low table at the side of her, spilling some of the cocktail, and stood up. ‘I’m very grateful for your hospitality,’ she said icily, her face burning, ‘but, like I said, my personal life is absolutely none of your business.’
He’d risen too, and without a word took her into his arms and kissed her. It was a warm, experimental kiss at first, and she was so taken aback she let it happen. By the time it deepened into an invasive probing she couldn’thave moved if she’d wanted to. His touch had fired a hundred tingling signals to her senses. It was the sort of kiss she’d dreamed of as an adolescent, sweet and hot.
He placed a hand in the small of her back to steady her, drawing her closer into his lean frame until she was moulded to the hard planes of his body. The rough magic of his body hair teased her silky-smooth skin as his mouth fuelled the rush of sensation his lips and tongue were producing, tiny sharp needles of pleasure injecting desire into her veins like a forbidden drug.
‘Delicious…’ he murmured softly against her lips as the deliberate assault on her senses continued, the mouth she had thought so beautiful sensuously coaxing.
The warm fragrant air, the shadows of light and dark against her closed eyelids, the ache in the core of her all contributed to the feeling of dreamlike unrealness that had taken Cherry over. The last months had been hard and painful and humiliating, and this fantasy interlude was all the more seductive because of it. She felt desirable, womanly, and it was heady.
She shifted in his arms, but only so that she could lift her hands to his broad shoulders, abandoning herself to his lovemaking with an eagerness that would have shocked her if she had been capable of rational thought. But she didn’t want to think. She’d done enough thinking since the moment she’d learned Liam had betrayed her to last a lifetime. She just wanted to be …
Vittorio’s thighs were hard against her soft curves as the hand on her back slid lower, moving her hips forward to fit her body into his. And it was this, the unmistakable feel of his hot arousal, that jerked Cherry back into sanity. Her hands pushed at his chest as she wrenched herselffree, taking a step backwards, and her breath was a sob as she whispered, ‘Don’t. I don’t want this.’
He made no attempt to reach for her again. He was breathing hard and took a moment to compose himself before he spoke. His voice was dry. ‘Finish your cocktail, mia piccola ,’ he murmured, ‘while I take the equivalent of a cold shower.’ And with that he turned, walked swiftly to the edge of the pool, and dived into its cool depths.
CHAPTER FOUR
C HERRY didn’t even wait for Vittorio to surface before she grabbed her glass and dashed back towards the house. The gardens were slumbering in the early evening sunshine, and the heat of the day was still making itself felt, but she covered the distance quicker than an Olympic athlete, terrified he might call to her. And she couldn’t bear to face him right now.
She dived into the breakfast room and then out into the hall, skidding on the marble floor and almost ending up in one of the exquisite flower displays, before running up the stairs. It wasn’t until she had entered her room and shut the door, locking it for good measure, that she realised she was still holding her now empty glass.
Sinking down on to the bed, she placed the glass carefully on the bedside cabinet before putting her hands over her hot face. What an exhibition she’d made of herself—not only allowing him to kiss her like that but then bolting away like a scared little rabbit. She should have stayed and finished the cocktail, greeting him coolly when he returned with some casual, off hand remark to defuse any embarrassment. She groaned softly.
Not that he’d been embarrassed. She shut her eyes, but she could still see the hard inches of male arousalstraining against the material of his swimming trunks—proof
He’d risen too, and without a word took her into his arms and kissed her. It was a warm, experimental kiss at first, and she was so taken aback she let it happen. By the time it deepened into an invasive probing she couldn’thave moved if she’d wanted to. His touch had fired a hundred tingling signals to her senses. It was the sort of kiss she’d dreamed of as an adolescent, sweet and hot.
He placed a hand in the small of her back to steady her, drawing her closer into his lean frame until she was moulded to the hard planes of his body. The rough magic of his body hair teased her silky-smooth skin as his mouth fuelled the rush of sensation his lips and tongue were producing, tiny sharp needles of pleasure injecting desire into her veins like a forbidden drug.
‘Delicious…’ he murmured softly against her lips as the deliberate assault on her senses continued, the mouth she had thought so beautiful sensuously coaxing.
The warm fragrant air, the shadows of light and dark against her closed eyelids, the ache in the core of her all contributed to the feeling of dreamlike unrealness that had taken Cherry over. The last months had been hard and painful and humiliating, and this fantasy interlude was all the more seductive because of it. She felt desirable, womanly, and it was heady.
She shifted in his arms, but only so that she could lift her hands to his broad shoulders, abandoning herself to his lovemaking with an eagerness that would have shocked her if she had been capable of rational thought. But she didn’t want to think. She’d done enough thinking since the moment she’d learned Liam had betrayed her to last a lifetime. She just wanted to be …
Vittorio’s thighs were hard against her soft curves as the hand on her back slid lower, moving her hips forward to fit her body into his. And it was this, the unmistakable feel of his hot arousal, that jerked Cherry back into sanity. Her hands pushed at his chest as she wrenched herselffree, taking a step backwards, and her breath was a sob as she whispered, ‘Don’t. I don’t want this.’
He made no attempt to reach for her again. He was breathing hard and took a moment to compose himself before he spoke. His voice was dry. ‘Finish your cocktail, mia piccola ,’ he murmured, ‘while I take the equivalent of a cold shower.’ And with that he turned, walked swiftly to the edge of the pool, and dived into its cool depths.
CHAPTER FOUR
C HERRY didn’t even wait for Vittorio to surface before she grabbed her glass and dashed back towards the house. The gardens were slumbering in the early evening sunshine, and the heat of the day was still making itself felt, but she covered the distance quicker than an Olympic athlete, terrified he might call to her. And she couldn’t bear to face him right now.
She dived into the breakfast room and then out into the hall, skidding on the marble floor and almost ending up in one of the exquisite flower displays, before running up the stairs. It wasn’t until she had entered her room and shut the door, locking it for good measure, that she realised she was still holding her now empty glass.
Sinking down on to the bed, she placed the glass carefully on the bedside cabinet before putting her hands over her hot face. What an exhibition she’d made of herself—not only allowing him to kiss her like that but then bolting away like a scared little rabbit. She should have stayed and finished the cocktail, greeting him coolly when he returned with some casual, off hand remark to defuse any embarrassment. She groaned softly.
Not that he’d been embarrassed. She shut her eyes, but she could still see the hard inches of male arousalstraining against the material of his swimming trunks—proof
Similar Books
