6
After another decadentlysteamynight of lovemaking, Marcus and Samara were still smiling the next afternoon when they arrived at his father’s place, turning down a long cobblestone driveway that took them past a shimmering lake flanked by acres of manicured lawn.
Marcus drove with one hand on the wheel and the other clasping Samara’s hand, their fingers intimately twined. Every time he smiled at her sideways, her insides got all warm and tingly. They were like two teenagers in love for the very first time.
Marcus parked in front of a sprawling redbrick house with tall French windows and an upper balcony overlooking the lake.
After shutting off the engine, he leaned over and kissed Samara, drawing her bottom lip into his mouth and running his tongue over it. She purred with pleasure, her hands sliding up his leather jacket to spread across his broad shoulders.
He pulled her closer, one hand threading through her hair as he deepened the kiss, teasing her lips apart. The hot stroke of his tongue set off a reaction she felt everywhere.
By the time he drew back and gave her a wolfish grin, her belly was quivering, the flesh between her thighs was throbbing and her nipples were as hard as the diamonds encircling her ring finger.
She weakly licked her lips. “Um, maybe the kids can spend another night with their grandparents.”
Marcus laughed. “Isn’t that what I suggested last night?”
“Yes.” She grinned. “You were right.”
“Aren’t I always?” He pressed another kiss to her mouth and smiled into her eyes. “We’ll hang around for a couple hours, then slip out and conveniently leave the kids and dog behind.”
Samara burst out laughing as he climbed out of the Escalade and sauntered around to the passenger side. Under his leather jacket, he wore a ribbed gray shirt over a pair of low-slung blue jeans and black Saint Laurent boots.
Before Samara could step down from the truck, he put his hands around her waist and lifted her out. She grinned up at him as he set her down gently on her booted feet, then tweaked her nose and winked.
She winked back.
Grinning, he took her hand and led her up the walk toward the large house. The front door was made of mahogany with frosted glass on the front and matching glass side panels. It was adorned with an elegant evergreen wreath woven with silver silk ribbons.
Marcus unlocked the door with his key and gestured Samara inside. The warmth of the house enveloped her like an embrace. The air smelled of fresh pine and cinnamon and apples. The railings of the butterfly staircases were draped with garland, festive topiaries flanked the bottom of the stairs, and silver bowls filled with pinecones and sprigs of holly decorated the glossy mahogany sideboard tables.
A burst of laughter from down the hall had Marcus and Samara grinning at each other. When they reached the entrance to the high-ceilinged living room, their grins widened at the sight that greeted them.
Sterling Wolf was stretched out on the floor playing Monopoly with Matthew and Malcolm. They were laughing and joking boisterously as they added houses and hotels to the board, trying to bankrupt one another. Matthew was wearing Sterling’s lucky porkpie hat slanted crookedly across his small face as he waved a wad of multicolored cash at his opponents, gleefully taunting them.
Across the room, Asha sat in a richly upholstered chair with her sleeping granddaughter cradled in her arms beneath a quilted blanket. She was smiling serenely, enjoying the antics of her husband and grandsons while Shadow dozed nearby with his head resting on his paws.
With lights shining on the tall Christmas tree and a cozy fire glowing in the fireplace, the whole scene was like a Norman Rockwell painting.
Matthew was the first to spot his parents entering the room. “Mom! Dad!” he called out excitedly. “Look, I’m beating Malcolm and Grandpa!”
Marcus and Samara chuckled. “You are?”
“Yeah!” he boasted. “I have the most money and the best properties!”
Everyone laughed.
Everyone but Malcolm. He hated losing to his twin brother, who was far from a gracious winner.
“I think this boy might have a future in real estate development,” Sterling predicted, tweaking Matthew’s nose.
“Do real estate people make a lot of money?” Matthew asked curiously.
“The successful ones do.”
“Cool,” Matthew exclaimed, fanning out the colorful bills in his hand. “I’m gonna be rich like my daddy!”
This set off more laughter and amused head shaking. Even Malcolm grinned this time.
