‘No, cara,’ he said, shuddering as her fingers moved against him. ‘I am getting a little ahead of myself, that is all.’
Her hand stilled but she could still feel him throbbing against her palm. He was so magnificently male, so magnificently aroused. She moved her fingers experimentally, feeling him, shaping him, and then, with a swiftly indrawn breath for courage, she unzipped him.
He stepped out of his trousers, his black underwear the only remaining barrier. Sabrina’s fingers danced over him, and then with increasing boldness she peeled back the stretchy black fabric and exposed the proud length of him.
She saw the muscles of his abdomen clench in preparation for her first skin-on-skin touch, the pearl-like bead of moisture at his blunt tip making her stomach free-fall.
She ran her fingertip down him from shaft to tip, amazed at how silky his taut skin felt. He was satin-covered steel, sexual energy still leashed but visibly straining. She felt the latent power of him against her curling fingers; she felt too the deep all-over shudder he gave as her hand finally enclosed him.
‘My turn, I think,’ he said, and captured her hand.
The look in his eyes made her stomach drop another fifty floors. He turned her hand over and kissed the middle of her palm, his tongue circling it, teasing the sensitive nerves, until they were screaming for mercy beneath her skin.
His other hand moved to the small of her back, sliding upwards until he came to the clasp of her bra. She pulled in an uneven breath as it fell to the f loor with a lacy silence.
His eyes consumed her greedily, taking in her small-but-neat, creamy-white form, the rosy-red nipples already pert and aching for his lips and tongue. He bent his head and suckled on her, taking his time over each breast, torturing her with his caresses until she was clutching at his shoulders, panting breathlessly.
‘You are so dainty and yet so perfect,’ he said against the satin smoothness of her right breast, his lips making the tender flesh shiver in reaction.
Sabrina couldn’t speak when his mouth closed over her nipple again. She felt the rough glide of his tongue over her, the moist heat of his mouth making her whimper in pleasure.
His hands settled on her hips, holding her against his arousal with just the fragile cobweb of her lacy knickers between his body and hers. He nudged against her experimentally, his eyes smoky as they held hers. ‘It is still not too late to stop,’ he said. ‘You are still in control, Sabrina. Always remember that— you are the one in control.’
Sabrina felt her heart give an almighty squeeze that was almost painful. He was being so tender and considerate; how could she not love him? She wanted to tell him, but held back just in time. He had not given any indication of feeling anything but lust for her. Why spoil the moment with confessions of a love that had no future? She was only in his life because of his guardianship of Molly. His physical desire for her was a bonus, a temporary diversion, until he moved on to his next mistress.
His reputation said it all. Yes, the papers whipped it up a bit, but even so it was obvious he was a no-strings-sex guy. He liked to play and to play hard. Sabrina was a novelty to him, a naïve innocent who made a stark change from the worldly, streetwise women he normally bedded. But it wouldn’t matter how experienced she became; Sabrina knew Mario was the only man who could make her feel the way she was currently feeling. No one else had kissed her until she was senseless. No one else had made her ache with a need so strong she felt as if her breathing was going to stop altogether unless he assuaged it.
‘Touch me, Mario,’ she whispered as she leant into his hardness.
He moved his hand down to cup her through the lace, her intimate dampness making his pupils dilate. ‘You are beautiful,’ he said, low and deep.
With him touching her like that, Sabrina felt beautiful. She felt powerful, too, full of feminine power to attract a mate. She moved against his hand, her body thrilling at the contact, her feminine flesh quivering. His fingers moved aside the lace of her knickers to trace her moist cleft, gently separating her before he slowly inserted one finger. She gasped at the sensation of feeling him move inside her, exploring her tenderly, preparing her for the ultimate possession of his body.
After a moment he guided her down onto the bed. ‘Relax, cara,’ he said as he came down beside her, his long legs entwining with hers. ‘Don’t tense up on me.’
Sabrina tried to loosen up, but every nerve in her body seemed to be switched to hyper-vigilance mode. She wanted him so badly she felt twitchy and restless, feverish with excitement and escalating need. She arched her spine as he peeled away her underwear, her breathing coming in ever-shortening intervals as his hand came back to cup her.
‘You are so very tempting.’
Sabrina shivered as his fingers explored her again, stretching her to accommodate him. Her muscles fought him at first, but he kissed her to distract her, and after a moment he went deeper.
It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted him, deep and hot and hard, inside her.
She pulled his hand away and nestled closer, touching him, squeezing her fingers around his length. He bit back a groan and lay back, propped up on his elbows while she caressed him, his laboured breathing making his chest rise and fall like a pair of bellows. ‘I am going to come if you don’t stop that,’ he said through tightly clenched teeth.
‘I would like to see you,’ Sabrina said, surprising herself at her boldness.
‘Not this time,’ he said, and flipped her on to her back. ‘We’ll save that for another time. This time it is all about you.’
Sabrina watched as he opened the bedside-table drawer to retrieve a condom. Again she had to push aside the thought of how many other women had lain on this bed with him; this was not the time to reflect on his past. This was her time with him, a time to enjoy the pleasure of her body under the tutelage of his. And her body was enjoying it. It was pulsing with longing, quaking all over with it, as she watched him roll the condom over his erection.
He moved over her to kiss her mouth lingeringly, teasing her with his tongue, the stab and thrusting action mimicking the intimate union that was to come.
Sabrina made room for him between her legs, her heart giving a little jump of exhilaration as he brushed her moist entrance.
‘Not so fast, cara,’ he chided her gently as he pulled back. ‘There are things I have to do first.’
A small frown tugged at her brow. ‘What things?’
He gave her a smouldering look. ‘These things,’ he said, and kissed his way from her breasts over her quivering belly until he got to the dark, neatly trimmed curls that shielded the secret heart of her.
Sabrina stopped breathing when his mouth separated her, his tongue sending electric pulses of sensations to her curling toes and back. Her back lifted off the bed as he intensified the movement of his caressing tongue, all the delicious feelings seeming to gather at one tight point, hovering there, waiting for the final moment to explode.
‘Go with it, cara,’ he coaxed her gently. ‘Don’t fight it. Let go.’
She couldn’t believe her body could contain so much feeling as the first waves rolled over her, lifting her up higher and higher, until she was spinning in a vortex of sensation. Spasm after spasm rocketed through her, making her aware of nothing but her body and how Mario had made it feel. Her limbs felt deliciously loose, the lassitude of physical release flowing through her like a warm tide.
He slowly moved back up her body, stroking her, caressing her, until she felt the need building again. She moved against him, aching for the primal connection of their bodies.
‘Please,’ she said, beyond caring that she was almost begging. ‘Please …’
‘Don’t be impatient, mio piccolo,’ he growled playfully as he positioned himself, a leg over one of hers, an intimate tangle of limbs. ‘I am trying to be careful with you, but you are making it almost impossible for me to slow down.’
Sabrina felt him at her entrance, the heat of him just
hovering there making her breath hitch in her throat. ‘I don’t want you to slow down,’ she said, clutching at his shoulders. ‘I want to feel you … all of you.’
He kissed her on the mouth, lingering there before he pushed in slowly, just the tip, waiting until she accepted him before going further. ‘Tell me if I am hurting you,’ he said against her lips.
‘You’re not hurting me,’ she breathed back, her lips tingling from the movement of his own against their sensitive surface.
He thrust a little deeper, gauging her response, waiting until she stretched before he moved again. ‘You feel so good,’ he said in a deep, throaty tone. ‘So unbelievably good.’
Sabrina felt the stirring of her senses as he moved more deeply within her, the pleasure he was feeling evident by the contorted expression on his face as he fought for control. She ran her hands over his back and shoulders, delighting in the feel of him teetering on the edge of release. So much power, so much strength, and yet he was so tender with her. The love she felt for him swelled in her chest, taking up so much room she could barely breathe without feeling like she was snagging on something deep inside.
Mario slowly built his pace, the tantalising friction sending Sabrina’s senses into another wheel-spin. Instinct told her he was getting closer and closer to the point of no return. She could feel the tension in his body, the way his breathing became more hectic, and the way his hold on her subtly tightened.
She wriggled beneath him, arching her back like a sinuous cat, wanting that final trigger to make her pleasure complete.
He delved between their rocking bodies, stroking her swollen dampness until she plunged headfirst into the abyss of paradise, her body shaking, convulsing and twitching as he emptied himself in a series of hard pumps that left her breathless and gasping.
Sabrina listened to the sound of his breathing for a long time without moving. Her body felt boneless, her senses so satiated she could barely tie two thoughts together in her head.
‘Am I too heavy for you?’ Mario asked after what seemed an extraordinarily long time.
‘No. You feel … nice.’
‘Nice is not a word usually used to describe me,’ he said wryly as he rolled away.
Sabrina felt the cooler air rush at her like an icy slap on the face. He was distancing himself. There had been no loving aftermath, no lingering over a final kiss or two. There had been a long silence, and then … nothing. Was he regretting sleeping with her? Or had she not pleased him the way he normally expected a woman to please him?
He had done this a thousand times, she reminded herself. It was nothing special. This was not an experience that would live in his memory as it would hers. She was a fill-in, an amusing diversion while they were shackled together for the sake of a small child.
‘I need to check on Molly,’ she said, and clutching at the sheet, used it like a wrap to cover her nakedness as she got off the bed.
‘Is the baby monitor not working?’ he asked.
Sabrina pressed her lips together as she glanced at the device he had installed in every room. ‘Yes, but it doesn’t hurt to look in on her,’ she said. ‘Sometimes she wriggles out from beneath the covers.’
There was still nothing in his expression to indicate the intimacy they had just shared, or even if he had been affected by it. ‘I will check on her while you get dressed for dinner,’ he said, tying the ends of his bathrobe firmly around his waist. ‘Giovanna has gone to a lot of trouble. I would hate to disappoint her.’
Sabrina flinched as the door clicked shut on his exit; all things considered, it seemed a rather fitting punctuation-mark on her hopes.
CHAPTER TEN
MARIO was on his second drink when Sabrina came into the dining room half an hour later. She brought the fresh fragrance of summer f lowers with her, a light, carefree scent that teased his nostrils. She had pulled her still-damp hair up into a pony-tail-cum-knot that looked both casual and elegant, and her face was lightly made up, her lips shining with lip gloss. Her eyes, however, were not quite making the distance to his.
He wasn’t sure what else he had been expecting. He wasn’t even sure if he had a right to expect anything. He suspected she had wanted to sleep with him more out of a sense of adventure than anything else. Now it was over with, she was regretting it. He didn’t regret making love with her, not for a moment, it was more that by doing so he felt he had crossed a boundary and now he couldn’t uncross it. He had travelled into unchartered territory; the feelings he was experiencing were foreign to him. He hardly knew what to make of them.
He had slept with lots of women in the past, and not one of them had left a lasting impression on his senses. And yet his body was still humming from making love with Sabrina earlier. His skin had lifted in a frisson of excitement as soon as she’d walked into the room. He felt the tension building in him as each second ticked past, the roar of his blood, the tightening of his flesh and the ache in his loins.
He put the gossip magazine he had been flicking through aside, wondering if Sabrina had seen the photographs of him carrying Molly at the airport on the day of their arrival in Rome. The caption had read: highflying playboy now a tamed family man. It had shocked him a little to see himself portrayed in such a domestic way. It made him think longingly of his freedom, of the come-and-go lifestyle he had always taken for granted. There would be compensations, he knew. Molly was an engaging infant, and would no doubt grow into a beautiful child. He owed it to Ric to concentrate on giving Molly the most secure and happy childhood he could. The other compensation of course was Sabrina—but he wasn’t so sure he wanted to linger too long on what to make of his ambiguous feelings where she was concerned.
‘Would you care for a drink?’ Mario asked, to break the silence.
Her lips moved in the semblance of a smile, but it was fleeting; it disappeared as soon as her eyes met his. ‘Thank you. White wine, if you have it.’
Mario poured her a glass of chilled white wine and handed it to her wryly, noting how her hand shook slightly as she took it from him. ‘There is no need to be nervous, Sabrina.’
Her eyes skittered away from his. ‘I’m not nervous.’
He picked up his glass and twirled the contents, the sound of the ice cubes bumping against the sides loud in the silence.
‘I would like to talk to you about our future,’ he said.
Her finely arched brows lifted, making her grey eyes larger than a startled fawn’s. ‘I see …’
‘Actually, I don’t think you do,’ Mario said, putting his glass down.
Her chin rose a little, although she sneaked in a quick lick of her lips which totally belied her cool composure. ‘I understand this arrangement between us is temporary,’ she said. ‘I also understand that a marriage of convenience is only workable if it is convenient to both parties.’
‘In our case it is convenient for three parties,’ Mario pointed out. ‘Molly needs both of us.’
‘Yes, but you said—’
‘I have changed my mind.’
She stepped backwards as if he had slapped her. ‘W-what?’
‘I have changed my mind about how long our marriage should continue.’ He paused for a beat or two before adding, ‘I would like it to continue indefinitely.’
He watched as her throat moved up and down, the motion like a small mouse wriggling under a blanket. Her tongue came out again, a quick flash of movement across her lips, her eyes flickering with alarm. ‘But you don’t … I mean, we don’t love each other,’ she said.
Mario leaned back against the bar, crossing one ankle over the other as he held her gaze.
‘Any marriage is a bit of a gamble,’ he said, uncrossing his ankles and straightening to his full height. ‘But, when two people are prepared to make it work, it can be very satisfying in the long term.’
‘What about love?’ she whispered
‘Sabrina, we have a chance to make this work for Molly’s sake,’ he said. ‘I believe it is the best thing for her
to have two parents who live together in companionship if nothing else.’
Sabrina felt her stomach clench in despair. ‘But what about what I want?’ she asked. ‘I want children of my own. How can I have the family I’ve always wanted if I am tied indefinitely to you?’
He held her questioning look for a pulsing moment before he shifted his gaze. He sent his hand through his hair and moved to the other side of the room. ‘I do not want to have children,’ he said. ‘I am sorry, but that is not something I have ever seen for myself. The responsibility of Molly is more than enough for me.’
She stared at him in bewilderment. ‘You’re expecting me to give up that lifelong dream for you?’
His eyes came back to hers, hot, hard and determined. ‘Not for me—for Molly,’ he said. ‘If it is too much to ask you to sacrifice having children, then after a suitable time I will release you from our marriage.’
Sabrina felt her stomach fold over in panic. ‘Define “a suitable time”.’
His eyes moved away from hers again. ‘I can’t put an exact time on it. It will depend on many things.’
She lifted her chin. ‘Like my turning a blind eye to what you do on the side?’ she asked.
His expression tightened. ‘If you are not happy with the conditions, you know what you can do. You will be more than adequately compensated.’
She put her wine glass down and brushed back her hair with an unsteady hand. ‘I’m not sure what has motivated this,’ she said. ‘But if it has anything to do with what happened earlier, I—’
‘It has everything to do with what happened earlier.’
Sabrina rolled her lips together, her eyes hunting his for a sign of what he was feeling, but his expression was as neutral as if they had been discussing the weather. ‘Wow, I must have really impressed you in bed!’ She affected an airy tone.
A smile flashed through his dark eyes. ‘You did.’
‘The novelty factor, right?’
‘Wrong.’
She stopped breathing as he closed the distance between them. Her heart began to hammer as his hands settled about her waist, his long fingers warm and strong as he brought her that little bit closer. She felt the stirring of his body against her, the slow and steady burn of his gaze making her toes curl up inside her shoes. Her eyes flicked to his mouth, his sexy half-smile sending another hot rush of liquid longing between her thighs.
Melanie Milburne Bestseller Collection 201209/The Marcolini Blackmail Marriage/Bound by the Marcolini Diamonds Page 28
