Annalisa could only answer with a soft moan as he sank down to suck one painfully erect nipple into his mouth. Meshing her fingers through his thick black hair, she encouraged him while she floated on a cloud of sensation. And when he moved to take the other he still attended to the first tender nipple, with his thumb and forefinger, until she thought she would go mad under his skilful stimulation.
He was everything…everything she had dreamed of and so much more. But as he gauged her state of arousal and shifted position again, lodging himself between her thighs, she sucked in a sharp, involuntary breath.
He stopped immediately and pulled her against him, stroking his hand down the length of her back as he nuzzled his face against her cheek and neck. ‘What’s wrong, querida?’
‘Nothing,’ Annalisa whispered against his mouth, curling up defensively when he rolled away from her.
‘Come here,’ he murmured after a few seconds. ‘Come to me.’
She wanted to…she wanted to so badly.
Ramon made the decision for her, drawing her into his arms and bathing her eyes, her nose and her cheeks with kisses. And then he murmured, ‘What are you frightened of, Annalisa?’
‘I’m not—’
But he didn’t believe her…and he changed the pace of his lovemaking completely, soothing her with kisses so tender she felt teardrops come to balance on her silky lashes. When he saw them, Ramon licked them away, laughing softly and deeply in a way that made her smile. And while he quietened her his hands worked their magic…so light and gentle she could have broken away at any time.
‘Is that better?’ he murmured when his hand moved down over the soft swell of her belly, seeking the core of her sensation. And when he parted her plump swollen lips to stroke gently and persistently she answered his question with a small sound of longing as she offered up her face for his kiss.
‘There’s no need to be frightened,’ he murmured when he pulled away. ‘You’re very, very wet…and I will be gentle…until you ask for more,’ he added wickedly, moving to nibble on her bottom lip.
His voice aroused her, his caresses seduced her, and his stroking fingers knew just where to touch…and how and when.
‘Relax for me, querida,’ he said, opening her thighs wider and cupping his hands underneath, to lift her until she could wrap her legs around him.
Annalisa gasped as she felt him huge and hard against her belly, and then he moved steadily down between her legs so that there was a new and even more seductive touch stroking her…one that was long and warm and firm. But as he allowed the tip to catch inside her she braced herself instinctively, and he felt it, so that instead of consummating their lovemaking he pulled away.
‘I told you there was no need to be frightened,’ he chastised softly, moving back to repeat the delicious torment.
It was like nothing Annalisa had ever known or felt before. She had never imagined that anyone could be so skilled, so patient, so good at reading her responses. Instead of tensing each time he slipped a little way inside her now she wanted more, but it was Ramon’s turn to hold back. ‘Not yet,’ he murmured regretfully when she begged him. ‘Not for a long time yet, querida,’ he whispered, even when she held her thighs open for him and moved sinuously beneath him.
But as he drove the ghosts of the past from her mind Ramon finally saw his victory mirrored in her eyes, and thrust into her fully with a growl of triumph.
Early the next morning Ramon had to attend the first in a series of business meetings to discuss the possibility of buying the hotel. But he insisted they have breakfast together first…in the dining room.
Sitting across the table from him, dressed demurely in her plain suit, Annalisa found the whole situation both seductive and amusing. There was a current racing between them now that surely the whole room must be aware of, she thought, glancing around.
Each move seemed to contain an intimate significance, whether it was passing a milk jug so that their fingers touched, or reaching for the condiments so that her arm brushed his. And when their glances met and lingered there was a new knowledge, a new bond, that said she had given him more than her body—she had given him her trust…her respect. In return he had given her the confidence to move forward into the future…perhaps the most precious gift of all, she mused, feeling a rush of warmth flood through her as he glanced up and smiled at her.
‘I thought of something to entertain you while I am in my meeting,’ he murmured confidentially, leaning towards her. ‘While you were in the shower I ordered some new clothes for you. I knew you would be feeling uncomfortable without anything fresh to change into. They should have arrived in the room by now.’