Cam felt the first warning jerk in his balls as his orgasm began, answered by the clenching of her inner walls around his cock. Groaning, he pulled her even closer then thrust once, twice more. With his thumb, he flicked her clit and her eyes finally closed, her head digging back into the mattress, a moan escaping from between her lips.
Holding steady, he let his own eyes drift closed as he shot his load into her.
He wondered when the hell he could do this again.
It took her a few minutes to catch her breath. But when she did, Stella opened her eyes and found Cam, eyes closed, still positioned between her legs and holding on to her hips.
The look on his face made her heart pound even faster. He looked like a man transported.
It awed her and terrified her at the same time—because she felt exactly the way he looked.
This was supposed to be a one-night fling. One night outside the bounds of her uncle’s increasingly tight strictures on her life. She hadn’t meant to fall for the guy but she was afraid that she had, hard and fast.
As if Cam realized she was staring at him, his eyes opened and stared back into hers.
He blinked, his expression clearing, and a frown formed on that gorgeous mouth.
“Stella. Are you okay?”
She nodded and took a deep breath, feeling his half-hard erection throb in response to her still-contracting sheath.
God, this should be weird or at the least awkward. But it wasn’t—not at all.
Stretching her arms above her head, she smiled at him and watched his frown melt away as he slid from her body.
“I’ll be right back.” He motioned to a door to his left, which she guessed was the bathroom. “Unless…you’d like to take a shower.”
“With you?”
The words were out of her mouth before she had time to think about them, but they were exactly what she wanted.
Cam didn’t answer right away and Stella had a momentary flash of panic that she’d stepped across that line from sexy to needy. Then he held out his hand to help her up.
The rush of warm wetness between her legs brought her back to reality. They hadn’t used a condom. She wasn’t worried about pregnancy. She took care of her own birth control with an IUD as the Pill had no effect on her for some reason. And frankly, she wasn’t worried about disease. Her body’s immune system was…better than average. But she wondered if Cam even cared—
“I’m clean, Stella. You’ll catch nothing from me. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll have my doctor send you my latest test results.”
Wow. The guy’s intuition would be scary if she weren’t so damn infatuated with him. His hand on hers was firm but not painful and he didn’t use overt force to pull her off the bed to her feet.
“And I can have mine sent to you,” she said. “Pregnancy isn’t a consideration either. No smart woman leaves that up to a man.”
Stella smiled to soften her words but he didn’t seem at all offended. In fact, he nodded and that devastatingly handsome grin returned. “And you’re nothing if not a smart woman, Stella. I like that about you.”
As he led her to the bathroom, her smile widened. The pleasure she felt when he called her smart was so completely juvenile she had to wonder what the hell was wrong with her. Obviously she’d lost a few brain cells during that last orgasm.
She didn’t quite know what to say in response so she didn’t say anything. Until he flipped the light switch on in the bathroom.
“Oh my God, Cam. This is amazing.”
The room was nearly as large as his bedroom and looked exactly like an ancient Roman bath.
The floors and walls were a rich cream surface that looked like concrete inset with a beautiful mosaic of a bright sun in the center of the floor. Stepping into the room, she noticed that, instead of being cold, the floor was warm beneath her feet.
Then she turned to the left and gawked at the gorgeous sunken tub that took up nearly a third of the room. It looked as if it’d been imported straight from ancient Rome via a time portal.
Also made of concrete, the recirculating tub was built to hold at least four people and had three steps leading down into the clear water. Running her fingers along the raised lip, she marveled at the smooth-as-silk texture of the concrete.
A constant stream of water fell from a wall-mounted round plaque depicting what looked like an ancient god. Steam rose, making the air moist and warm. She only faintly detected the hum of a fan somewhere in the domed ceiling.
Next to the tub stood a shower area with a curved wall, partially separating it from the rest of the room.
On the wall to the right of the entrance was a double sink, the taps simple copper levers that would release water to flow down a slide and into the bowl.
Behind the door to her right was a modern porcelain toilet, the only fixture in the room that looked out of place.
Cam walked to the tub, bending to touch the water, giving her a perfect shot of his perfect ass. Desire fell on her like a wave of heat. She wanted him again—as many times as she could have him.
Jesus, she was obsessed. Crazy obsessed like…like her mother.
Okay, take a deep breath, she ordered herself. Tonight is not the night to go there.
“Stella, you okay?”
Another deep breath then she nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.”
Cam stared at her for a few seconds, those dark eyes assessing but not cold. Despite his hard features, he didn’t look scary, never had to her.
When he held out his hand, she didn’t think twice about taking it. She let him lead her into the hot water, not scalding but more than warm. It was the perfect temperature for a good soak.
She sat on the ledge, the water surrounding her up to her shoulders. Cam sank onto the opposite end of the bench and leaned back against the wall.
“This is paradise,” she murmured, closing her eyes before the look on Cam’s face made her too warm to stay in the water. “I would spend most of my time at home in this tub. You have to tell me the name of your designer. I want one of these in my en suite.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to invite me over some time to take measurements. But you’re welcome here whenever you’d like.”
Her eyes popped open to look at him. “You designed this?”
A smile played around the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, as a matter of fact I did.”
“You do beautiful work, Mr. de Feo. It reminds me of a Roman bathhouse. Is that where you got the idea?”
He shrugged. “My ancestors are from Italy.” As if that explained everything. “I like to create things on paper and see them come to life. Helps keep my stress levels down.”
Wow, he was a true Renaissance man. “So what else do you do for fun, Cam— What is that short for anyway?”
He didn’t answer either question right away, simply continued staring at her. What was the big deal about his name? Or was that not his real name? What did she really know about this guy anyway? What—
“It’s Camillus. My parents are into family names. And I like to read mysteries, watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and play basketball with my brothers, because I usually beat the pants off them. What about you? What do you do when you’re not working for your uncle?”
Was that censure in his voice when he mentioned her uncle or was she being paranoid? “Camillus, huh? That sounds really…old. Like ancient Roman.”
He nodded, that half-smile flirting with his lips again. “It’s Etruscan actually. And you didn’t answer my question. What do you do with your free time, Stella?”
God, she loved the way he said her name. It made her stomach flutter. “I read a lot, romance mostly, and I like to do yoga. It helps me de-stress. My uncle converted one of the rooms into a studio for me.”
“Did you teach yourself?”
“No, I took a few semesters for my phys-ed credits in college and continued on my own afterward. I really don’t have the time to go to a regularly scheduled class. I nev
er know when I’m going to be free. And I love being able to roll out of bed in the morning and walk across the hall to my studio.”
“Convenient. Your uncle must dote on you.”
Well, she couldn’t deny that, but why did it sound as if he wasn’t thrilled about it? “I suppose so.”
“Having met you, I understand why.”
The compliment baffled her. How was she supposed to respond to that? The man seemed too good to be true—and way too yummy to sit so far away from. She wanted to touch him. She’d been careful to keep her eyes above water level the entire time they’d been sitting in here but in her peripheral vision, she could see his skin gleaming in the water.
She let her gaze drop to his wet shoulders, her eyes tracing water droplets. Cam had the most beautiful shoulders she’d ever seen. Not too muscled and perfectly proportioned. The same was true for his arms, which he had draped over the sides of the tub. They were firm with muscle and capable of lifting her without effort.
His chest was a work of art all on its own and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching for him. When she was close enough to touch him, she shifted her gaze to his eyes and fell into the fiery depths of his desire.
Cam felt something crack apart in his chest when Stella looked at him.
She was an open book, her pale green eyes shining with the same rampant desire he felt for her.
He realized he was sunk—and not just in the water.
Whatever he’d planned, whatever he’d wanted to use this woman for, it wasn’t going to happen. He couldn’t do it, couldn’t use her like that—because he’d finally found the woman he’d been searching for all these years. His woman, the one he’d willingly tie himself to for all eternity, to be blood-bound. At this moment, he’d gladly cut himself and her and mingle their blood so their souls would be tied forever.
How did he know she was the one? Hell if he could figure that out. He just knew.
As if Stella sensed his momentary distraction, she stopped just before reaching him. But whatever she saw in his expression must have convinced her to cup his face in her hands and lay her mouth on his.
Her lips were soft and sweet and, dear Goddess, he could kiss her for hours and not be bored.
But she was still too far away, even though only inches separated them. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he brought her naked body fully against his, groaning at the contact. Before, on the bed, he’d purposefully kept his distance. Some functioning part of his brain must have realized what was happening and had tried to keep his mission intact.
Well, things had changed. The seduction had changed.
This woman was his and he wasn’t going to let a little thing like his former plan to use her against her uncle come back to bite him.
Now he just needed to convince her that he was her mate for life, not just a one-night stand.
He didn’t have his brother Nino’s bassadone spell woven into his genes to make women want him. Nino had always considered the spell a curse but Cam, in his misguided youth, had occasionally wondered what it’d be like to have women fall all over him.
That ability would sure come in handy now as he tried to put everything he felt into his kiss. He knew he wasn’t unpleasant to women, some had even fallen in love with him before. But he’d never felt the same.
Now…now would probably be a good time to stop thinking and just kiss Stella.
With his hands splayed across her back, he pulled her even tighter against him, her small breasts flush against his chest. Lowering one hand to her ass, he pressed her forward the last few centimeters until her mound nestled against his erection.
She moaned into his mouth at the contact and he drew her breath into his body like a charmed potion. His already-throbbing cock pounded with lust. The water surrounding them felt like silk, caressing their skins, sensitizing everywhere it touched.
Stella’s legs parted and landed on either side of his thighs on the ledge, spreading her wide, leaving her open for him. Her hips started a slow slide, grinding her mound up and down his shaft.
She continued to kiss him, her hands slipping into the hair at the nape of his neck, winding in the curls made unruly by the humidity in the air. She tugged on them, a tiny pain that added fuel to the fire in his groin…and brought him back to his senses for a few brief seconds. He’d almost forgotten about his ears.
Too long and pointed to be mistaken merely as odd, they were the only part of his body that revealed his secret—that he wasn’t the human he appeared to be.
He was Fata, a descendant of a magical Etruscan race. His people came from the mountains and forests of ancient Etruria where they’d lived alongside the gods and goddesses.
Today the Fata either blended with the humans or they lived in seclusion. Cam’s family had chosen centuries ago to blend. It’d become second nature to hide his ears. If he forgot and slicked back his wet hair or let Stella get to close, he couldn’t be sure how she’d react.
He needed time to ease her into his world, to make sure she realized he would never hurt her.
Molding one hand to her breast, he played with her nipple until it formed a stiff peak then he did the same to the other. Her breasts were small but responsive. With every caress, he felt her make an answering motion with her lower body, pressing against his erection in maddeningly short strokes. He stopped himself from pulling her against him, didn’t try to contain her. Resting his arms on the rim of the tub, he let her do with him whatever she wanted.
And it seemed that all she wanted to do was torment him. She continued to kiss him, her mouth hot, her tongue silky as it dueled with his.
He tensed for a brief second as her hands released his hair, fearing she might stroke his ears, but she moved them down his neck and onto his shoulders. Her fingers smoothed down to his elbows then back up again, the slow wet friction of skin on skin making his balls tighten even more.
From his shoulders, she moved to his back, lightly scraping her short nails down his spine and over his ass then back up. She did this circuit a few more times until he thought he’d go crazy. Then she moved her hands to his front, scratching down his stomach to just above the root of his cock, careful not to touch anything he was dying for her to touch.
Groaning, he released her mouth to draw in a deep breath. “Stella…”
She moved her mouth to the curve of his neck and shoulder and took a nip out of the skin. Her nails scraped back up his stomach again. “Yes?”
He shuddered like a horse under the whip. “Use those on my cock.”
She licked a path across his collarbone. “I didn’t hear you say please.”
“Please, Stella. Please use your nails on my cock.”
She smiled against his neck, her lips brushing against his skin. “I like the way you beg.”
Without warning, her hands wrapped around his cock and balls. His head fell back against the rim of the tub as she did exactly what he’d asked for. Her nails teased the sensitive skin of his shaft, making flashes of light spark behind his closed eyelids. He felt his orgasm build momentum as she scraped, his nerve endings tingling as if he’d been jolted by a live current.
She continued her torment until he could no longer keep still. When his hips thrust forward, she released him—but only for the second it took for her to move her hips into place and take him inside her body.
She settled on him with a sigh, her sex so wet she slid down to the hilt with little resistance. The sensation took them both by surprise because they gasped in unison.
Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she rested her head against his neck and didn’t move. He felt the tiny fluctuations of her sheath around his cock, taking it even further inside her body, signaling her oncoming orgasm.
Cam didn’t know how long they sat like that, unmoving but for her inner contractions. He didn’t realize he’d started to sweat with the effort to hold still and absorb every sensation without taking over, until a bead of moisture made its way down the side of
his face.
His hands gripped the tub rim even tighter and he consciously eased off when he felt the concrete nearly give way beneath his fingers.
He lifted his head and nuzzled his nose into her hair, laying a kiss on her head. “Stella?”
“Yes.” Her soft breath teased his neck, making his skin break out in goose bumps and his cock throb.
“Make love to me, Stella.”
It was her turn to shudder and he knew he’d chosen the right words. The exact right words, because this was no longer about sex.
She didn’t bother to say anything, just shifted her hips into a lazy rhythm. With his heart pounding and his blood boiling, he let her take him, holding off his climax through sheer determination.
The sweet torture became a test of wills—who held out the longest. Since he refused to come until she did and she didn’t seem in any hurry to do so, he finally raised his head and pulled her mouth up to his.
It was just the spark she needed to push her over the edge. She moaned against his lips, opened her mouth to let his tongue in and ground her lower body against his faster. That was all it took to break her self-discipline, to make her come. Her sheath contracted so strongly her whole body shook with the effort.
In a rush, Cam came too. He thrust so deeply inside her he swore he could feel her womb. The thought that someday she might have his child gripped him with the same sense of rightness he’d had when he’d realized she was his.
To hell with going slow.
She wasn’t leaving.
Chapter Four
Stella wasn’t quite sure how they got from the tub back to his bed, or when that happened. But the next time she opened her eyes, the room was bright with sunshine flooding in from the windows at the front of the house.
Cam slouched in an overstuffed leather chair next to the bed, half dressed in a pair of worn jeans—staring at her with his head propped on one hand.
“Hi.” His voice had that great scratchy quality that made her hormones sit up and dance.
She smiled, stretched and watched his eyes follow her movement. “Good morning. At least I hope it’s still morning.”
Seduced and Ensnared Page 4
