Page 44 of 2 Books in One Bundle
He stroked his hand over her, murmuring that she was beautiful and perfect, till her sobs stopped and she drew back, kissing him. Her mouth fervent on his own. Demanding, desperate. He returned the kiss, her lips luscious and soft. Her hands tugging at his trousers, sliding over his skin as she tried to get closer.
He pulled back. ‘Do you want more?’
‘I want it all.’
Her voice was still tremulous, breathy. Breaking with emotion. It should have screamed a warning but the only chant in his head was yes.Yes.
He stood, undid his trousers, slower than he wanted but this was for her, a show. Time for her to back away. Louisa watched him, her eyes widened, but now gleaming with desire in the soft light, as her gaze tracked over him. He felt it, her appreciation. Firm as the stroke of her fingers against his flesh. When had it ever meant so much?
Matteo dropped his trousers, his underwear. Kicked them aside and stood, naked. She gasped and he wasn’t sure what her sharp intake of breath meant. Desire? Fear? He clenched his fists, flexed his fingers. Waiting a few seconds for her to say something again. Then she licked her lips and the simple move almost unstitched his tight control right in front of her. He wanted to pounce on her, devour her, rather than taking the tender care that she deserved. He moved to the bedside table, grabbed a condom. Tore the wrapper with haste but sheathed himself slowly as she watched him roll it down his length, her lips parted. Lying there on the covers, her skin pale. Her freckles in beautiful relief like a thousand stars sprinkled over her.
He crawled back onto the bed, stalking towards her. She gripped the covers as if they were the only thing stopping her from grabbing him. He hungered for her touch. Matteo lay beside her, stroked his hand between her breasts. ‘I need to be inside you.’
‘I need that too.’
Matteo kissed her, his lips gentle caresses over hers, till she deepened it. He let her lead for a while, before taking over. Wanting to show her more pleasure than she’d ever dreamed. To be the only man...
No. He was thefirstman.
This was her start, not her ending. He was only showing her what was there for her, how life could be for a woman like her out in the world. Yet why did something dark and possessive overtake him in that moment? A craving to lock her away, keep her to himself. Keep her safe.
He ignored it. This was all about her freedom, not an imprisonment. He eased a hand between her legs and they opened for him once more. Checking to see she still remained wet, ready for him. Then he moved over her, notched himself at her entrance, looking into the green pools of her eyes.
‘You’re so beautiful. I want to make this good for you.’
He began to ease inside, watching her for any hint of pain. Her eyelids fluttered shut as he moved, rocking into her. Deeper and deeper with each gentle thrust into the tight, hot depths of her till he could go no further. He groaned on her corresponding sob. The glory of it, unlike anything he’d experienced, like his first time it seemed so new.
Then he began to move and for a moment she lay there, hands flexing over his back. Till she began to move with him, as if driven by instinct.
‘Good?’ he asked, the word grinding out of him.
‘So good.’
They were the words he wanted to hear and he lost himself in the rhythm of their bodies. His mind blank to anything bar the biting pleasure. Her smooth skin. Her breathy sighs. His body wound itself tighter and higher as he thrust harder. Her movements becoming faster, un-coordinated. Her breathing more desperate as he drove her towards the edge again.
‘Take your pleasure, Lulu. Take what’s yours.’
She stiffened. Her fingers digging into his back as she pulsed round him on a wail. His mind blanked in a burst of white light and blistering pleasure as his orgasm burned through him like an electric shock. Wiping him clean.
CHAPTER TEN
LOUISAHELDONTOMatteo’s hand as he helped her from the boat on his private dock. They’d spent the morning motoring about the lake. He’d taken her to see the village of Nesso, with its waterfall and Roman bridge. She’d watched as some tourists leaped into the lake for a perfect social-media moment, swimming and laughing. They’d explored Bellagio and strolled along the waterfront under sweetly flowering nerium, eating gelati in the sunshine.
How her life had changed since spending the night with Matteo. This need for him all-consuming. In the next few days after that first explosive evening, rather than exploring round the lake they’d spent their time exploring each other. Their bodies like undiscovered countries they needed to map with lips and hands.
She could never have imagined this life for herself, when the thought of even walking to the village round Easton Hall had filled her with a kind of foreboding. Something about telling Matteo about what had happened to her, that sharing, had released something inside her. How he’d pushed her just a little, had changed everything.
He’d talked about taking her to Paris, where something was happening with one of his hotels that might need his personal attention. Each day she found another place in the world he had a hotel or retreat, another place he’d explored.
He hadn’t mentioned his quest to turn Easton Hall into another of his hotels. Perhaps he no longer saw the need? Life seemed so full and bursting with happiness.
‘I have a challenge for you,’ he said, pulling her from her thoughts.
‘What sort of challenge?’
After settling her on the dock he smiled, and it made her warmer than the sunshine in which they stood. That smile of his could chase away all darkness.
‘You’ll see. I think you might like it.’
