Never Say No to a Caffarelli (Those Scandalous Caffarellis 1)

Poppy’s breath came out in a startled whoosh as he scooped her up in his arms. ‘I’m too heavy to carry upstairs.’

‘You’re a featherweight. I’m twice the weight of you. I’m worried I’m going to crush you.’

Poppy had never felt more feminine in her life. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave herself up to the thrill of being swept off her feet. Each step he took on the staircase made her heart thump harder. It was one step closer to him taking her into his full possession. Her skin danced with the anticipation of it, every nerve in her body alert and finely tuned to the radar of his.

It seemed like for ever yet it was no time at all before her back was pressed against a firm mattress. He came down over her, his mouth hot and insistent on hers, his hands moving over her in gentle caresses that peeled off her night clothes with a slow deliberation that made her blood tingle in her veins. She reached for his shirt buttons, undoing them with fevered concentration. She wanted to kiss every inch of his hot flesh, to feel it shiver and shudder under the ministrations of her lips and tongue.

He shrugged off his shirt as her hands reached up to explore the carved muscles of his chest and shoulders. ‘You work out.’

‘A bit.’ His mouth found the underside of her breast, his lips moving lightly over the sensitive skin like a maestro with an instrument he has never played before. ‘You are so beautiful.’

The hot press of his naked chest against hers made her body react like a wanton. Her bones melted, her limbs unhinged, her spine loosened. She ran her hands over his taut buttocks, pressing him against her need, wanting to feel the hot, hard probe of his flesh in her aching centre. She went for his buckle and blindly unfastened it as her mouth met his in a fiery kiss. She felt him against her, so erect, so ready for her it made her insides shift like tectonic plates beneath the earth. She touched him through the fabric of his trousers, stroking the thick length of him while his tongue played with hers.

He briefly broke the kiss so he could shuck off his trousers and underwear. Poppy faintly registered the thud of his shoes hitting the floor. She was mesmerised by the male beauty of his body. It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen a naked man before but she had never seen one who looked so magnificent. She touched his tanned flat abdomen with an experimental glide of her hand. ‘You’re so...’ she swallowed convulsively ‘...big.’

‘Don’t be frightened, ma belle.’ He took her hand and placed it against his erection. She wrapped her fingers around him, getting to know his shape and feel. He was both satin and steel, power and potency, yet vulnerable too. She felt the pulse of his blood against her hand, the need there thundering so similarly to what was happening in her own body. There was even a bead of moisture forming at the head of his erection; just like the slippery dew she could feel secretly gathering between her thighs.

He gently pulled her hand away and pressed her back down against the mattress, his limbs in a sexy tangle with hers. ‘My turn to explore you.’ He laid a hand on her belly, just above her pubic bone.

Poppy shivered at the intimate contact; those long fingers were so close to where she most ached and throbbed. Her breath caught in her throat as he gently separated her with his fingers as if she was a delicate hothouse flower that needed careful handling. Her nerves quivered and shook as he delicately traced her form, not touching her anywhere too hard or for too long, his slow but sure process building up a delicious tension inside her.

‘I want to taste you.’

Poppy saw the intent in his coal-black eyes and shuddered in nervous anticipation. She felt him move down her body, his warm breath caressing her folds, his tongue stroking the seam of her body in a gentle sweep that had her sucking in a sharp breath and shrinking back in startled surprise. ‘Oh!’

He paused. ‘Don’t back away from it, ma petite. Relax; let yourself go.’

‘I don’t think I can...’ Poppy suddenly felt exposed and inadequate. What if she was hopeless at this? What if he thought she was ugly or different down there? She hadn’t waxed as neatly as her peers. She found the thought of being totally bare down there a little unsettling. Was she supposed to look like a little girl or a woman? What did men want? Was he comparing her to all his other lovers?

‘Hey.’ Rafe captured her chin and made her look at him. ‘You’re beautiful. You taste beautiful. You smell beautiful.’

Poppy covered her face with her hands. ‘This is why I’m still a virgin at twenty-five. I’m hopeless at this.’

He tugged her hands away from her face. ‘You’re not hopeless at this. Relax, ma petite. We’re not in a hurry. Take all the time you need.’

‘But what about you?’

He stroked the flank of her thigh with a slow, caressing touch. ‘I can come in two minutes or forty-two. It’s in my control.’

She frowned. ‘But I thought...’

He pressed the pad of his thumb over her lips. ‘Stop thinking, ma chérie. Your job right now is to feel.’

Poppy let out an uneven breath as he stroked her thigh again. His touch was like a velvet glove against her skin. She closed her eyes and gave herself up to the moment, to the feel of his hand on her thigh, her belly and her breasts in gentle glides that were almost reverent. He came back to her with his mouth, soft as a feather landing on her, waiting for her to feel comfortable before progressing to firmer, more intimate caresses. She felt the slow stroke of his tongue, the sensations ricocheting through her, but instead of fighting them this time she embraced them. It was like a giant wave coming down over her. It swept her up in its vortex, tumbling her over and over in a dizzying whirlpool that made her feel disoriented. She heard a high, keening cry split the air and realised with quite some embarrassment that it had come from her.

It sounded so primal, so carnal.

He brushed the damp hair away from her forehead, a smile that was just shy of smug playing at the edges of his mouth. ‘See? You’re not hopeless at this. You’re a natural.’

Poppy trailed a fingertip down his sternum rather than meet his triumphant gaze. ‘So...forty-two minutes, huh? Did you set a stop-watch or something?’

He pushed her chin up so her gaze was level with his. ‘Being a considerate lover is a responsibility I take very seriously as a man. No woman should feel rushed to meet a timetable that isn’t hers. Your body will ha

ve different moods and needs. What works well one time may not work so well another time.’

Poppy traced her index finger over the contour of his lower lip, her softer skin catching on his stubble like silk on sandpaper. ‘You seem to know your way around a woman’s body.’

‘I’m still getting to know yours but what I’ve discovered so far is delightful.’ He captured her fingertip with his lips and sucked it into his mouth. She shivered as she felt the intimate pull of his warm mouth, his eyes glittering with primal intent as they held hers.