Page 24 of His Innocent's Passionate Awakening

Artie didn’t say it out loud—she was shocked enough at hearing it inside her head.

Since the accident, she had denied herself any dreams of one day finding love, of marrying and having a family. She had destroyed her family, so why should she have one of her own? But now she had met Luca, she realised what she was missing out on. The thrill of being attracted to someone and knowing they desired you back. The perfectly normal needs within her body she had ignored for so long were fully awake and wanting, begging to be assuaged. ‘I want to know what it is like to make love with a man,’ Artie said. ‘I want that man to be you. I trust you to take care of me. To treat me with respect.’

He stroked her hair back from her forehead, his eyes dark and lustrous. ‘I can’t think of a time when I wanted someone more. But I told myself I wasn’t going to take advantage of the situation—of you. I don’t think it would be fair to give you false hope that this could lead to anything...more permanent.’

She leaned closer, winding her arms around his neck. ‘Stop overthinking it. Do what your heart is telling you, not your head. Make love to me, Luca.’

Luca placed his hands on her hips and bent his head down so their lips were within touching distance. ‘Are you sure? There’s still time to change your mind.’

Artie pressed her lips against his, once, twice, three times. ‘I’m not changing my mind. I want this. I want you.’

He stood and drew her to her feet, dropping a warm, firm kiss to her lips. ‘Not here. Upstairs. I want everything to be perfect for you.’

A short time later, they were in Luca’s bedroom. He closed the door softly behind them and ran his gaze over Artie. She had expected to feel shy, self-conscious about her body, but as soon as he began to undo the buttons on her top, she shivered with longing, desperate to be naked with him, to feel his skin against her own.

He kissed her lingeringly, taking his time nudging and nibbling her lips, teasing her with his tongue, tantalising her senses with his taste and his touch. His mouth moved down to just below her ear and she shivered as his lips touched her sensitive skin. One of his hands slipped beneath her unbuttoned top, gliding along the skin of her ribcage to cup one of her breasts. His touch was gentle and yet it created a tumultuous storm in her flesh. Her nipple tightened, her breast tingled, her legs weakened as desire shot through her like a missile strike.

‘I want to touch you all over.’ His tone had a sexy rough edge that made her senses whirl.

‘I want to touch you too.’ Artie tugged his T-shirt out of his jeans and slid her hands under the fabric to stroke his muscular chest. His warm, hard flesh felt foreign, exotically foreign, unlike anything she had touched before. She explored the hard planes and ridged contours of his hair-roughened chest, marvelling at the difference between their bodies. A difference that excited her, made her crazy with longing, eager to discover more.

Luca unclipped her bra and gazed at her breasts for a long moment, his eyes dark and shining with unmistakable desire. ‘So beautiful.’ His thumbs rolled over each of her nipples, his gaze intent, as if he found her breasts the most fascinating things he’d ever seen. Before this moment Artie had more or less ignored her breasts other than to do her monthly breast check. But now she was aware of the thousands of nerve-endings that were responding to Luca’s touch. Aware of the way her tender flesh tingled and tautened under his touch. Aware of the primal need it triggered in her feminine core—of the ache that longed to feel the hard male presence of his body.

Artie gasped as Luca brought his mouth to her breasts, her hands gripping him by the waist, not trusting her legs to keep her upright as the sensations washed through her. His tongue teased her nipple into a tight point, and then he circled it with a slow sweep of his tongue.

The slight roughness of his tongue against her softer skin evoked another breathless and shuddering gasp from her. ‘Oh... Oh...’

Luca lifted his mouth off her breast and smiled a bone-melting smile. ‘You like that?’

Artie leaned closer, the feel of her naked breasts pressing against his muscular chest sending another riot of tingling sensations through her body. ‘I love it when you touch me. I can’t get enough of it.’

He slid his hands down to the waistband of her jeans, his fingers warm against her belly as he undid the snap button. Who knew such an action could cause such a torrent of heat in her body? Artie could barely stop her legs from shaking in anticipation. He held her gaze in a sensual lock that made her heart skip and trip. He slid his hand beneath the loosened waistband, cupping her mound through the thin, lacy barrier of her knickers. Her body responded with humid heat, slickening, moistening with the dew of desire.

‘I can’t seem to get enough of you either,’ he said. ‘But I don’t want to rush you. I want to go slowly to make it good for you.’

Artie placed her hands on the waistband of his jeans. ‘Can I?’

His eyes gleamed. ‘Go for it.’

She held her breath and undid the fastening and slid down the zipper. She peeled back his underwear and drank in the potent sight of him engorged with blood, thickened with longing. Longing for her.

Luca drew in a sharp breath as her fingers skated over his erection. He removed her hand and returned his mouth to hers in a spine-tingling kiss that spoke of the primal need pulsing through his body. The flicker of his tongue against hers, the increasing urgency and pressure of his mouth drew from her a fevered response she hadn’t thought possible.

Within a few breathless moments they were both naked and lying on the bed together, Luca’s eyes roving over her body in glinting hunger. He placed a hand on her hip, turning her towards him, his expression becoming sober. ‘There’s something we need to discuss. Protection. We can’t let any accidents happen, especially given the terms of our relationship.’

Artie knew he was being reasonable and responsible but a secret part of her flinched at his adamant stance on the six-month time frame. An accidental pregnancy would change everything. It would tie them together for the next eighteen years...possibly for ever. ‘I understand. I wouldn’t want any...accidents either.’ She had not allowed herself to think of one day having a baby but now a vision popped into her head of a gorgeous, dark-haired baby... Luca’s baby.

Don’t get any ideas. You know the terms. Six months and six months only.

Her conscience had an annoying habit of reminding her of the deal she had made with Luca. A deal she hoped she wouldn’t end up regretting in the end.

Luca stroked his hand down the flank of her thigh, his gaze centred on hers. ‘It’s important to me that you enjoy our lovemaking. I want you to feel comfortable, so please tell me if something isn’t working for you or you want to stop at any point.’

Artie traced the shape of his lower lip with her finger. ‘I’ve liked everything so far. I thought I’d be nervous about being naked with someone but this feels completely natural, as if we’ve done this before in another lifetime. Does that make sense?’

He smiled and captured her hand and pressed a kiss to each of her fingertips, his eyes holding hers. ‘In a strange way, yes, although I have to say I’ve never made love to a virgin before.’

‘Are you nervous?’

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