by Miranda Lee
‘Oh, yes,’ she groaned when her fingers brushed over her still-swollen and very sensitive clitoris. She closed her eyes, her hand moving between the slickened folds of flesh till she found the soaked entrance to her body. Never before had she been as wet as this. Or as excited. She moaned at the thought of how it would feel when Sergio filled her there.
Her hand being abruptly pulled away had her eyes flinging open on a startled gasp.
Sergio loomed over her from the side of the bed, his dark gaze glowering with disapproval.
‘The only person allowed to touch you there this afternoon is me.’
Bella almost died when he lifted her hand to his mouth and started sucking her fingers, one by one. He seemed to relish the taste of her.
It wasn’t till he climbed onto the bed with her again that Bella realised he was now as naked as she was. More naked, actually. She still had her PJ top on, though it was wide open to her waist.
Bella swallowed at the sight of his nakedness. She’d known he was big. She just hadn’t anticipated his being that big. Admittedly, he was erect. Stunningly so, his awesome length already housed within a condom. For which Bella was grateful, given her own brains had gone to mush. She was on the pill but that didn’t protect a woman from all the consequences of unsafe sex.
‘Now where were we?’ Sergio drawled, his eyes hot on her as he eased her legs further apart and slid his own hand down into her.
Bella sucked in sharply, her heart stopping as his fingertips did things to her insides that made her want to weep with pleasure.
Don’t stop, for pity’s sake, she groaned silently.
He stopped, which was perhaps just as well, since she’d forgotten to breathe. Her heartbeat lurched back into life as he rolled between her legs and entered her. Just an inch or two at first, but it brought a ragged gasp to her lips.
‘Wrap your legs up around my back,’ he suggested thickly. ‘I don’t want to hurt you.’
Hurt her? He wasn’t hurting her. He felt fantastic. Already she wanted him in further.
But she did as he asked, and immediately he slid in deeper.
Bella moaned. Oh, God...
Her eyes flung wide when he began to move, her lips falling apart so that she could suck in some much-needed air. But whilst her heart was galloping along at breakneck speed, his rhythm was slow and steady. Too slow for her at that moment. And way too steady. She wanted him to ravage her, not make love to her.
‘Faster,’ she urged him in a voice she barely recognised. ‘Faster.’
‘I thought you didn’t like to talk,’ he growled.
When she swore at him he laughed. ‘Naughty girl.’
She could not believe it when he withdrew entirely.
She might have sworn at him again but she was distracted by his suddenly flipping her over.
‘Let’s get you properly naked,’ he said, and stripped off her top, leaving her lying there with her back to him and her bottom totally exposed.
And did she care? Not in the slightest. In the past, she would have died a thousand deaths of shame and humiliation. Not so any longer. She loved the feel of Sergio’s eyes on her, and his hands on her. And they were.
‘So beautiful,’ he murmured as he caressed her shoulders then stroked up and down her spine, his finger moving on to tease her still-throbbing clitoris with a skill that had her moaning once more.
When he hoisted her up onto her hands and knees Bella was more than ready to have him take her that way. So she was surprised—and strangely touched—when Sergio asked her if that position was okay by her.
Her ‘yes’ came out of her mouth in strangled tones, her heart catching in her throat. It was the weirdest moment. She almost felt like crying. But then he was pushing inside her wildly aroused sex and she forgot everything but the feel of his flesh filling hers once more. This time his rhythm wasn’t at all slow, his body pounding into her with long, powerful surges. By the time his hands reached round to take rough possession of her breasts she was off in another world, a world where lust reigned supreme. She groaned, her hips wriggling in urgent frustration as she pushed her buttocks back against him, desperate for an end to her erotic torment.
Her climax shook her with the force of an earthquake, her cries echoing around the marble-floored room, her satisfaction increased by the sound of Sergio’s own roar of release, his shuddering as ragged as her own. Finally, Bella collapsed onto the bed, taking Sergio with her. And that was how they lay for simply ages, their chests heaving, their bodies still fused. Gradually, Bella’s heartbeat slowed and a languor such as she’d never known before washed through her body, turning all her limbs to liquid. Her last thought before sleep claimed her was that Sergio had been so right. Sex was so much better without the complication of emotion.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SERGIO HEAVED A huge sigh of relief once he realised Bella had fallen fast asleep. For several minutes he just lay there, wallowing in the feel of his sex buried deep inside hers; wallowing in the memory of everything he’d done to her so far. Not nearly enough, of course. He could not wait to have her take him in her mouth. To have her ride him. To make her want him and need him the same way he’d wanted and needed her all these years.
It was a challenging goal, given she was hardly some innocent little virgin who’d never had an orgasm before. How did you enslave a woman with sex when she’d probably already experienced every sexual pleasure and position that existed?
Jeremy had been so wrong when he’d said Bella might not be any good in bed. She’d been great, once she’d got over that silly idea of hers that she had to be in love to enjoy sex. Lord knew where she’d got that idea from, given the kind of mother she had. Darling Dolores hadn’t been in love with his father, but she’d still enjoyed sleeping with him. Or so his father had claimed after the divorce, explaining that was why he was so shocked by her announcement that the marriage was over. Sergio realised in hindsight, however, that maybe Dolores was just a good faker.
There’d been nothing fake about Bella’s orgasm just now, Sergio’s loins leaping anew as he relived the strength of her contractions. The fact that he wanted her again so soon underlined the extent of his desire for her. Though that was hardly a surprise. His desire for Bella had always been obsessive.
Sergio contemplated waking her and having her again. But decided that might not be a good move. Bella was obviously exhausted, not just from the sex. From her busy life and the long flight, plus the ongoing disappointment of men who obviously hadn’t loved her the way she’d loved them.
Sergio scowled at this thought. What had it been about those womanising creeps that she’d fallen in love with? Their looks? Their success? Their charm? Possibly all of those things, as well as their bedroom skills. They must have been good lovers. Maybe even great lovers.
Sergio’s teeth clenched down hard in his jaw, hating the jab of jealousy that accompanied this last thought. Okay, so she’d been with some major players in the past. So what? He wasn’t exactly a novice in bedroom matters. It was crazy to be jealous over Bella’s past lovers. Crazy and counterproductive. He should be exploiting her wealth of experience, not getting in a twist about it.
Get your act together, Sergio, and move on.
Very carefully, he slid his half-erect body out of hers and headed for the bathroom, telling himself that those other lovers of hers couldn’t have been all that great or she’d have married at least one of them. It seemed impossible that none of them had proposed. Sergio would have liked to ask her what had happened, but feared it was poor form to question a woman over past love affairs. On top of that, giving her the third degree on such matters might reveal more of his own past feelings than he would like.
So keep this affair strictly sexual, Sergio. And don’t, you idiot, fall in love with the woman!
* * *
Asleep, thank heavens, giving her time to gather her thoughts before having to make conversation with him. Bella still could not believe how great lovemaking was when you were actually turned on. She shivered with pleasure at the memory of how incredible Sergio had felt, deep inside her. As for that last mind-blowing orgasm...her head had almost exploded when she’d come.
Bella understood now the seductive power of sex, something that had eluded her all these years. She’d always enjoyed being the object of desire, but she’d never actually experienced real desire herself. Till today.
Today had been an eye-opener in more ways than one. It wasn’t just her own feelings that had surprised her, but Sergio himself, who’d proved to be nothing like the man she’d always imagined him to be. He was still a gentleman at heart—she could see that. But there was a bad-boy side to him that she found wickedly attractive. It came to her as she lay there, thinking, that she’d always been attracted to bad boys, especially tall, dark and handsome ones. She’d just never lusted after one before. Sergio was a first in that regard.
And what a first!
An erotically charged quiver trickled down Bella’s spine as she relived the moment he’d trailed his hand down that same spine, continuing on to where she was happy for him to touch, bringing her quickly back to her earlier level of mindless excitement. Oh, yes, he was a gentleman at heart. Another man might have taken advantage of her at that point; might have pushed her boundaries in a way she was not yet ready for. But not her Sergio.
But he’s not your Sergio, she reminded herself sternly. Not even remotely. He’s just a friend. A friend with benefits. A temporary friend with benefits. The only reason he’d suggested such a thing was because he was between girlfriends at the moment. Don’t start imagining you’re anything special to him.
Bella had no doubt that Sergio had had lots of girlfriends over the years with his dark good looks and impressive body. More than impressive in one department. She glanced over at his nude body, her eyes having adjusted to the darkness by then. She noted that, even at rest, his penis was a full six or seven inches. Erect, he had to be nine at least.
Her mouth dried at the thought of going down on him. But she would manage. Somehow. Because she wanted to. She wanted to very much indeed.
Weird, given she’d always hated doing that. She’d endured it during her earlier relationships. Men did seem to like it a lot. But by the time Andrei had come along, she’d felt confident enough in herself to refuse, saying she simply didn’t like doing that. Andrei had been furious with her, accusing her of not loving him. Which of course she hadn’t, she realised now. She’d just been infatuated with his larger-than-life persona, then flattered by his dogged pursuit of her.
How good it felt to finally see that she hadn’t loved Andrei at all. How liberating. As was her discovery that she could enjoy sex without having to be in love. Though it was a little shocking, in a way. Bella had always been a romantic. Of course, it did make it more acceptable that she liked Sergio. And that he liked her back. She wasn’t being wicked at all by indulging in a holiday fling with him.
Well, maybe a little wicked, she thought, giggling as an image came to mind of herself up on her hands and knees, wriggling her bottom in a decidedly wanton fashion.
‘That sounded seriously naughty,’ Sergio murmured by her side.
‘It did, didn’t it?’ she agreed, resolving not to be coy with him. They were both too adult for coy.
‘Dare I ask what you were thinking at the time?’ he queried as he rolled over to face her.
‘No.’
His dark eyes glittered as his hungry gaze swept over her body, and Bella resisted the momentary urge to cover her nakedness. A bit late to resort to shy. Besides, she liked showing off her body to Sergio; liked the way he looked at it. How amazing was that?
‘I could make you tell me,’ he threatened. ‘I could tickle you till you confess.’
Her eyebrows lifted in a saucy gesture. ‘And there I was, thinking you meant to do something seriously naughty to me.’
Now his eyebrows lifted. ‘You’re into seriously naughty, are you?’
Bella realised at that moment that her new boldness was still somewhat shaky. She didn’t want Sergio thinking she wanted him to do kinky things.
‘Not at all!’ she said, trying not to panic.
‘What, then?’
‘Nothing! I...I was just flirting with you. I didn’t have anything specific in mind.’
‘You mean you don’t want me to tie you to the bedposts and torture you in all sorts of erotic ways till you blurt out all your secret fetishes?’
Bella’s eyes blinked wide when the thought of his doing just that sent a wave of dizzying excitement all through her.
‘No?’ he said, perhaps interpreting her round-eyed gaze as shock. Which was partly true. She was shocked at how much she wanted him to do exactly that. Shocked too that he would suggest such a thing. Clearly, he was even more of a bad boy than she’d realised earlier. Either that, or maybe all men were bad boys when it came to sex. Bella realised she had to take control of the situation—and her own surprisingly lust-filled self—or Sergio might get carried away with what she would allow. She didn’t want him believing she was up for anything during her stay here with him.
‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘For your information, dear Sergio, I don’t have any secret fetishes. Neither am I into seriously naughty. Now I need to go to the bathroom. And then I need some food.’
‘Fair enough,’ he said, his nonchalant tone bringing some welcome relief. ‘I’ll order us a couple of pizzas. You do like pizzas, don’t you?’ he added with a quirk of his mouth.
Her chin lifted as it did whenever she thought someone was making fun of her.
‘I do. If it’s a good pizza.’
‘Sweetheart, this is Italy. Of course it’ll be good pizza.’
Bella flinched at his calling her sweetheart like that. She hated the way men used generic terms for women. She especially hated being called sweetheart and babe. But to take him to task on it seemed petty and premature.
Pursing her lips tightly together, she swung her feet over the side of the bed and was about to stand up when some of her old shyness unexpectedly returned. The thought of walking naked across the room to the bathroom suddenly felt humiliating. She kept picturing him staring at her bare bottom and thinking all sorts of kinky things.
In the end, she squared her shoulders, straightened her spine, stood up and began to slowly cross the marble floor, hotly aware of the way her bottom and hips moved with each step.
His sexy whistle sent a fierce flush to her face. Flustered yet flattered at the same time, she threw what was hopefully a haughty glare over her shoulder at him.
‘I’m beginning to think you’re no gentleman, after all,’ she said.
He just laughed, leaving her no option but to continue on her way whilst valiantly ignoring the memory of the way his eyes were glued to her bottom. And they were, Bella having noted the direction of his gaze when she’d glanced back at him.
But it was no walk of shame in the end. By the time she closed the bathroom door behind her Bella was actually smiling. If felt good to be desired by Sergio. In fact it felt fantastic.
There was a lot to be said for a friends with benefits fling, Bella decided. The month ahead promised to be the best holiday she’d ever had, a wonderful combination of the most beautiful setting, wonderfully warm weather and the best sex she’d ever had.
The last bit made her laugh, since she hardly had a history of even good sex. If she was brutally honest, her lack of libido over the years had troubled Bella for some time. Had made her feel such a failure in that part of her life. Her lack of sexual confidence was why she�
�d never been a flirt, only the most persistent admirer getting to first base with her. So why had her libido come to life now? she wondered. And why with Sergio?
All she could think was maybe she was a late bloomer in the sexual sense. She had been late into puberty, never being boy mad as a teenager like other girls. Or maybe it had something to do with Sergio himself. Though what, she couldn’t fathom. Yes, he had a great body. And yes, he was also a great lover. But her other boyfriends had all been good-looking men too, as well as very experienced where the ladies were concerned, not to mention way more charming and complimentary in their manner to her. Bella still hadn’t forgotten how Sergio had called her too thin. Though he’d also called her beautiful when he’d been making love to her, hadn’t he?
‘Oh, whatever,’ she muttered irritably as she walked over and turned on the taps in the shower.
There really was no point trying to work out such a difficult conundrum. The wonderful reality was that, at last, she’d responded to a man like a normal woman. At last, she’d discovered orgasms. There would be no more boyfriends telling her she was boring in bed. No more believing that she needed to be madly in love to have a satisfying sex life either.
Sergio had shown her that that was a total fallacy, a romantic fantasy. After all, she wasn’t in love with him any more than he was in love with her. How liberating was that?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
‘THIS PIZZA IS sinfully yummy,’ Bella mumbled with her mouth half full.
‘Sì,’ Sergio replied, and refilled her glass with the bottle of champagne he’d opened in celebration of the way things were going between them.
Her singing in the shower had filled him with a joy that might have troubled him, if it had been any other woman singing in his shower. But this was Bella, the woman who had sexually tormented him for years. And now she was here, in his home and in his bed. Sergio was way too enamoured of her glorious beauty, too bewitched by her sex appeal, too thrilled with having succeeded in her seduction, to dig deeper into his emotions.
