But there was no stopping the soaring sensations he was stirring so easily within her. With the heat and the scent and the power of him, every touch sent her further toward the fire. Breathless, restless, she rocked her hips, meeting the slide of his fingers and brush of his lips. As his kiss breached the barrier of her panties, she bucked involuntarily, a pure, instinctive response.
‘Oh...’ She arched, a length of pure tension. ‘Rafe!’
With only one more touch, unbearably good sensations streamed from cell to cell until her whole pleasure-starved body was alight with wanton, wonderful joy. She cried out in pure rapture as spasms of ecstasy shook her again and again and again, powerfully pulsing until they slowly gentled and ebbed, leaving her speechless, boneless and completely blissed out.
‘Caramellina,’ he chided softly, sprawling across her legs to hold her in place beneath him. ‘Too quick.’ His laughter was low and sexy.
Dazed, Gracie opened her eyes and looked straight into his. She saw the humour there, together with the smug satisfaction she knew he felt from pleasing her ‘too quick’. But she also saw his hunger. Delicious anticipation rippled through her as she watched the appetite in his eyes darken and grow. What exactly would he want now? The thought of doing to him what he’d done to her made mini-bursts of bliss shudder down her spine. The thought of letting him do more made her hotter still in that secret part of her that he’d just searched out.
Two internal forces powerfully buffeted her soul—gratitude and greed. She adored what he’d just done to her, and now she wanted more. She wanted it all.
She knew this meant nothing to him. It was nothing more than a pleasurable moment on a sunny, summery afternoon. For her it was more—it was a chance. Here. Now. She wanted everything he had to offer. It was, she knew, all he could and would ever offer her, and that was just fine. But he’d been honest with her and she had to offer him the same.
‘There’s something you should know,’ she babbled quickly before she could chicken out. ‘I haven’t done this before.’
He stilled. ‘Done what—had sex outdoors in the late afternoon?’
‘None of it,’ she breathed quickly. ‘Not in the late afternoon. Not outdoors. Not at all.’
CHAPTER SIX
RAFE STARED AT HER. ‘You’re a...’
‘Virgin. Yes.’ Gracie suddenly chuckled as he stumbled on the word. ‘Not...done this. Ever. Not had anyone do that before either.’ She confessed it all with a mortified smile.
But she wanted to. She wanted everything. She’d just let him do something so intimate and now she wanted him to do everything else. ‘I’m not telling you because I wanted you to stop. I’m telling you because... I thought you should know. In case it makes a difference.’
He was staring at her like she was suddenly an alien species. ‘As to whether you lose it here on the grass in a quickie?’
‘I like it on the grass,’ she confessed boldly, because now she had nothing else left to lose. ‘It’s warm and it smells nice and it feels free. And I don’t mind quick, if that’s all you can offer.’
A startled look widened his eyes and he suddenly laughed. Then he leaned closer to brush a lock of her hair back from her face. ‘How is it possible you’re still a virgin?’
She was just appallingly glad he was back in kissing range. ‘What do you mean, “How is it possible”?’
‘You’re...’ He paused, his gaze holding hers.
‘What?’
‘A natural.’
‘Is that good?’
‘Yes.’
‘So don’t stop,’ she whispered.
To her immense pleasure, he leaned closer still. But it wasn’t to touch her, it was to speak softly. ‘Why are you going to throw away something that’s obviously important to you on a guy you’ve only just met? Why would you want to do that?’
‘What makes you think it’s important to me? It’s just that I was never in the position to do this before now. This is just good timing. Finally.’
‘Wow. Lucky me,’ he said dryly. ‘Be more honest. Say the rest. If you trust me enough to tell me you want to give your virginity to me, then go all the way and tell me why.’
Trust him to challenge her, the guy wasn’t just sharp looking. She drew in a breath and braved up enough to talk. ‘I’ve been running for a long time. Like, a long time. Now I’m finally in a place I want to stay and I’m happy and what I thought I wanted all that time is no longer the same. Before I didn’t want to give it up easily. I thought I wanted it to mean something.’
‘Mean something like what?’ His expression froze. ‘True love?’
She giggled. ‘I really wish you could see the look on your face right now.’
‘Are you having me on?’
‘No, I’m actually telling you the truth, you’re just not listening to the important part. I am honest.’ She shrugged. ‘I lied about everything when I was younger and it’s not something I want to do any more. Who I was. Where I was from. What my name was.’
‘Just the little things.’ His gaze narrowed. ‘Why?’
Maybe it was the post-orgasmic high. Maybe it was the cocoon of his arms. Maybe it was because she’d already crossed so many lines, what did another matter? Maybe it was because she fully believed that the truth would set her free.
‘My parents split up when I was seven,’ she said softly. ‘They had custody issues and it got really bitter. In the end my mother kidnapped me and we spent twelve years moving every few months to escape him.’
Rafe’s jaw dropped and his arms tightened.
‘She was terrified an extraction team would get me.’ She rushed to explain it quickly. ‘So I was educated at our various homes on and off for years. For short bursts I went to actual schools. We went as far away as possible and we were never in one place for long.’
The expression in his eyes had softened. ‘You must have been terrified.’
‘All the time. My mother did what she thought was best. My father kept fighting to find me.’
‘So what happened? Did you ever see your dad? Did your mother get charged? How is it now?’
‘Complicated.’ She threw him a little smile. ‘I grew up—old enough to make my own decisions. I told Mum I wanted to go back. So I did, alone, and I convinced my father not to press charges against her.’
Rafe’s gaze narrowed. ‘He agreed to that?’
She nodded. She’d lived with him for over a year. She’d tried to fit in with his new family. She’d tried to please them all.
‘Look, it happened and I can’t go back and change it,’ she said firmly. ‘I can only move forward and make sure I get what I want now.’
‘And what’s that?’
She hesitated, afraid her talking too much was just putting him off. But he was still very close, his gaze very direct. So she caved.
‘To be secure,’ she answered. ‘I just want a home.’
‘And you’ve chosen Bellezzo?’
‘Why not?’ She shrugged. ‘It’s beautiful, it’s warm. The food is amazing and the people are nice.’
‘But you have no family here.’
‘I have friends. I’m building my career. I have permanency.’
He shook his head. ‘There’s no such thing as permanency. Certainly not in relationships.’
‘This is just you warning me again, right? Or trying to scare me off so I’ll retract my offer.’ She laughed weakly. ‘You don’t have to. I want marriage one day and I’m not going to apologise for that, but—’
‘You want to get married?’ he interrupted, looking at her like she was a lunatic. ‘Kids? After what your parents put you through?’
‘Don’t panic,’ she said softly. ‘I’m not asking you. Not kids. Not marriage. This—right here, right now—with you is an experience and it’s not one I want to deny myself.’
He didn’t reply. She saw the conflicting emotions in his eyes and felt the opportunity sliding from her. She suddenly chilled and wrapped her arms across her bare chest.
‘Don’t you think I can handle it?’ she asked in a small voice.
‘No, I don’t know that you can.’
‘But you shouldn’t get to make that choice,’ she argued fiercely. ‘I should. This is my body and I know what I can handle. You’d be surprised at what I’ve already handled.’
He gazed down at her. ‘Don’t think I underestimate you.’