But there was no stopping the soaring sensations he was stirring so easily within her. With the heat and the scent and the power of him, every touch sent her further toward the fire. Breathless, restless, she rocked her hips, meeting the slide of his fingers and brush of his lips. As his kiss breached the barrier of her panties, she bucked involuntarily, a pure, instinctive response.
‘Oh...’ She arched, a length of pure tension. ‘Rafe!’
With only one more touch, unbearably good sensations streamed from cell to cell until her whole pleasure-starved body was alight with wanton, wonderful joy. She cried out in pure rapture as spasms of ecstasy shook her again and again and again, powerfully pulsing until they slowly gentled and ebbed, leaving her speechless, boneless and completely blissed out.
‘Caramellina,’ he chided softly, sprawling across her legs to hold her in place beneath him. ‘Too quick.’ His laughter was low and sexy.
Dazed, Gracie opened her eyes and looked straight into his. She saw the humour there, together with the smug satisfaction she knew he felt from pleasing her ‘too quick’. But she also saw his hunger. Delicious anticipation rippled through her as she watched the appetite in his eyes darken and grow. What exactly would he want now? The thought of doing to him what he’d done to her made mini-bursts of bliss shudder down her spine. The thought of letting him do more made her hotter still in that secret part of her that he’d just searched out.
Two internal forces powerfully buffeted her soul—gratitude and greed. She adored what he’d just done to her, and now she wanted more. She wanted it all.
She knew this meant nothing to him. It was nothing more than a pleasurable moment on a sunny, summery afternoon. For her it was more—it was a chance. Here. Now. She wanted everything he had to offer. It was, she knew, all he could and would ever offer her, and that was just fine. But he’d been honest with her and she had to offer him the same.
‘There’s something you should know,’ she babbled quickly before she could chicken out. ‘I haven’t done this before.’
He stilled. ‘Done what—had sex outdoors in the late afternoon?’
‘None of it,’ she breathed quickly. ‘Not in the late afternoon. Not outdoors. Not at all.’
CHAPTER SIX
RAFE STARED AT HER. ‘You’re a...’
‘Virgin. Yes.’ Gracie suddenly chuckled as he stumbled on the word. ‘Not...done this. Ever. Not had anyone do that before either.’ She confessed it all with a mortified smile.
But she wanted to. She wanted everything. She’d just let him do something so intimate and now she wanted him to do everything else. ‘I’m not telling you because I wanted you to stop. I’m telling you because... I thought you should know. In case it makes a difference.’
He was staring at her like she was suddenly an alien species. ‘As to whether you lose it here on the grass in a quickie?’
‘I like it on the grass,’ she confessed boldly, because now she had nothing else left to lose. ‘It’s warm and it smells nice and it feels free. And I don’t mind quick, if that’s all you can offer.’
A startled look widened his eyes and he suddenly laughed. Then he leaned closer to brush a lock of her hair back from her face. ‘How is it possible you’re still a virgin?’
She was just appallingly glad he was back in kissing range. ‘What do you mean, “How is it possible”?’
‘You’re...’ He paused, his gaze holding hers.
‘What?’
‘A natural.’
‘Is that good?’
‘Yes.’
‘So don’t stop,’ she whispered.
To her immense pleasure, he leaned closer still. But it wasn’t to touch her, it was to speak softly. ‘Why are you going to throw away something that’s obviously important to you on a guy you’ve only just met? Why would you want to do that?’
‘What makes you think it’s important to me? It’s just that I was never in the position to do this before now. This is just good timing. Finally.’
‘Wow. Lucky me,’ he said dryly. ‘Be more honest. Say the rest. If you trust me enough to tell me you want to give your virginity to me, then go all the way and tell me why.’
Trust him to challenge her, the guy wasn’t just sharp looking. She drew in a breath and braved up enough to talk. ‘I’ve been running for a long time. Like, a long time. Now I’m finally in a place I want to stay and I’m happy and what I thought I wanted all that time is no longer the same. Before I didn’t want to give it up easily. I thought I wanted it to mean something.’
‘Mean something like what?’ His expression froze. ‘True love?’
She giggled. ‘I really wish you could see the look on your face right now.’
‘Are you having me on?’
‘No, I’m actually telling you the truth, you’re just not listening to the important part. I am honest.’ She shrugged. ‘I lied about everything when I was younger and it’s not something I want to do any more. Who I was. Where I was from. What my name was.’
‘Just the little things.’ His gaze narrowed. ‘Why?’
Maybe it was the post-orgasmic high. Maybe it was the cocoon of his arms. Maybe it was because she’d already crossed so many lines, what did another matter? Maybe it was because she fully believed that the truth would set her free.
‘My parents split up when I was seven,’ she said softly. ‘They had custody issues and it got really bitter. In the end my mother kidnapped me and we spent twelve years moving every few months to escape him.’
Rafe’s jaw dropped and his arms tightened.
‘She was terrified an extraction team would get me.’ She rushed to explain it quickly. ‘So I was educated at our various homes on and off for years. For short bursts I went to actual schools. We went as far away as possible and we were never in one place for long.’
The expression in his eyes had softened. ‘You must have been terrified.’
‘All the time. My mother did what she thought was best. My father kept fighting to find me.’
‘So what happened? Did you ever see your dad? Did your mother get charged? How is it now?’
‘Complicated.’ She threw him a little smile. ‘I grew up—old enough to make my own decisions. I told Mum I wanted to go back. So I did, alone, and I convinced my father not to press charges against her.’
Rafe’s gaze narrowed. ‘He agreed to that?’
She nodded. She’d lived with him for over a year. She’d tried to fit in with his new family. She’d tried to please them all.
‘Look, it happened and I can’t go back and change it,’ she said firmly. ‘I can only move forward and make sure I get what I want now.’
‘And what’s that?’
She hesitated, afraid her talking too much was just putting him off. But he was still very close, his gaze very direct. So she caved.
‘To be secure,’ she answered. ‘I just want a home.’
‘And you’ve chosen Bellezzo?’
‘Why not?’ She shrugged. ‘It’s beautiful, it’s warm. The food is amazing and the people are nice.’
‘But you have no family here.’
‘I have friends. I’m building my career. I have permanency.’
He shook his head. ‘There’s no such thing as permanency. Certainly not in relationships.’
‘This is just you warning me again, right? Or trying to scare me off so I’ll retract my offer.’ She laughed weakly. ‘You don’t have to. I want marriage one day and I’m not going to apologise for that, but—’
‘You want to get married?’ he interrupted, looking at her like she was a lunatic. ‘Kids? After what your parents put you through?’
‘Don’t panic,’ she said softly. ‘I’m not asking you. Not kids. Not marriage. This—right here, right now—with you is an experience and it’s not one I want to deny myself.’
He didn’t reply. She saw the conflicting emotions in his eyes and felt the opportunity sliding from her. She suddenly chilled and wrapped her arms across her bare chest.
‘Don’t you think I can handle it?’ she asked in a small voice.
‘No, I don’t know that you can.’
‘But you shouldn’t get to make that choice,’ she argued fiercely. ‘I should. This is my body and I know what I can handle. You’d be surprised at what I’ve already handled.’
He gazed down at her. ‘Don’t think I underestimate you.’
‘Then don’t doubt my ability to make this decision.’
‘And it’s not a rash decision in the heat of the moment?’
‘Of course it is.’ She couldn’t help but laugh. ‘But what’s wrong with that? I’m actually feeling a moment and that’s a good thing and, no, I’m not going to regret it.’
She shifted a little beneath him, unable to resist the urge to move. He was still with her. Still touching her. She could feel the tension within him—he was so very strong, so very skilled. And she had nothing left to lose.
‘You’re a good kisser,’ she said dreamily. I think you’ll make it good for me. I deserve good when I’ve waited so long.’
He rubbed his hand across his jaw but failed to hide his smile. ‘I’m a good kisser?’
‘Really good.’ She nodded.
Despite his obvious arousal, he was still resisting. Her frustration rose.
‘It’s just lust, right? And doesn’t lust fade once you’ve done it?’ she asked. ‘Isn’t it all in the anticipation? The unknown? And once you’ve had it, you know, and so it’s less of a need. Like my most indulgent pastries. People don’t come back for seconds. They’re a treat you try just the once.’
He shook his head slowly, not lifting his gaze from hers. ‘I saw the queue in your shop today. People do come back for seconds.’
‘Okay, maybe seconds.’ She giggled. ‘But not tenths.’
‘You’re saying I’m your treat?’
‘Yes,’ she admitted. ‘Life is precious, right? It’s quick. You can lose whole chunks without realising. It should have moments of wild amazingness. Isn’t this one of those moments?’
‘Wild amazingness?’
‘And freedom.’ She nodded defiantly. ‘Yes. Why don’t you be honest about why you’re hesitating? If you don’t want to, you don’t want to. Don’t soften the blow, just say no.’ She pushed him but he didn’t move.
He ground closer and she inhaled sharply.
‘Isn’t the virgin thing every man’s fantasy?’ She grumbled her last-ditch argument.
‘You are absolutely every man’s fantasy, “virgin thing” or not. And I do want to,’ he growled back. ‘Just you. Just now.’
‘Why?’ She suddenly challenged him, her heart thudding. ‘You wanted honesty from me, I demand the same.’
He looked her in the eye. ‘You make me laugh.’
‘Really?’ She tried to wriggle away from under him. ‘I’m your jester?’
To her annoyance he actually laughed, but then rolled and held her tightly so she couldn’t escape. ‘I enjoy spending time with you. I enjoy looking at you. You feel amazing in my arms and I know I’ll love making you feel pleasure. I won’t stop until you do.’
A wave of heat rolled over her—pure anticipation.
‘That’s what I want most of all,’ he added gruffly, grinding down and making her innards quake. ‘I know I can. I already have.’ He groaned and leant close so his lips brushed hers as he spoke. ‘I can’t hold off any longer anyway.’
Her lips parted and he plundered. Sensation overwhelmed her. Relieved at his agreement and relishing what was to come, she kissed him back as passionately as she knew how. But to her dismay he suddenly tore away from her.
‘Stop playing with me,’ she muttered harshly, hurt that she’d thought he’d said yes and was now kneeling three feet away.
‘I should.’ He sent her a look. ‘But I can’t.’ He dug into his pocket with a vicious movement. ‘You hadn’t thought about this?’ He held up the square foil package. ‘We can be wild, but we’re not going to be stupid.’
She stared at it, confused.
‘I saw you from the villa and brought it with me,’ he explained, misconstruing her nonplussed look.
A split second later she realised what it actually was. ‘Were you determined or hopeful?’ she asked with a smile as she watched him shuck the rest of his clothes and tear open the condom packet.
‘Both. Same as you.’
His growl made her giggle—that and her nerves. ‘You made me answer all those questions when you had already decided?’ she asked with mock-outrage.
‘I was decided up until you dropped the V-bomb on me,’ he muttered.
She didn’t answer because now he was naked and she was speechless. He was magnificent—broad-shouldered and slim-hipped with muscles everywhere in between, and at the apex of his athletic legs?
Awestruck, she watched, stilled and silenced, as he sheathed himself.
Oh, my. Oh, my. Oh, my.
He glanced up and caught her staring with her mouth ajar. A shamelessly wicked grin curved his mouth. A split second later he pounced, tumbling her back onto the grass. She welcomed his dominance, needing his expertise and guidance. Frankly she just needed his touch. He wasn’t arguing any more. He was all action and it was exactly what she’d not known she needed until now.
He kissed her until she was breathless and writhing—it took mere moments. Her legs naturally splayed that bit further, her hips restless under his. He laughed as he kissed his way down her body. ‘You’re not getting it that quickly, Gracie. I intend to take my time with you.’
She didn’t want him to take his time—they’d wasted enough of that talking. She just wanted him. He kissed her—long and hard—and she hurtled into that hedonistic heat once more. He was so clever with his touches—hot and skilled and certain. He peeled her skirt and panties down together with torturously slow hands, baring her completely to his gaze, to his touch, to his tongue. He made good use of the access she granted him. She ran her fingers through his hair, holding him closer, savouring the sensations he sparked with every swoop and swish of his fingers... Oh, his fingers.
‘Rafe...’ She gasped as he pressed the tip of one of those wickedly skilLful fingers into her tight channel. But before she could say more, he slid his tongue across her tiny sensitive nub. Again and again as his finger slipped deeper. It was so sudden. So intense. So fantastic.
She started to shake. ‘Rafe... I’m going to—’
‘I know.’ He rose up. ‘You’re so damn hot, I can’t—’ He quit talking and kissed her. His tongue plundered her mouth, mimicking the more intimate invasion that she really craved—completely capturing her soul. He kept his hand between her legs, learning her secrets, slipping that one finger in and out, and then two fingers, and now she was so close again her muscles tightened in readiness for impending orgasm.
As she desperately moaned into his mouth, he nudged her legs that bit further apart with his and settled his hips closer. Hot, all-consuming desire fogged everything... She wanted...she didn’t know what any more... She wanted him to stop teasing, for him to get closer still. But he kept kissing her, kept touching, flicking his thumb fast and light across her sensitive, slick bud, but he kept that one part of himself she wanted most just out of her reach.
She tore her mouth from his. ‘Rafe... Rafe...’
Just as that searing tension forced her hips high, he moved his hand to hold her butt and thrust. Hard.
She cried out, shock knocking the breath from her lungs. She heard his growl—a low sound of pure masculine pleasure.
He was inside her. He was inside her and he was huge and it was so hot.
‘Oh...oh...’ Her breath shuddered as she curled up tight—her fi
ngers into his back, her toes, locking her feminine muscles on him—every bit as hard as she could. He was really there—with her, in her—and it was intense.
His mouth hovered only an inch above hers, but he didn’t kiss her. Like her, he was suddenly still. But right where she’d wanted him most.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked almost feverishly when the silence stretched. She was desperate for him to move, for him to kiss her again, to touch her because she was still so close—
‘I think I’m supposed to ask you that.’ His smile was tight.
‘You’re not breathing.’ But, then, neither was she. She was suspended in a moment of stilled sensation and all she wanted was to tip over into the goodness she knew he had waiting for her.
‘I’m trying to stay in control.’ He smiled but his teeth were gritted.
‘What’ll happen if you don’t?’
‘This’ll be over too soon and you won’t get the experience you deserve.’ He groaned and leaned in to offer a full, carnal kiss. ‘The trouble is you feel far, far too good.’
‘Yes. I feel good. So good.’ She nodded, lifting to catch his lips. ‘Yes.’
He gave in to her request and kissed her again, taking his time to explore her thoroughly. Yes. That was what she’d wanted. Kisses. Caresses. And as he stroked, her body softened and somehow he slid deeper into her. She gasped again. But now he wasn’t still. Now he was moving—his hand cupped her breast, his thumb teased her tight nipple, his lips now nibbled at that tender, sensitive side of her neck, and his hips moved in a sure, slow rhythm—back and forth and back and forth, and her body heated, slickened, adjusting to his even more, and it was so very hot she felt incandescent with need.
He rose up, securing himself with one hand on the grass, while he swept the other along her hip and then inwards. His unerring fingers found their quarry, stroking between them, to tease where he’d teased before—right where she needed it. She breathed in sharply, catching the warm scent of crushed roses and cut grass. The blue skies and sunshine were brilliant but her vision was blinkered—she could see only him, feel only him. The best sensation of all was the one inside her.
Awakening His Innocent Cinderella Page 8
