Shadow Warrior (Shadow Riders 4)

He opened the door and used his body to urge her forward. Her trembling increased, her color going from rose to a beautiful shade of red.

“Both.” Her voice shook.

“Mia bella gattina, sei cosi coraggioso.” He murmured his admiration as he came up behind her and took her hand gently out of her sling. “I’m a very lucky man. Very few women would have the courage to be so honest with me. Without honesty between us, I would never be able to give you everything you want or need.” He caught at the stretchy lace, bunching the material in his hand and slowly drawing it up over her hips and rib cage.

Her breath was coming in fast, ragged pants of anticipation. He wanted her there, but he needed to take her even higher. Those breathy gasps caused his cock to throb and ache. Her music to accompany his seduction of her. She was giving him more than he possibly could have asked for this first time with her. She was focused wholly on him, his every movement, the way he walked, his bare feet, his open shirt, his very breathing, and that drove his own need even more.

“Stay relaxed for me,” he instructed as he pulled the sexy little gown higher. “I’m taking this off your good arm and then carefully off your injured shoulder before anything else. When I’ve got it off, use the bathroom and get ready for bed, although you won’t need clothes.”

Grace stood there for a moment, nearly bringing her hand up in an attempt to cover the fiery patch of curls at the junction of her legs. She stopped herself, and he leaned down to brush a kiss across her mouth. She’d stopped herself for him.

“Looking at you gives me immeasurable pleasure.” It was true. “I’m going to be doing a lot of that.”

She smiled, but it was a small smile, as if she wasn’t quite convinced, but he knew, over time, she would be.

He turned her toward the bathroom. “I love watching you walk.” His palm cupped her cheek and then released her. She took the cue and moved across the room to the bathroom. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was mesmerizing. Sensual. She didn’t know it and that was half the temptation.

He kept the lights off, although he had the drapes wide open. The view of the lake was incredible, and the surface served to enhance moonlight and send it through the long bank of windows. He wanted to be able to see his woman and judge just how she was feeling at any given time.

He had the covers pulled back exposing the bottom sheet. He shook her meds into his hand and waited for her return. When she came back, he put her hand back in the sling and offered the pills to her.

“I drank wine tonight.”

He had consulted with her doctor, who had assured him one glass of wine wouldn’t hurt her. She wasn’t taking pain pills so much as anti-inflammatories. The combination wasn’t going to bother her. He remained silent, still holding out his hand with the pills on his palm.

Grace took them from him. “You already talked to the doctor, didn’t you?”

“Would I take a chance on harming you?” he countered.

She smiled up at him. “You amaze me that you’re willing to see to every detail. By the time I get off work, I’m so exhausted, I honestly forget to think about myself. These past few weeks I’ve been leaving it all up to you and you haven’t let me down once. In fact, you take better care of me than I do.” She swallowed the pills down with the glass of water he had sitting on her nightstand.

Vittorio took the glass from her and pointed to the bed. She made a face at him and hesitated.

“It’s awkward getting on the bed. Doing it in front of you is really embarrassing.”

He frowned, not understanding. “You’ve been insisting on getting on your bed without help every night for more than a week. I was in the room, sitting right over there. I asked you every night if you needed help and you said very clearly you didn’t.”

For a man like him, watching her struggle had been pure hell. More, he’d been up-front from the beginning what kind of man he was and what he required. When she had refused his help, she’d refused him as a man.

She looked as if she’d been struck. Her eyes grew bright and her face flushed. She took a step closer to him. “Vittorio.” Her hand shaped his face. It was the first time she’d touched him intimately, the care in her touch. “I never meant to hurt you. It felt wrong to ask for your help when I was so confused and unsure of why you had chosen me.”