“Yes. Decent.” His eyes met hers. “Because when you showed up with her gift that night, I realized you were the only woman I wanted. How could I be with Madison after that?”
Hana’s throat went dry.
“I’ve been faithful to you ever since then.” He shook his head ruefully. “Against my will. I had no choice. Because I wanted no other woman. Just you.”
Her heart was pounding. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I couldn’t let myself seduce you.”
“Why?”
“You were too important. I was afraid if I took you to my bed, I’d end up breaking your heart, and then my company would lose the best damn secretary in the world.”
“Then you fired me anyway.”
Antonio gave a rueful laugh. “Not my finest moment. Can I hire you back?”
“I haven’t decided,” she said faintly. What was happening? The hotel suite was spinning around her. Antonio, proposing marriage? Was this all a dream?
“Marry me, Hana,” he said in a low voice. “I’ll be faithful to you until the day I die.”
“How can you be sure?”
“You’re the only woman I desire.” He cupped her cheek. “The one I trust.”
She shivered at his nearness, trying not to notice the weight and warmth of his hand against her skin, sending a spiral of sparks down her body. She was suddenly aware that she wore only a creamy silk negligee and robe against her skin. She wasn’t even wearing panties beneath.
His hand moved slowly down the edge of her bare neck. He repeated, “Marry me.”
She trembled as he pulled her into his arms. Standing in the middle of the penthouse suite, her feet bare on the tatami mat, Hana tilted her head to look up at his handsome face.
“You’re going to have my baby.” He gently placed his large hand against her belly, sliding over the sensual silk of her robe. “You belong to me,” he said huskily. Lowering his head toward hers, he whispered, “As I belong to you...”
Her knees went weak as his lips possessed hers. He was so much larger than she was, so broad-shouldered and strong. She surrendered to his embrace, lost in sensation as their kiss intensified.
His hands cupped the back of her head, lightly brushing down her long dark hair as he caressed slowly down her back, causing the silk to slide over her naked skin.
Pressed against his fully clothed body, she felt his heat and strength, which he tempered and held back, holding her as if she were a precious treasure. Her nipples tightened as they brushed against his suit and tie, her swollen breasts sensitive and heavy. Tension coiled low and deep inside her.
How long had her body cried out to be in Antonio’s arms, held with such passionate tenderness? How long had her soul thirsted to hear words like this from anyone?
No wonder the penthouse seemed to spin around her. She was dreaming. She had to be dreaming!
And she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to wake up...
Her hands wrapped around his shoulders as she kissed him back with all the longing in her heart. As he deepened the embrace, she felt a sudden urgency, a need to have him closer, to block out the small voice in the back of her mind that was shouting that she needed to stop this, stop it before it was too late. Reaching under his dark cashmere coat, she lifted it off his shoulders and pulled it down his back.
She felt his approval, his answering need. Before the coat had even dropped to the floor, he was yanking off his tie and jacket, unbuttoning his cuffs. Never breaking the kiss, she reached to undo his shirt, desperate to feel the bare skin of his hard-muscled chest beneath her fingertips. The last button caught. Urgently, she yanked hard on the shirt, feeling it finally rip and give way as that too dropped to the floor.
With a low growl, he lifted her up in his arms, against his bare chest, and carried her into the bedroom. Looking up at him breathlessly, she ran her hand along his powerful muscles, lightly dusted with dark hair. His tanned skin felt like satin beneath her hands as she traced over the hard curves of his pecs, brushing his taut nipples with her fingertips, and down farther, to the flat, hard plane of his belly.
Releasing her, he let her slide down his body, the silk caressing her skin, and set her to her feet.
They faced each other in front of the enormous bed.
Reaching out, he undid the belt of her robe, pulling it off her shoulders. As it fell softly to the floor, he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck. With a soft gasp, Hana closed her eyes, letting her long dark hair tumble down her back, brushing against the bare skin of her shoulders. Her nipples felt exquisitely sensitive against her nightgown, which left her arms and collarbone bare.
“You belong to me, Hana,” he whispered against her skin. “Say it.”