‘Cara mia, you look beautiful.’
It was the first time that Marco had called her his. Instead of resenting this, she found she liked it, and perhaps more than she should have done, bearing in mind what she had to say to him. She was an independent woman, but she liked the sense of belonging, as well as the feeling that she wasn’t alone. The ‘beautiful’ she’d take with a pinch of salt. She knew she wasn’t beautiful. The mirror told her that every day. She was bloated and heavy, and—
She turned her attention back to Marco. ‘You look wiped out. Can I get you a drink?’
He smiled and shrugged. ‘I should be looking after you, cara.’
‘Okay, then.’ She grinned. ‘We can take turns.’
He prowled towards her until she was backed up against the wall.
‘Does this bring back memories?’ he asked, staring down at her with the faintest of smiles on his dark, brooding face.
‘A few,’ she admitted. She longed for him to kiss her. She wanted to feel his hard body pressed against hers...
‘What about this?’ he murmured, scraping her sensitive skin with his stubble as he scorched a trail of almost kisses down her neck.
‘A few more memories seem to be returning,’ she conceded wryly.
‘How about this?’
She closed her eyes and exhaled shakily as Marco’s big hands captured her breasts.
‘You have the most magnificent breasts, Cassandra.’
‘And you haven’t closed the front door.’
He put his foot to it. ‘Better now?’
As he was cupping her between the legs as he asked the question, her answer could only be a shaky ‘Not quite yet...’
She looked up and knew Marco could see the heat in her eyes.
‘Is there anything I can do to improve the situation for you?’ he asked.
‘There might be,’ she conceded.
Moving his hands to cup her face, he dipped his head and kissed her...very gently. It was a tender kiss of a type they’d never shared before, and it fired every nerve ending in her body.
‘The bedroom?’ he suggested with a shrug, pulling back.
‘If you think that’s best,’ she whispered.
‘In your condition, banging you against the wall probably isn’t advisable,’ he pointed out. ‘Try not to look quite so disappointed. I promise to make up for it with something you’ll like just as much.’
‘Are you sure?’ she challenged in a whisper.
‘I’m certain of it.’
She gasped as he swung her into his arms.
‘You’ll have to wait while I take a shower,’ he said with reluctance as he lowered her down at the side of the bed.
‘That long?’ she complained.
Marco’s eyes were full of wicked promise, and she was breathless with excitement by the time he sauntered back. Drying his thick, wavy black hair on one towel, he had another looped around his waist. His torso was staggering. Bronzed and muscular, she wondered if she would ever get enough of looking at it.
Marco only had to catch her glance to be instantly aroused, and as he prowled towards her all she could think about was pleasure. He knew just what she needed, and his appetite matched hers. Her glance dropped to his mouth. She had never experienced anything like this all-consuming hunger. She was quivering with excitement as he came to stand in front of her. His thick hair was still curling damply and catching on his stubble. She smiled a little to see he hadn’t shaved.
Drawing her into his arms, he kissed her neck. And then, putting his arms around her, he moved with her to some silent music. Then he turned her so she had her back to him, and looping his arms around what was left of her waist he whispered into her ear, ‘I love this position with your back to me—it’s perfect for making love when you’re pregnant.’
‘Perfect when I’m not pregnant too,’ she replied.
She could feel his hard need pressing into her. It only made her hungrier for him than ever. Arching her back, she invited him to take full advantage of her pregnancy-fuelled, wild-for-sex body, and then she rolled her hips against him.
Marco brought her down on the bed beside him. ‘I need this,’ he groaned, sinking into her.
‘Me too,’ she gasped out, holding onto him as her breathing quickened.
Marco braced himself on his forearms to keep his weight off her as he stared down. That look in his eyes was enough to break her apart.
‘I guessed you needed that too,’ he teased her as her violent release shattered her thought processes into a starburst of light.