss, the further they moved into the dark night. At one point, he’d asked her if she wanted to grab something to eat—he didn’t know if she’d had dinner before she came over. But she declined the offer. Instead, she asked him to take her again. And again. And again.
    He shook his head on the pillow. She’d been insatiable, and sometime during the night, he fell asleep, exhausted. If Magnus could see him now, he’d never hear the end of it. He’d gotten out of practice where lovemaking was concerned, his endurance no longer the same. Bloody hell—he couldn’t be growing old, could he?
    Lars reached across the bed. His hand landed with a soft thump on the empty mattress.
    His eyes flew open, and he sat up straight. Where had she gone?
    The rattle of the bedroom’s sliding doors tugged him out of his reflections. He listened to the violent hiss of the wind, the loud splatter of lashing rain on the glass panes, the rumble of the gale through the leaves of the palm trees outside.
    He stood, ready to stalk out to the terrace, when he heard a crash.
    He rushed to the adjoining living room.