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CHAPTER NINE

NERVES SPIRALLED THROUGH Sadie as she stood on the beach, looking out at the setting sun with Antonio. All through the candlelit dinner they’d shared, the simmering tension and awareness had been palpable. As if they both knew where the night would lead—and both wanting exactly that.

It was obvious what Antonio’s intentions were. Why else would he have engineered for Leo to be elsewhere if not to give them time alone? Time to become a married couple in the true sense of the word.

She shouldn’t want it. Shouldn’t want Antonio, but she did. She couldn’t help herself. She’d only ever been his and to share a night of passion with him again was all she wanted right now.

He put his arm around her, drawing her close, and she trembled at his touch, trembled at his closeness and the thought of being his once more.

‘You are cold,’ he stated calmly, as in control as he always was.

If she hadn’t been so consumed with desire for him, she might have said he was cold, but such notions were well and truly being buried now. Each desire-laden look, each touch, broke down her resistance and now all she wanted was one more night in his arms. Was that so wrong? To want her husband?

Shyly she looked up at him. ‘No, I’m not cold.’

Did he know that just being close to him did untold things to her, that his touch made her tremble with desire? He smiled at her and even in the dimming light of the sunset she knew he was well aware of how he made her feel.

‘We can return to the villa,’ he said, the heavy silkiness of his voice caressing her senses. ‘If you are cold.’

‘Not just yet. I’d like to see the sunset first. Remember it for a painting one day.’ She focused her attention on the orange orb sinking lower into the sky, not daring to look at him, trying anything to distract herself, but the effort was too much and she turned to him, all thought of everything else gone.

‘First?’ He looked at her, his brows raised in the deliciously sexy and mischievous way she’d fallen for the first time she’d met him, and she wondered how she’d never noticed it when he’d been in the disguise of an ordinary mechanic. ‘Before what, mia bella?’

She asked herself the same question and the same answer she’d had all evening came back at her. Before she gave herself to him, became completely his for ever. There would be no half measures for her, she knew that much. Just as she knew deep down she would always be his.

‘It is almost gone,’ she whispered as the sun sank lower, but the anticipation between them rose rapidly until it all but sparked in the warm air around them.

She turned again to face him, aware of the movement of the inky-dark waters as the sky rapidly darkened now the sun had slipped below the horizon. She wanted him to kiss her, wanted him to hold her. She’d been resisting him since he’d revealed his true identity, but now the fight was finally slipping from her. Was it the unfamiliar but luxurious surroundings or was she falling for him all over again? Right now she didn’t care. She just wanted to feel his lips on hers.

‘You look beautiful this evening, mia bella.’ His words, husky and deep, only intensified the fire of desire within her, making it leap wildly, seeking release.

She blushed, wondering if he knew the effort she’d taken this evening or how many dresses she’d discarded before settling on the brilliant red halter-neck maxi dress, the soft silk printed with a white pattern perfect for an evening of dining on the beach on this exotic paradise island.

‘It’s very easy to feel beautiful in a place as lovely as this.’ Silently she added, Especially when you look at me with such open desire and adoration.

Ever since he’d stepped out of the shadow of being Toni Adessi, she’d been trying to be cautious, trying to keep her distance, but right now, here on this island so far from reality, she didn’t care about the past—or the future. All she wanted was this moment and to be truly his wife.

He slid his hand up her back, pressing her against him as she placed her palm against his chest, seeking his strength and power. With his free hand he brushed her hair back over her shoulder and she closed her eyes briefly as his fingers touched her bare shoulders. When she opened them again, the smouldering intensity in his eyes left her in no doubt as to how this evening would end.

Boldly she rose up on her bare toes and touched her lips to his. Every limb of her body trembled as she waited for his reaction, his response.

When it came, it was hard and demanding, words of Italian came in an almost feral growl and his arms locked her against the hardness of his body until she had no doubt that he wanted her.

‘Antonio.’ His name slipped all too willingly from her lips, but anything else was smothered as he kissed her. The hardness of his kiss took her breath away and suddenly she didn’t care about the moon and stars she’d seen slowly brightening in the night sky because all around her there was an explosion of sparkling lights.

The need she’d been denying, need for the man she’d once fallen in love with, burst into life deep inside her and she knew that this time there wouldn’t be any way of stopping.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her breasts against him, feeling the heat of his body through the silk of her dress. His hand on her bare back burnt her, scalded her, but when he moved from her lips to kiss down her throat she almost couldn’t breathe.

She arched herself against him, the length of her loose hair falling away from her shoulders as he kissed a line of fire across one. Then, just as she thought she might fall to the sand, he swept her up into his arms.

She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent, rugged and dominant, unlocking more memories from that one delicious weekend together. This was the only man she’d ever wanted and nothing had changed.

* * *

Antonio carried Sadie back across the sand, his bare feet sinking as he walked, but he wasn’t going to put her down. Not until he could lay her on the bed and kiss her until all she wanted was him.

‘Tonight, mia bella, belongs to us.’

He strode into the villa, the sounds of the waves following them in, the exotic scents of the island enveloping them. Was it the location that had relaxed him, made him more able to accept that whatever it was between him and Sadie was far from over?

‘Just tonight,’ she stipulated, still resisting him, still denying the love she’d once had for him. Then the desire of the moment took the edge from her words, making them sound deliciously husky.

He looked at her as he set her on her feet by the large bed, designed for lovers but she’d slept alone in it since their arrival on the island.

Tonight would be different. But would tonight be enough to quench this thirst, this unbelievable fire he had for her? Deep down he knew it would never be quenched, that he would always want her with a hot passionate need.

‘That may be difficult, mia bella.’ He stroked the back of his fingers across her cheek, satisfied to see her eyes flutter closed.

‘We had a deal, Antonio. This isn’t a real marriage.’ Her voice was soft and sexy and as she opened her eyes to look up at him he could see the same intensity of desire he felt in her eyes, making a lie of her words.

‘But not a deal we have to keep, no?’ He trailed his fingers down her throat, briefly pausing at the fabric which was tied at the back of her neck in a bow. One tug and the whole thing would be unfastened. Had she selected this dress for the cool comfort on a hot evening or to torment him?

‘No,’ she whispered as he lowered his head to brush his lips over hers, testing, tasting. ‘No, we don’t.’

She’d tasted as sweet the night he’d first kissed her and taken her to his bed four years ago. She’d been a virgin then, although she hadn’t told him until it was too late, until he’d been driven wild with need for her. Those few nights they’d shared had been hot and passionate, but tonight he wanted it to be different. This wasn’t a quick affair—this was the night he claimed her truly as his wife.

The palms of her hands spread over his chest, the heat from them scorching his muscles, forcing him to bite down on the urge to push her back onto the bed. If she was going to take the lead, to set the pace, then he would have to use all the control he had to hold back. He wanted this to be a special night for her, one to remember.

His fingers delved deep into the silky softness of her hair, and as she began to undo the buttons of his shirt, his heart rate accelerated like a racing car off the starting grid. Every nerve cell in his body was on high alert, wanting her, needing her. She slid her hands inside his shirt, exploring his body, and a feral growl sounded in his throat. A wicked gleam in her eyes left him in no doubt she was enjoying torturing him like this.

She pressed her lips to his skin. Passion exploded inside him and he scrunched her hair in his fingers, wanting to extend the exquisite torture of her kisses. Then, when he thought he couldn’t take any more, she looked up at him, her green eyes dark with passion. She looked so beautiful, so alluring.

‘I want to make you mine, Sadie—completely mine.’ His thoughts found words as passion fired within him.

* * *

Sadie’s pulse raced as Antonio’s husky whisper sounded over the waves on the beach, making a tremor of desire shudder through her. He wanted her and even if it was purely lust right at this moment she didn’t care. She wanted to be his.

‘I’m yours tonight, Antonio. All night.’ She spread her hands on his chest, then moved with deliberate slowness up to his shoulders, pushing his shirt aside until he shrugged it away, dropping it to the polished wooden floor.

He took her hand and led her to the large four-poster bed, the white silk curtains shimmering in the warm breeze, and she could hardly believe this was happening. The man she’d loved and hated for the last four years was leading her to bed, desire in his eyes, in every touch and kiss. She would take this moment, savour it, because she was under no illusions that he would soon tire of married life. It was, after all, exactly what he’d done once before and why should she be any different just because she was the mother of his child?

‘No more words,’ he said as he kissed a fiery trail down her throat. ‘Allow your body and the passion to speak for you, mia bella.’

Whatever her resolutions of keeping her distance had been, she knew she couldn’t do anything else. His skilled kisses and practised touch were unravelling her faster than a kitten chasing a ball of twine.

Before she knew what he’d done, the bow fastening her dress at the back of her neck had been pulled undone and the red silk slithered down her body, leaving her in only her white lace panties.

She saw his jaw clench as his gaze slid down her, taking in every detail with lingering intensity. A heady sensation of power coursed through her as he pulled her to him, her breasts pressing against his naked chest in a torturous way. She clung to him like a woman drowning—and she was. She was drowning in desire, sinking into passion in a way she’d never thought possible.

‘Antonio...’ she began, but he pressed his lips to hers in a fierce kiss which silenced her. All she could hear was the distant lapping of waves on the beach and the pounding of her heartbeat.

In a decisive and swift move he scooped her into his arms and placed her on the white covers. Then he braced himself over her and continued the trail of fire over her body, each kiss sending her higher with passion. His lips pressed light kisses over her skin until he reached her breast, the exquisite sensation as his tongue teased her nipple making her gasp and clench her fingers into the softness of the duvet.

Fire erupted within her and she plunged her fingers into his dark hair, opening her eyes to watch him kissing her, but as he moved to her other breast she could do nothing other than close her eyes and give in to the pleasure of it.

When he moved lower, expertly pulling her panties down her legs as he did so, she had to drag in a deep breath to stop herself sighing out his name as if they really were lovers. Yet every kiss he caressed her skin with, every touch which scorched deep into her soul rekindled the love she’d denied herself since the day Leo was born. That day she’d finally accepted he wanted nothing to do with her or Leo.

He moved lower still, his tongue igniting white-hot fire deep in her core, and all thoughts of the past, all those long lonely days when she’d first become a mother, receded like the tide pulled by the moon. None of that mattered now. Only this moment. This wonderfully sensual moment.

‘Antonio...’ She sighed his name, unable to help herself.

His response was deep and guttural and in Italian and, despite having learnt the language, she had no idea what he’d said—neither did she care. All she wanted was this moment to continue, to lose herself in it completely.

* * *

Antonio moved back up Sadie’s gloriously naked body and kissed her into silence. He couldn’t think straight. He’d just spoken to her in Italian, unable to put his thoughts into English when his body was burning so intensely with desire for her.

He stood up, pulling off the remainder of his clothes, feeling the warmth of the night air on his skin but knowing Sadie’s body would scorch it with desire. She watched him as he lowered himself over her once more, intending to tease her further, but when she wrapped her legs around him it was too much.

Her hands smoothed down his back as he slid into her, making her his once more. She moved with him, heightening the pleasure and taking him deeper. Words he hadn’t meant to say slipped again from his lips in Italian, but she lifted her head, her lips finding his in a dizzying kiss, silencing him, stopping him from saying things he could never honour.

The sounds of the ocean rushed along inside him with the wild pumping of his heart as the explosion of pleasure threatened, but he didn’t want it to end yet. With fierce determination he pulled away from her, kissing once more down her body, over her breasts and down her stomach. Then he moved onto his back, pulling her with him until she sat astride him, looking beautiful in the moonlight.

She lowered her head to kiss him, her hair falling around them, forming a blonde curtain. Then, realising her power, she slid onto the length of his erection and began the kind of torment no other woman had ever given him. She kissed him deeply as she moved and he caressed every curve of her body, reacquainting himself with each sexy contour and the pleasure of being inside her.

Her movements gentled, but the desire increased and he lifted up to her, encouraging her, wanting to be deeper, to possess her completely. A flush crept over her face as she moved on him, her heavy eyes locked with his.

‘Antonio,’ she gasped, and the explosion he’d been trying to hold off erupted within him, taking her to a place he too was hurtling towards. Together they crashed like waves from a stormy sea onto rocks. She was his. Sadie was truly his.