Her hips jerked forward in the explosion of sensation, and she gasped. He touched her again, so softly. With his other hand, he pushed a single exploratory fingertip inside her, and she gripped the sheets in her hands, twisting back and forth, wanting deeper. Wanting more, but not knowing how to ask.
But he already knew. In a swift motion he moved down her naked body, placing his head between her legs. Pushing her thighs apart, he tasted her with the full width of his tongue.
She cried out, arching her back beneath the electric arc of pleasure. The shock was intense. She tried to move away. He held her down with his hands, making her submit to incredible pleasure such as she’d never known.
He slowly licked her, his tongue lapping the hot wet center of her need, flicking against her hot aching peak, swirling in progressively tighter circles until she was writhing in sweet agony. Her body was so tight and taut, and climbing higher still. Her breathing came in ragged, short gasps as the edges of her vision started to go dark. The tension was unbearable, making her shake and twist beneath the savage, ruthless lapping of his tongue. The pleasure was building. Exploding. She clutched the back of Stefano’s black hair, trying to pull him away before she … before she …
But he wouldn’t let her escape—he wouldn’t—
Her world exploded and waves of bliss poured over her like colors, the blue of the Spanish sky, red poppies, deep brown earth and the black of her lover’s eyes. She screamed out his name and Stefano moved, sheathing himself in a condom in a fast movement before he braced his hands on either side of her body, positioning himself between her legs.
In a single rough movement, he pushed himself inside her.
Pain shot through Annabelle as he ripped through her, splitting her apart. She heard the intake of his breath as he broke the unexpected barrier inside her.
“Annabelle?” he said in a strangled voice. “How is it possible … how can you be a virgin?”
She twisted her head away, her eyes tightly shut at the shock and revulsion she imagined she heard in his voice. He started to pull away from her, but she couldn’t bear for it to end, not like this!
“I’m not a virgin,” she whispered, gripping his shoulders, holding him inside her. “Not anymore.”
She heard his low, hoarse gasp. “Look at me.”
Shaking, Annabelle opened her eyes, waiting to see scorn in his handsome face. Instead, she saw only shock and something else—wistfulness?
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said quietly.
“It’s too late,” she said in a low voice. “It’s done.”
“If I’d known you might be a virgin—”
“Don’t stop now,” she choked out. She shook her head, blinking back tears she struggled to hide. “Please don’t leave me like this.”
Stefano closed his eyes, then with a ragged intake of breath, he slowly pushed back inside her. The movement was slow, impaling her inch by inch. His jaw twitched with the tight ferocity of his control.
She gritted her teeth, bracing against expected pain.
But instead, as he moved slowly inside her, she was shocked by a new feeling that rose above the pain. Pleasure rebuilt inside her like dark clouds of a thunderstorm on a hot summer day. Darkening. Building. Ready to explode.
He filled her so deeply. With each thrust, he went deeper still. She saw by the tension of his body what it cost him to hold back like this. He was so careful—so gentle. His eyes were closed, his jaw twitching with the effort of self-control.
She loved him for that. Reaching up, Annabelle pulled him down and softly kissed his lips. The last vestiges of her body’s pain dissipated and the tension coiling low in her belly started to fill her with every thrust. She gripped his shoulders as he rode her, digging her fingernails into his skin, desperate for more, to feel him harder, deeper. And with a ragged gasp, he obliged her. Annabelle’s head fell back as she gasped for breath, lifting her hips to accept each hard thrust as he rode her. He was so huge, so hard, and as he held her down with his weight, slamming into her so deeply, she cried out from pleasure so intense it almost felt like pain.
His low growl built to a roar as he gripped her hips, pushing inside her with one final shattering thrust. He was so deep, deep, deep inside her that when he shouted her name in the hard ecstasy of his release, joy exploded through her and she screamed as her world went black.
When Annabelle came back to herself moments later, she found herself cradled against Stefano’s naked body, wrapped in the powerful shelter of his arms. She looked around in amazement. The bed looked as if it had been hit by a tornado, with white sheets and covers twisted and ripped around them. Everything else was chaos, but she and Stefano were at peace, the eye of the storm.
Annabelle exhaled in wonder, hardly able to believe what she’d experienced. She pressed her cheek to Stefano’s naked chest and felt the rhythm of his breath. She closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat, feeling closer to Stefano than she ever had to anyone on earth. Nestled in his strong, protective arms, Annabelle smiled in wonder and joy as happiness washed over her.
Then her heart almost stopped in her chest.
Her eyes flew open. Stefano was a playboy. Every joy he’d just given her was sweet sugar laced with poison. She’d let her inhibitions go and surrendered everything to his conquest. Her feelings were in his hands now, but how long would he be interested in her? A day? Two? Or was he already done?
She’d just given herself to a man who always lost interest in every woman after he bedded her.
She’d given him her virginity. Her trust. Her … heart?
No. Annabelle shuddered. Please God, she couldn’t be that foolish. She wouldn’t give her heart to a man who would betray and desert her in a matter of days, if not hours.
Would she?
“So what happens now?”
Still half-asleep, Stefano opened his eyes lazily at the trembling sound of Annabelle’s voice. Both of them were still naked and lying across his bed amid the ransacked white cotton sheets. He smiled to himself. Dios mío, he’d never felt such passion for any woman. Beneath that cool reserved exterior, she had even more fire than he’d ever imagined.
When he’d first kissed her in the meadow beneath the wide blue sky, breathing in the scent of the flowers—the scent of her—Stefano had thought he would die if he didn’t have her. But making love to Annabelle had exceeded his wildest expectations.
Now, to his shock, he wanted … more.
“What happens now?” he repeated, a tender smile on his lips as he looked down at her cradled to his bare chest. He frowned as if in thought, then grinned. “We go downstairs for dinner?”
“We slept together,” she pointed out.
“Yes,” he murmured, kissing her temple. “I noticed that.”
But Annabelle’s beautiful face had an unhappy, pinched expression. “You must have a usual procedure after you’ve bedded a woman. How does this end?”
Stefano blinked. A usual procedure? Sí, he did have one. After he made love to a pretty woman who was barely more than a stranger, he always got dressed, told the woman he’d never forget their night together, left the hotel room and promptly forgot her.
But this … this was different. This was Annabelle.
She was a virgin. He’d made love to her in his own bed. Most of all: he knew her. For the first time in his life, he’d become friends with a woman before he’d slept with her. He’d been forced to wait so long to seduce her, he’d had to fight so hard to win her, that he’d actually started to … care.
“So.” Annabelle took a deep breath, her lips turning downward unhappily in the deepening shadows of his bedroom. “What happens now?”
“I don’t know,” Stefano said slowly. Trying to brush aside her question, he gave her a sudden wicked grin. “We could always do it again.”
But she pulled away from him. “I’m serious,” she insisted.
“So am I.” Looking at her now, soft and naked in his bed, was the culmi
nation of all his dreams. He stroked her soft skin, caressing her naked body. He could see the faintly pink pattern of scars on her skin, like the veins of a flower. She was so sweet and soft, like a pale pink rose.
He would never forget the taste of her. He would never forget the feel of her pebbled nipple in his wet mouth or the soft pleasure of her breasts. He’d never forget the sound of her gasp when he’d pushed her legs apart and licked her, when he’d thrust himself to the hilt inside her tight sheath. The pleasure of that had nearly overwhelmed him. He would never forget how it had felt to fill her, to hear her cry out his name, to bring her to gasping fulfillment before he’d shuddered and shattered inside her with his own orgasm.
He was already hard for her again. How? How was that possible? Usually, he lost interest in a woman immediately after he’d bedded her. But this time, instead of being satiated, he didn’t want to let Annabelle go.
He softly kissed the top of her head, and even that small movement caused a new shudder of desire to course through his body. He said in a low voice, “How is it possible that you were a virgin, Annabelle?”
She swallowed. Folding her arms, she looked up at the white plaster ceiling. “I know. It’s a bit pathetic, isn’t it? Most women my age have boyfriends, husbands, children. I’ve never had anything. Or anyone.”
“So—why did you choose me?” he whispered hoarsely, hardly able to believe it.
She looked at him for a long time, then finally said, “I’ve been chased by many men, but never one like you. You pursued me with such single-minded passion. Such … devotion. And such skill. I could not resist you. In the end, I didn’t want to resist, no matter what it might cost me.” She took a deep breath. “How long do you want me to stay?”
He frowned, not understanding. “In bed? Stay as long as you like.”
She looked at him in the shadows of twilight, then gave a harsh laugh. Abruptly, she sat up. Her gray eyes became hard and flat as slate.
“Let’s be honest and call this what it is,” she said coldly. Her cheeks flushed red over her faint pink sunburn. “A one-night stand.”
“No.” He immediately sat up beside her. “Not a one-night stand. That’s not what I want.”
She exhaled, and the coldness in her eyes fell away. She suddenly looked vulnerable and painfully young. “It isn’t?”
Swearing softly in Spanish, he snorted a laugh. “Dios mío, Annabelle. I don’t want any other woman. I want you. Don’t you know that by now? I’ve never had to try so hard to win a woman. I don’t want you to leave my bed. I’ve barely had a chance to enjoy you yet.”
Looking at him, she licked her lips. Then slowly, she lifted troubled gray eyes. “Then … I’ll stay.” She took a deep breath and added quickly, “Just until my assignment ends here on Saturday. When your charity gala is finished, I will leave Santo Castillo.”
He scowled at her. “You can stay longer than that.”
She laughed at his expression, then sobered. “No, I’d better not.”
“Why?”
Annabelle rose from the bed. Naked, she reached for her linen skirt and silk camisole now crumpled on the floor, ripped and dirty from her work with the horses.
“I want an answer,” he said steadily.
She stopped, then. Folding her arms over her naked breasts, she looked at him with clear gray eyes.
“People can’t change who they are, Stefano,” she whispered. “I’ve learned that the hard way. My father was a brute. My mentor was a liar. They both treated me differently at first. My father beat my brothers, but not me. Patrick lied to other people, but not me. I thought I was special. But ultimately they treated me like all the rest.”
“I’m nothing like Arbuthnot or your father,” he said angrily.
She shook her head sadly. “You’re wrong. Whatever you might think now, you will someday treat me just as you treat all other women. You will hurt me. And I’ve already given you too much.” Turning away with her clothes in her arms, she whispered, “If I were smart, I would leave now …”
Leaping to his feet, he caught her wrist.
“No,” he growled.
She looked down at his hand, then gave him a trembling smile. “You are a playboy, Stefano. It was the first thing I heard about you. You will someday leave me for another.”
“Maybe,” he exploded. “But not today! Not next week!”
“No, not today.” She gave him a wan smile. “But soon. How could you not? We are all wrong for each other. You love this ranch and hate to leave it, while I will never settle down and have a home.”
“So? I could visit you in London, you could visit me here …”
She shook her head. “It’s more than that.” She looked down at the floor unhappily. “I know you will betray me. I can’t bear to just wait for it to happen.”
“But, Annabelle.” He stared at her. “We could have weeks, months, together. Why do we have to decide now how it ends? Why not just enjoy it while it lasts?”
Blinking back tears, she gave him a tremulous smile. “You asked me how I could be a virgin at thirty-three. It’s because I don’t let anyone close. I don’t give my heart easily.”
Her heart? He frowned. “We haven’t said anything about love. We’re talking about sex.”
“For you, I know they are not the same. But for me.” She shook her head. “That’s why I need to leave. Before I.” Her eyes glimmered in the light as she took a deep breath. “Before I love you.”
His eyes went wide.
Staring at him, Annabelle shook her head with a laugh. “You needn’t look at me like that. Don’t worry, I know you are the worst possible man I could choose to love. You will never be faithful to any woman. And I couldn’t take another betrayal, Stefano. I really couldn’t.”
He scowled. “Annabelle—”
“Stop.” She put her finger on his lips. “There’s nothing more to say. You know I’m right. We’ll just enjoy the rest of this week and then … we will part.”
Stefano swallowed.
People can’t change who they are, she’d said. And in his heart of hearts, he knew she was right.
And yet.
And yet.
In this moment, Stefano couldn’t bear the thought of her leaving him. Not now. Not yet. For the first time in his life, he wanted more of a woman after bedding her, and she was pushing him away!
He shook his head angrily, not wanting to accept her decision. “Stay an extra week after the gala,” he argued. “Surely a week won’t hurt.” He tried to smile. “That won’t make you love me. I’m not that adorable.”
She snorted, then shook her head. “I can’t,” she said. “I’ll need a week in London to edit and develop the photographs of Santo Castillo for Equestrian, then I immediately leave for Argentina on assignment for Geography World magazine. No.” She took a deep breath. “Our love affair—whatever you want to call it—must end when I leave on Saturday. It’ll be a clean break. For both of us.”
He swallowed. “I don’t want you to go.”
“It’s for the best.” Her eyes were luminous in the fading light. “Let’s enjoy the four days left. Then we’ll say goodbye before it gets serious. Before anyone gets hurt. All right?”
He sucked in his breath.
“All right,” he said heavily. “Four days.”
He didn’t like this. Didn’t like it at all. But he couldn’t argue with anything she’d said. He didn’t want to hurt her, but knew he probably would.
Four days would have to be enough. He’d somehow make it be enough. Then he would forget her, like all the rest. Wouldn’t he?
Standing beside her, Stefano entwined his fingers with hers. “Only four days,” he said softly. “Let’s make every minute count. We still have the rest of the evening. We still have all of the night.”
Her gray eyes flashed up at him, looking breathless and mysterious. “After all our hard work today—”
Taking her hand, he pulled her back toward the bed. “I couldn�
�t exactly call it work.”
She giggled, allowing him to draw her two steps toward the bed before she stopped. “But I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” he growled, pulling her into his arms. Holding her against the length of his naked body, he kissed her.
With a sigh from the back of her throat, Annabelle melted. Her wadded-up clothes fell from her hands as she wrapped her arms around him. Stefano smiled to himself, knowing he’d get his way. He relished the feel of her soft body against his, the feeling of paradise.
Then they heard a loud shout downstairs, as the young stablehands headed noisily into the dining hall.
Annabelle pulled away from his embrace.
“We should go downstairs,” she said, blushing. “Everyone might wonder what we’re doing if we don’t show up for dinner.”
“Let them wonder.” Smiling down at her, he stroked her cheek. “We’ll ask Mrs. Gutierrez to bring up dinner. We have no reason to even get dressed.”
She looked scandalized. “We couldn’t!”
“Why not?”
“Well—” she bit her lip “—it would set a bad example for the boys. I wouldn’t want them to think it’s acceptable behavior to sleep with their girlfriends before they’re married….”
“Ah, querida,” Stefano said tenderly, laughing. “You’re an old-fashioned girl.”
She stiffened in his arms. “I suppose I am.”
He stopped her with a kiss, then looked in her eyes. “I meant it as a compliment.”
Naked, they faced each other. But for once, Stefano wasn’t looking at her body. He took her hands in his own, staring in wonder at her beautiful face. Her gray eyes were endless pools of light.
He felt her warmth, heard the hush of her breath in the shadowy room. He realized he couldn’t see the scar on her face anymore. All he saw was her beauty—inside and out.
He’d never felt like this before.
He … cared for her.
You are the worst possible man I could choose to love. The echo of her voice rang hollowly in his ears. You will never be faithful to any woman. And I couldn’t take another betrayal, Stefano. I really couldn’t.
Bad Blood Collection Page 109
