‘What is it?’ he murmurs against my skin, his tongue flicking beneath my earlobe before taking it between his teeth. Oh, yes!
‘I don’t want to disappoint.’
He chuckles low in his throat, the sound rumbling through me and provoking my throbbing, orgasm-starved clit. ‘Never.’
I bite into my lower lip and clutch his head to me as his hands rake down my sides and beneath my breasts, the light fabric of my dress doing nothing to hinder the heat of his touch.
‘Your skin is so soft, your scent...intoxicating.’
The compliments run off his tongue and merge with the sweetness of his sympathy and his compassion. I’m not boring in my grief, not to him—a man who doesn’t even enjoy a healthy relationship with his own mother.
Strict, severe, controlling, hard... All words I’ve heard to describe him, words I’d have used myself based on what I knew of him. Hell, Dani wasn’t entirely convinced he’d even show up this week. She doubted him. Meanwhile, he’s been off buying a whole castle and vineyard to match, all to make his little sister happy.
‘You’re making me dizzy...’ Dizzy on the rush, dizzy on the confusion. How can Dani have doubted him?
‘I’m about to make you more so.’
His head lifts, his eyes burning into mine as he slips his hands beneath the straps of my dress and bra. My skin thrums beneath his delicate touch as he traces the line of my shoulders. Heat floods my belly, my breasts, my blood, and my nipples prickle, ready for the first sweep of air as he coaxes my clothing away.
‘Ever since I saw you last night, I have fantasised about you.’
Fantasised? About me? I can’t breathe as the excited rush of his confession consumes me. It sounds too good to be true, feels too good to be true. Yet looking into the fire in his eyes I know he means it.
‘Your eyes...’ he murmurs, reaching round my back and unhooking my bra clasp. I lower my arms and let it fall to the floor, my eyes lost in the sincerity, the passion, of his.
‘Your lips...’
He eases my dress down and it pools at my feet, the coolness of the air-conditioned room caressing my naked skin. He leans in, his shirt a delicate tease against my breasts, and it’s enough to make me whimper. His mouth lifts at the corners and his eyes flare. He raises his fingers to my chin and runs the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip, dragging it down as he slips his tongue inside, deep, unyielding, slow. I’ve never felt anything more erotic, never been more aware of every touch, of every sound.
‘Your mouth is made for sin, cara mia.’
Sin... It sounds even sexier on his tongue, with his lips brushing against mine, his breath merging with my own.
‘It’s enough to drive a man insane. The way you wet your lips, the way you bite down just here... The things it makes a man think of...’
My clit pulses. The things he’s making me think of right now...
‘The things it makes me think of...’ It’s as if he’s in my head. The raw edge to his voice projects every one of those thoughts into my mind and the liquid heat spreads between my thighs, upping the throbbing ache down low.
I want to take him in my mouth. I want to wrap my lips around him and tease him.
I want it all.
‘But your body...’
He steps back and the cool air sweeps between us, making my skin prickle up, making me feel exposed and self-conscious. Sunlight streams in from the large glass doors, illuminating my naked skin, my thong and sandals all that I am left in.
‘No, cara.’ He reaches for my hands as I attempt to cover myself, his fingers gentle around my wrists as he moves them back to my side. ‘It’s a crime to have your body so unloved, so neglected. Let me fix that.’
Dani’s words come back to me. He is the fixer; he’ll make everything right. I almost laugh.
‘Then come back here.’ I lift my chin, injecting the confidence I want to feel, reminding myself that this is the new me. A better me. With the lust for life I used to possess. I’ve been through the wringer and come out stronger for it. ‘Do as you say.’
‘Patience.’ His eyes dance and burn in the sunlight as he steps close again. ‘Sex cannot be rushed.’
Now I laugh, soft and breathy. ‘I beg to differ.’
‘Okay, sometimes it can be rushed.’ His grin makes my pulse skip. ‘But not when you’ve been without for so long.’