He began to stroke her cheek with the pad of his thumb. ‘I should have warned you how intrusive the press can be. I do my best to ignore them, but occasionally they go too far.’
She lowered her eyes a fraction. ‘I guess I really don’t have any right to be jealous…it’s not as if we’re in love…or anything…’
He looked at her for a second or two. ‘No, perhaps not, but no one likes to feel they are being double-crossed.’
Her eyes came back to his. ‘So…so while we are…together there won’t be anyone else in your life?’
Again he took a moment to answer. ‘I suppose we should make some sort of agreement that if one of us develops an interest elsewhere, we should inform the other of it so as to avoid unnecessary embarrassment. How does that sound?’
It sounds as if you are never going to fall in love with me and are making sure you have a quick exit route, Emma thought in silent despair. ‘Fine,’ she said with a tight smile. ‘Best to be up front and honest about these things.’
Rafaele tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. ‘I am going to have a shower and a shave and come back down to the salon and pour us both a drink. Have you eaten?’
‘Ages ago, but what about you?’
‘I had a snack on the plane but I could do with something light,’ he said, tugging at his tie. ‘Has Carla left anything for us?’
‘I will go and get it ready for you.’
He bent down and pressed a brief kiss to her forehead. ‘I have been thinking of nothing else but holding you in my arms and making love to you.’
Emma let out a shuddering breath of anticipation as she looked into his dark eyes. ‘I’ve been thinking about it too…’
He smiled and brushed his mouth against hers in a hot-as-fire-but-soft-as-a-feather kiss that set her heart racing. ‘Hold that thought,’ he said with a smouldering look. ‘I will not be long.’
CHAPTER TEN
WHEN Rafaele came downstairs after his shower Emma had poured a ruby-red glass of wine for him and set a plate of salad and a freshly made omelette on the coffee-table.
‘Is Carla still here?’ he asked as he sat down and picked up the knife and fork.
‘No, I made it myself,’ Emma said. ‘I thought it would be nicer than reheated pasta.’
‘That was kind of you,’ he said. ‘Are you going to have something? What about a glass of wine? Can I pour you one?’
She shook her head. ‘No, I had an orange juice a while ago.’
He resumed eating; pausing now and again to chat to her about the weather in London and other inconsequential things, but Emma only listened with one ear. She drank in the sight of him, the way his mouth tilted at the corners when he smiled and the way his eyes softened when they met hers. He looked tired, but not tense this time. She hoped it was because he was glad to be back at the villa with her.
Rafaele pushed his empty plate aside. ‘Come here,’ he commanded softly.
Emma got up on unsteady legs and sat beside him on the leather sofa, shivering with delight when his arm came around her shoulders and brought her closer. She looked into his eyes, her heart skipping a beat at the passion she could see burning there.
He brought his mouth down to hers in a slow, sensual kiss that made all the fine hairs on Emma’s body stand to attention. His tongue slipped through the soft barrier of her lips and she began to suck on its tip, delighting in the way he groaned with pleasure as he deepened the kiss.
His hands shaped her through her clothes, his mouth still locked on hers, his body pressing hers down on the sofa until she felt the hard length of him probing her intimately.
Rafaele lifted his head and looked down at her passion-swollen lips. ‘This is not the place to do this,’ he said. ‘I want you to be comfortable and relaxed.’
Emma was swept away on a tide of such longing she was hardly aware of Rafaele lifting her and carrying her upstairs to his bedroom. She clung to him, her mouth crushed beneath the pressure of his, her heart rate racing out of control as he laid her on the mattress.
‘Are you sure about this, Emma?’ he asked as he came down beside her, his warm fingers splayed possessively on her hip. ‘Really sure?’
She looked at him with love shining in her eyes. ‘I’m sure,’ she said. ‘It’s what I want. I want you. I want you to make love to me.’
He kissed her mouth, a hard, brief kiss that burned with sensual promise. ‘I cannot help feeling I should not be doing this,’ he said as he lifted up her T-shirt to expose her breasts.
‘But you want to, don’t you?’ Emma asked, squirming as his mouth began to suckle on her engorged flesh.
‘Damn right I do,’ he growled, and moved to her other breast. ‘I think I have wanted to do this from the moment I met you.’
Emma gasped with pleasure as he moved his mouth down from her breasts to the tiny cave of her belly button, his tongue circling the indentation before moving lower. She automatically tensed but he spoke to her softly, his deep, sexy voice soothing her into relaxing as he subjected her to the most intimate of erotic caresses. Her body quivered, each sensitised nerve beginning to vibrate with pleasure under the exquisite torture of his mouth and tongue.
‘Come for me, Emma,’ he coaxed her gently.
Emma felt her body start to convulse, it was suddenly out of her control, the waves of rapture swamping her, leaving her breathless and euphoric and even more hopelessly in love.
She stroked her fingers through the thickness of his hair and let out a shaky sigh as the last tremors of pleasure rippled through her. ‘I can’t believe that just happened…’ she said. ‘I didn’t know it would feel like that…’
Rafaele moved up her body, settling himself between her thighs, one of his legs splayed over one of hers. ‘It will get better,’ he said. ‘It takes time to get used to a new lover. We have to learn each other’s rhythm and pace.’
‘Teach me how to pleasure you,’ she said, tracing the outline of his mouth. ‘Teach me everything.’
He brought her hand to his erection, letting her feel his rigid contours, hoping it would help her relax enough to accept him. ‘I do not want to hurt you, Emma,’ he said. ‘It’s important you relax as much as possible, don’t tense up. I will let you set the pace, just tell me whenever you need me to stop.’
She bit her lip in that endearing way of hers. ‘OK…’
He reached past her to take out a condom from the bedside drawer and, opening the tiny packet, handed it to her. ‘You can put it on me, if you like.’
She peeled it back over him, the tip of her tongue between her teeth in concentration, her fingers soft and tentative as if worried she might hurt him. He found it a new experience being with someone so caring and sweet and so trusting. He was used to lovers going after what they wanted; the slightly aggressive and raunchy sexuality of modern women had never bothered him before now. Sex for him had been always been a totally physical thing. He had always been perfectly content with that, but now he wondered if he had missed out on something along the way.
He drew in a breath as her fingers began stroking him, the movements so deliciously tantalising he thought he might not last the distance. He pushed her back down, and, propping his weight on his arms, gently lowered his pelvis to hers. He touched her delicate folds, the sweet honey of her body slick against his fingers. ‘Remember, Emma,’ he said. ‘Any time you want to stop, just tell me.’
‘I don’t want you to stop,’ she said a little breathlessly.
He stroked her some more, inserting one then two fingers, letting her grip and then relax around him until he pushed deeper. ‘You feel so wet and warm and tight,’ he said, fighting for control.
‘I want you inside me,’ she said, shifting her body restively beneath him. ‘I want you inside me now.’
He smiled over her mouth as he bent to kiss it. ‘Don’t be so impatient, cara,’ he said. ‘There is plenty of time. We have got all night.’
She kissed him back, her tongue tanglin
g with his, her breathing coming in little gasps as he prepared to enter her. He took it very slowly, easing into her tight warmth until he felt she was ready for more of him. Bit by bit he advanced, his senses spinning as her small body enclosed him, the feel of her around his thickness making him want to selfishly plunge in and explode. It took every gram of patience and control to hold back, he could feel the pressure building inside him; he was almost shuddering with the effort of holding back, his skin breaking out in fine beads of perspiration as he coaxed her into accepting his full length.
She tensed momentarily at one point and he instantly eased back, and, propping himself up again, brushed the damp hair away from her forehead. ‘How are you doing?’ he asked.
‘I’m fine…I think I’m fine now…’
He pushed in a bit further. ‘You feel so good, Emma,’ he said.
Emma pushed her hips up to take more of him, her mouth on his neck in hot little kisses that spoke of her own building need. He sucked in a harsh breath and began to gently thrust, the rocking motion sending her senses into a tailspin. Her skin was peppered with goose-bumps of pleasure as he increased the pace; she was with him all the way, her body so slick with moisture she could feel nothing but the smooth, hard glide of his body within the tight cocoon of hers. Her body began to fizz and tingle with each deepening thrust, her back arching, her legs stiffening in that prelude to paradise. She was so close but not quite there when he brought his fingers into play against her, the gentle but purposeful action intensifying the tight coils of pleasure until they suddenly unravelled, leaving her shuddering and quaking and sobbing her way through an explosive, earth-shattering orgasm.
Emma lay beneath him, her body still quivering as she felt him prepare for his own release. She felt it in the growing tension of his muscles on his back where her fingers were still digging into him, and she felt it in the way his pace began to step up, the pumping action of his body as it thrust into hers signalling he was getting closer and closer to that final blissful moment. He surged forwards, the quake of his body as he spilled himself sending her skin out in another layer of pimply goose-flesh, her body feeling every single shuddering pulse of his.
The silence was measured by the sound of their hectic breathing. Emma closed her eyes and breathed in the musky scent of their lovemaking, her senses still spinning at the heady pleasure she had felt in his arms. His body was heavy on hers, but she didn’t want him to move. She loved the feel of him relaxed and spent on top of her, his face buried against her neck, the in and out of his breathing feathering along her sensitive skin.
‘You were amazing, Emma,’ he said, the movement of his lips against her skin making her shiver in reaction.
‘So were you,’ she responded shyly.
He leaned up on his elbows to look down at her, his brows close together over his eyes. ‘Did I hurt you?’ he asked.
Emma shook her head. ‘Not much…A little at first but you were so gentle with me.’ She smiled and lifted herself up to plant a soft kiss on his mouth. ‘Thank you.’
He returned her kiss with a lingering one of his own. ‘You are welcome,’ he said, and carefully lifted himself off her, discarding the condom in the process.
He pulled her to her feet and held her against him for a moment, his hands resting on her hips, their bodies touching pelvis to pelvis. Emma felt the stirring of him against her and pressed herself closer, but he held her from him with a rueful smile. ‘No, Emma,’ he said. ‘You will be too sore.’
Emma had to dampen down her disappointment. Her body was on fire all over again and she didn’t want anything to spoil their new-found harmony, even if it was only physical. ‘What if we have a shower together?’ she asked, looping her arms around his neck.
His eyes flared with desire as he looked down at her. ‘You ask too much,’ he said in a mock growl. ‘Do you think I will be able to control myself with you splashing around naked beside me?’
She gave him a coquettish smile. ‘I could always put on a bathing costume if that would help?’
‘Don’t you dare,’ he growled and, sweeping her up in his arms, carried her through to the en suite.
The fine needles of water were hot and caressing against Emma’s skin, but nowhere near as caressing as Rafaele’s dark brown gaze as it ran over every inch of her. Everywhere his gaze rested her body sprang to zinging life, her mouth, her breasts, the flat plane of her stomach and lower to where her feminine mound was already contracting with growing need.
‘I knew this would be a mistake,’ he murmured against her neck as he nibbled at her sensitive skin, his hands splayed on her bottom, holding her against his arousal. ‘But I can’t seem to help myself. You are driving me crazy. You have been doing it from day one.’
Emma tilted her head so she could feel his lips and tongue near the base of her ear. ‘I like how you make me feel,’ she said, clutching at his broad shoulders. ‘I didn’t know my body could feel the things you make it feel.’
‘You make me feel some amazing things as well,’ he said, and kissed her on the mouth, his tongue delving deep as his lower body rubbed against hers, the rough abrasion of his hair-roughened skin making her desire for him all the more uncontrollable.
Emma trailed her fingers from his neck, down his chest, circling his flat brown nipples before going lower to where his erection pulsed and throbbed with longing. She sank to her knees in the cubicle, the steamy water cascading over her shoulders and back as she brought her mouth towards him.
His fingers dug into her scalp to hold her at bay. ‘You don’t have to do that, Emma,’ he said a little breathlessly. ‘That is a big ask for a new lover, especially an inexperienced one.’
She looked up at him. ‘But I want to pleasure you. I want to know how to make you feel the way I did when you did it to me.’
He brushed the wet hair back off her face. ‘I don’t want you to do anything you are not comfortable with,’ he said. ‘I can pull out before things go too far.’
Emma took an unsteady breath, her hands grasping his thighs as she brought her mouth to him, breathing over him first before she tasted him tentatively with the tip of her tongue. She felt him jerk back in response, his fingers digging even further into her hair as he tried to anchor himself against the sensual onslaught to come. It gave her all the confidence she so very badly needed. She licked at him like a hungry cat, her tongue discovering his rigid contours: the thickened shaft with its satin-like skin stretched to snapping point, the musky scent of his arousal filling her nostrils, the pulse of his blood thrumming against the sweep of her tongue.
‘Oh, God,’ he groaned, beginning to sag at the knees. ‘I can’t take much more of this.’
Emma kept at him, her mouth sliding over his engorged length, back and forth in a purely instinctive fashion until she felt him suddenly tense, his whole body locking in that pivotal moment when control finally slipped out of reach. She felt the convulsing shudders of his body; she received the spill of his life force, the warmth of him anointing her in one of the most intimate acts possible.
He pulled out of her mouth with a muttered expletive and hauled her almost roughly to her feet. ‘You did not have to do that, Emma,’ he said. ‘I do not want you to feel you have to bend over backwards to please me all the time. We are supposed to be equals.’
‘We can only be equals if you come to care for me as much as I care for you,’ she said, sliding her hands over his rock-hard pectoral muscles, her eyes gazing into his. ‘I love you.’
He frowned at her, his body going tense. ‘Emma…’He gave a little sigh and continued, ‘You are confusing love with sexual desire. In the first rush of attraction it is an easy mistake to make. Believe me, what you are feeling now will peter out over time.’
‘I don’t believe that,’ Emma said. ‘This is not just sexual attraction. I love you.’
‘A lot of women develop strong feelings for their first lover,’ he said. ‘You have waited longer than most so it is natural you wo
uld form a stronger attachment than normal, but it does not mean it is the real deal.’
‘How can I convince you it is?’ she asked.
He let out another heavy sigh as he ran his hands from her shoulders down to her wrists. ‘I do not want you to love me, Emma,’ he said. ‘I do not want to be responsible for your unhappiness. I am not good at relationships. I do not like hurting people, but at times it is inevitable. I am selfish and pigheaded and enjoy my freedom too much. Let’s just enjoy this while it lasts.’
‘How can you not want to be loved?’ she asked as she fought back tears. ‘What is the point in living if no one loves you?’
‘Stop it, Emma,’ he said brusquely as he reached past her to turn off the shower spray. ‘I told you the rules. I would appreciate it if you would stick to them.’
Emma followed him out of the shower, her heart contracting at his keep-away-from-me manner. He had just made love to her with such exquisite tenderness. Didn’t that mean he felt at least something for her?
No, she reminded herself painfully. It did not.
She wrapped herself in a towel and turned away from him in case he saw the distress she felt. How could she have been so foolish? She had blurted out her feelings so gauchely. No wonder he had pulled away. She cringed at her lack of sophistication. Hot, scalding shame rushed through her again at how she had begged him to make love to her like the sex-starved singleton she was.
‘Emma,’ Rafaele said as he touched her on the shoulder. ‘Look at me.’
Emma stiffened under his touch. ‘Leave it, Rafaele,’ she said without facing him. ‘Please don’t make me feel any more of a fool than I already do.’
He tugged her around to face him, his hands going to her waist to hold her steady, and his eyes locking on hers. ‘I want you, Emma,’ he said. ‘Make no mistake about that. I want you.’
But not for ever, Emma thought with a little sag of her shoulders as his mouth came down. She gave herself up to his kiss, her arms going around his waist, holding her to him tightly, wondering even as she felt his body quiver with longing against hers how long it would be before he tired of her and finally let her go.
The Fiorenza Forced Marriage Page 13
