Page 25 of Bound by a One-Night Vow

IZZY’S MOUTH WAS on fire as soon as Andrea’s met hers. His tongue a flame of need that echoed her own. The mutual exchange of passion thrilled her, ramping up her excitement because with every sensuous touch and caress it erased the bad memories of the past. It was an awakening of her flesh, of her desire, of her ability to give and receive pleasure and she gloried in it.

Andrea was slow and thorough in attending to all her pleasure spots, leaving no secret place undiscovered. He kissed and stroked her breasts, nibbled and nudged and gently grazed them with his teeth so that every hair on her head was tingling at the roots.

But she was just as keen to explore him and ran her hands over his taut muscles and his steely flanks and his flat abdomen. She took him in her hands and learnt his likes and dislikes, reading him as he had read her and enjoying the way he responded to her touch. Feeling powerful in a way she had never felt before.

Andrea sourced a condom and positioned himself at her entrance. The final moment of physical connection was so strongly erotic and yet surprisingly tender, it took her breath clean away. Her body welcomed him, accepting him and wrapping around him with no fear, no reluctance and no pretence. The slow movement of him within her drew from her a fevered response as her nerves began to sing at the friction. She was climbing to a far off summit, each of her muscles becoming taut with built-up tension. She was not quite there and yet so close it was like hovering on the edge of a precipitous cliff.

Andrea brought his hands between their rocking bodies and caressed her intimately, his fingers cleverly stroking her over the edge into a free fall into the abyss. Her senses were reeling, spinning her away from conscious thought, her body a blissful array of sensations that rippled through every pore of her flesh. It was like her nerves were on the outside of her skin, every movement, every touch of his hands and body making her hum and throb with pleasure.

Izzy felt his release follow soon after. There was none of the huffing and grunting and crushing, almost suffocating weight of her previous partners. Andrea held her close and gave himself up to the moment of completion with a deep guttural groan that reverberated through her body as if his pleasure was intimately tied to hers. She felt every one of his spasms as if they were her own, making her feel closer to him than she had ever felt to anyone. Emotion suddenly clogged her throat, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. She lamented her lack of sophistication for feeling so exposed and vulnerable and hid her face against his neck, hoping he would put her silence down to her satiated senses.

After a minute or two of silence, Andrea propped himself up on his elbows and turned her head so she was facing him. His brows came together when he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. ‘Did I hurt you?’ His tone had a ragged edge that made the stitches around her heart loosen even more.

Izzy gave a lopsided smile. ‘No, of course not. You were wonderfully gentle. It’s just I...I didn’t realise it could be that good. That satisfying and...not sleazy or rushed or shameful in any way.’

He mopped a couple of tears that had escaped from beneath her eyes, the look in his gaze so tender it made her want to cry all over again. She was used to partners rolling away and leaving. Job done. End of story. Andrea’s approach was so different...so touchingly different it was like he had made love with not just her body but with her mind and soul.

‘You were wonderful too,’ he said. ‘I always knew we would be good together.’

Izzy trailed her fingers down the hairy roughness of his forearm, her eyes avoiding his. ‘Why wait so long to act on it?’ She slowly brought her gaze up to his. ‘I mean, for all this time we could have been making love instead of war.’

His smile was rueful and he captured a strand of her hair and tucked it back behind her ear. ‘It’s one of the reasons I’ve always kept my distance. I didn’t trust myself around you. But my housekeeper, Gianna, knew I was beaten the minute she met you. Even before she met you.’

‘Because I’m the first woman you’ve brought here?’

‘Because you’re the first woman I’ve married.’

Izzy glanced at the rings on her left hand. They looked so real and yet... An invisible hand fisted around her heart. This was for six months and six months only. He didn’t want a wife any more than she wanted a husband. They weren’t doing for ever. They were doing for now. For money. For mutual advantage. She brought her gaze back to his. ‘But Gianna knows this is a marriage of convenience. We’ve both told her that none of this is real.’

He moved away to dispose of the condom. ‘I told you—she’s a die-hard romantic. A marriage of convenience to her means an opportunity to fall in love. She married her late husband to settle family debts and they had thirty-odd happy years together before he died a couple of years ago.’ He glanced back at her but his expression was now masked. ‘Don’t let her get to you. We’ll do it our way and when it’s time to end it, we’ll do so without tears. Agreed?’

Izzy didn’t care for the slightly clinical tone he used. Surely this wasn’t like any old business deal? This was about two lives intersecting, two bodies giving and sharing pleasure. She screened her own expression, hiding her niggling doubts behind a smile she wasn’t sure made the distance to her eyes. ‘Agreed.’

He leaned down to brush her mouth with a brief kiss, and then he straightened and reached for his trousers. ‘I have to see to a couple of things in my office to do with my business merger. Will you be okay to entertain yourself for an hour or two? We’ll have dinner out on the terrace. Maybe have a moonlight swim afterwards. I’ll give Gianna the night off so we won’t be disturbed.’

‘Sounds like fun,’ Izzy said, already tingling at the thought of sharing a moonlit swim with him.

* * *

An hour and a half later and Andrea still hadn’t worked his way through the pile of paperwork sitting on his desk. His mind kept drifting back to making love with Izzy. He still couldn’t believe he had crossed the boundary he’d been so adamant not to cross. But the things she had shared about her past and her insecurities had made it virtually impossible for him to resist her. A barrier had been removed between them and it had opened up a world of sensuality that until now he had been avoiding. Their lovemaking had been both tender and passionate and his body was still tingling from her touch. He knew it was dangerous to tweak the terms of their arrangement but he assured himself it was only for six months. Yes, a bit longer than his usual relationships, but they both stood to gain from the deal. His colleague’s wedding was only a couple of weeks away and he figured now he was sleeping with Izzy it would make their marriage look all the more authentic.

It sure felt damn authentic, which was a thought he shouldn’t be allowing inside his head. But he reassured himself that Izzy didn’t want a long-term marriage any more than he did. They had both been clear from the outset on what they wanted out of this arrangement. She had far more to lose than he and he was counting on her abiding by the rules so she got what she wanted. Her inheritance. Which she deserved, for he firmly believed now she had been badly treated by her father. It angered Andrea that he had held her father in such high esteem when all the time Benedict had been manipulative and cruel towards Izzy. Andrea knew enough about her to know she was a lot more sensitive and soft-hearted than she let on. The brash don’t-mess-with-me exterior was an act, a ruse to put people off so they wouldn’t see how easily she could be hurt.

But making love with her had made Andrea realise how careful he would have to be not to end up hurting her himself. They had made an agreement. Six months. He wasn’t interested in prolonging their relationship or indeed any relationship in the future. He had no desire to lay himself open to rejection again. To be shunted aside when feelings died. To be kicked out of someone’s life as if he were nothing more than useless trash.

No. He would stick to the plan. Keep his emotions out of the arrangement and enjoy the physical chemistry he had going on with Izzy.

Stick to the plan.

That was all he had to do.

* * *

Izzy showered and came downstairs in time to receive instructions from Gianna about the heat and serve dinner she had prepared. A candlelit table with a crisp white tablecloth was set up on the terrace overlooking the pool and the Positano coastline below. Two cushioned chairs were positioned either side of the table and a gorgeous arrangement of fresh flowers was elegantly draped either side of the scented candles. It was the most romantic setting Izzy had ever seen and yet she couldn’t help feeling a little conflicted. Making love with Andrea had changed something in their relationship. She didn’t hate him. Her hatred had been her armour and now she was fighting a battle without a weapon. What defences could she use if not her dislike of him?

But how could she dislike someone who made her feel such magical things?

Her body was still alive with the sensations he’d evoked. She had only to think of his powerful body entering her and her stomach would flip over and a hot rush of longing course through her. It was dangerous to let her guard down but how could she not? They were tied together for six months and now they had this new intimacy she couldn’t turn things back to the way they had been. A switch had been flicked. A force had been activated. A desire had been fed and fuelled and fostered.

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