His Poor Little Rich Girl

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  ‘You can feel that?’ she asked.

  He placed a hand against her breast where her heart was pounding. ‘I can feel it,’ he said. He slowly spread his fingers so they came into contact with her breast; the whole time his gaze was locked on hers, drawing her inexorably into his sensual orbit.

  Rachel leaned into the caress, her flesh erupting into flames at the intimate and possessive touch. Her nipple was a tight nub of need, the soft curve of her breast an aching globe that craved the naked glide of his hand and fingers. She wanted him to uncover her, to rip her clothes from her roughly, to devour her with his lips and tongue, but he did neither.

  He flipped her over to her back, but gently, as if turning something incredibly precious and fragile. She was now looking up at him, his dark midnight-blue eyes still holding hers in a mesmerising lockdown.

  ‘I have never wanted anyone like I want you,’ he said. ‘But I need to know this is about mutual attraction, not you feeling you have to sell your body to save your company.’

  She looked deeply into his eyes. ‘I am grateful, but you have to understand I would never sell myself for any price. I did that before and I have always regretted it. You have no idea how much. But I want you for you. Not because of money, just because I want you. I want to know what it feels like to have you inside me. I want to know what it feels like to be in sync with someone physically. I’ve never felt that before.’

  He frowned as he looked down at her. ‘You weren’t satisfied with Hughson?’

  ‘I hated sleeping with him,’ she said, lowering her eyes. ‘It was a chore. He blamed me but I kept thinking of how it felt to kiss you and I always wondered …’

  He lifted her chin to keep her gaze locked on his. ‘You wondered what?’

  ‘I wondered what it would feel like to be with you,’ she said. ‘I often wondered if I had slept with you back then if I would have made the same choice.’

  He was still frowning darkly. ‘So you hadn’t slept with him before your engagement?’

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘We’d kissed as teenagers. I had a massive crush on him for most of my adolescence but I’d never gone that far. I had a mild fling with someone in my final year of school but even that was something I’d rather forget.’

  He began stroking her face, a gentle rhythmic motion that was so tender it made her heart swell. ‘So if I was to make love to you now it would be like your very first time,’ he said.

  She smiled up at him ruefully. ‘I guess so …’

  His eyes held hers for a moment, his expression clouding. ‘Rachel, there’s a chance the first time between us might not live up to your expectations.’

  Rachel felt the all too familiar doubts surround her like unwanted guests. ‘I can learn how to be better at it,’ she said. ‘I know I need to relax, everyone says that about sex, that it’s in your mind, not so much your body. You can teach me. I feel safe and comfortable with you. That will help, won’t it?’

  Alessandro cupped her cheek, his thumb tracing over her bottom lip. ‘I wasn’t talking about you, cara.’ He paused for a beat, wondering if he was shooting himself in the foot but doing it anyway. ‘It’s my performance I am most concerned about.’

  She looked at him with tears in her eyes. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said. ‘Just being with you will be enough. I just want to be held by you.’

  Alessandro was not used to feeling his heart contract as if it had been slammed between two bookends. He’d been expecting ridicule but instead had got compassion. It made him wonder if he had misjudged her. Her revelations about her sexual history with Hughson had stunned him. Alessandro had always seen her as a highly sensual young woman. He had felt it every time she had been in his arms. How that brute had destroyed her confidence with his selfish handling of her was unforgivable. She deserved so much better. Even if he couldn’t give her everything she wanted at least he could give her back her sexual confidence.

  Rachel frowned as he made to get up off the floor. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked.

  He pulled himself upright and held a hand out for her. ‘I am not making love to you for the first time on my study floor,’ he said. ‘I have a little more class than that these days.’

  Rachel stood in the circle of his arms. ‘I think you’ve always had class, Alessandro. I just didn’t see it the first time.’

  He smiled a little ruefully as he reached for his crutch. ‘I would like to be able to carry you upstairs to my room but I am not quite able to do that as yet. I’m afraid you will have to walk there all by yourself.’

  She brushed his mouth with hers. ‘How about I meet you there in a few minutes?’

  He kissed her back, lingeringly. ‘Don’t take too long,’ he said, trailing a finger down her cheek.

  She held his hand to her face for a moment. ‘I won’t,’ she promised.

  Alessandro was in his bedroom when Rachel came in. She had dressed in a silky bathrobe but last minute shyness had made her keep her underwear on. He was still dressed in the clothes he had been wearing earlier and she wondered if he had done that to give her an out in case she had changed her mind. It made her realise how much her feelings towards him had changed. Two days ago she had thought she hated him and yet now she felt as if he was the only man on earth she could ever love.

  ‘I wondered if you might change your mind,’ Alessandro said. ‘If you have, it’s fine.’

  ‘I’m here because I want to be here,’ Rachel said. ‘No one has forced me.’

  ‘Come here.’ He patted the bed beside him.

  She walked to where he was sitting, feeling shy and awkward. ‘I’m not very good at this,’ she said. ‘I hope you’re not going to be disappointed.’

  He took her hand and brought it up to his lips. ‘Stop criticising yourself,’ he said. ‘You’re beautiful. Every part of you is beautiful and irresistible to me.’

  She looked into his eyes and saw the naked need he had for her. It thrilled her to think he had never stopped wanting her. ‘Hold me?’ she said softly. ‘Please?’

  He smiled a slow sensual smile as he brought his mouth to hers in a kiss that began slowly, a gentle assault on her senses that built to a crescendo of mutual need. She kissed him back with all the built up longing of her soul. She craved this connection with him; she craved the fulfilment of the flesh that had been denied her for so long.

  It was a magical journey exploring his body as he explored hers. Clothes were removed article by article, skin uncovered, kisses planted softly, then with more pressure as desire burned like a flame. Rachel kissed the strong column of his throat, her soft lips catching on his stubble, an intoxicating reminder of his maleness. She went lower, down his sternum, circling each of his flat nipples with the point of her tongue. She discovered he had a ticklish hip and he laughingly growled and turned her onto her back, leaning over her to subject her to the same journey of discovery.

  He kissed the sensitive skin of her neck, lingering over her ear lobes before moving to the fine framework of her collarbones. He moved lower to gently uncover her breasts, removing her bra with worshipful hands, before cupping her softly. ‘So beautiful,’ he said in a voice gruff with desire.

  Rachel’s insecurity about her body disappeared under the stroke and glide of his hands. And then when his mouth came over her breast she felt her back arch in absolute delight. His mouth was warm, the gentle scrape of his teeth as he teased her nipple sending her senses into a vortex. He explored her other breast, taking his time, building her need for him so much she could feel her body weeping with moisture in preparation for him. He went from her breasts to her belly button, teasing the tiny cave with his tongue. The nerves that led to her feminine core tensed and pulsated with longing as he went lower, each one screaming out for more of his touch. It was such an intimate act and one she had never felt comfortable with with her ex-fiancé, mainly because he had made her feel so inadequate for not responding the way he wanted. She automatically tensed as she recalled all the horrible
insults he had flung at her.

  Alessandro cupped her mound gently with his hand, not invading her, just holding her. ‘Are you OK with this?’ he asked.

  Rachel bit on her lip. ‘I told you I’m not very good at this …’

  He moved up so he could brush her hair back from her face. ‘No one is rating your performance, cara,’ he said. ‘It takes time for two lovers to get the moves right. What works for one person doesn’t always work for another.’

  She looked into his eyes. ‘You’re so much more experienced than I am.’

  ‘That’s not something to be ashamed of,’ he said. ‘Having sex for the sake of having sex is not the same as making love.’

  Rachel touched his lips with her fingers. ‘Are we having sex or making love?’ she asked.

  He kissed the tips of her fingers. ‘I think you already know the answer to that,’ he said and covered her mouth with his own.

  He kissed her long and tenderly, drawing from her a response that made her feel giddy with longing. Her lower body ached with a hollow feeling, a twitchy ache that refused to go away. She shifted restlessly beneath him but still he kissed her, his hands caressing her breasts and stomach but going no lower.

  ‘Please …’ she said against his mouth. ‘I want you. I want you so much.’

  Alessandro parted her with his fingers, his touch sending electric shocks of reaction through her. She leaned into his caress, seeking more, wanting and craving more and more. He stroked her, teasing the engorged heart of her into a pulsating bud of need that was ready to explode. The climactic release hit her like a smashing wave, sensations rolling over her and through her like a tiny shell being tossed about in a tumultuous ocean. She felt the quivers of her flesh as she came back from the summit, tiny aftershocks that rippled through her body, leaving her limbless in his hold. ‘Oh, God …’ she breathed in wonder. ‘Oh, God.’

  ‘It will get better,’ Alessandro said.

  ‘You think so?’ Rachel asked.

  ‘I know so,’ he said and kissed her again.

  This time Rachel wanted to touch him, to explore him the way he had her. She took him in her hands, loving the feel of him, the steely length so turgid with need. He was oozing moisture and she realised how long he had been waiting for his own release. She was not used to such patience in a lover. ‘Am I doing it right?’ she asked as she moved her hand up and down his erection.

  ‘Perfect,’ he said breathing heavily. ‘But I need to get a condom before we go any further.’

  Rachel watched as he leaned across and took a condom from his bedside drawer. She took pleasure in helping him apply it, gaining confidence with every caress. He was careful with his weight as he settled between her legs, kissing her mouth with a growing urgency as his need grew. She loved the feeling of him gliding into her feminine heat. He took his time, not rushing her but waiting until she accepted him before going deeper. It was nothing like her first time as a teenager. It was nothing like anything she had experienced with her ex. This was so far from anything she had ever felt before. Her body was blooming with feeling, each sensation as he moved within her making her feel the pleasure building all over again.

  And even then he waited for her to reach that pinnacle before he took his own pleasure. She felt the aftershocks of her earth-shattering orgasm trigger his. He groaned deeply, his body thrusting in those few precious seconds of bliss as he emptied himself. She felt the rise of goose bumps on his back and shoulders and felt satisfied that he had been just as undone as she had. She held him close, reluctant to move away in case the magic spell of fulfilment was broken.

  Alessandro felt the light dancing of her fingertips up and down his spine, the caressing movements so natural and uninhibited he was tempted to stay there like that for ever. But then reality checked in with extra baggage. Tying himself to her for any longer than he already had was unthinkable. He had made himself a promise and he would keep it. Their relationship was a business deal. The investment he had made was financial, not emotional, and it would stay that way.

  As he moved away Rachel sensed a change in him. He seemed to have closed off again, shutting her out. It was such a stark change from the intimacy they had just shared. She had hoped … She wasn’t sure what she had hoped. He didn’t love her. He had never loved her. He had told her he had wanted to be with her in the past to climb up in society. But somehow while they had been making love she had felt stirrings inside her that she felt were much more than physical desire. She had secretly hoped he was feeling those same stirrings. ‘Alessandro?’

  He disposed of the condom before he turned to face her. ‘You were wonderful, Rachel,’ he said. ‘You should have no doubts about your ability to give and receive pleasure. Any man would be delighted to have you as his partner.’

  Any man but him, she assumed he meant. She tried to read his expression but there was nothing to suggest he was feeling anything like she was feeling. Disappointment hurtled through her. She was such a romantic fool. Of course he wasn’t affected. It was just sex to him. She was just another woman he had bedded, admittedly one he had wanted to bed a long time. He was probably feeling pretty pleased with himself. He had finally got what he wanted. That box was finally ticked. Mission accomplished. ‘Glad you enjoyed the experience,’ she said and got off the bed and wrapped herself in her bathrobe. ‘Would you go as far as giving me a ten out of ten?’

  His brows moved together. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

  ‘I think you know what it means,’ she shot back. ‘We made love but there’s no love. It’s just a physical itch we had to scratch.’

  His frown deepened as he rose from the bed, holding onto the wall for support. ‘You’re not making sense, Rachel,’ he said. ‘What’s this talk about love?’

  Rachel clamped her lips together but it didn’t stop them from trembling.

  ‘Talk to me, for God’s sake,’ he demanded.

  She waited for a moment to compose herself. ‘Alessandro, I’ve always wanted to tell you why I did what I did. Why I chose Craig instead of you. I’ve always wanted to explain.’

  Alessandro’s expression darkened broodingly. ‘I know why you chose him. He had money and I didn’t.’

  ‘It was about money but not the way you think,’ Rachel said. ‘What you said the other day about my father is so true. I have spent most of my life trying to please him. Do you have any idea of how hard it is to be perfect all the time? I tried to be the best daughter I could be. I tried to be the best I could be at school but I never made the grades my father made. The only time I was able to please him was when I agreed to become engaged to Craig. I had this one chance to be the perfect compliant daughter. I couldn’t turn it down.’

  He didn’t speak. He just stood there waiting for her to continue. It didn’t make the telling any easier.

  Rachel took a breath and released it on a sigh. ‘My father came to see me just before you did that night. He told me if I didn’t agree to marry Craig he would never speak to me again. I told him you and I had started seeing each other. He told me you were only interested in me to get ahead in life. He was so angry and I was so frightened of being cast adrift by my only living relative I just went along with it. I couldn’t see I had any choice. My father would never have agreed to us being together. I was going to lose either way. I chose to keep what little family I had. It was the wrong choice. Sometimes it’s better to be alone than have family who don’t want the best for you.’

  Finally he spoke. ‘You could have explained that to me that night. Why didn’t you?’

  Rachel hugged her arms across her body. ‘I was going to but then Craig barged in. Anyway, you told me the other day you had only wanted to marry me because you saw me as a way into society. It seemed to confirm everything my father had said about you.’

  Alessandro pushed a hand through his hair. ‘I should never have said that to you the other day.’

  Rachel looked at him in surprise. ‘Are you saying it wasn’t true?�
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  His frown made two lines appear above the bridge of his nose. ‘What is the good of going over all of this now?’ he said. ‘It’s too late to change anything.’

  ‘Did you love me back then?’ she asked.

  His gaze was steady on hers. ‘I thought I did but it didn’t last so it can’t have been the real thing, if such a thing exists.’

  Rachel felt her heart squeeze in disappointment. ‘So it was always just lust …’

  ‘I was twenty-seven years old back then, Rachel,’ he said. ‘I had spent most of my youth on the streets. I didn’t know what love felt like because after my father died I sure as hell hadn’t had anyone to love or who loved me back. You were out of my league but I wanted you. When you chose Hughson I hated you so much it was like a poison in my body. I wanted to show you what you had missed out on. It drove me. I worked harder than anyone I know to get where I am now.’

  ‘But you’re not happy,’ she said.

  His eyes hardened. ‘I sought success not happiness. Some people are lucky enough to have both.’

  ‘I want both,’ Rachel said. ‘But if it came to a choice I would chose happiness over success.’

  ‘What a pity you didn’t think like that five years ago,’ he said with an embittered look.

  ‘Do you think our relationship would have worked?’ she asked.

  ‘It might have for a time,’ he said. ‘It’s been my experience that most relationships have a use-by date.’

  ‘Don’t you think that’s because you’re not prepared to work harder at making them work?’ she asked.

  ‘What are you suggesting, Rachel?’ he asked with a mocking look. ‘You want to try again? See what happens this time around? Forget it. I told you the terms of the deal. You got your backing. In less than three weeks we’re over. You go back to your life and I go back to mine.’

  ‘A relationship is not a business transaction,’ Rachel said.

  He gave her a look that cut her heart in two. ‘This one is, little rich girl, and you’d better not forget it.’