“What happened with Tony?” he demanded.
She sighed. “He’s your brother. There’s no need to taint his memory any more than it already is.”
“Lilli,” he said. “I knew Tony had problems, most of which he made for himself. Heavy drinking, drugs, illegal deals. We weren’t close. I’m your husband, now. You can’t keep this kind of thing from me.”
She twisted her fingers together. “I had already broken up with him once,” she said in a low voice. “He promised things would be different, so I went out with him again. We went to a club and things were getting wild. I told him I wanted to leave. He begged me to stay for just one more dance, just one more drink. I just ordered soda.”
Max got a dark feeling about what had happened with Lilli. “And?”
She bit her lip. “He put something in my drink. I woke up hours later and he had—”
Max felt a rush of nausea. He couldn’t believe his own brother would do such a thing. “He took advantage of you without your consent?”
She closed her eyes and nodded. “I had told him I wasn’t ready to be intimate again, that we had to take it slow. After that night, I broke things off permanently. I realized I would never be able to trust a man who would do that to me.”
Max’s mouth filled with bitterness. He was so furious he wanted to break something. The strength of it caught him off guard.
Taking a mind-clearing breath, he reined in his anger and focused on Lilli. “I’m sorry he did that to you. I tried to steer Tony in the right direction, but he refused to listen.” He slid his hand under her chin and guided her so she met his gaze. “I promise you I would never do something like that to you.”
Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears. “You don’t have to promise. I already know.”
Max realized that Lilli would need to be seduced. It had been a long time for her and it would be his pleasure to remind her in every way that she was a desirable woman and that the passion between them would take her to a level she’d never experienced before. And as her husband, he would make damn sure no one ever hurt her again.
Chapter Eleven
Lilli envisioned that once she told Max the doctor had released her, the first thing Max would do was take her to bed. Instead he took her to dinner at the top of the premier Megalos-De Luca property in Vegas. With the baby in Maria’s care, Lilli was free to enjoy herself.
Steeped in luxury, the resort featured an outdoor restaurant with a prized breathtaking view of the strip and beyond. “This is beautiful,” she said for the umpteenth time after they enjoyed a delicious meal. “You really surprised me.”
“I thought we both deserved a night out,” he said, a cryptic grin crossing his face. “Think of this as the wedding dinner we skipped.”
“For David,” she said, laughing. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of Max seated across the table from her. Dressed in a black suit, black shirt and tie, he looked dark and devastating. Tension and anticipation hummed between them. Every time Lilli thought about how the evening would end, her breath stopped in her throat.
She looked past the other empty tables at the nighttime view of Las Vegas. “It’s so sparkly,” she said.
“So it is,” he said and poured her another glass of Cristal.
“Why are there no other people here?”
“I ordered privacy,” he said. “We can do anything we want,” he added in a velvet, seductive voice.
Her heart hiccuped and she stared at the table. It was the first possibility that came to mind. “Omigoodness, you don’t mean doing it here in public.”
He laughed. “I said it’s not public.”
She sputtered. “B-but—”
Rising, he extended his hand. “Let’s dance.”
She distantly heard the strains of a romantic melody being piped through an outdoor sound system and immediately identified it. She stood and walked into his arms. “It’s hokey, but this is one of my favorite songs.”
He drew her close to him. “Old Elvis song sung by Michael Bublé. ‘I can’t help falling in love with you.’”
“How did you know?”
“I swiped your iPod.”
“You are diabolical.”
“I’ll make you like it.”
She had an unsettling feeling he could make her like a lot of things. She felt an achy tug in the region of her heart as she breathed in his scent and clung to his broad shoulders.
He nudged her head upward and took her mouth with his. He slid one of his hands behind her neck and she felt a sensual possessiveness in his touch. Her body immediately responded to his.
The sexy romantic song continued to play and she couldn’t help feeling a little sad knowing that Max might want her, but would never really love her. The knowledge didn’t keep a fire from building in her belly. The touch of his tongue and the way his body skimmed hers made her blood pump with a primitive beat.
He pulled back slightly. Although his eyelids were hooded, she could still see a naked passion in them. “I’ve never waited this long for a woman,” he said and dipped his open mouth to her neck. He drew her against him and she felt his unmistakable hardness. Sliding his hand over her bottom, he guided her against him.
“I want to taste every inch of you,” he muttered against her mouth as he lifted one of his hands to her breast.
Lilli gave an involuntary shudder of anticipation.
“You like that,” he said, more than asked. “I’m going to touch you all over.” He slid his hand down over her hip.
The prospect took her breath away and she instinctively tried to get closer to him. She wanted to feel his skin. She wanted to slide her mouth over his chest and taste him. She wanted to see if she could make him sweat a little. Her blood pounding through her body, pooling between her thighs, she pulled his tie loose and tugged at the buttons to his shirt.
“I want to be closer, as close as I can get,” she whispered breathlessly.
He swore and caught her hands against him. “This is our first time. I’ll be damned if it’s over in five minutes.”
“You make me—” She broke off and swallowed over her dry throat. “Want.”
His nostrils flared as he took several deep breaths. “Good. We’ll finish this back at the condo.”
Burning with frustration, she allowed him to lead her from the restaurant. On the way down the elevator, she concentrated on trying to calm down. What must he think of her? That she was so easily aroused by him that she forgot about time and space?
He led her to the car and tucked her into the backseat, instructing Ricardo to take them to the condo. He pressed the button for the privacy panel and turned to her. “Why so quiet?”
“I’m a little embarrassed,” she quietly admitted, looking out the window.
“Why?”
She shrugged, not wanting to meet his gaze.
He slid his hand under her chin and made her look at him. “Why?”
“Because I would have had sex with you on one of the tables, and you were just—” She broke off and tried to look away, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“Just what?”
“Just kidding or teasing,” she said.
His dark eyes widened in disbelief. “You think I didn’t want you back there?”
She bit her lip.
He swore. “Lilli, I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you. I’ve been to hell and back a dozen times trying to keep my hands off you. You haven’t had sex since you got pregnant. I don’t want to rush things. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Oh,” she said, surprised he was so concerned about her discomfort. She’d known he had been determined to wait until the doctor released her, but this went further and oddly turned her on even more.
She impulsively slid her hands behind his neck and kissed him. She rubbed her breasts against his chest, straining to get as close as possible.
Max immediately slid his arms around her and kissed her back just as eagerly. The kiss seemed to go on and on
and Lilli felt her temperature climb along with Max’s.
He pulled his mouth just a breath away from hers. “I’m not complaining, but what was that for?”
“It was so sweet of you to be worried about hurting me,” she whispered.
“That’s your way of rewarding me for being sweet?” Max said. “Hell, no one has ever called me sweet before. Maybe I should be sweeter more often if this is how you react.”
He took her mouth again and teased both of them into a frenzy by the time the chauffeur pulled into the driveway. Ricardo opened the door for them and Max helped her out of the car. After they climbed the steps to the porch and he opened the front door, he swung her into his arms and carried her inside.
“Wow,” Lilli said, shocked again.
“For luck,” he said. “I’m not usually superstitious, but I want to hedge my bets this time.” Then he carried her upstairs to his master suite. When he set her down on the floor, he allowed her body to slide intimately down his, not hiding his arousal from her.
Lilli felt a quick shimmer of nerves and nearly suffocating anticipation. This was it. No turning back. “I bought a negligee, but it’s in my room.”
“Another time,” he said and took her face in his hands and began to kiss her. His mouth was warm and sensual; the touch of his hands made her feel precious and sexy at the same time. Lilli felt the room begin to spin.
He unzipped her dress and pushed it down over her shoulders, waist and hips until it pooled at her feet. She pushed his jacket from his shoulders and fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. This time he didn’t stop her.
Unsnapping her bra, he filled his hands with her breasts. Lilli let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. Skimming his hands down her rib cage and waist, he cupped her bottom and rubbed her against his hard erection.
Taking her mouth in a French kiss, he looped a thumb beneath the waistband of her tiny silk panties and pushed them down. Lilli had thought she couldn’t get any hotter, but she’d been wrong.
His fingers did maddening things to her, and she felt herself grow so swollen she could barely stand it. He made her ache. He made her acutely aware of the empty, needy sensation that she knew he could fill.
Tugging his belt loose, she unfastened and unzipped his slacks. Meeting his gaze, she pushed down his slacks and underwear.
“Touch me,” he said.
She did. He was huge and hard in her hands and she couldn’t help wondering if perhaps his concern about her discomfort may have been valid. She stroked him and he let out a hiss of breath. He closed his eyes while she caressed him.
“Not too much of that,” he muttered and pulled her against him. Pushing away the rest of their clothes, he picked her up and carried her to his big bed. He reached over to his bed table and pulled a condom from the drawer.
Lilli took a shallow breath at the sight of him. His eyes were dark with need, his body was well-muscled, his erection huge. He reminded her of a prize stallion and some secret, primitive part of her was proud that she was the one he’d chosen.
He groaned and lowered his mouth to hers. Lilli thought he would take her at that very second. He was ready. She was ready. There was nothing stopping them. Finally.
Instead, he dipped his lips to her nipples and started making her crazy all over again. He slid one of his hands between her legs. She thought about protesting or begging. She didn’t know which, but then she couldn’t seem to breathe let alone say anything except the whisper that squeezed past her throat. “Please.”
He drew the tip of her breast deep into his mouth and she arched toward him. “Please,” she whispered again.
“What do you want, baby?” he asked her.
Shameless with need, dripping with want, she closed her eyes. “You. In me.”
“Open your eyes,” he said in a low, rough voice.
She did as he asked and he thrust inside her with one smooth, sure stroke.
She gasped. He moaned.
“Too much?”
She waited a few heartbeats for her body to adjust to his and shook her head. “More,” she said.
Swearing under his breath, he pumped into her, driving his pelvis in a rhythm she echoed. The sensation of him filling her, stretching her, making her secret, wet places contract and shudder was almost overwhelming.
The feeling intensified with every stroke and Lilli lost control, splintering, spinning into orbit. Seconds later, she felt him stiffen and thrust one last time, groaning in release.
He lifted his head and pressed his mouth to hers, his kiss both tender and seductive. “Now, you’re mine,” he said.
Max kept her in bed for the next eight hours with very little sleep. At that point, he took a shower and returned some business calls. Lilli grabbed a quick shower, then took David from Maria, fed him, held him and bathed him.
Wide-awake, her baby watched her with big eyes and moved his mouth and made little sounds as if he were trying to talk with her.
“You’ve been such a good boy,” Lilli told him. “Sleeping through the night. Maria was so happy and I am, too.” She pulled a book from the basket beside the rocking chair and began to read. “‘Once upon a time…’”
She alternated between reading and looking at his sweet face. The rapt attention in his big eyes made her smile. She tickled him under his chin and he wiggled. She did it again and he lifted the corners of his lips into a smile.
Joy and surprise rushed through her. “You smiled,” she said and stood, bursting to share the news. “David smiled,” she called down the hallway to anyone who would listen. “His first smile. David smiled for the first time.”
Max rounded the corner, his cell phone pressed to his ear. “Just a minute, Jim. Something wrong?”
“No,” Lilli said, rubbing her thumb under David’s chin again. “David smiled for the first time.”
Max looked at her first then at David, who was not smiling now. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I just distracted him because I got so excited. I probably scared him,” she said.
“Maybe it was gas.”
“It was not gas,” she said. “He doesn’t smile when he has gas. He grimaces.”
Max looked at her and David skeptically. “If you say so. I should wrap up this call with Jim. If David does it again, let me know.”
He didn’t believe her, she realized, and it bothered her. She wanted him to be as excited about David’s firsts as she was. She wanted him to love David as much as—She broke off the thought. She was expecting way too much too soon, she told herself.
After a little more time, Max would grow to love David. He wouldn’t be able to resist the child. It would be no time before David would be looking at Max with hero worship in his eyes. Surely a child’s adoration would be able to penetrate the steel vault protecting Max’s heart. Lilli just wasn’t sure she could make it into his heart and maybe it was best if she didn’t try.
Later that night after she fed David once more and put him to bed, she turned on the monitor and cracked the door to the nursery as she left the room. Bone tired, all she could think about was going to sleep. Max met her in the hallway holding two glasses of wine.
“Time for the rest of the honeymoon.”
Despite her weariness, her pulse quickened at the seductiveness in his eyes. “If I drink a sip of that wine, I’ll fall into a coma.”
“Tired?” he asked, nudging the glass into her hand and guiding her down the stairs. “Baby wear you out with all his gas?”
She shot a dark look at him. “It wasn’t gas. He was smiling.”
“Did he do it again?” he asked.
“No, but—”
“Like I said.”
“I’m the mother. I know,” she said defiantly.
He lifted his lips in a half grin. “Can’t argue with that,” he said and clinked his glass against hers. He dipped his mouth over hers. “A meeting of the minds. Next, a meeting of the bodies. I think you might like a soak in the
Jacuzzi.”
It sounded wonderful. “I need my swimsuit.”
He shook his head. “No, you don’t.”
Her heart jumped again. “Won’t one of the staff see?”
“They’re paid not to see.”
“But still,” she began.
“If your modesty is screaming that loudly,” he said. “I can turn off the lights. Come on.” He tugged her out the patio door and into the cool night air.
She shivered.
“The Jacuzzi will warm you up in no time.”
It was easier being naked in front of him when they were in bed, when she didn’t have time to think. She took a shallow breath. “You go first.”
“Okay,” he said and set their wineglasses beside the tub. He shucked his clothes without an ounce of self-consciousness. His tanned skin gleamed in the moonlight. His shoulders were broad, his belly flat, his buttocks firm.
Why should he be self-conscious? He had a body that should have been chiseled in marble. His face was hard, but when he smiled, he could turn her world upside down. And his eyes did things to her heart rate, her temperature, and her whole body.
He stepped into the Jacuzzi and turned to look at her. “Your turn.”
She fought a rush of self-consciousness. “Turn off the light.”
After he killed the light, she pulled off her shirt and jeans, then her bra and panties. Fortifying herself with another breath, she stepped into the tub. Despite the hot temperature, she plunged her body under the bubbles.
“Better?” he asked.
“Hot,” she said, although she was grateful for the semi-cover of water.
His laugh rumbled all the way down between her legs. “You sound like Goldilocks. Too cold. Too hot. You even have the hair,” he said, touching her hair before he slid his mouth over hers. His mouth was warm, his tongue seductive.
She felt some of the tension ease out of her.
“You have a beautiful body,” he said against her lips. “I love the way your breasts respond to me.” He lowered his hands to her nipples and plucked at them, turning them into hard orbs of sensation.
Sweet and Sassy Baby Love Page 84
