Page 50 of The Housekeeper and the Brooding Billionaire

‘So you won’t object if I walk away.’ He stifled a groan. He’d been so sure she wanted him still. ‘My head says I should,’ she whispered, ‘but...’

She moved then, lifting her mouth to his. Instantly he hauled her close. Lightning sheeted through him. His blood sizzled, and the erection stretching his trousers was instantaneous as their bodies pressed and all that feminine softness strained against him.

But more than that was the wave of relief that engulfed him. Alessio had waited all day for this. Even pulling at the oars of a racing boat or welcoming dignitaries to the events, at least half his mind had been on Charlotte and the need to hold her, have her.

He slid his fingers through her silky hair, cradling the back of her skull as he leaned into the kiss. She opened her mouth eagerly, drawing him in and stroking her tongue against his with barely a hint of the sweet clumsiness that had intrigued him last night. As if it wasn’t just sex but kissing that was new.

That thought finally made him break the kiss. Though he almost changed his mind at the way Charlotte lifted her head to follow his mouth with hers. Heat doused him and his hands shook as he gently held her away. This woman undid him so easily.

All the more reason to set some ground rules.

She pouted up at him, almost undoing his resolve. ‘Alessio?’

‘Soon,cara.’ He couldn’t resist stroking that sensuous bottom lip with his thumb, pressing it open and then swooping down for another kiss, swift but ravaging. He heard her tiny moan, and it sent a thrill of temptation winding through his body till he almost forgot his good intentions. It was only as he felt his hands shaping her buttocks, lifting her off her feet and up against his erection, that he realised what he was doing.

Rather than release her, Alessio compromised, wrapping her close and carrying her into the nearest room. It was a formal salon, antique furniture upholstered in pale green silk. He walked stiff-legged across the honey-coloured parquetry and lowered her, centimetre by delectable centimetre, down his throbbing body.

Someone gasped. Her hands clutched, and he gave in. Instead of sitting beside her on the long lounge, he sank onto it and drew her onto his lap, his arm around her back, her breast snug against his chest.

‘We need to talk,’ he said.

Talking was the last thing he wanted.

‘Go on.’

‘I need to know exactly what you want, Charlotte.’ He needed to be sure she didn’t feel pressured.

A smile he could only describe as lascivious unfurled across those pink lips and made his erection pulse against her buttocks. Her eyes rounded in shock, amusing him but at the same time damping his arousal. Because it was a reminder of her inexperience against his.

Was he taking advantage?

Alessio loosened his arms, but it was beyond him to move away. He wasn’t a saint. He was a sinner through and through. Despite her inexperience, despite being her employer, he craved her with every particle of his newly awakened libido.

A shadow passed over his heart as he looked into Charlotte’s clear, questioning eyes. What was he doing, even thinking of an affair with her?

‘What do I want? That’s easy,’ she said in a husky voice that twisted his gut inside out. ‘I wantyou, Alessio. I want more of what we did last night.’

A delicate blush coloured her cheeks, but her look was direct.

Alessio shut his eyes, a prayer of thanks forming in his head when he couldn’t remember the last time he’d prayed.

‘I think we can arrange that.’ As if he wasn’t already fighting the need to ravish her out of that red dress and lose himself in her sweet body. Heat drenched his skin as he imagined it.

‘But we need to set some boundaries,’ Charlotte said, dragging him back from his eager thoughts.

He inclined his head. ‘I agree.’

‘You first,’ Charlotte said. Her tongue cleaved to the roof of her mouth at the way he devoured her with his eyes, but this was important, and she strove to concentrate even as she shifted on his lap, relishing the feel of his rigid shaft beneath her buttocks. Had she really taken all that length inside her last night? The thought made the muscles inside clench needily. ‘What boundaries?’

‘I told you I can only offer sexual pleasure.’

She nodded, biting off the impulse to admit he’d done that to perfection.

He didn’t need her gushing about his sexual prowess. He knew the effect he had on her.

‘I want more than a single night.’ His voice ground deliciously low, and she felt her nipples peak in response. ‘I want an affair.’ Sea-green eyes held hers, and she wanted to dive into those depths and lose herself in the tide of passion rising through her body. ‘But I can’t offer more than that.’ He frowned down at her as if to make sure she heard every word. ‘Notwon’tbutcan’t, Charlotte. That’s never going to be an option.’

Because he’s still in love with his dead wife.

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