His tongue stroked along the seam of her lips and they parted willingly, inviting him to delve deeper. Annah tasted coffee and whisky and something salty—the residue of her tears, perhaps. She wound her arms around his neck, pressing closer, her insides melting beneath a blaze of longing.
When Luca drew back, she actually whimpered. He looked straight into her eyes. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes,’ she said adamantly.
Eyes glittering, he stood and lifted her, one arm around her back, the other under her knees, and carried her inside, up the sweeping staircase and into his bedroom.
* * *
Luca set Annah on her feet next to his bed, sliding her body slowly down his, letting the brush of her soft curves against him inflame his desire.
His muscles trembled with the effort of holding himself in check.
There would be no repeat of last night. He would control his tumultuous need and make love to her slowly, attentively, with all the care the mother of his child deserved.
Tangling his hands in her golden hair, he tilted her face up and kissed her slowly, deeply, sampling her sweetness with his tongue, reacquainting himself with the shape and texture of her soft, plump lips.
His blood
thrummed.
Annah wanted this, had initiated it and persisted even when he’d offered her the chance to change her mind. She might not realise it yet, but this acknowledgement of their chemistry—her willingness to surrender to it—was her first step towards reaching the same conclusion he had. That marriage would offer them not only a logical, practical solution but an eminently enjoyable one rich with its own rewards and pleasures.
He ran his hands down her back, gripped the bottom of her silky top, and whispered against her lips, ‘Lift your arms, cara.’
She complied and he lifted the top up and over her head, throwing it onto a soft chair in the corner of the room.
One at a time, he slipped the straps of her bra down her arms, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to each bare shoulder as he went. Reaching around her, he undid the clasp, tugged the bra down and off, and sent it in the same direction as her top.
He stood back and let his eyes devour those beautiful breasts.
‘Magnifico,’ he murmured.
Annah’s expression turned shy. Lifting her arms, she began to cover herself. But Luca stopped her, holding her wrists and spreading her arms wide.
‘Let me see you,’ he said and cupped his hand under one breast, savouring its softness and weight against his palm before dipping his head and sucking the tightly budded nipple into his mouth.
She shivered and made a low, breathy sound of pleasure that fired a pulse of heat directly into his groin.
Forcing himself to go slowly, he knelt and removed her shoes, trying not to tickle the sensitive arches of her feet. He unzipped her trousers and eased them down, removing her knickers at the same time.
When she stood before him naked, he leaned back on his haunches and ran his gaze appreciatively up her body, taking in the long lines of her legs, the graceful curves of her hips, and the neat thatch of golden curls at her centre. Higher up, her breasts rose and fell rapidly, as if she were out of breath and struggling to get enough air into her lungs.
Luca palmed her hips and brought his mouth to the soft, smooth skin just below her navel, a sense of wonder enveloping him as he pressed his lips to the place where she had been round with his child.
What had pregnancy been like for her? Had she suffered with morning sickness? Had she craved unusual foods? Had she laboured long and hard to bring their son into the world?
There was so much he didn’t know. So much he had missed out on.
‘Luca?’ she said, her voice soft, uncertain.
He rose to his feet and kissed her until she trembled in his arms, and then he lifted her onto the bed, laying her across its width and tugging her hips to the edge of the mattress.
His heart pounded unevenly, as if he were an unfledged youth making love to a woman for the first time in his life.
Crazy.
Why did she affect him like this?