She murmured in her sleep. Every sinew in his body protested at the idea but he forced himself to take a step towards the door.
‘Cesare?’ Her soft voice stopped him in his tracks.
She was sitting up, the sheets slipping to her waist. Her lush curves gleamed in the ambient light. Her nipples, half hidden by the heavy fall of her fiery hair, crested breasts he longed to mould and caress again. His body’s instant reaction made him swallow hard. It was that or risk choking. He hadn’t had sex in a year. His need was more than great, but staying would mean pushing his luck way above acceptable levels.
‘What are you doing out of bed?’ she asked.
‘Letting you get some sleep, amante.’
Slowly she sagged back against the pillows. Her hair parted, revealing the full allure of her breasts. In a slow, seductive sweep designed to drive him insane, her gaze left his and caressed its way down his nude body.
His heart hammered as she boldly stared at his erection. When she moistened her lips, a rough tremor coursed through him.
‘I’m wide awake now,’ she stated in a husky murmur.
Heat rushed through him, propelling him forward before he could form a single thought. When he reached the side of the bed, he paused. ‘I don’t want to make you sore.’ She’d been tight when they’d made love. There’d been no one else. The thought sent a powerful surge of primitive possession through him. If he got his way, and he would once he dedicated enough strategic thinking to the issue, his wife would know no other man but him.
‘It wasn’t that bad.’
Unable to help himself, he traced his finger along the warm colour that crept up her neck into her cheeks. ‘Are we rating my performance or your soreness? My delicate ego seeks clarification.’
Her gaze dropped to his engorged male flesh, one brow raised as her sinful mouth curved. ‘There’s nothing delicate about you, caro.’
His breath fractured. Somewhere inside it registered that this was the first genuine smile he’d witnessed from her in a long time.
The thought that he’d missed it without realising his loss hit him squarely in the chest. Before he could assess his actions, he lifted the sheet and slid in next to her.
‘On the contrary, I’m as delicate as a baby when you look at me like that.’
‘Like what?’
‘Like I’m the sole focus of your world.’
Her smile slowly faded. ‘You were my only focus, Cesare. For a very long time. Then you took yourself away.’ Her voice caught and his heart caught with it.
Leaning down, he kissed her, his chest tightening with the need to offer reassurance he had no right to give.
‘I’m here now,’ he offered instead.
It was inadequate, and her darkening eyes told him so. But he had no solution. Not yet. So he did the next best thing. He deepened the kiss, infusing her with his crazy desire for her, savouring her immediate and complete response. Pleasure, hot and fervid, rose inside when her hands moved around his back and held him tight.
Ava’s thigh slid between his, creating mind-altering sensations that washed away his troubled thoughts.
When her hand closed over him, a groan erupted from his very soul. Feeling himself slide closer to the edge, he quickly reached for another condom.
‘Not yet,’ she rasped in between planting hot open-mouthed kisses on his chest. With a firm hand, she propelled him onto his back and rose onto her knees. Her nails scraped along his torso. His dark curse brought another smile.
‘You’re enjoying your power?’
‘I’m enjoying...something.’ Her eyes danced with delight, then she leaned down and boldly tongued his nipple.
His heartfelt groan earned him another flick of her tongue. He clenched his fingers in her silky Titian hair, holding her close as he lost himself in the pleasure that filled his every cell. With every breath, every inch lower she went, he skated closer to the edge of madness. She sank her teeth into the skin below his navel and his heart stopped.
‘Ava...’ He wasn’t sure whether he warned or pleaded.
In response, she closed both hands on him, caressed him up and down.
‘Dio mio. Again.’ A definite plea this time.
She complied, her gaze rising to snag his as she moved her firm grip over him. She maintained eye contact as she caressed him, a boldness in her actions he’d never witnessed before. The look, coupled with the mind-bending effect of her hands, scattered his thoughts. She leaned in closer, parted her lips and took him in her mouth and it was in that moment Cesare knew the true meaning of insanity.