For a few seconds, the floor beneath Harley’s feet seemed to sway and she inhaled sharply.“Postpone the wedding… I see,” she managed at last, past the constriction in her throat.“I doubt it,” Armel murmured, and his light, almost casual tone opened the floodgates of sheer agonizing pain.“You’re right, Armel… I don’t see, and I certainly don’t understand this whole situation… I don’t understand you…” She flew across the remaining few feet that separated them and halted in front of him, bewilderment, hurt, and sheer fury blazing in her emerald eyes.“Marrying you was never my intention… This whole thing was your idea and I went on with it. After we talked about it last time, I thought we’d agreed that we could make our marriage work, for Raphi’s sake, at least.”“Well, I thought so too, but I realize that I can’t go through with it… Not right now, anyway,” Armel said grimly, a nerve jumping in his cheek as he stared down at her. The patio lights cast long
She looked up at him and caught the flare of pain in his eyes before he quickly masked his thoughts. He’d said that he loved her and he adored their little blonde angel…“Armel… I understand everything you’ve told me, but… I still can’t understand why you want to postpone the wedding…” she murmured. “If you love me…”“More than life, mon coeur,” he vowed fiercely. “I love you more than you can ever know.” He slid his hands up her arms to cup her face and she could have died at the expression in his brilliant blue gaze, the faint sheen of moisture that revealed his vulnerability and his deep, abiding love for her.“So, if you love me, then why?” Harley asked in a desperate tone.“When I received the results of the paternity test, I was desperate to know if I carry the gene and the likelihood that I had passed it on to Raphi. I contacted medical experts who specialize in genetics and discovered that in the last two years, a reliable test has been developed, which mea
He lost his breath at her response, at the complete abandonment she gave him. The way she filled him.“I need you in me, Armel,” she said breathing hard while he tore at his pants, releasing the agonizingly hard flesh that strained against the zipper. Gripping the shaft, he straightened, and pressed closer, until the head was pressing against the clenched opening. Leaning back, Armel watched as he began to penetrate her. The heavy, wide flesh pressed inside, parting her as the folds of her sex began to grip and hug the heavy erection.“So perfect…” Armel said. “Take me in, mon ange…” And she took him in, caressing him with her femininity in the most intimate way. Her hands gripped his arms as her neck arched, her hair falling around her shoulders as slumberous green eyes stared back, locked with his gaze. Making love to her was pure pleasure. It was pure rapture. It was sweet, hot ecstasy.“There, mon amour,” Armel crooned, his voice rough. “Let
Armel Mathieu de Roquefort swept along the hospital corridor, paused briefly to check the name above the door before he entered a ward, and strode purposefully towards the nurse seated behind the reception desk. “Excuse me, I’m Armel de Roquefort and I'm here to see Harley Winston. I understand she was admitted yesterday,” he added, the hint of impatience in his voice making his accent seem more pronounced. The nurse gaped at him but Armel was used to being stared at... for so many reasons. Women had stared at him since he was a teenager and at thirty-five his stunning looks, combined with an aura of wealth and power, meant that he was accustomed to being the center of attention. When it suited him, Armel would respond to a flirtatious look with one of his devastating smiles, but today he had other things on his mind. There was only one reason why he was in that damn hospital, he acknowledged grimly, and the sooner he saw Harley and told her exactly what he thought of her latest s
With his halo of golden curls and enormous blue eyes, Raphaël was a perfect little angel. Armel smiled reassuringly at the little boy, making a huge effort to mask his impatience from him. It wasn’t the child’s fault, he reminded himself. No, this was all Harley Winston’s fault… The woman in front of him was a charlatan and the greatest liar he’d ever seen. And if Harley hadn’t looked so damned fragile, he’d be tempted to throttle her for manipulating him into this situation.“I really don’t understand what kind of a game you’re playing… I thought you’ve already learned the lesson, Harley. We already went through this two years ago, remember? When you sprang the news that you were pregnant…? My response is the same now as it was then,” Armel told her coldly. “You might have convinced your grandmother of my paternity but you and I both know you weren’t telling the truth… don’t we, chérie?”“The way you reacted to the news was wrong then, as it is now, Armel. I’ve neve
His deliberate cruelty skewered Harley’s heart and she blinked back the rush of tears that burned her eyelids.“How dare you?” she whispered thickly. “Don’t try and appease your guilty conscience by blaming me. You wanted to get rid of me because you’d set your sights on Chantal Auclair. She was fresh, exciting, voluptuous… Like a juicy orange, ready to be squeezed by Armel Mathieu de Roquefort. You were determined as hell to make Chantal your next mistress, but the stupid little English ex-mistress who was pregnant with your child would have seriously… cramped your style… N’est-pas, chérie? (Isn’t it, sweetheart?)” In her distress, Harley leaped off the bed and her head spun. The blood drained from her face and she swayed unsteadily before collapsing back onto the mattress.“Ça suffit! (That’s enough!)” Armel growled as he stepped forwards and caught little Raphaël who was determinedly trying to wriggle off the bed. “Lower your voice and try to calm down. You’re
Armel watched the shock and confusion on Harley’s face with clinical detachment before he glanced at Raphaël. The little boy stared up at him solemnly, his pretty little face surrounded by her mass of golden curls and his pink cheeks glowing with health. The little boy was not a de Roquefort, thank God, Armel thought with quiet certainty. This child would not suffer the way his twin brothers had suffered… He’ll never be the victim of the devastating illness that had taken his little brothers’ lives before they were one year old. He had been a teenager when his mother had given birth to Gerard and Julian. The twins had appeared normal but within a few months from birth, during a routine control, the doctor told his parents that both Gérard and Julien, suffered from Rett syndrome, a fatal genetic illness, especially in boys. After their sudden deaths, the doctors had warned his parents there was a 50% chance that he had also been affected. Somehow, Arme
After sweet baby boy Raphaël was born, Harley had briefly, just for a few minutes, considered the idea of asking Armel for a DNA test, but, in the end, decided, it wasn’t a very good idea. His reaction to her pregnancy had shown that he abhorred the idea of fatherhood and Harley had feared he would only take a reluctant role in his son’s upbringing. At eighteen months old, Raphaël was a happy, funny, sweet, loving baby boy whose confidence was built on the instinctive knowledge that he was loved unconditionally by his mother… So much so, that a father wasn’t requested in their family picture. Harley made sure of that. She would not allow Armel to destroy that confidence, Harley thought fiercely, and she would do everything in her power to ensure that her little man grew up with a sense of self-worth that she herself had been denied. But now, Armel had his own reasons for insisting on a paternity test. He was convinced that the results would abso