by Sarah Morgan
He’d kissed her before, but this time felt different. The desire had been building between them all evening and this time there was no gentle promise or slow, sensual hint of more to come. This time his kiss was a declaration of intent, a skilled deliberate assault on her senses designed to trigger a similarly explosive response from her. There was a whisper of silk as he slid the silver dress up her thigh with a purposeful movement of his hand and then his mouth moved to her neck and lower still.
The lift doors opened and Liv gave a gasp of surprise as he scooped her easily into his arms and carried her into his apartment.
‘Stefano, you can’t—’ Her faint protest was smothered by the possessive demands of his mouth and her wrap slid to the floor, closely followed by the silver bag.
Without lifting his head from hers, he carried her through to his bedroom and then lowered her gently to the floor.
Beyond the huge glass windows stretched the winter wonderland that was Hyde Park, but Liv was so dazed from his kiss and from the look in his glittering dark eyes that she couldn’t focus on anything except him. For her, Christmas was in this apartment, with this man.
Cupping her face in his hands, Stefano brought his mouth down on hers again and this time she just melted against him, so excited that she could hardly breathe. He kissed her slowly and thoroughly and with such skill and expertise that her body threatened to explode. Lost in his kiss, she barely felt the sensual slide of his strong hands over her body and when her dress pooled on the floor she gave a murmur of shock and pulled away slightly.
‘Stefano—’
‘You have the most amazing body,’ he said hoarsely and the raw appreciation in his eyes doused the sudden flicker of insecurity that had threatened to disturb the moment.
He tipped her back onto the bed and came down on top of her, his expert hands tracing every contour of her shivering, excited body. His mouth lingered on the sliver of lace that framed the tantalising dip between her breasts and then suddenly she was naked from the waist up, totally exposed to his disturbing masculine gaze.
Blindly wondering how he managed to undress her without her even noticing, Liv was just about to protest when he drew his tongue over one pink-tipped nipple and she felt a spasm of sexual heat connecting with the most intimate part of her. With a moan of disbelief, she arched against his clever mouth and with the skilled flick of his tongue and fingers he drove all traces of shyness from her brain.
Liv was no longer thinking about the fact that she was virtually naked. Neither did she care that the moon was providing sufficient light for him to enjoy a leisurely visual survey of her body.
Her body ached and throbbed and she writhed her hips against the silk sheets, needing him to touch her but far too shy to ask. The air vibrated with sexual tension but Stefano took his time, driving her to screaming pitch with the deliberate touch of his mouth and his fingers. When he slowly drew away from her and stood up, she almost sobbed out a protest and then realised that he was removing his own clothes. His eyes didn’t once leave hers as he swiftly dispensed with his shirt and dropped those lean, clever fingers to the button of his trousers.
His chest was broad and muscular, the bronzed skin darkened with crisp curls of male hair that drew the eye inexorably downwards over his board-flat abdomen to the bold thrust of his erection.
He discarded his clothes in a careless heap and his firm mouth curved into a sexy smile full of masculine promise.
The mattress dipped as he came down beside her and Liv felt her stomach knot in wicked anticipation as he slid a hard, muscular thigh over her legs, trapping her.
‘Do you know how long I have waited for this?’ With an appreciative murmur, he slid a leisurely hand down her body and Liv shivered with helpless longing.
She would have expected to feel self-conscious, but he was looking at her with such a blaze of sexual hunger that it was impossible to feel anything other than beautiful and seductive.
When his clever mouth closed over one pink nipple she gasped, and as his warm, strong hand slid confidently over her thigh she shifted her hips to try and relieve the nagging ache that was building inside her.
She didn’t feel like herself. Everything about her world suddenly seemed different. She was hot, burning and just dizzy with longing as he introduced her to an eroticism that she’d never before known.
Her fingers slid over the hard muscle of his shoulders and he lifted his head and looked at her, his glittering eyes half-shielded by thick, black lashes.
‘You are spectacular.’ He shifted slightly and brought his mouth down on hers and every single part of her shivered and quivered with agonising sexual tension. Their eyes held as his tongue danced with hers and Liv squirmed underneath him, her thigh sliding against the rough hardness of his.
His hand slid between her legs and she cried out as she felt the expert stroke of his fingers touching her moist femininity. The pleasure was so wickedly intense that the world around her suddenly ceased to exist and there was nothing but him.
‘Stefano…’ She gasped his name against his mouth in a desperate plea and he shifted her underneath him in a swift, decisive move.
‘I need you now,’ he groaned thickly, ‘I can’t wait.’
Liv felt the hard probe of his erection against her and dug her nails into his shoulder. As she arched her hips towards him, he slid his hand into her hair and for a moment he stared down into her eyes, his gaze fierce and hot. Then he shifted his weight and sank into her with a purposeful thrust that drew a harsh groan from the back of his throat and a startled gasp from her.
He was powerfully male and for a moment the feel of him inside her was so overwhelming that she couldn’t move or breathe. His eyes were dark and demanding, the atmosphere was steamy and hot and each thrust of his body drove her deeper and deeper into an ecstasy that she’d never known before.
The excitement bordered on terrifying and as he drove her higher and higher she clung to the hard muscle of his shoulders. Consumed by unbearable pleasure, her world exploded in a shower of exquisite sensation and her body tightened around his as she fell, spiralling down and down in a dizzying, endless tumble of ecstasy.
Stefano groaned in agonising pleasure and reached his own peak, his passion so intense and demanding that it prolonged her own pulsing excitement. Liv wrapped her arms around him, holding him as tightly as he was holding her, shocked and dazed by sensation and wishing that they could stay like this for ever.
* * *
She woke to bright sunshine and the knowledge that she was naked in Stefano’s arms.
Memories of the night before filled her head but her initial rush of elation was swiftly swamped by her old feelings of insecurity. Conscious that moonlight created a very different atmosphere from the harsh honesty of daylight, Liv felt a sudden desperate urge to put some clothes on and wondered how she was going to extract herself without waking him up.
The fabulous silver dress still lay in a pool on the floor, a reminder that the magical night was well and truly over.
Willing him not to open his eyes, she turned her head to look at him. He was intensely masculine and for a moment her gaze lingered on the hard lines of his face and his firm, sensual mouth. His lashes were thick and dark and his jaw was blue with stubble. Even in sleep he was breathtakingly, impossibly handsome and her insides squirmed as she remembered the intimacies they’d shared the night before.
How could she have ever thought that one night with this man would be enough?
The trouble with discovering the existence of really, really good sex, she thought to herself, was that one didn’t want to give it up.
No wonder women were disgruntled when he ended a relationship. They knew that they’d just lost perfection.
And now she had to find a way of leaving the bed without disturbing him.
Gently and slowly she tried to ease away from him but he tightened his grip and pulled her back against him. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’
Agonisingly aware of the brush of his thigh against hers, she stilled. ‘I was going to get dressed.’
‘Don’t bother,’ he murmured softly, rolling her underneath him and combing her hair away from her face with a gentle hand. ‘We don’t have to collect Max until four o’clock. That gives us all day.’
Her heart thudding, she stared up at him. ‘I’m naked.’
‘I know, tesoro. And you are beautiful. Molto bella.’ With a sexy smile, he shifted his body subtly and she gasped as she felt the hard thrust of his arousal.
‘Stefano—’
He lowered his head and kissed her mouth, cutting her off before she could say what she wanted to say. ‘You have a glorious, fabulous body and to let you wear clothes would be criminally irresponsible.’
‘I was going to have a shower,’ she murmured, distracted by the touch of his mouth on her neck. How did he know exactly where to touch her?
‘Good idea. We’ll take one together.’ Delivering a last, lingering kiss on her mouth, Stefano sprang out of bed, gloriously naked and as confident and unselfconscious as ever.
Maybe if she looked as good as him, she’d be confident too, Liv thought and then gave a gasp of shock as he swung her into his arms.
Ignoring her muttered confession that she’d never showered with anyone before, he carried her into his enormous bathroom and lowered her gently to the floor. Then he hit a button on the wall and jets of deliciously warm water cascaded over both of them.
‘The great thing about showering with someone,’ he said, his Italian accent suddenly very pronounced, ‘is that they do all the work.’ Reaching for the soap, he gave a her a wicked smile and slid his hands slowly and deliberately over her body. ‘Tell me—what is it that you don’t like about your body?’
‘I don’t know, I can’t think when you’re doing that to me!’ She tilted her head back and then gasped as the water hit her full in the face. ‘I’m drowning…’
Laughing, he nudged her gently back against the wall of the shower, away from the direct flow of the jets of water. ‘Better?’
She opened her mouth to answer but then his hand slid between her thighs and the only sound she was capable of making was a low moan of pleasure and desperation. The water flowed over her but she was only aware of the expert slide of his fingers against her flesh. His touch was wickedly skilled and when he dropped to his knees in front of her, she gave a whimper of disbelief.
She had to stop him. She knew she had to stop him but then he parted her gently and the only sound that emerged was a low moan of pleasure.
The heated, moist sensation of his mouth drove the breath from her body and every rational thought from her head as he licked her with slow strokes of his tongue and then teasing flickers that drove her wild with desire.
Her pelvis ached and throbbed and she moved restlessly, overtaken by the heat that he was creating. The tremors started to engulf her and then he slid his fingers deep and she exploded into an orgasm so intense that for a moment the world went black and she forgot where she was and who she was with. She lost control totally and it felt like endless minutes before she was finally able to open her eyes and look at him.
Stefano rose to his feet, paused long enough to protect her and then he put his hands under her hips and lifted her, his eyes impossibly dark and slumberous as he held her gaze. ‘I think you are fabulous and beautiful, Liv—’ His voice was husky. ‘Are you getting the message yet?’ His arms and shoulders were thickened with muscle and he held her easily, his erection hot and heavy against her as he positioned her to his satisfaction. His strong fingers bit hard into her thighs and she cried out in ecstasy as he surged into her body with a single, decisive thrust. She felt the warmth and fullness of him deep, deep inside her and he paused for a moment as sexual chemistry threatened to devour them both. Stefano groaned something in Italian and withdrew slightly, only to thrust again, this time deeper than the last time. Holding her securely, he began a sensual, erotic rhythm that felt so agonisingly, impossibly good that Liv felt the immediate response of her body. She wanted to move her hips but he was the one in control, his body pressed hard against hers, his shoulders and arms taking her weight as he drove into her again and again. Ripples of exquisite excitement turned to an explosion of ecstasy and she felt him shudder against her as her own body was suddenly showered with sensation.
She clung to him, ignoring the drenching flow of the shower and the relentless patter of her heartbeat. It was only when he finally lowered her gently to the floor and smiled at her that she realised just how much trouble she was in.
Nothing was ever going to be the same again. How could it be after a night with this man? Before the previous night she’d managed to convince herself that she was happy being single, that her life with her little boy was enough. All her fulfilment and satisfaction had come from her role as a mother and she hadn’t dared explore the world beyond. She’d been too afraid. Jack’s cruel rejection had acted like chains, preventing her from exploring her needs as a woman.
But one night with Stefano had set her free from those restraints.
With soft words and skilled touch, he’d made her feel like a beautiful, confident woman and she knew that she’d never again be able to shut that part of herself down. She wanted to share her life with a man, but not just any man.
Stefano.
Which meant that she was heading for disaster, because this was a man who had confessed himself unable to find that one special woman.
CHAPTER NINE
‘I NEED you to look straight ahead,’ Liv said gently, her hands holding the child’s as she coaxed the little boy to do as she wanted. ‘Mr Lucarelli is going to look in your eyes. Good boy.’
‘That light thing feels funny.’
‘Don’t think about the light thing. Think about me, instead. Tell me what you’re hoping to have for Christmas.’ She kept the conversation going, hoping that she looked and sounded normal. She certainly didn’t feel normal. Everything about her had changed. Her view of life, her view of herself, her view of her body…
‘A skateboard.’
‘Wow!’ Liv let go of one of his hands so that she could hand Stefano the equipment he needed. She was careful not to look at him. If she looked at him then she thought of sex and if she started thinking about sex, then she wouldn’t be able to concentrate. She was desperate to ask him what was going to happen now, but at the same time she didn’t dare because she was so afraid of the answer. For him it had been a fling, she was sure of that. And there hadn’t even been an opportunity to continue the relationship because Max was now back in the apartment. ‘A skateboard? That is fantastic. Have you ever been on one before?’
‘Once. At my cousin’s house. I fell off and hurt my arm.’
‘Better make sure you ask Father Christmas for some protective pads then, and a good helmet. Tilt your head for us slightly, good boy.’ Liv moved slightly so that Stefano could get a better view. Was he finding it as difficult as she was? No, apparently not. In public he was his usual cool, composed self, but in private…
She gave a tiny smile, thinking of the long conversations they’d shared after Max had fallen asleep, curled up together on his deep, comfortable sofa. Conversations designed to take their minds off the powerful attraction that drew them together. Liv didn’t feel comfortable making love while Max was in the apartment and she suspected that Stefano felt the same way because he hadn’t pushed the point. And he still wanted her, she knew he did. Maybe they could find an opportunity. Maybe she could talk to Anna—
‘Drops, Liv.’ Stefano’s tone was impatient and she gave a start and handed him the drops, allowing herself a slight smile. Even their special relationship didn’t allow her any concessions when it came to efficiency.
‘Do you want him to have an eye patch?’ She forced her mind back to the job and smiled at the little boy. ‘I hope Father Christmas brings you everything you want.’
‘That’s fine. I’m done. No eye patch,
but I want him to have chloramphenicol.’ Stefano stepped away from the little boy and ripped off his gloves. ‘Well done, Nick. You were very brave. There’s a little scratch in your eye but we’ll give you some ointment to help.’
His mother stood up. ‘He needs a prescription?’
Stefano talked to her about the care Nick was going to need and then strolled out of the cubicle.
Counting the hours until they could go home, Liv sorted out the eye ointment, gave them an advice sheet to take home and then went back to tidy the cubicle.
Moments later, Anna slid into the room. ‘All right, I’ve had enough of this. I want to know everything.’
‘Everything about what?’
‘Liv, I’ve waited four days for you to tell me what happened on the night of the ball, but you’ve been avoiding me. I gave up my ticket so that you could go. The least you can do is tell me whether my sacrifice was worth it. Judging from the smile on your face, I’m guessing that it was.’
‘I had a nice time, yes. I’ve already told you that. The food was great…’ even though she hadn’t eaten any ‘…and the band was fantastic.’
‘I’m not remotely interested in the band or the food. I want to know about Stefano.’
Just the sound of his name sent a tiny thrill through her body. ‘I had a lovely time.’
‘Lovely time?’ Anna gritted her teeth. ‘You spent the night with the sexiest man on the planet and all you can say is that you had a lovely time? How much of a lovely time?’
‘It was nice.’
‘Nice? What sort of feedback is that? I want details! Did you—you know…?’ Anna waggled her eyebrows suggestively. ‘Please tell me you did. I’m guessing that you did, because you’re suddenly smiling all the time.’
‘Anna!’ Liv blushed. ‘I am not answering that!’
‘So obviously you did.’ Anna rested her bottom on the table, a satisfied smile on her face. ‘Well? Were you a buttoned-up prude or a brazen hussy?’
‘Oh, definitely a brazen hussy,’ Liv said lightly, remembering the raw explosive passion they’d shared.
