Page 28 of Bound by a One-Night Vow

‘I hope his stepdaughter buys our marriage as the real deal and not a sham,’ Izzy said. ‘I mean, for a man of your wealth and position, you did marry me rather quickly and with little or no fanfare.’

His eyes smouldered like coal as they held hers. ‘Alexis will only have to take one look at us together to know what we have is real. You can’t fake chemistry like ours.’

Izzy picked up her glass in case she was tempted to give in to that crackling chemistry right here and now. ‘Are we going to do justice to this dinner Gianna made for us? It’s probably getting cold.’

He gave a lazy smile. ‘Dinner first and then a swim.’

‘I haven’t got a swimming costume with me.’

His eyes glinted. ‘Trust me. You won’t need one.’

CHAPTER NINE

AFTER THEY CLEARED away the remains of dinner Izzy followed Andrea back out to the pool. He turned off most of the garden lights for added privacy and the pool became bathed in moonlight, the surface perfectly still in the balmy evening air.

Andrea unbuttoned his shirt, giving her a smouldering look that made her insides quiver with longing. ‘Have you ever skinny-dipped before?’

‘No.’ Izzy slipped one shoulder strap down. ‘I seem to be having a few firsts with you.’

He removed the rest of his clothes and came to help her with hers. His hands were warm and sensual as they slid the other strap off her shoulder, the dress falling into a silken pool at her feet, leaving her with nothing but her knickers. His eyes devoured her naked breasts, his hands cupping them so gently it made every pore of her skin react. His thumbs brushed over her nipples, teasing them into tight buds, the flesh aching and tingling with a torturous longing. He brought his mouth down and stroked his tongue over the upper curve of each breast, his teeth taking each nipple in a soft bite that made her spine shiver. His tongue swirled around her nipple, a warm soothing stroke that sent a shockwave straight to her core. He peeled her knickers away and they too fell to her feet and she stepped out of them, desperate to press her body as close to his as possible.

The contact of his hard male body against hers made her womb contract with need—a tight, aching need that begged to be assuaged. It moved through every part of her body in a rolling tide, making her heart race and her breathing quicken. No one had ever made her feel desire like this. So powerful. So consuming. So enthralling.

Andrea bent down in front of her, bringing his mouth to her most intimate place. She placed her hands on his head to anchor herself, preparing for the tumultuous storm his lips and tongue promised. Izzy gave herself up to the sensations as his mouth continued its erotic exploration, the tension building in her body until finally it could take no more. She shattered around his tongue, gasping and shuddering as the ripples of pleasure coursed through her in cascading waves.

Andrea rose to gather her close, his hands warm on her hips, his eyes backlit with desire. ‘I love how you come apart when I do that. You’re so responsive.’

Izzy reached up to touch his mouth with her finger. ‘I never thought I’d ever feel comfortable enough to let anyone pleasure me like that.’ She touched his lower lip and sighed. ‘I can’t imagine doing it with anyone else...’

Something flickered in his gaze as quick as a jab of pain. But then his gaze relaxed but somehow his smile didn’t match. ‘I promised you a swim. Let’s do it.’ He stepped away from her and dived into the deep end of the pool, his lean athletic body slicing through the water, sending rippling waves to the edges, not unlike the ones he had sent through her body moments earlier.

Izzy stood on the edge of the pool, hesitant to dive because there was no way she could do it as expertly as Andrea. She watched him swim up and down, privately envying the way he executed deft tumble turns at each end as if he were at an Olympic training session. He reminded her of her brother, Hamish, who had been an excellent swimmer. But the swimming gene hadn’t come her way, which was another thing her father had berated her for, to such a degree she hadn’t swum in years.

Andrea surfaced and flicked his wet hair back with one of his hands. ‘Come on. It’s not cold.’

Izzy went to the shallow end where the steps were and cautiously entered the water, only going waist-deep. The water was like warm silk against her naked skin, making her aware of every inch of her body. ‘I’ll just have a paddle up this end,’ she said.

He joined her at the shallow end, his gaze searching hers. ‘What’s wrong? Don’t you like swimming?’

Izzy gave a self-conscious grimace. ‘I’m not a great swimmer. Hamish was but I didn’t share his natural talent.’

Andrea frowned. ‘Did your father make unhelpful comparisons?’

She marvelled at his ability to read between the lines whenever she spoke of her childhood. ‘It took all the enjoyment out of it to have my father standing by the side of the pool telling me what I was doing wrong.’

His hands took hers, his expression gentle with concern. ‘He was a hard taskmaster. He expected perfection and got frustrated when people didn’t measure up. But he should never have treated you like that. No one should be treated like that and especially not a child.’

Izzy moved closer to him, her arms going around his waist, her pelvis in intimate contact with his. ‘Thank you for understanding. I know it must be hard to see my father with new eyes. I know he was good to you. He was good to a lot of people. He just wasn’t able to be the sort of father I needed.’

He brushed her forehead with his lips. ‘I’m grateful for what he did for me. But I wasn’t as close to him as he made out. I wasn’t close to anyone.’ He let out a brief sigh and added, ‘I’m still not.’

What about me? Her unspoken question seemed to hover in the air between them. Didn’t he feel close to her? She had told him stuff she had told no one. He had shared things about his past she was sure he had not revealed to anyone else. They had shared their bodies with such breathtaking intimacy. What would it take for him to lower his guard enough to feel close to her?

Izzy stroked her hands over the small of his back, feeling his tense muscles relax at her touch. ‘I guess it would be hard to be close to anyone after being deserted by your mother,’ she said. ‘How could you trust anyone after that?’

His lips moved in the semblance of a smile and his gaze went to her mouth. ‘Hey. I thought we came down here to swim?’

Izzy gave him a sultry smile. ‘Do you really want to swim?’

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