“Shh. Everything’s all right, love. I’m going to make everything all right for you right now,” he whispered softly.

He worked a hand between their tightly fused bodies to find her clit, and at the first touch of his thumb against the tiny, painfully hard nub, she climaxed instantly, and with such force that the breath caught in her throat for long seconds. She clutched handfuls of the bedcovers as Ian continued to pound his cock inside of her, struggling for breath, until she heard him utter a bellow loud enough to echo around the room, signaling the apex of his own orgasm. Still he kept thrusting, emptying himself inside her willing body, until she felt his semen running down her thighs in thick, sticky rivulets, her body unable to hold all of it inside.

Eventually, he rolled off her body onto his side, taking her with him as he did. They were both drenched with sweat, their bodies sticking together, and her hair hung in wet, tangled strands down her back. They lay entwined together for long minutes, neither of them able to summon up the strength to move for some time.

Ian was the first to speak, his voice raspy but with a faint trace of amusement. “Well, it’s finally happened, darling. You have finally succeeded in thoroughly corrupting me. If someone had told me a little over a year ago that during the next thirteen months I’d have sex in a dressing room, in not one but three of my parents’ houses, and finally in the backseat of a limo driving through the streets of Paris, I would have told them quite firmly that they were thinking of the wrong Gregson brother. But I suppose I’ve done Colin proud over the past year, haven’t I? Not,” he added hastily, “that he’ll ever know about any of those incidences, of course.”

Tessa grinned at him, tracing a finger over the firm outline of his mouth. “Well, it’s your own fault, you know,” she teased. “You did tell me one very memorable time in front of a mirror that you wanted to do very wicked things to me. That you wanted to be sinful with me. All I’ve been doing is following instructions.”

He arched a brow at her. “I don’t recall giving you instructions to seduce me in the back of one of the hotel’s limousines.”

She shook her head, her eyes twinkling impishly. “You didn’t. I thought that one up all by myself.”

Chapter Twelve

March – near Minneapolis, Minnesota

“Where are we exactly? And when are you going to tell me what this is all about?”

Ian gave her a sideways glance, a mysterious smile on his handsome face. “All in due time, darling. And we’re about an hour outside of Minneapolis right now. We’ll reach our destination in another fifteen minutes or so. Settle back and relax until then, hmm?”

“Okay.”

She complied with his bidding, but couldn’t help feeling more than a little unnerved as this unexpected road trip continued. It had been a long time since she’d had this sort of unsettled feeling, the type that she had once sworn only occurred on Wednesdays. The very last time she’d felt this way, in fact, had been right before she’d wound up having emergency surgery last summer.

Ian had teased that he’d finally “broken the curse” of Wednesdays by very intentionally choosing that day of the week to propose to her last September. And she’d been convinced that he was right, assured that he would make very, very sure that only good things happened to her from now on, not only on Wednesdays but every day of the week.

He had proven himself to be that elusive knight in shining armor she had stopped believing in so many years ago, the Prince Charming that she’d loved to read and dream about as a little girl, but had come to realize by the age of nine was really just a fairytale. Ian had swept her off her feet, taken care of her, given her everything her heart desired. But at the same time he’d made her believe in herself, had given her the confidence and strength she’d never imagined existed deep inside of her, and, most of all, had loved her with a passion and devotion that every woman dreamed of knowing but that precious few were ever lucky enough to find.

During their trip to London last month for the annual board meetings, Ian had insisted that Tessa sit in each day, not just for the purpose of taking his notes and passing him papers, but so that she could learn more about the company - and thus the family - that she was marrying into. It had thrilled her to no end to realize how highly he regarded her opinions, how he valued her intelligence and abilities, and that he was more than living up to all the promises he’d made that theirs would be an equal partnership. She’d been especially flattered by Ian’s confidence in her, in his inclusion of her, because neither Victoria nor Selina had ever attended any of these meetings, and had little to no involvement with the company. Of course, much of that was because Victoria had her hands full raising four rambunctious boys, while Selina had her own successful career as a corporate attorney. But that hadn’t changed the fact that Ian trusted her enough and had more faith in her abilities than she did herself to involve her in such important company meetings. It was just one more reason that she was crazy in love with this man, adored him with every breath in her body, and would do anything in her power to make him happy.

And Tessa rarely let a day go by when she didn’t quietly count all the blessings that had come her way when Ian Gregson had entered her life, and made sure that he knew every single day how much she loved him.

She turned to him now, as he drove along the rural highway with care and competence, and squeezed his thigh.

He looked over at her quizzically. “Everything all right, love?”

Tessa nodded. “Everything is perfect. I just couldn’t remember if I’d told you yet today how much I love you.”

Ian brought her hand to his lips. “You’ve been telling me all day, darling,” he replied gently. “Just as you do every day. You don’t always have to say those three particular words to get your message across, you know. Not when it’s in every look and touch you give me, and all the things - big and small - that you do to please me. And it goes without saying that the feeling is very, very mutual.”

He released her hand in order to downshift the BMW sedan that the staff at the Minneapolis hotel had arranged for him. It was rare for him to rent a car during any of their business trips, since they typically remained on site at the hotel for the duration of their stay. On those occasions when they did leave the premises to do some sightseeing or shopping, they were either driven around town in one of the hotel’s limos or caught a taxi.