The Secret to Marrying Marchesi

She wasn’t quite sure if she had been acting.

* * *

Rigo lay on his stomach, his face completely relaxed in sleep and mere inches from hers. Nicole had no idea what time it was, but judging the brightness of the sun at the windows it was late morning. She turned on her side, taking in the sheer presence of him. A strange tingling sensation began in her stomach as she raked her gaze down over his muscular shoulders, over the smooth olive-toned skin that lay bare down to his hips before being covered by the soft white sheets.

If she moved her foot ever so slightly the sheet would slip down further, revealing just a little more... She bit her lip, smiling at her own wayward thoughts.

She tested her theory, shifting her foot and watching as the sheet slipped down an inch. One tanned, toned buttock was revealed and she felt her breath catch. Her eyes darted up to his face. Thankfully he was still sleeping. Her throat was painfully dry, her heartbeat quickening, but still she got braver. With one smooth flick she pulled her foot away completely. The sheet came away, too, bringing every hard, muscular plane into view.

His body shifted suddenly, and Nicole froze as his muscles flexed before his entire body turned so that he lay on his back. She looked up, and sure enough he was wide-awake, watching her with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

‘Please, by all means carry on. Don’t let me disturb you.’

Rigo’s husky drawl made her cheeks warm as he reached out to stroke a hand lazily down her ribcage.

Of course, him being on his back now meant that an entirely different plane of muscles was on show. Nicole looked away, focusing instead on his face. His eyes were crinkled at the sides with the effort of holding in his amusement.

‘I have absolutely no idea what the etiquette is for this situation.’ She looked up at the ceiling, trying not to smile herself.

‘This is new territory for me, too, Nicole.’

She looked back at him, one brow raised. ‘Oh, come on—you’ve probably done the “morning after” routine so many times you’ve lost count.’

‘None of those women were my wife.’

She was his wife.

Nicole’s brain seemed to trip over the words uncomfortably. It all just seemed so surreal. Here she was, lying in bed with him after a night of the most intense lovemaking she had ever experienced. Granted, it had only been her second time, and with the same guy. But still...

She bit her lip. ‘We should probably talk about how this affects...everything.’

‘Is that what you want to do?’ he asked.

He was looking at her with a gaze so heated it made her skin prickle. He rolled over, pushing her down to the bed and covering her body with his own. His skin was deliciously bed warm, and hard against her. She realised she had been waiting for him to do just this—that her body had been craving contact with his from the moment she’d opened her eyes.

‘If you want to talk, by all means go ahead. But I can’t promise I’m going to pay attention.’

His head bent down to trail kisses past her collarbone. Nicole felt the scorching heat of his tongue make a trail down the sensitive underside of her breast. He wasn’t playing fair at all.

‘I’m just not sure what we’re doing, that’s all...’ she breathed, groaning as his tongue darted across her nipple in one harsh flick.

‘Clearly I’m not doing it correctly.’

His gaze held hers captive as he took her whole nipple into his mouth, caressing it with his tongue and lips until she moaned low in her throat. He moved her legs apart, settling his body between her thighs. He fitted perfectly there, the dark hairs on his abdomen trailing down to where his erection pressed, hot and heavy. She looked up at him, finding his eyes trained on her.

‘I want you, Nicole.’ His voice was a husky whisper. ‘God help me, but I want my wife in my bed. I can’t think of anything but having you underneath me, crying out with pleasure.’

He moved a fraction of an inch. She sucked in a breath as the tip of him slid ever so slightly against her most sensitive spot. Her eyes drifted closed. The delicious pressure was taking over.

‘Look at me,’ he said, lowering his body weight onto his forearms so that his chest lay against hers. ‘Tell me that you want this.’

It wasn’t a demand, but also not quite a question. She urged her sex-hazed brain to respond, but couldn’t find the words. Every inch of her skin was being burned up with his heat. Her legs rose to grip his hips, silently begging him to end the torture. He was still waiting, watching her intently.

‘I want this,’ she whispered, pulling his head down to close the final gap between them.

Her kiss was hungry and filled with the need that consumed her. He was just as out of control. She could feel it in the way his shoulders trembled under her touch. This felt different from last night somehow. Maybe it was the light of the day that made it more real.