It sounded wonderful. “I need my swimsuit.”
He shook his head. “No, you don’t.”
Her heart jumped again. “Won’t one of the staff see?”
“They’re paid not to see.”
“But still,” she began.
“If your modesty is screaming that loudly,” he said. “I can turn off the lights. Come on.” He tugged her out the patio door and into the cool night air.
She shivered.
“The Jacuzzi will warm you up in no time.”
It was easier being n**ed in front of him when they were in bed, when she didn’t have time to think. She took a shallow breath. “You go first.”
“Okay,” he said and set their wineglasses beside the tub. He shucked his clothes without an ounce of self-consciousness. His tanned skin gleamed in the moonlight. His shoulders were broad, his belly flat, his buttocks firm.
Why should he be self-conscious? He had a body that should have been chiseled in marble. His face was hard, but when he smiled, he could turn her world upside down. And his eyes did things to her heart rate, her temperature, and her whole body.
He stepped into the Jacuzzi and turned to look at her. “Your turn.”
She fought a rush of self-consciousness. “Turn off the light.”
After he killed the light, she pulled off her shirt and jeans, then her bra and panties. Fortifying herself with another breath, she stepped into the tub. Despite the hot temperature, she plunged her body under the bubbles.
“Better?” he asked.
“Hot,” she said, although she was grateful for the semicover of water.
His laugh rumbled all the way down between her legs. “You sound like Goldilocks. Too cold. Too hot. You even have the hair,” he said, touching her hair before he slid his mouth over hers. His mouth was warm, his tongue seductive.
She felt some of the tension ease out of her.
“You have a beautiful body,” he said against her lips. “I love the way your br**sts respond to me.” He lowered his hands to her ni**les and plucked at them, turning them into hard orbs of sensation.
Making a sound of approval, he pulled her onto his lap. She balanced herself with her hands on his chest. His skin felt slick and sexy beneath her touch. Her thighs were slippery against his and the steamy water mirrored the heat between them.
He dipped his forehead against hers. “This wasn’t such a bad idea, was it?”
Her br**sts brushed against his chest, keeping her ni**les taut and sensitive. “It’s nice.”
“I thought you would like it.” Reaching behind him, he grabbed a remote and the strains of a saxophone eased around them. “Are you hungry? I can ask the housekeeper to bring something out—”
“I would drown so she wouldn’t see me.”
He chuckled and slid his arms around her. “I’ll help you get over your shyness.”
“Maybe with you,” she said, her breath hitching when he fondled her br**sts again.
“I wasn’t sure how I would like being married, but so far I’m liking it,” he said.
“So far is all of six weeks. But that reminds me of something,” she said and tried to focus on something other than his muscular chest or how his hands felt on her or how his hard thighs felt under her bottom.
“What?”
“If we’re going to make this marriage thing work—”
“We are,” he interjected.
She nodded. “It occurred to me that I don’t know what you want from me as your wife.”
His eyes glinted with an irresistible sexy humor. “You’ve done very well so far.”
“I didn’t mean that. I mean when we’re not in bed.”
“We’re not in bed right now,” he reminded her, shifting her legs apart and pulling her intimately against him. He slid one of his hands between her thighs and moved his hand in a sensual, searching motion.
“I mean when we’re not—” She broke off when he grazed the most sensitive part of her. “You’re making it hard for me to concentrate.”
“That’s because you’re concentrating on the wrong thing,” he said. “I want you to concentrate on what you’re feeling right now.” He sank deeper into the water and slipped his hand under her bottom, pushing her upward so that her br**sts bobbed directly in front of his face.
He lowered his head and took one of her ni**les into his mouth. The sight of his dark head against her pale skin sent a hot current to the most sensitive pleasure points in her body. His thumb found her again and a delicious haze fell over her.
It didn’t matter that things between them felt so unsettled. It didn’t matter that they were outside and if someone really wanted to watch them, they could. What mattered was that she was in his arms and the water made her feel both relaxed and eager. He was looking at her as if she was his first meal in a long time, and she knew firsthand that it hadn’t been very long at all.
She slid her hand down between them and found him already hard. He gave a sensual groan and leaned backward on one of the graduated steps, looking at her through hooded eyes. “How am I supposed to go slow if you’re going to touch me like that?”
“You want me to stop?”
“Oh, no,” he said and pulled her over him and took her mouth in a kiss that made her feel consumed and restless. “You have no idea how sexy you look,” he muttered and cupped her bottom, guiding her over him. His pelvis flexed upward and she sank down onto him. With her hair spilling forward, she kissed him. His tongue filled her mouth with the same rhythm he filled her lower body. Slow and easy, the erotic motion made her dizzy with pleasure.
He squeezed her bottom. She lifted her mouth for a breath and he drew one of her ni**les deep into his mouth. “You make me so greedy,” he said.
He made her desperate to please him. At the same time, though, he made sure she was pleasured. She’d thought she would be too sore, too sensitive, but the water cushioned their movements.
Steam rose around them. Tiny droplets dotted his face. His dark eyes were glazed with arousal. He continued to rub and she matched his pace, her nether regions tightening with every stroke. She felt the peak start in her br**sts and shower down to where she convulsed around him, her muscles contracting around his hardness.
His eyes narrowed as he gasped in pleasure, surging into her. “Oh, Lilli.”
When he said her name, an aftershock coursed through her, and she realized what she craved. She wanted this to be more than good sex for Max. She wanted it to mean something to him. She wanted to mean something to him. Fear prickled inside her. It wouldn’t be a good idea to want these kinds of things from a man who didn’t believe in romantic love. She needed to figure out how to stay safe and sane.
He took her mouth in a kiss and moved sideways in the bubbling water, still inside her, her legs laced with his muscular thighs. Sanity was the last thing she could muster.
Chapter 12
The following morning, Max rose early. He felt an itchy sensation in his back. He felt crowded, yet at the same time, he would have liked to stay in bed and enjoy his wife’s charms. Instead, he took a shower and was putting on his tie just as Lilli awakened.
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced at the alarm clock. “It’s only six o’clock. You’re going into the office already?”
“There’s a lot waiting for me. I’ll be home late tonight.”
“What’s late?”
He shrugged. “Maybe nine.”
She nodded slowly. “Can I get you some breakfast?”
He shook his head as he straightened his tie. “I’m going straight to the office. My assistant will bring something.”
Pulling the sheets up to her shoulders, she met his gaze in the mirror. Her hair was sexily rumpled and she blinked her eyes as she obviously tried to make herself wake up. The skin around her chin was pink from the effects of his beard.
He would need to be more careful in the future, he thought as he rubbed his just-shaven jaw. Her skin was sensitive and he’d mauled her from head to toe during the last two days. The vulnerability in her eyes made him want to hold her, but something else made him want to run.
He walked toward her. “Have a good day, lovely Lilli,” he said in a light voice and, not trusting himself, he dropped an even lighter kiss on her cheek.
“You, too,” she said. “If David smiles, I’ll try to catch it with my camera phone. I’ll send you a message.”
The offer made his chest feel tight. “You mean if he has gas?” he teased and opened the bedroom door to leave. But not before he felt a pillow hit him in the back of the head. He whipped around, staring at her in surprise. Her hand covered her mouth as if she’d surprised herself, too. It didn’t help his concentration that she’d dropped the sheets and her br**sts were bared to his sight.
Steeling himself against the distraction and the hard-on growing harder by the moment, he looked down at her and shook his head. “You had me fooled. I thought you were an angel except when I got you in bed.”
She bit her lip, but couldn’t seem to prevent the beginning of a saucy smile. “I’m still in bed.”
“So you are,” he said and wished like hell he were there with her. “See you tonight.”
Maybe it shouldn’t have felt abrupt for Max to leave so early, but it did. Lilli pulled the sheet over her head and told herself to go back to sleep. She tried to push aside her feelings, but she felt bothered, unsettled. Was this the future for their marriage? Strangers everywhere except when they shared a bed?
Groaning, she threw off the sheet and climbed out of bed. Sore and tired, she wished she could grab a few extra winks, but she knew her mind wasn’t going to let her. Grumbling to herself, she took a shower. Her body was sensitive, and she ached in secret places. She allowed the hot water to flow over her, willing it to soothe the tenderness in her muscles. And her heart.
After she dressed, she gave Maria a well-deserved break and listened for David’s cry. He’d barely let out a sound before she gathered him to her and fed him. As he devoured his bottle, she noticed tiny beads of perspiration break out on his forehead.