Slowly Marco drew the zip down the dress, the snick of the fabric parting one of the most erotic sounds he’d ever heard.
The strapless dress slipped from her body, leaving her bare, her skin golden and perfect. He slid his hands around her waist, spanning it easily, and then, because he couldn’t keep himself from it, he slid them up to cup her breasts, his thumbs flicking over her nipples, his hands full of her lush softness.
Sierra sagged against him, her breath coming out in a shudder. Marco pushed into her, and she gasped again at the feel of his arousal against her bottom.
When she pushed back gently, her hips nudging him with intent, he almost abandoned his resolution to take his time. It would be so easy, so overwhelmingly satisfying, to pull her dress up and bury himself inside her right then and there.
He slid his hands back down to her hips, anchoring her against him, pushing into her and having her push back, their bodies moving in an ancient rhythm. Sierra’s breath caught on a gasp and her whole body went tense. Marco knew she was close to climaxing, just from this. Hell, so was he.
‘Mr Ferranti?’ The musical trill of the assistant’s voice caused reality to rush in. Sierra stiffened and reluctantly Marco eased back.
‘We’re not finished here,’ he told her in a low voice.
Sierra let out a laugh that sounded close to a sob. ‘Dear heaven, I hope not.’
He smiled as he kissed the nape of her neck once more and then slipped from the dressing room to deal with the ill-timed assistant.
* * *
As soon as Marco had gone Sierra sank onto one of the padded benches, the dress pooling around her waist, her head in her hands. Her whole body trembled with the aftershocks of his touch. She’d been so close to losing control, and simply by the feel of his body pressing into hers. And as amazed and mortified as she felt that she’d been so shameless in a public dressing room, the overwhelming feeling she had now was a desire to rush out of this shop, jump in a limo and race back to the hotel where Marco could make good on his promise.
We’re not finished.
Not, Sierra hoped, by a long shot.
‘Sierra?’ Marco called, his voice sounding crisply professional and not as if he were remotely affected by what had just happened between them. ‘We should be getting on. You’ll need to leave some time to get ready and I have a few things to finish before the opening.’
‘Of course.’ Hurriedly, she slithered out of the evening gown. ‘Let me just get dressed.’ She yanked on her jeans and pulled her T-shirt over her head, finger-combing her tousled hair as she slipped from the dressing room, her body still weak and trembling from their encounter. Marco, of course, looked completely unruffled. Maybe this was a normal experience for him. ‘What about the evening gown...?’ she asked, glad her voice came out sounding even.
‘We’re taking them all,’ Marco informed her blithely. ‘The assistant will have them wrapped and sent to the hotel. It’s all taken care of.’
‘Taking all of the evening gowns? But I didn’t even try them on.’
‘I’m sure you’ll look fabulous in them. And if you don’t like any of them, I’ll arrange for them to be returned.’ Marco took her elbow. ‘Now, the limo is waiting.’
Sierra let herself be ushered out of the store, amazed by the whole experience, from the sheer number of clothes Marco had bought her to the exciting interlude in the dressing room.
‘You make everything seem so easy,’ she commented as she slid into the limo. ‘Like the world is at your fingertips, or even your feet.’
Marco gave her a quick smile as he checked his phone. ‘I’ve worked hard to have it be so.’
‘I know you have. But do you ever...do you ever feel like pinching yourself, that this is your reality?’
For a second Marco’s gaze became distant, shuttered. Then he turned back to his phone. ‘Money doesn’t buy everything,’ he said, his voice clipped. ‘No matter how many people think so, it can’t make you happy.’
The honest statement, delivered as it was so matter-of-factly, both surprised and moved her. ‘Are you happy, Marco?’
He glanced up with a wolfish grin. ‘I was very happy with you in the dressing room. And I intend to be even happier before the day is done.’
She felt a flush spread across her body as her insides tingled. She knew Marco was deliberately avoiding a serious conversation, but she wanted him too much to care. ‘I hope you do mean that.’
He paused, lowering his phone. ‘I do mean it, Sierra. I want you very badly. So badly I almost lost control in a dressing room, which is something I’ve never done before.’