Page 60 of Bought For The Marriage Bed

‘Marc Marcello is known to be highly selective in the women he chooses to sleep with,’ the woman said. ‘He only married her to get access to the child. But you know what they say about men: they don’t think with their brains but what’s between their legs.’

‘I wouldn’t mind having a look at what he’s got between his legs,’ the other woman said as they left the ladies’ room.

Nina put her head in her hands and stifled a groan. Could it get any worse?

Marc rose when she came back to the table, his hand cupping her elbow. ‘Would you like to dance?’

She wished she could think of an excuse but decided it was better to be on the dance floor with him than sitting at the table with the rest of the party who had heard God knew what else about her sister.

‘All right,’ she said. ‘But I must warn you, I have two left feet.’

Marc led her to a less crowded corner of the dance floor and drew her closer, his chest brushing up against hers from time to time as he manoeuvred her around the other dancers.

‘Andre told me you were a phenomenal dancer,’ he said as he deftly turned her out of the way of another couple.

Nina quickly untied her feet. ‘I don’t know about that.’ She sucked in a breath as he pulled her closer, her eyes skating away from his.

He frowned down at her. ‘You have been on edge all evening. What is wrong? Are you worried about having to stay in Sorrento longer than we planned? I am sorry but there was nothing I could do. I have to tie up things here before we can return.’

She shook her head. ‘No, it’s not that.’ She lifted her eyes to his, finally coming to a decision. ‘Can we go home? I really need to talk to you—alone.’

He slid his hands down her arms and brought her closer. ‘Is that what you want?’

‘Yes.’

He turned her towards the table where his jacket and her bag were and, after a few brief farewells, escorted her towards the exit.

Marc barely spoke on the way home and Nina didn’t know whether to be worried or grateful for his silence. She sat twisting her hands in her lap, pretending an interest in the passing view of twinkling lights in the distance. He pulled into the driveway a few minutes later and she waited until he came around to open her door, her heart thumping in apprehension as she got out.

‘You looked very beautiful tonight,’ he said, taking her hand as she got out of the car, his eyes holding hers as his thumb moved back and forth on the sensitive skin of her wrist.

‘Marc…’ She moistened her mouth, her throat closing over when his head came down, her breath stalling as his lips found hers.

His kiss was gentle at first, his hands light on her as he drew her even closer. Nina felt herself melting against him, her limbs loosening as his kiss became more insistent and his tongue more demanding as it mated sensually with hers.

Her hands found their way to his hair, her fingers burying in the black silk while her chest pushed against his with the urgency of her fast-growing need for more. She felt his hands at her breasts, shaping her, caressing her through the slippery fabric of her gown, the slide of silk over her tingling flesh an added delight to her highly tuned senses.

His groan as he pressed her back against the car stirred her into a frenzy of wanting. She ached for his hard thick presence and reached to touch him intimately, her fingers going to his waistband and releasing it to explore his jutting contours. He was hot and hard and heavy in her hands, his breathing becoming ragged as she explored him boldly.

His hand reached for the fall of her dress, sliding it up over her hips to bunch at her waist as his long fingers sought her liquid warmth. She gasped as he shifted the tiny lace panties out of his way, his fingers touching her tenderly but masterfully until she was breathless with the building sensations that were ricocheting through her.

She clung to him as he withdrew his fingers, replacing them with his solid length in one deep thrust that arched her backwards against the car. She felt her inner muscles clench him tightly, the shockwaves of delight coursing through her as he moved within her deeply and possessively, his building urgency inciting her own.

A cry burst from her lips as she neared the summit, her hips rocking with the motion of his to take her that final step. Her breath whooshed out of her when she finally made it, the earth-shattering feelings cascading through her veins like bubbles of champagne instead of blood. She felt light-headed and disconnected, her brain floating on a sea of pleasure, the receding tide washing over her in soft strokes like the lace of a foamy wave.

She opened her eyes to see the dark intensity of Marc’s looking at her as he neared his own pinnacle of pleasure, his face contorted with the anticipation of rapidly approaching ecstasy. She held him as he shuddered against her, his body spilling into hers, his deeply muttered groans of release making her skin tingle with vicarious pleasure.

He was still breathing hard when he stepped back from her, his hands readjusting his trousers, his eyes still lit from behind as he held her gaze without speaking.

Nina smoothed down her gown and put a hand to her tumbling hair, her eyes falling away from his as she bent to retrieve the bag that had slipped to the floor at her feet.

His hand reached her bag first and they straightened together, Nina doing her best to appear unaffected by what had happened between them even though her legs were still shaking with reaction.

Marc tipped up her chin and forced her to look at him. ‘Do not hide from me, Nina. I like to see the light of pleasure in your eyes.’

‘I’m not hiding from you.’ She took a breath and twisted out of his hold. ‘Let’s go inside. I feel cold.’

Marc let her go, following her into the house with a small frown etched between his brows.

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