Page 6 of Pregnant in the Italian's Palazzo

‘You don’t?’

‘Do you?’ he asked, his eyes not leaving hers. She seemed to consider her options for a moment. He took in the stubborn set of her jaw and tried to ignore the sensation of something shifting into place within him like a car engine roaring to life when she finally looked him in the eyes and bit her lower lip softly.

‘I want to stay here,’ she confessed in a whisper. ‘With you.’

He ran a finger along her lower lip, tracing his hands along her jaw before gripping the soft skin at the sides of her neck. Her pupils dilated just as he knew they would.

At the first subtle nod of her chin, he closed the space between them. He bent his head, following the line of her jaw with kisses, trying and failing not to groan a little as he inhaled some more of the warm scent she wore. It was sharper in the hollow where her neck met her shoulder and she shivered when he pressed his lips there, lingering for just a moment.

He leaned back against the wall and used the front of her gown to pull her to him, perching her side-saddle against his thigh. This position evened out their height difference a little, giving him much more freedom of movement.

‘Do you feel this same energy, humming in your veins...demanding a release?’ he growled.

He heard the arousal in her voice as she murmured yes, and he could sense her body telling him what he wanted to hear. But still, some part of him wanted her to leave, wanted her to run away from him and whatever madness this was between them. He didn’t quite trust it, the seemingly effortless flow of mutual attraction that pulsated between them. Perhaps for her it was simply the aftermath of the adrenaline of the day and the chaos that came with it. He wanted to test it out, he wanted more time.

‘I want to be the one to give you that release,’ he said, inhaling her sweet berry scent and feeling it scorch his lungs. ‘Do you want me to kiss you again, Aria?’

CHAPTER THREE

‘YES.’

The word was the barest whisper on Aria’s lips before Nysio’s mouth was reclaiming hers and she felt him press her backwards, caging her in against the wall. They kissed for what felt like hours, his mouth devouring hers with expert precision, and she was lost...completely lost to whatever madness this was that had taken hold of them both.

She wanted it never to end. She wanted him to consume her whole and put out whatever needy fire he had ignited within her.

She’d never felt arousal quite like this, not even the handful of times she had actually enjoyed sex in her life. She had always been too self-aware, too inside her own head.

Why wasn’t she overthinking everything right now? She had never felt this way before, as if she were in a freefall of pleasure, on the brink of madness. And madness was the only way she could accurately describe the feverish sensation taking over her body. It was reckless and heady and a part of her felt as if she needed to revel in every second, just in case it was all taken away again. Her throat was dry, her pulse racing as he began a hot trail of kisses from her ear down her neck. One strong hand cupped the side of her jaw while the other traced along the side of her breast and down the curves of her waist and hips before settling with a firm squeeze upon her behind.

‘From the moment I first saw you, I wanted to do this,’ he murmured against her skin, pulling back for a split second to stare into her eyes in the dim light. Searching...

She exhaled, a soft moan escaping her lips as she felt his grip tighten, his fingers pressing into her flesh through the fabric of her gown. His lips resumed their kisses and licks along her collarbone, his clever fingertips found and pinched her nipples through the flimsy pink material.

‘You are so honest in your reactions...even when you hide, your face tells me what you’re feeling.’

His sensuously accented words circled around her, increasing the impression that she had entered into some kind of trance. Perhaps this was not reality at all. The sensation of his touch and the soft gravelly whisper of his words seemed to melt into one, drawing her deeper and deeper into this intoxicating battle that she never ever wanted to leave. Everything melted away replaced only by him.

‘What am I thinking right now?’ she asked softly, splaying her hands through his long thick curls and feeling a strange comfort in the silky warmth she found there.

‘You’re wondering if I’m just a cocky bastard or if I’m actually going to make you come, right here.’

‘Oh. Can you...do that?’ she stuttered, hardly believing how brazen she felt.

‘The question is notifI can give you pleasure,’ he replied with a wicked tilt of an eyebrow. ‘It’s about where you’d like me to start.’

The look in his eyes made her pulse quicken and a fine point of heat began to throb between her thighs. She thought of all the clever things she might say, to seem sophisticated and seductive, but came up short. She had never been good with silence, it made her twitchy, but this silence was heavy and laden with dark twirling tension. She smiled nervously, pressing her lips together. She should lay the ground rules, she thought. She should say...something.

But no sooner had she opened her mouth to speak than his head was descending for another punishing kiss.

Aria thought she had been kissed before. She had a vague recollection of how the act was supposed to feel...but this was something else entirely. Her body felt as if it had been plugged into a stream of vibrant electric energy, the kind that fuelled euphoric fever dreams. She felt his strong hands against the sides of her neck, anchoring her and angling her jaw upward as he took everything she offered.

This was a kiss of pure domination, something that should make her run a mile considering her track record with wealthy domineering males. Why wasn’t she running? Why did the thought of this kiss ending make her want to dig her nails into this man’s arms and refuse to let him go?

It seemed he had been holding back before. This kiss was brutal, a magnificent storm of perfectly aimed sensuality that utterly ruined her for any kiss that might come after. He was all hard male, brawn and beauty as he caged her against the marble-topped vanity until she leaned against the mirror. The cold glass dug into her back, the slight hit of pain only seeming to heighten the wicked pleasure of his mouth as he began to trail hot, suckling kisses down her neck.

‘Do you realise how long I have been waiting to get you alone?’ he murmured against her skin, his hands greedily savouring the full weight of both of her breasts through her dress.

‘We only met for the first time about an hour or so ago.’

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