Page 32 of The Venetian One-Night Baby

It was too much and it wasn’t quite enough. Her nerves were tight as an over-tuned cello string, vibrating with the need for release. And then she was suddenly there, falling apart under the ministrations of his lips and tongue, shattering into a million pieces as the tumult of sensations swept through her. She cried, she laughed, she bucked and moaned and clutched at his hair, but still he kept at her until the very last aftershock left her body. She flung her head back against the bed, her breathing still hectic. ‘Oh, my God...that was incredible.’

Max placed a hand on her belly, a triumphant smile curving his mouth. ‘But wait. There’s more.’ He moved back over her, careful not to crush her with his weight, and entered her with a smooth, thick thrust, making her gasp all over again.

He set a slow rhythm at first, but then he increased the pace at her urging. She wanted him as undone as she had been. She moved her hands up and down the bunched muscles of his arms, then placed them on his taut buttocks, kneading and stroking the toned flesh as his body moved intimately within hers.

‘You feel so damn good.’ His voice was part moan, part groan as his mouth came back to hers.

Sabrina kissed him back, using her lips and tongue and even her teeth at one point. The intensity of his passion for her was thrilling. The movement of his body, the touch and taste of him delighting her senses into an intoxicating stupor. She arched her spine, desperate to get closer, to trigger the orgasm she could feel building in her body.

He slipped a hand underneath her left hip, lifting her pelvis and shifting slightly to change the contact of their hard-pressed bodies. And just like that she was off again in a heart-stopping release that sent shockwaves through every inch of her flesh. It was like fireworks exploding, fizzing and flickering with blinding light and bursts of colour like a shaken kaleidoscope.

Sabrina was conscious of the exact moment he let go. She felt every shudder, every quake, felt the spill of his essence and held him in the aftermath, listening to the sound of his breathing slowly return to normal. There was something almost sacred about the silence that fell between them. The quiet relaxation of their bodies, the synchronisation of their breathing, the mingling of their sensual fragrances and intimate body secretions was so far removed from her first experience of sex it made her love for Max deepen even further.

Max leaned on one elbow and placed his other hand on her thigh. ‘Was that exciting enough for you?’

Sabrina smiled a twisted smile and touched his stubbly jaw in a light caress. ‘You know it was.’

He captured her hand and kissed her fingertips, holding her gaze with his. ‘I’ve never been with a more responsive partner. Every time we make love you surprise me.’

She aimed her gaze at his Adam’s apple, feeling suddenly emotional. ‘I know I’ve said it before, but I wish you’d been my first lover. I can’t believe I let that jerk mess with my head so much and for so long.’

He cradled her close, his hand gently brushed back her hair from her forehead. ‘Sweetie, if I were ever to find myself alone with that creep I would delight in giving him a lesson on how to respect women. What he did to you was disgusting and unforgiveable.’

Sabrina couldn’t help feeling touched by the flare of righteous anger in his eyes. It was wonderful to have someone stand up for her, someone who respected and cared about her welfare. Even if he didn’t love her the way she wanted to be loved, surely it was enough that he would move heaven and earth to take care of her and their baby? ‘You’re such a good man, Max.’

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips and then lifted himself off the bed. ‘Stay here and rest. I’ll bring supper up in few minutes.’

Sabrina propped herself up on the elbows. ‘Are you sure you don’t want some help?’

He pointed a finger at her but there was a smile in his eyes. ‘Stay. That’s an order.’

She gave him a mock-defiant look. ‘You know how obstreperous I get when you issue you with me orders. Are you sure you want to take that risk?’

His eyes ran over her naked form in a lustful rove that made her want him all over again. ‘Are you spoiling for a fight, young lady?’ His voice was a low deep growl that did strange things to the hairs on the back of her neck.

Sabrina got off the bed and sashayed across to him with a sultry smile. She sent her hand from the top of his sternum to the proud bulge of his erection. ‘I was thinking more along the lines of making love, not war. Are you on?’

He shuddered at her touch and pulled her closer. ‘I’m on.’ And his mouth came down on hers.

CHAPTER TEN

AN HOUR OR so later, Max sat across from Sabrina in the cosy kitchen of the cottage and watched as she devoured the supper of soup and fresh bread and fruit he’d brought with him. He wondered if he would ever get tired of looking at her. Her hair was all tousled where his hands had been in it, her lips were swollen from his kisses and her cheeks had a beautiful creamy glow.

She looked up to see him looking at her and her cheeks went a faint shade of pink. She licked her lips and then, finding a crumb or two, reached for her napkin and dabbed at her mouth. ‘What?’

Max smiled and pushed his untouched bread roll towards her. ‘I like watching you eat. You remind me of a bird.’

‘Yeah? What type? A vulture?’ She picked up the bread roll and tore it into pieces. ‘Seriously, I can’t believe my appetite just now. I’m starving.’

‘Must be the hormones.’

She gave him a sheepish look. ‘Or the exercise.’

His body was still tingling from said exercise. And that was another thing he wondered if he’d ever tire of—making love with her. ‘I should have fed you earlier. It’s almost midnight.’

‘I love midnight feasts.’ She popped another piece of bread in her mouth, chewed and swallowed, and then frowned when she saw his water glass. ‘Hey, didn’t you bring any wine with you? I’m the one who isn’t drinking while I’m pregnant, not you.’

‘That hardly seems fair,’ Max said. ‘I’m not a big drinker in any case.’

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