A Proposal to Remember

He accepted the invitation, tasting her sweetness, showing her with every intimate touch of his mouth and tongue just what he wanted to do to the rest of her body.

Desire exploded inside him and he released her hands and cupped her face, sliding his hands through the silky mass of hair as he kissed her until the heat between them reached an intolerable level.

He lifted his head briefly, their foreheads touching, his expression dazed as he stared down into her eyes.

She looked as stunned as he felt, her green eyes cloudy, her soft lips bruised and damp from his kiss.

‘Carlo.’ She whispered his name with a reverence that made him groan and lower his mouth again.

He knew he ought to stop now, before stopping ceased to be an option, but he couldn’t drag his mouth away from hers.

Her tongue teased his and he wondered how on earth he was going to keep it slow and gentle when the time came to make love to her. She drove him so wild he didn’t know himself.

He felt her small hand slide under his jumper and then rest on the warm muscle of his chest, finding his heartbeat.

Muttering in Italian against her mouth, he dealt with the zip of her jeans and slid a hand inside, over the soft curve of her bottom.

‘You feel incredible.’ He moved his hand lower and found what he was looking for, his fingers touching her with a deliberate intimacy that brought a sob to her lips.

She moved against his hand and dragged her mouth away from his, her eyes glazed with desire and her cheeks fevered.

‘Carlo, it feels so… I didn’t know…’

‘Shh—’ He moved his hand and hugged her against him, trying to lower the temperature a notch.

He didn’t succeed.

His whole body burned for this woman.

And he wasn’t being honest with her.

The thought was like a shower of cold water and he released her and stepped away, raking a hand through his dark hair as he struggled with his conscience.

She leaned against the wall for support, looking at him in confusion.

Her dark hair was tangled from his touch and her cheeks were flushed. She looked like a girl who’d been thoroughly kissed and he felt desire slam through his body with a force that left him breathless.

‘It’s getting late. I’d better go…’

He worked on his will-power. If she asked him to stay he was in trouble.

But she didn’t.

In fact, she didn’t speak at all. She just stood there, supported by the wall, staring at him.

He picked up his jacket from the floor and walked back to her. He locked their hands together and bent his head to give her a gentle kiss.

‘Goodnight, Zan—I’ll see you tomorrow.’

And by then he would have worked out how to tell her the truth.

CHAPTER SIX

CARLO stared at the ultrasound scan and tried to for

get about Zan.

She was dominating his every thought and it was starting to drive him mad.