Читать книгу Undressed by the Billionaire - Susanne James - Страница 16

HE PROTECTED them both, and then touched her in a way he knew she would like. As she moaned beneath him, inviting more of these touches, he feathered kisses down her neck.

He hadn’t guessed he could be quite so gentle, or Savannah half so passionate. She brought out the best in him, more than he’d ever known he had, and as she clung to him, crying out his name, moving against him and driving him half-crazy with desire, he held back, knowing he had found someone who could reach him at a level no one else could.

That it should be a young girl like Savannah both surprised him and stirred his conscience. This was the start of a new chapter in Savannah’s life as a woman, but when tonight was over he would have to end their relationship. But for now …

Listening to her beating time with her voice to the music of their pleasure, he knew he had never known such extremes of sensation. Gathering her into his arms to stare into her eyes, he brought her to the brink and tipped her over, staying with her through the ecstasy as she enjoyed the release she had been searching for. When she quietened and snuggled in to him, he felt sure as he gazed into her drowsy face that time was playing tricks on them and that they had known each other much longer than one night. It was a short step from there to knowing Savannah should be with someone who could give her the kind of life she deserved.

‘Ethan, where are you?’ she murmured, reaching up to touch his face.

‘I’m still with you,’ he murmured.

‘No, you’re not,’ she argued softly, with barely the strength to open her eyes.

She was right. He was in a dark place he wouldn’t take her. Dipping his head, he kissed her deeply, and before she had a chance to question him further he made love to her again.

Savannah lay awake for the rest of the night, pretending to be asleep in the early hours when Ethan left her. She didn’t know him well enough to call him back. That struck her as funny and a little embarrassing, because she might not know him but she loved him. And loving him meant she understood his need for space. What had happened between them, what they’d shared, had been so much more than either of them could have expected. Of course, Ethan would need space to consider the changes this must make to his world. The changes to her world were immeasurable. Ethan was her man and her mate, and she had welcomed him inside her body with triumph and excitement. Ethan knew everything about bringing her pleasure, and they had been as one until pleasure had consumed them.

Only one worrying incident had tarnished the night. Ethan had drifted off to sleep after they’d made love, but after a few minutes he had thrown up his hands, as if to ward off a blow. It was some buried memory he couldn’t bring himself to share, she guessed, and it hurt her to think of him locked in a nightmare where she couldn’t reach him. She had to believe there was a key to breaking that destructive cycle, and that she held that key.

Turning her face into the pillows, Savannah inhaled Ethan’s scent. Exhaling softly in the darkness, she turned on her back as contentment consumed her. Her whole being was drenched in a warm, happy glow. She had expected to feel different when she gave herself to a man, but she hadn’t expected to feel quite so complete. She couldn’t wait to see the same look of happiness in Ethan’s eyes, and, as the lilac light of dawn was stealing through the heavy curtains, there was no reason why she shouldn’t go and find him.

Stretching her arms, Savannah welcomed the new day with a heart full of joy. It was a new and better world with Ethan in it. She had never believed in love at first sight, but now she did. She’d heard that opposites attracted, and she’d proved that to be right. She was deeply in love, of that there was no doubt, and after last night it couldn’t be long before Ethan told her that he loved her too.

He had left Savannah sleeping, and now he was avoiding her at breakfast, choosing instead to start the day with a dawn jog around the extensive grounds surrounding the palazzo. But even after that he craved more exercise to clear his mind. He moved on to the gym and after taking an icy shower he swam. As he powered down the Olympic-sized swimming pool there was one thing on his mind: Savannah. He could not get her out of his head.

Did he love her?

The thought was too fantastic to contemplate. He wasn’t entitled to love anyone. His stepfather had drummed that into him from the start, and over the years he had come to see that it was the one thing the man had said to him that made sense.