Page 15 of Pregnant in the Italian's Palazzo

Aria’s chest tightened, her skin tingling with awareness as she saw the dark promise in his eyes. ‘What question?’

‘Did you really come here to explore the city...’ he moved closer, his voice a low purr near her ear ‘...or did you come to me?’

Breath exited her chest on a shudder as she fought to contain the visceral reaction that she was beginning to realise always came from having him near. He was a magnetic force, determined to pull her off course every time their paths crossed.

‘Because if you came to me... I have already been robbed of the forty-eight hours you’ve been wandering this city alone, when you could have spent them in my bed.’

‘I realised once I was here that I came because I wanted more. But only on my terms. I want you to bemyentertainment for the weekend, Signor Bacchetti,’ she said with a wicked smile. ‘I had planned to fly back tomorrow, but I might be persuaded to extend my trip a day or two for the right reasons.’

‘What reasons might they be?’

His words were whispered huskily against her ear, while his hands finally gripped her waist, warming her skin through the thin material of her dress. She swallowed hard, planning to respond with something clever and sensual, something to let him know that she was the one calling the shots here...but then his lips touched the sensitive skin of her neck and she instantly seemed to lose the ability to form a coherent sentence.

‘You want me to act as your personal tour guide?’ he murmured against her skin. ‘I will show you everything this city has to offer... You want to be wined and dined in the best restaurants and bought gifts from the finest boutiques? Tell me and I’ll make it happen.’

She paused, pulling back to look into his eyes. ‘Nysio...I told you already, I don’t want you to buy me things. You’re all the entertainment I need...that is, if you wanted to...’

Understanding dawned and his eyes darkened even further, his lips finally claiming hers in a scorching kiss. His hands fisted into her hair, his lips and tongue laying claim to her with a passion she had only ever felt in his arms. But if she’d thought that the kisses they had shared on the jet had been illicit and hungry, this one took her breath away.

CHAPTER SIX

HEHADHOPEDhis mind had exaggerated the memory of having this woman in his arms, but now he knew that the opposite was true. She seemed to not be aware of the connection between him and her friend’s new husband, Eros Theodorou, and for a moment a part of him almost wished that she did. That she had stumbled upon his secret and he was forced to keep her here, to ensure that there hadn’t been any more leaks. Maybe then he could explain why he felt such possessiveness over her.

She moaned under his kisses, pressing her gorgeous breasts up against him, and he realised that if he didn’t get them somewhere private soon, he would be powerless not to take her on the nearest flat surface.

Reason and propriety won out and he guided her through the hotel lobby towards the private elevator that led up to the most exclusive suite in the hotel, the penthouse. Of course, the three minutes it took to get to the top provided him with just enough time to release one ample breast from the neckline of her dress and give it one thorough suck before he tucked it safely back from view of wandering eyes.

Did she know how much power she had over him? He should slow down, regain control and tell her his rules. The problem was...he had pretty much broken every rule he had from the moment he’d laid eyes on Aria Dane. He’d pursued her, he’d changed his plans, he’d ignored his work. He tried to stir some sense of remorse in himself, but found himself smiling instead.

This woman was like a single bright spark in the darkness. He couldn’t look away. She caught his eye, an answering smile crossing her lips as she extended her arms to him, drawing him in closer. Holding him to her as though she feared he was about to disappear too.

Weakness overrode his common sense and he went with her easily, moulding his body against hers on the large four-poster bed that dominated the Royal Bacchetti suite. There would be rumours in the papers by tomorrow, no doubt. He hadn’t dined with a beautiful woman in public since his days as a young man on the party scene. Back then, he’d always needed to be a few drinks in before he could loosen up enough to not feel the effect of others watching him. He was very careful what he drank now, for good reason. He had always found difficulty in moderating his use of anything that provided him with relief from his anxiety, from the burden of being a Bacchetti.

Joy, relaxation, happiness, these were all emotions that were in short supply in his world and yet one look on Aria’s face and he saw all three. During dinner she had conversed with wild abandon, her emotions open, her face unguarded and absolutely fascinating. He could study her for hours, just as he had once studied ancient tomes from his favourite poets or his favourite classic paintings. He had always been a lover of the arts and she was like a newly discovered fresco, rare and filled with untold meaning and fascination.

When she moved against him he didn’t make any move to disguise his attraction, just as she didn’t try to hide her own. Such honesty...it was as heady as any drug. She licked her lower lip and gazed up at him through hooded lashes, her cheeks pink as she moved against him. Her eyes widened when she came into contact with the unmistakeable hard ridge of his erection, but she made no move to retreat.

He sucked in a breath through his teeth and tightened his grip on her arm. The urge to pull her into the nearest bed was strong. He wondered how she might respond if he told her how he wanted to have his way with her... He felt unhinged, like some kind of depraved primal beast. He wanted her spread out like a sacrificial offering at an altar, laid bare for him.

But this was not the Middle Ages, he reminded himself as he fought to control his body’s complete disregard for propriety. She was a person, not an item for him to take and ravish.

Accepting her proposition felt like the prelude to possibility. The possibility of something more. Suddenly the things that had felt so urgent no longer seemed so important. Not when she looked at him likethat. As he undressed her and finally sank into her molten heat, he wondered if it would ever be enough.

Aria took her time showering after a second night spent in Nysio’s arms. They had hardly left the ornate four-poster bed of the hotel’s penthouse suite. The experience was only slightly marred by the steadily tightening knot of nausea and nerves that was building in her stomach as the afternoon progressed. She could only assume that such nerves had something to do with her handsome date for the evening, which was silly considering this wasn’t a date at all but a peace offering.

One of the maids had brought up a glass of champagne and a bowl of strawberries for her to enjoy as she readied herself for a surprise date Nysio had organised for her last night in Florence. Fresh flowers had also been arranged on her dressing table, pink roses today rather than the usual simple arrangement of magnolias that were placed strategically throughout the hotel. All in all, it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, she thought absent-mindedly as she dabbed blush onto her paler than usual cheeks. She took a moment, stepping out onto the balcony for a few deep breaths and willing the bubbling nausea to settle.

By the time Nysio returned from a quick trip to his office she thought she’d got it under control but one look at his face said otherwise.

‘Are you feeling well?’ he asked, his eyes roving up and down as he assessed her closely.

‘Thank you, you look lovely too.’ She quirked one brow, nerves making her spin in a silly little twirl. ‘My dress? Oh, it’s just something I dug out of the wardrobe.’

‘You look pale.’

‘I’m fine. Just some cramps.’

His brows rose slightly, but he seemed unperturbed. ‘Do you need something? Aspirin, perhaps?’

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