His thrusts became harder, faster, as her white satin skirts shook and fluttered around them, the fabric opalescent and gleaming in the pale shadows of the hallway. Her breaths came in ragged gasps, her full breasts overflowing the low-cut neckline of the boned corset, a sliver of her pink nipples now visible.
Feeling him so deep inside her, all the way to her heart, pleasure blazed through her like a wildfire, consuming her. She’d wanted him for so long.
The wickedness of letting him do this to her when she hated him, when any moment someone might come into the hallway and see them, should have made her pull back and push him away. Instead, she only wanted him more.
Three more deep thrusts and she exploded in a shuddering cry, digging her nails into the expensive fabric of his tuxedo jacket. At that, he shoved himself inside her with a harsh shout, gripping her against the wall, his eyes closed with fierce ecstasy.
Tess slowly came back to earth, literally, as he released his grip on her thighs, letting her feet slide back to the floor.
His large hands smoothed her frothy white skirts neatly back down, as if nothing had happened. Turning away, he zipped up his tuxedo trousers. Watching him, Tess leaned back heavily against the wall, hardly able to believe what had just happened.
“I was never going to let you touch me again,” she whispered.
Stefano glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. His cruel, sensual lips lifted into a cold smile. “If this is you hating me, I like it so far.”
With a humiliated gasp, Tess turned away. He grabbed her wrist.
“Wait.” His voice was low, and his earlier expression was gone, replaced with some emotion she couldn’t identify. “Don’t go. I didn’t mean it.”
“You did that just to show your control over me,” she choked out, wiping her eyes, knowing she was probably streaking mascara across her face.
“Is that what you think?”
“What else could it be?”
He snorted, shaking his head. “I didn’t even show control over myself. I meant to take you upstairs to the suite.” He gave a rueful laugh. “I didn’t quite make it.”
Tess’s cheeks were hot as she looked down at the patterns of the carpet. “You blackmailed me into marriage,” she said in a low voice. “You threatened to destroy my family, to take Esme away.”
“It was an empty threat.” He looked at her with glittering eyes. “I would never take Esme away from you, Tess. Not for any reason.”
Shocked at this admission, Tess demanded, “Then why did you say it?”
“You were threatening to call off our wedding.”
“We barely know each other. All I did was share some doubts. And you proved my fears right!”
“I don’t want you to be afraid of me,” he said quietly. “But I couldn’t let you leave. Or Esme. I can’t just abandon you to the whims of fate and hope you’ll be safe. Marrying you is the only way I know to keep you safe.” He gave her a regretful smile. “I’m sorry if my method was a bit unorthodox—”
“Unorthodox?”
“I’ll make it up to you,” he said in a low voice. “We have a lifetime. I know I can make you happy.”
A lump rose in her throat at the certainty in his voice. “How can you be so sure?”
“You said you spent the last year thinking of me.” Lifting his hand gently to her cheek, he said softly, “What you don’t know is that I spent the last year trying not to think of you. And failing.”
“What are you saying?”
“I never forgot you, Tess.” He paused. “There’s been no one else.”
Was he saying...?
“Impossible,” she breathed. “The model I saw you with yesterday—”
“Kebe?” He snorted. “She’s just a kid. I was giving her a ride home from a party. Although,” he murmured, grinning, “I like that you were jealous.”
“I wasn’t,” she lied.