Page 23 of The Venetian One-Night Baby

But she wanted more. More of him. All of him. He moved over her, gathering her close, nudging her entrance with his erection, taking his time to move, waiting for her to get used to him before going further.

It was so different from her first time as a teenager. So very different it made her chest tighten with emotion. If only he had been her first lover. Her body responded to him like fuel to fire. It erupted into sensations, fiery, pulsating sensations that rippled through her entire body. She welcomed him into her with a breathless gasp of pleasure, her inner muscles wrapping tightly around him, moving with him as he began to slowly thrust. Her need built and built within her, his rhythmic movements triggering electrifying sensations that made every cell of her body vibrate. Tension gathered again in her core, a teasing tantalising tension that was more powerful than before. It was taking over her body, taking over her mind, pulling her into one point of exquisite feeling...

But she couldn’t quite complete the journey. Her body was poised on a vertiginous precipice, needing, aching to fall but unable to fly.

Max brought his hand down to her tender flesh, caressing, providing that blessed friction she needed to finally break free. And fly she did, in waves and ripples and pulses that left no part of her body unaffected. It was like being tossed into a whirlpool, her senses scattering as shockwave after shockwave rocketed through her. Sabrina heard someone gasping and crying in a breathless voice and realised with a jolt that those primal and earthy sounds had come from her.

Max waited until her storm had eased before he increased his pace, bringing himself to his own release with a series of shuddering movements that made her wonder if he had been as affected by their lovemaking as she. Or was this normal for him? Was sex simply sex for him and nothing else? The physical satiation of primal needs that could be met with any willing female? Or had he been as moved as she had been by the flow and ebb of sensations that were still lingering in her body like waves gently washing against a shore?

He began to play with her hair, running his fingers through the tousled strands, the slight pull on her scalp sending a frisson down her spine. How could one person’s touch be so powerful? Evoke such incredible sensations in her body?

After a long moment, he raised his head to look down at her, his hand now cradling the back of her head. His expression was confusing to read, it was as if he had pulled down an emotional screen on his face but it hadn’t gone all the way down, leaving a gap where a narrow beam of light shone through. The contours of his mouth that hinted at a smile, the smoky grey-blue of his eyes, the pleated brow that wasn’t quite a frown made her wonder if he—like her—was privately a little shocked at how good they were together. ‘You were wonderful.’ His voice had that gravel and honey thing going on. ‘Truly wonderful.’

Sabrina let out a shuddery sigh—just thinking about the sensations he had caused made her shiver in delight. ‘Is it like that for you all the time?’

He didn’t answer for a moment and she wished she hadn’t gone fishing for compliments. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Of course it wasn’t different for him. Of course it wasn’t special. Of course it wasn’t unique.

She wasn’t special.

She wasn’t unique.

Max’s hand cupped the side of her face, his gaze more blue than grey—a dark, intense blue that made her think of a midnight sky. ‘It’s not often as good as that. Rarely, in fact.’

Sabrina’s heart lifted like it was attached to helium balloons. ‘But it sometimes is?’ Why couldn’t she just let it drop? But she had to know. She longed to know if he felt even a portion of what she’d felt. Her body would never be the same. How could it? It had experienced a maelstrom of sensations that even now were lingering in her flesh in tiny tingles and fizzes.

A small frown appeared on his brow and his eyes moved between each of hers in a back and forth motion as if he were searching for something he didn’t really want to find. ‘Sabrina...’ He released a short sigh. ‘Let’s not make this any more complicated than it already is.’

Sabrina knew she was wading into the deep end but couldn’t seem to stop herself. ‘What’s complicated about asking you if the sex we just had was run-of-the-mill for you?’

He held her gaze for a beat and then pushed himself away. He got off the bed and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, tilting his head from side to side as if to ease a knot of tension.

He let out another sigh and turned back to face her, a twisted smile ghosting his mouth. ‘Okay, you win. It was great sex. Awesome. The best I’ve had in years, which was why I was going to offer you a longer fling yesterday at my mother’s party.’

Sabrina searched his expression, wondering whether to believe him or not. How silly was she to push for a confession from him only to doubt it when he gave it to her? ‘Do you mean it?’ Her voice was as soft as a whispered secret, uncertain and desperately seeking reassurance.

Max came back to sit on the bed beside her. He took one of her hands and brought it up to his mouth, kissing each of her fingertips in turn, his eyes holding hers. ‘You’re a beautiful and sexy woman. I can’t remember a time when I’ve enjoyed sex more.’ He gave another rueful twist of his mouth. ‘Maybe I’ve been dating the wrong type of woman.’

Sabrina lowered her gaze and chewed one side of her mouth. ‘Better than not dating at all, I suppose...’ She didn’t want to think about him dating other women. Now that they’d made love again, it made her sick to think of him kissing and caressing someone else. Thank God he hadn’t been with anyone since their night in Venice, but how would she feel if he had? But if she didn’t marry him, he would be at liberty to sleep with whomever he wished.

It was her call.

Max tipped up her chin with his finger, meshing his gaze with hers. ‘What happened to you when you were eighteen would be enough to put most people off dating for a decade. But you have no need to feel insecure. You’re one hell of a sexy partner, sweetheart. That night we first kissed? I wanted you so badly it was all I could do to tear myself away.’

‘Really?’

His smile made something in her chest ping. He leaned down to press a soft kiss to her mouth. ‘Couldn’t you tell?’

Sabrina smiled against his mouth. ‘It was kind of an enthusiastic kiss now that I think about it.’

He kissed her again, a longer kiss this time, the movement of his lips stirring her senses into overdrive. He lifted his mouth just above hers, his eyes sexily hooded. ‘Is that enthusiastic enough for you?’

She traced the line of his mouth with her finger, her body tingling with excitement at the way his hard body was pressing against her. ‘Getting there.’

He captured her finger with his teeth, holding it in a soft bite, his eyes pulsating with lust. ‘I want you.’

Sabrina shivered in anticipation and looped her arms around his neck. ‘I want you too.’

He brought his mouth back down to hers, kissing her long and deep, his tongue gliding into her mouth with a slow thrust that made her body tremble. His hands cradled her face, his upper body pressing down on her breasts, the skin-on-skin contact thrilling her senses all over again. She could feel the swollen ridge of his erection against her lower body, and her inner core responding with tight contractions and clenches. The sweet tension was building, all her pleasure points in heightened awareness of his touch. One of his hands went to her breast in a slow caress that made her skin tighten and tingle. His thumb rolled over her nipple, back and forth until it was a hard pebble of pleasure. The sensations travelled from her breasts to her belly and below as if transmitted by a sensual network of nerves, each one triggered and tantalised by his spine-tingling touch. He went lower to caress her intimately, his clever fingers wreaking havoc on her senses, driving up her need until she was breathless with it.

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