Page 24 of The Venetian One-Night Baby

But he coaxed her only so far, leaving her hanging in that torturous zone that made her wild with longing. Wild and wanton and racked with primitive urges she’d had no idea she possessed. She felt like she would die if he didn’t let her come. The need was like a pressure cooker inside her flesh. Building. Building. Building.

He gently pressed her down with his weight, his body entering hers with a smooth deep thrust that made her gasp and groan in delight. Her body welcomed him, worshipped him, wrapped around him in tight coils of need that sent pulses of pleasure ricocheting through her flesh.

He set a slow rhythm at first, but then he gradually increased his pace and she went with him, holding him, stroking his back and shoulders, her body so finely tuned to his that she was aware of every breath he took, every sound he made, every movement of his body within hers.

He rolled her so she was lying on top of him, his hands gripping her hips, encouraging her to move with him in an erotic rhythm that intensified her pleasure. She should have felt exposed and vulnerable but she didn’t, instead she felt sexy and desirable. His eyes gleamed with delight as she rode him, naked flesh to naked flesh, hers soft and yielding, his hard and commanding.

Sabrina could feel the tight tingle in the core of her being; the slow build was now a rush of heady sensation threatening to consume her like a swamping wave. It was terrifying and yet tantalising as her body swept her up into a tumult of powerful pulses of pleasure, blissful, frightening pleasure that stole her breath and blanked out her thoughts. She heard herself cry out, a high wail that sounded almost primitive, but she was beyond caring. Her body was riding out a cataclysmic storm that made every pore of her skin tingle and tighten as the waves of orgasm washed over her.

Max continued to move within her, his hands holding her by the hips now, his face screwed up in intense pleasure as he pumped his way to paradise. It was as thrilling as the orgasm she’d just had to watch him shudder through his. The way his hands tightened on her almost to the point of pain, the clench of the toned muscles of his abdomen, the momentary pause before he allowed himself to fly. The raw sexiness of his response made her feel proud of her femininity in a way she had never before.

He arched his head back on the pillow and let out a ragged-sounding sigh as his whole body relaxed. He ran a light hand up and down her right arm, his touch like an electrical current on her sensitised-by-sex skin.

His eyes meshed with hers, holding them in a lock that communicated on another level—a level she could feel deep in her flesh. Their bodies were still connected, neither of them had moved. She hadn’t been able to. Hadn’t wanted to.

He gave a crooked smile and gathered her close so she was sprawled across his chest. She laid her head against the thud of his heart, and sighed as his hand went to the back of her head in a slow-moving caress that made every hair on her scalp shiver at the roots.

Words didn’t seem necessary, although Sabrina had plenty she wanted to say. But she kept her mouth closed. He might hold her like a romantic lover but this was not a love match. She had to keep her head. She had to keep her heart out of this. She closed her eyes and nestled against him, breathing in the musky scent of their coupling. For so long Max had been her enemy. The man she actively avoided or if she couldn’t avoid him, she fought with him. But how would she be able to conceal her body’s involuntary response to him? How would she stop herself from betraying how he made her feel?

Max wasn’t her ideal husband. How could he be when he’d always made it clear he didn’t want children? He’d been prepared to marry his ex-fiancée but only on the proviso that the marriage would be childless. He didn’t want the things Sabrina wanted, the things she’d wanted since she was a little girl. But now circumstances had forced them together because he refused to walk away from her and their child.

Max moved so he was lying beside her and leaning on one elbow. His free hand moved from her face in a slow caress down between her breasts to rest against the flat plane of her belly. There was a faintly disturbing gravitas about his expression that made her wonder if he was already regretting making love to her. Regretting the child they had made.

Sabrina searched his tense features, noted the shadows behind his eyes. ‘Does your decision never to have children have something to do with what happened to your brother Daniel?’ She knew she was crossing a line by bringing up the subject of his baby brother. Some of the tiny muscles on his face flinched as if she’d slapped him with the pain of the past.

His hand fell away from her belly and he rolled away and got off the bed, his back turned towards her. ‘I was the last person to see him alive.’ The words were delivered in a hollow tone that echoed with sadness. ‘You didn’t know that, did you?’ His glance over his shoulder was almost accusing.

Sabrina pressed her lips together and shook her head. ‘No...no, I didn’t...’

He turned back around and drew in a savage-sounding breath, releasing it in a gust. ‘No. Because my parents wanted to protect me from blame.’ Guilt was etched on his features and shadowing his gaze in smoky clouds.

She frowned in confusion. Why was he blaming himself for his baby brother’s death? ‘But Daniel died of SIDS, didn’t he?’

‘Yes, but I can’t help blaming myself.’ His throat rose and fell. ‘I was seven years old. Surely that’s old enough to know if something was wrong with my baby brother? But I must have missed it. I thought he was asleep. If only I had acted earlier, called Mum to check on him or something.’

Sabrina thought of Max as a young child, confused and distraught by the death of his baby brother. Even adults blamed themselves, particularly mothers, when a baby tragically died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, so how much more would Max shoulder the blame from his immature and somewhat ignorant perspective as a young child?

‘But, Max, you were so young. You shouldn’t be blaming yourself for Daniel’s death. It was a tragic thing but no way was it your fault. Your parents don’t blame you, surely?’ She had heard nothing of this from his parents or her own, who were such close friends of Gillian and Bryce Firbank.

‘No, of course they don’t,’ Max said in the same grim tone. ‘They were in shock and grieving terribly at the time but they were always careful to make sure I was shielded from any sense of responsibility for Daniel’s death. But I couldn’t stop blaming myself. Still can’t, to be perfectly honest.’ He gave a twisted movement of his mouth that was as sad to see as the shadows in his eyes.

‘Oh, Max...’ Sabrina got off the bed and went to him, put her arms around him and hugged him close. After a moment, she leaned back to look up into his eyes. ‘I don’t know what to say... I can’t bear the thought of you blaming yourself all this time. Have you talked to your parents about it?’

He shook his head, his shoulders going down on a sigh. ‘We hardly ever mention Daniel’s name now. It upsets Mum too much.’

‘Understandable, I guess.’

Max’s arms fell away from around her body and he stepped back, his expression difficult to read. ‘My mother had several miscarriages before and after Daniel died. That’s why there was such a gap between Daniel and me. She desperately wanted another child after he died, but each time another pregnancy ended, I saw another piece of her fade away.’ Something flickered in his gaze. ‘I’ve always felt guilty about my decision not to have children. My parents would love grandchildren. But I realised I can’t tell them about this baby of ours until we’re through the danger period. It would destroy them to have their hopes raised and then dashed.’

‘Your poor mum. I’m not sure I knew about the miscarriages,’ Sabrina said. ‘Mum’s never mentioned it. Neither has your mum.’

‘She doesn’t talk about it. Hasn’t for decades. She’s always so upbeat and positive but I know she must still think about it.’ He sighed again. ‘And that’s another thing I blame myself for. My parents’ marriage has been tested way too much because of my failure to protect my brother.’

‘But your parents are happy together, aren’t they? I mean, they always look like they are. Your dad adores your mum and she adores him.’

His mouth gave a twisted movement, his eyes shadowed. ‘But how much happier would they have been if I hadn’t let them down?’

Sabrina placed her hand on his arm. ‘Max, you haven’t let them down. It’s not your fault. They’re amazingly proud of you. They love you.’

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