She looked down at the beautiful bed, remembering that fateful afternoon. How overwhelming. How passionate. Maybe in this at least she could be honest.
‘You were right,’ she whispered quickly. ‘I was afraid. Because what we did was...’
‘Was what?’
She glanced back up at him. ‘Too intense.’
‘Was it what we did or what happened after?’ he asked. ‘You were angry, then I was angry... We won’t fight when we’re finished today.’
‘No?’ She half laughed.
‘At least I know your name this time. Princess Stella Zambrano De Santis.’ His smile was beautiful—that dimpled, genuine, gorgeous smile.
No, there wouldn’t be that abrupt end after they’d indulged now. That wouldn’t come for months yet. This time there would only be more. Already she was melting.
‘Don’t be afraid of passion,’ he said, reaching for her. ‘It is to be enjoyed.’
Passion? Was lust all this was? ‘How do people get any work done if they feel like this?’
He laughed and his hands slid to her waist. ‘The lucky ones get to indulge in it at their leisure. We’re very lucky.’
The expression in his eyes stirred that wildness she’d felt on the beach. This was her gorgeous fun-in-the-sun Prince.
‘There’s nothing to it.’ He lifted the veil from her hair and it tumbled in a heap of white on the end of the bed. He looked at her, approval all over him. ‘Pretty shoes. Pretty dress.’
So playful. So tempting.
He kissed her, then dropped to his knees, sliding his hands under her skirts.
‘What are you doing?’
‘What do you think?’
His eyes twinkled as he looked up at her. He knew how instantly this turned her on—seeing him at her feet, so determined to please her. What was there to worry about when he was this generous?
She smiled and closed her eyes, sinking into the sensations he stirred with his intimate caresses. ‘I thought we weren’t going to rush?’ she gasped.
‘I can’t wait to taste you again. I’ve been dreaming of it too long.’
He didn’t hold back. He pressed hot kisses up her thighs. But he didn’t pull back her panties. He teased her through them. She shook all over. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and she gasped, rocking against him.
‘Oh, no!’ So quick. So intense.
‘It’s just an orgasm, Stella, get used to it,’ he teased. ‘You’re going to have lots and lots.’
She was going to have one now. His mouth was finally there. Even through the barrier of her cotton briefs she could feel the heat of him, the wicked swirls of his tongue, the maddening rub of his thumb.
‘Ohhhhh...’ she moaned as it hit. So good. She pressed hard on his shoulders to stay upright, but her legs were wobbly.
‘And there was me thinking you preferred to stand.’ He gripped her hips. ‘Always.’
‘I can’t stand. Don’t tease me.’
‘But teasing you tastes good.’ He kissed her explicitly again.
She wanted this. But it wasn’t enough.
As if he’d heard her he rose to his feet and turned her, carefully unfastening the small buttons and then parting her dress. She wore scrupulously plain white cotton panties and a sports bra designed for containment—to minimise bounce, not push for great up-thrust. Nothing decorative. So unsexy.
‘I like cotton,’ she said stupidly. Why hadn’t she worn the lacy, frilly things Giulia had silently left on the bed for her?
‘I like you.’ He tugged her panties down in a couple of swift jerks. ‘Bare.’
He undressed her until she wore nothing but the sapphire he’d chosen for her. He was at her feet, wearing that incredible suit. And he’d stripped her not just of her wedding dress but all her inhibitions.
He kissed every inch of her body. The balmy heat, the breeze wafting through the tunnel, the sound of the sea in her ears was like an erotic dream. But it was Eduardo alone who intoxicated her.
She wanted to see him. She wanted to touch him. Taste. Take. She wanted to feel all of him about her. His strength summoned hers. She instinctively understood that in this they were a match.
‘You need to be naked too,’ she ordered, feeling her power returning, and the freedom to have him the way she wanted.
He stood and all but ripped off his clothing, until he finally shed the silky black boxers that clung to his muscular thighs, and she openly, avidly gazed at his beautiful body.
‘See how you affect me?’ he muttered as he climbed onto the thick mattress and pushed her back onto the cool sheets. ‘You want to take it, Stella?’
She couldn’t wait.
He kissed her again, laughing even as he ravished her with kisses that made her writhe beneath him. His hands traced teasing paths over her bared skin, setting her cells alight, finally finding the secret curves. She arched into his hand.
‘Something you want more of?’ he teased.
But he gave her only teasing strokes, then finally just the one finger, slipping inside—carefully testing. Too carefully.
She didn’t want it as gently as this. She wanted all that raw passion back—like they’d had on the beach. She moved, restless and aching at the slow pace of his fingers.
A smile curved his mouth. ‘It doesn’t hurt?’
She shook her head, but it was a partial lie. It hurt that he wasn’t ferociously claiming her.
‘I’m not a virgin any more,’ she reminded him.
‘I worried later that I’d hurt you,’ he said.
‘No. It was so good and I felt so wild that I freaked myself out... It wasn’t you.’
But it was him. He’d been the one to stir up those passions—just as he was stirring them now.
‘I like you hot and wet and arching up to me, your body begging for mine,’ he muttered, kissing her again. ‘But this isn’t enough for you, is it?’ he asked, his voice roughening.
Could he read her mind? She licked her lips.
‘Stella?’ He moved his hand, pushing a little deeper, rubbing a little harder.
‘No,’ she answered, almost angry that he was pushing her to admit it. ‘I want more.’
She wanted it as wild and as free as it had been that day on the beach.
‘I think you are greedier than you like to admit. Stronger. Ready for rougher. Ready for the rest of me.’ He laughed as she moaned. ‘And you like it when I talk filth to you.’
She arched as he moved to brace over her, nudging her legs wider and settling between them. Unable to speak. So hot. And, yes, so ready.
‘You want me hard?’ he asked. ‘Fast?’ He pressed against her. ‘You want me to slam into you, over and over?’ He paused, barely inside her, barely giving her enough. But he was so close and she was shaking with need for him.
‘Yes,’ she begged, curling her fingernails tightly into his hard muscles and trying to pull him deeper. ‘Yes. Please. Yes.’
‘What else do you want?’ he demanded, his breath harsh at her rough caress.
‘More.’ She didn’t want him to stop. Not ever.
‘More?’ He slid his hand between their bodies, stroking right where she needed it.
‘Every. Thing.’ She gasped and arched, pulling on his tight muscles. ‘More.’ She couldn’t get enough. ‘You know.’
His body tautened and he rolled against her. ‘You want everything I have?’
‘Yes.’ She wanted every part of him.
Every. Single. Part.
‘Please,’ she begged when he withdrew almost to the tip, unbearably slowly, while his finger kept up that maddening, delightful stroking. ‘Please.’
‘Say my name,’ he ordered, rubbing deliciously faster. Then stopping.
She
glanced up at him. ‘Arrogant. Pirate.’ But she would say anything as long as he kept touching her like that. Do anything as long as he made her feel this good.
‘With you, my pretty captive princess.’ His laugh was ragged. ‘So determined to fight when really all she wants is for me to—’
And at that moment he did exactly as she wanted—pumping into her, pounding his flesh against hers, every muscle bunching as he moved as hard and as fast as she’d ached for him to do.
She screamed as she rose to meet him, welcoming him, her body slick with sweat and sensuality.
His laugh then was exultant, and triumph glittered from his eyes. But the satisfaction was hers. Her muscles clenched instinctively, trying to lock him in as he thrust over and over, making the friction even more exquisite, sharpening every sense as the crest of the wave crashed over her. Her fingers and toes and everywhere in between flexed and curled as her orgasm hit—such sublime, unbearable pleasure. It was too good to contain. Possibly too fierce to survive. Her scream echoed around the cave.
‘Stella!’ he shouted as she convulsed in ecstasy, and his own roar of release followed a mere second later. His powerful body shook, his groan stoked her feminine pride and he collapsed into her arms.
This was exactly what she’d wanted.
In the aftermath she lay soft and spread beneath him, unable to move, unable to process anything other than the sheer good feelings reverberating around her body.
As much as her own behaviour had shocked her, she’d thought that day on the beach had been the most intense and exciting moment of her life—something nothing could surpass. She’d been wrong.
‘You still with me?’ He lifted up onto his elbows and looked down at her.
‘That wasn’t a rush?’ she murmured with a pout. Her inner wanton had truly been woken.
‘You were disappointed with that?’ His eyes kindled with the challenge.
She didn’t answer.
‘Voracious woman—you want more already.’ He laughed softly as she wriggled under him. ‘You think I didn’t already know?’
What had she been worried about? That she could have this—again and again and again?
He moved slowly, hard again and deep inside her.
Stella moaned. He was right. This could be easy. She could enjoy just this for as long as it lasted.
CHAPTER NINE
IT WAS NO longer blood that ran through Eduardo’s veins. It was pure, unadulterated satisfaction. He’d solved this horror situation in the most pleasing way possible. He’d secured the future for several people and he’d just had Stella’s physical surrender. Twice.
It wasn’t enough already. He wanted her hot and demanding, then panting and pleading, all over again. But he had to take it easy on her, lighten the intensity that she felt—that he felt too. He couldn’t launch himself on her again like some insatiable sex-crazed hound.
Food was the perfect displacement activity.
He carefully peeled himself away from her. Sending her a smile, he walked to the silver trolley that had been placed in the corner. It was laden with dishes and drinks—they had enough to keep them comfortable for a few hours yet.
‘Are you hungry?’ he asked, wincing at his unintended double entendre. ‘Thirsty?’ He poured her a glass of juice.
‘Thank you,’ she murmured.
He sat on the edge of the bed and watched as she sipped. She looked dazed, slumbrous, her mouth reddened and swollen from his kisses. He could hardly look at her for wanting her. He’d turned into the ever-freaking-ready bunny.
But then he realised that she was sitting too still. And the look on her face...
He cocked his head, studying her. ‘What are you thinking?’
The blue in her eyes deepened. So did the colour in her cheeks. Was she feeling the same way he was? Hot? Hungry? Wanting more?
She needed to speak up. He wasn’t letting her slide back into silence now.
‘You can touch me any time you want—do you understand?’ He didn’t want her to be shy. He wanted her hot, demanding side unleashed as often as possible. ‘Just touch.’
She swallowed. ‘Okay.’
‘Will you give me the same privilege? Can I touch you?’
‘Yes.’ Her eyes shone brighter. ‘Any time you want to. Anywhere.’
He stiffened. Did she know how she pushed his buttons?
‘You know I’m likely to take that literally?’ he teased, his mind already running away with him. ‘Any part of your body. In any place we may be. At any time.’
‘I don’t just know that.’ Her small smile had a wicked edge. ‘I’m counting on it.’
Her confidence made him hum. And then she suddenly sat up and spread her legs wide...
‘Is that an invitation?’ he asked huskily.
‘It’s an order.’ Her whisper was sultry.
‘That’s what you know best, huh? Issuing and obeying orders? You really think you can order me around?’ He moved up the bed to kneel over her. ‘Be warned—I’ll do as you say until you scream.’
Making her scream was the most rewarding thing he’d done in ages. So he did it then. Again and then again.
‘We can’t stay the night down here,’ he said with a sorry sigh, stretching out his stiffened muscles several hours later.
‘Why not?’ she asked drowsily.
‘Because the tide will soon be in and our bed might float away.’
Amused, he watched her sit bolt upright and stare at the seawater that was pooling on the farthest side of the bed. Soon enough the tide would wash all the way in.
‘Is that why we got married when we did?’ Something in her eyes softened.
‘The time of the ceremony was to match the tide, yes.’ It had seemed a good idea last night—a play on her pirate talk. Now he felt a little embarrassed. ‘I thought you might like it here.’
‘I do.’
She answered so quietly he wasn’t quite sure he’d heard her. He combed her hair back from her face with his fingers and looked into her shining eyes. Luminescent. Honest. Giving. That playfulness, that power, was emerging again.
She’d echoed her vows only a few hours ago. At the time he’d been so intent on having her it had been all he could think about. In truth, it was still mostly all he could think about.
I do.
Now those words moved him differently. This woman he barely knew was his wife. That wild idea had seemed like the best thing at the time. He’d given in to impulse as always. Duty underlay it, sure, but now an unexpected tension coiled within him.
Wife.
The ramification hit—permanence. Because this couldn’t be over in a few days. They’d have to see it through until the birth of the baby and a bit beyond that at least. Pretty much a year, minimum.
Oddly there was no panic—only a hint of regret. For her. She had no idea what he’d set her up for.
This island fantasy would end and reality would return. His reality. No prince and princess fairy tale, more a ‘scary’ tale. And he didn’t have long to prepare her for what she was going to face.
* * *
Stella silently walked barefoot along the beach and then climbed up to the palace. She showered and shrugged on the silk robe left on her bed, then went to find Eduardo.
‘Is this your favourite room?’ she asked as she explored the trinkets on the shelves in the library.
He nodded. ‘I like the view. The books. My chair.’
She chuckled. ‘Old man.’
‘Let me guess—your favourite room is the gym.’ He rolled his eyes.
‘Oh, no.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I prefer to be outdoors.’
‘So do I—when it’s sunny and warm. So sit here.’ He gestured to a large seat. ‘At least here you can
see outside.’
It was a beautiful room. At first glance she’d thought it impersonal and opulent. Now she saw the personal treasures. The old blanket on his favourite chair. It was his nest.
He took the chair beside hers. ‘When we get back to San Felipe...’ He cleared his throat. ‘They’re going to ask questions. They’re going to ask everything.’
‘They?’
‘Everyone. So tell me ten things I don’t know about you.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Yes.’
She frowned. ‘I thought you knew everything from my personnel file?’
‘That’s like saying you know everything about me from the gossip magazines.’
Amused appreciation sparkled within her. ‘So you’re saying we know nothing about each other?’
‘What I know about you so far is not something I can share with reporters.’ He leaned back, wickedness oozing from his pores. ‘We need to fix that. We’re under no obligation to answer any media questions, but the public will ask and I refuse to ignore them. We need to work on some closed answers.’
‘“Closed answers”?’ she echoed with a half-laugh. ‘You’d be the expert.’
‘I mean it, Stella, we need to talk.’
He was suddenly serious. This was the side of Eduardo she knew least.
‘What do you want me to do?’ she snapped. ‘Fill in an online dating questionnaire or something?’
‘You’ve tried online dating?’ He raised an eyebrow.
‘I was twenty-four and still a virgin. Of course I looked into it.’
‘I thought you were all about the army?’ He cocked his head.
‘It was a weak moment.’
‘You were lonely?’ He sent her an unreadable look. ‘Did you go on any dates? It can be risky, meeting an online acquaintance.’
‘No riskier than having sex on the beach with a stranger,’ she pointed out.
‘You knew who I was.’ He shrugged.
‘But you didn’t know me.’
‘I’m working on it,’ He grinned shamelessly. ‘And now I know you tried online dating.’
‘I didn’t try it.’ She threw up a hand grumpily. ‘I thought about it for two minutes. Dismissed it. Because you can’t get to know someone just by interviewing them. People give you the answers they think you want to hear.’ It was actions that revealed a person. What they did or didn’t do.
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