Читать книгу Summer Surrender: Capelli's Captive Virgin / Italian Boss, Proud Miss Prim / The Italian's One-Night Love-Child - Кэтти Уильямс, Susan Stephens, Cathy Williams - Страница 11

‘YOU’RE shivering. Are you cold?’ His tone sharp, Alessio hauled the rest of their things into the single-storey cottage and immediately the sound of the building wind was muffled.

‘I’m not cold,’ Lindsay lied, resisting the temptation to rub her hands down her bare arms. Why, oh, why was fate so cruel? Why couldn’t she at least have had something with her that could have covered her up? She wished now that she’d returned to the boat to pick up more provisions, but Alessio had insisted that they move as fast as possible.

And it had been the right decision. By the time they’d walked for twenty minutes along the beach, the wind had risen dramatically.

She’d been relieved when she’d spotted the cottage on the far side of the tiny island. It was slightly protected by the curve of the land and Lindsay could see that they’d be safer there than in the little bay where they’d landed.

‘What is this place?’ The cottage was obviously old and she hesitated on the doorstep, wary of trespassing. ‘Who owns it?’

‘I suppose I do, technically. Before me it belonged to an eccentric millionaire who didn’t much like people.’ Alessio was prowling around the deserted rooms, as if he were looking for something. Occasionally he’d pause and put his hand against a window. ‘We’ll shelter in here. Stay away from the window in case the glass is blown in. We have rugs, plenty of water and some food. We’ll be fine for a few days, if necessary.’

‘A few days?’ Appalled, Lindsay gaped at him. ‘I can’t stay here for a few days! I need to contact Ruby.’

He spread the rug on the floor. ‘It doesn’t make much difference whether you’re on Kingfisher Cay, or here. Ruby isn’t answering your calls.’

‘But what if she tries to contact me?’ Lindsay paced the floor, desperately worried. ‘What if she rings in a panic? What if she needs my advice? I won’t be answering my phone and what will she do then?’

‘She might have to make a decision on her own. Believe me, that would do her the world of good.’ Watching her pace the room, he frowned suddenly. ‘You’re stranded in a storm and still you’re thinking about your sister. When exactly do you worry about yourself? You should be asking me if we’re going to get out of here, or if the cottage is likely to be blown away.’

‘We’ll be fine, I’m sure.’ Barely registering those possibilities, Lindsay started to bite one of her nails and then let her hand drop. ‘But if Ruby needs to contact me—what if she hears about this storm?’

‘She doesn’t know you’re with me, so she won’t understand its relevance. And anyway, you’re safe here.’

Suddenly realising just how isolated they were, Lindsay felt her stomach flip. She didn’t feel safe. She didn’t feel safe at all, and her growing tension had nothing to do with the threatening weather. Outside, the wind was starting to whistle and howl, buffeting the cottage and rattling the windows. But the real threat to her well-being was on the inside.

Dressed only in his swimming shorts, Alessio was now sprawled on the rug watching her.

‘Are you going to pace all night?’

‘I can’t relax—’

‘When are you going to let your sister lead her own life? You try and control her every movement—it’s no wonder she’s rebelled and vanished into the sunset. You created this situation by behaving more like a mother than a sister.’ It was as if he’d punched her.

Appalled, Lindsay stared at him. ‘No.’ She shook her head in furious denial. ‘I don’t control her. I just offer her support.’

‘Support is “I’m here if you need me”,’ Alessio drawled. ‘Support isn’t “you’re not doing what I think you should do”.’

Lindsay’s head was filled with images of a vulnerable toddler clinging to her in bed, night after night. ‘You don’t understand—’

‘Maledizione, why do you think she hasn’t called?’ His tone was brutally direct. ‘Because she knows you’re going to disapprove of what she’s doing. She knows that when you pick up that phone, all she’s going to get from you is a lecture.’

‘No.’ Lindsay’s lips felt dry. ‘No, that isn’t—’

‘Have you ever tried to understand her? Did you ever ask yourself why she wanted to stay in Rome? I’ll tell you why—because it was the only way she could possibly run her life without your constant interference.’

Frozen to the spot, Lindsay could barely breathe. ‘That isn’t true.’ Her stomach heaved and for a moment she actually felt physically sick. ‘And you have no right to say those things to me. What does someone like you know about love? Or relationships?’

She turned and paced back across the room, her arms wrapped around her body as she struggled to hold herself together.

It wasn’t true. None of the horrid things he was saying was true.

Yes, she was protective of Ruby. But she was the older sister. It was her responsibility to look after Ruby. She’d always done it, ever since they were children.

‘Will you let me sleep in your bed, Linny?’

She’d smothered Ruby with love, compensating for the lack of care and affection they’d received from their parents. She’d been the sister and the mother.

Lindsay dug her hands into her hair as she forced herself to examine the facts.

Of course she was going to support her sister and offer advice.

She’d been the very best sister she could be. Hadn’t she?

Tormented by a tiny seed of doubt, Lindsay felt as though her entire world were unravelling.

She’d been so sure of herself. So certain. And suddenly she just didn’t feel certain anymore.

She needed space to think—

She needed to get out of this confined space—

Somehow she managed to make her lips move. ‘I need some air.’ Tugging open the door, she staggered as a powerful gust almost dragged it out of her hand, the wind howling like a choir of a thousand ghosts, daring her to venture outside.

But Lindsay didn’t care—

Whatever lay outside, it had to be better than being trapped with Alessio.

Wincing as the door was almost taken off its hinges, Alessio spent a few seconds cursing the whole female race and their tendency to the dramatic, before springing to his feet.

Hurricane-force winds were blowing outside and she’d decided that she needed some air?

Was she crazy?

But even as he asked himself that question, something slightly uncomfortable twisted inside him. No, she wasn’t crazy. She was just upset. Very, very upset.

And he was the cause of that upset.

Unaccustomed to experiencing feelings of guilt, Alessio strode towards the door, reminding himself that he’d merely told her the truth. And if it had been a painful truth, well, that was because she’d been deluding herself.

In the long term, he’d done her a favour.

She’d probably thank him.

So why was he wishing he could wind the clock back and been given an opportunity to keep his mouth shut?

Trying to dismiss the image of her white face and the distressed look in her eyes, Alessio strode to the door.

If she didn’t have the sense to know it was dangerous out there, then he was going to have to go and fetch her.

Immediately the strength of the wind stole the breath from his lungs and he wondered how someone as slight as Lindsay had managed to stay upright in the path of such a powerful force.

As he secured the door behind him he found himself wondering why she hadn’t turned back.

But he knew the answer to that. She hadn’t turned back because of him. She was either so angry with him she couldn’t bear to be within the same four walls, or else she was so upset by what he’d said that she needed to think.

Either way, she was putting herself in physical danger.

Black, deadly clouds had replaced perfect blue sky and Alessio glanced along the beach, searching for a solitary figure.

And then he saw her. Her arms were wrapped around her body and she was staring out to sea, apparently oblivious to the anger of the storm that was building. Her pale hair had broken loose from the clasp and for once she hadn’t bothered to pin it up again. As if to taunt her with that fact, the wind caught it and blew it wildly around her face and shoulders. She looked like a mermaid, contemplating a return to the sea. She also looked—fragile.

Alessio frowned. Fragile? He always thought of Lindsay Lockheart as composed and controlled. Even the night she’d been attacked on the streets of Rome, she’d been remarkably collected, more concerned about her sister than herself.

But she didn’t look composed or controlled. She looked—broken.

Swearing fluently in two different languages, he strode across to her, ready to blast her for taking such a stupid risk.

But as he drew closer he saw that her cheeks were wet and her eyes were glistening.

Maledizione—

Alessio executed an emergency stop, his natural inclination to retreat in the face of female emotion acting as a break. Given the choice, he would have preferred to do battle with ten storms than mop up tears.

He took a step backwards.

Obviously she wanted to be alone, he reasoned. If she’d wanted his company, she would have stayed in the cottage.

Convincing himself that what she needed most was some space and time to herself—after all, hadn’t she chosen to come out here alone?—he was about to retreat when another powerful gust of wind slammed into them and she lost her balance.

In one stride, Alessio was next to her. He closed his arms around her and braced his strong legs to support them both against the force of the wind. ‘Do you have a death wish? It isn’t safe out here!’ She felt impossibly fragile and he wondered why she hadn’t already been blown over.

He glared down at her, but his feelings of anger and exasperation dissolved in an instant as he registered her tortured expression. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

This was a different Lindsay. A desperately unsure, insecure Lindsay. There was no sign of the competent exterior that she presented to the world. She even looked different, for once oblivious to the fact that her hair was blowing loose around her face and the fact that she was dressed only in a swimming costume. She looked incredibly young.

Incredibly beautiful …

Engulfed by a sudden explosion of lust that was almost more powerful than the storm, Alessio contemplated slinging her over his shoulder and taking her back to the cottage for the type of one-on-one comfort he knew he was capable of delivering.

He was responsible for her upset and he was confident that he could fix it.

But then she lifted her eyes to his and she looked so vulnerable that for once he decided not to say what was on his mind.

Instead he dragged his gaze from the trembling curve of her soft mouth and tried to focus on something non sexual. Like the fact that they were both about to be blown to the outer reaches of the Caribbean. Torn between concern for her safety and guilt that he was the cause of her distress, he tried to haul her back up the path, but she refused to move. ‘We have to go inside.’

She looked at him blankly and exasperation mingled with concern because she was the most decisive woman he’d ever met and yet she was clearly incapable of making any sort of decision.

Tears glistened on her lashes and shadows flickered across her eyes. ‘What if you’re right?’ She had to raise her voice to be heard above the howl of the wind and he gritted his teeth.

There was a storm blowing and she wanted to talk?

‘I am right,’ Alessio assured her, confident that it was the right response regardless of the question. He slid his arm around her shoulders and urged her up the path. ‘We need to get inside. Now. Pronto. Before we find ourselves transported to the next island.’

‘No. I mean about Ruby.’ She stopped, her hand in her hair to prevent it from blowing wildly around her face. ‘What if you’re right about Ruby? What if the reason Ruby isn’t ringing me is because she thinks I’ll judge her? What if it is my fault? What if I’ve driven her away?’ Another powerful gust of wind almost knocked her off her feet and Alessio made a unilateral decision and scooped her into his arms.

She’ll thank me later, he thought as he strode back up the narrow, sandy path to the comparative safety of the cottage. Shouldering the door shut against the raging, angry storm, he lowered her gently to the floor.

‘Don’t leave the cottage again.’ His tone was sharper than he’d intended and when he saw the sheen in her eyes he cursed himself for not being more sympathetic. If he didn’t tread carefully she was going to dissolve in a sodden heap and that was the last thing he wanted or needed.

Resigned to the inevitable, he waited for her to collapse sobbing against his chest, but instead she turned away.

‘Just give me a minute.’

On unfamiliar territory, Alessio stared at her rigid shoulders, trying to work out what he was supposed to do next. Although he had plentiful experience of tearful women, he’d never been with one who didn’t want him to see her crying. And everything about her body language told him that Lindsay Lockheart was trying very hard not to let him see her crying.

Alessio hesitated, torn between the options of steering the conversation onto neutral ground and just dealing with the issue straight out.

Never one to avoid a problem, he tackled it head-on.

‘Apologies aren’t my speciality,’ he gritted, ‘but I think I owe you one. I was unsympathetic and my comments were far too personal—’

‘You don’t owe me an apology.’ She sounded stiff. Formal. And she still didn’t look at him. ‘You don’t have to apologise for being honest. I’m the one who was deluding myself.’ The only indication that she was still crying was the way she discreetly lifted her hand to wipe her face, but somehow that minimal gesture increased his feelings of guilt.

‘You obviously thought you were acting in the best interests of your sister—’ He broke off as he saw her flinch and lift a slender hand to silence him.

‘Alessio, please don’t say any more. There’s only so much honesty I can take in one go.’

He’d been trying to help. But softening the truth wasn’t his forte.

Alessio raked his fingers through his hair, stunned by the realisation that for once he was totally unsure what he should say next. He was a lawyer. He always knew what to say next. ‘What I’m trying to say is that you probably—definitely,’ he corrected himself swiftly, ‘you definitely know better than I do what works for Ruby.’

‘Apparently not.’

‘You’re a great sister.’ Alessio delivered that statement with what he hoped was an appropriate degree of conviction. ‘Ruby is lucky to have someone like you watching over her.’

For a moment she didn’t answer. Then she wiped her face with her fingers once more, and turned to face him. ‘No. Everything you’ve said is true. I have been too controlling. I thought I was protecting her, but I’ve handled her in the worst way possible. I’ve done all the wrong things at all the wrong times.’

His hands tightened on her arms. ‘For all the right reasons.’

‘I’ve let her down. She’s my responsibility, but I’ve made it impossible for her to turn to me because she knows I’ll be upset and worried, and—I’ve missed the fact that she’s grown up …’ Her voice wobbled and for a moment she stopped speaking and just breathed.

Waiting for her to finish her sentence, Alessio discovered that her determination not to lose control in front of him was a thousand times more moving than a cascade of tears.

‘Lindsay—’

‘Don’t say anything,’ she muttered. ‘This is—a bit difficult—’ she lifted a hand to her mouth and then let it fall again ‘—and the reason it’s difficult is because everything you say is true. I’ve failed her.’ For some reason the brave smile was a greater attack on his conscience than her tears and Alessio swore softly.

‘Why do you feel she’s your responsibility?’

Lindsay looked at him for a moment. ‘Because she’s my little sister,’ she whispered, ‘and it doesn’t matter what she does, she’ll always be my little sister.’

‘Precisely.’ Feeling as though he were drowning, Alessio ran a hand over the back of his neck. ‘You’re her sister, not her mother.’

‘I’ve always looked after her.’ She gave a twisted smile. ‘Or, at least, that’s what I was trying to do. But it seems I haven’t been helping her as much as I thought.’

Alessio inhaled sharply. ‘Take no notice of anything I say. As you rightly point out, I know nothing about relationships. Relationships are always complicated, Lindsay—’ his tone was harsher than he’d intended ‘—that’s why I avoid them.’

‘Do you mind if we don’t talk about this anymore right now?’ Clearly hanging on to control by a thread, she turned away from him and walked over to the huge blanket. ‘It’s very dark.’

‘It’s the storm. It will pass, but probably not before nightfall. We’ll be spending the night here.’

He waited for her to have hysterics or make some sharp remark about him having engineered the situation, but she did neither. Instead she simply dropped to her knees onto the blanket and curled up with her back to him.

‘If you don’t mind, I think I might sleep. I haven’t had much sleep since Ruby went missing …’ Her voice tailed off and for a moment she hesitated. ‘But of course she isn’t actually missing, is she? She just doesn’t want me to know where she is.’

Lying there, trying to make herself as small as possible, she reminded him of a lost child.

‘You must be very angry with her.’

‘Angry?’ Her voice was thickened with tears. ‘How could I possibly be angry with her when it’s all my fault? You’re quite right. I’ve driven her away. My behaviour has driven her away.’

Nowhere near as forgiving, Alessio found his own anger towards Ruby flaring to life. She should have known how much her sister would worry. She should have picked up the bloody phone.

It was obvious that Lindsay, however misguided, had genuinely been acting for her sister’s benefit and, sensing the depth of her hurt, Alessio gritted his teeth, taking her pain as yet another example of why love was the utter pits. Why did anyone bother? Who wanted to put themselves through that? Much better to build a barrier around one’s emotions.

And that was what he’d done, of course.

From a very early age.

He sat down next to her. His eyes rested on the smooth skin of her bare shoulder and then followed the line of her red swimsuit. It dipped temptingly into her tiny waist and then rose again to accommodate the feminine swell of her hips. Instinctively he lifted a hand to trace that all too tempting curve, but there was something in the way she held herself that stopped him. Instead, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, practising restraint for the first time in his life.

Reminding himself not to express his opinion of her sister ever again, he closed his eyes.

It was going to be a long night.

Lindsay lay in the depths of misery, drowning in self-blame.

This was all her fault. She could see that now.

If she’d been more approachable and less judgmental, Ruby would have felt able to confide in her—she would have called.

How could she have been so horribly wrong? She spent her working life helping couples see that there were always two points of view, and yet had she ever listened to what Ruby wanted? No, she hadn’t. She’d been so afraid that Ruby would choose the wrong path in life that every time her sister had opened her mouth, she’d lectured and dictated. Don’t do this—don’t do that.

And who was to say that Ruby’s choices would have been the wrong ones?

Alessio was right. The wrong path for one person was the right path for another.

Ridden with guilt, Lindsay squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She loved her sister so much. So much. And had she helped her? No.

She was a stupid idiot.

The thought of how badly she’d handled everything was like a physical pain.

She’d been so convinced that her approach was the right one. After what she’d seen as a child, she’d been determined not to follow the same route. And determined not to let her sister follow the same route. But she’d attached such a strong belief to her own strict code that it had prevented her from understanding how others felt. Since when had she become so pompous and set in her ways that she’d decided there was only one right way to do things?

Perhaps Ruby was, at this moment, having the time of her life with Dino Capelli.

Perhaps she wanted to share that happiness and excitement, and the reason she wasn’t calling Ruby was because she knew she wouldn’t approve.

Would Ruby ever turn to her again?

Tears slid down her face and this time she didn’t bother trying to stop them because it was dark and Alessio was asleep.

Convinced that she was alone with her misery, she gave a start of shock as a strong male hand curved over her shoulder.

‘Stop crying.’

Appalled that he knew she was crying, Lindsay froze. ‘I’m not crying.’

He muttered something in Italian. ‘I tell you now,’ he said roughly, ‘I have absolutely no experience in comforting women. It isn’t something I excel at. Ask anyone.’ He hesitated. ‘Normally I’m the one making them cry.’

Lindsey gave a choked laugh. ‘I can believe that. But for once you’re not to blame. Everything you said is right. I might even get round to thanking you at some point. And you don’t need to worry—I don’t want comfort.’ She sniffed and scrubbed a hand over her face, relieved that it was dark. ‘Anyway, I thought you had to be the best at everything.’

‘Only the things that interest me. Strangely enough I have no ambitions to excel at drying women’s tears,’ he drawled softly, ‘but on this one occasion, given that I’m the cause of your upset, I’m prepared to make an exception.’

Realising just how great a sacrifice that was on his part, she almost managed to smile. This must be almost as bad for him as it was for her. ‘You’re not the cause. Go to sleep, Alessio.’

But his strong, warm hand didn’t move from her shoulder. ‘This rug is the only dry thing in the place and I’d like to keep it that way. Stop feeling guilty about your sister.’

‘Why?’ She mumbled the words, wondering why she was discussing it with him. Alessio Capelli wasn’t anyone’s idea of a perfect confidant. ‘It’s all my fault.’

‘It isn’t your fault. I keep telling you, Ruby is responsible for what she does.’

‘I’ve stopped her talking to me.’

‘And what if she had talked to you? You would have been given a running commentary on all her wild behaviour and it would have driven you crazy with stress. You wouldn’t have said anything, but you still would have felt it. You’re much better off not knowing.’ His tone rang with exasperation and she almost laughed.

‘You make it sound so easy.’

‘It is easy. It’s time to toughen up, Lindsay,’ he said gruffly. ‘How have you managed to get through the past two decades when you worry so much about everything?’

‘I don’t really worry—’

‘You’re avoiding life because you’re afraid of it.’

Lindsay stilled. ‘That isn’t true.’

‘You’re worried that your sister will be hurt and maybe she will—’ his voice was low and male in the darkness ‘—but maybe she will have an affair that she will remember for ever. Memories of real passion that will last long after the hurt has faded. What will you have, Lindsay? The memory of dangerously exciting moments that you successfully resisted?’

He was right, she realised painfully. She was afraid. Afraid of falling into the same trap as the couples she counselled, afraid of being drawn into the wrong decision, afraid of being like her mother….

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. ‘You live dangerously all the time. So how do you manage never to be hurt?’

‘I don’t let people get close.’

‘But what sort of life is that?’

There was a moment of silence and then he gave a hollow laugh. ‘I’m not the one lying on the rug crying, Lindsay.’

‘Caring for people and having people care about you is the only really important thing in life.’ It was just because it was dark, she told herself, that it was easy to talk to him.

‘And is it worth caring even when you get hurt?’

‘Even then. It’s what makes us human.’

‘Ah—but you told me only a few days ago that I’m not human, so that explains why we think differently.’

She could hear the trace of humour in his voice. ‘I thought life was straightforward. But everything suddenly seems so complicated.’

‘Relationships always are. That’s why I avoid them.’

‘But you can’t just go through life avoiding relationships. Relationships—love—well, that’s what makes life bearable, isn’t it?’

‘Relationships—maybe. Love? Definitely not. In fact I’d go as far as to say that love is probably one of the things that often makes life unbearable. Believe me, I see it all the time.’

‘But the people you see aren’t in love anymore. Perhaps they never were.’

‘There are other types of relationships.’

‘I know. And that’s where I’ve let Ruby down,’ Lindsay admitted, relieved that it was dark so that he couldn’t see her face. Somehow the dark made it easier to talk. ‘We’re very different like that. I was always worried that she would confuse chemistry with love and I’ve seen so many relationships fall apart because all the couple shared was chemistry. I’ve never contemplated being in a relationship that was just about sex.’

It was a moment before he answered and when he finally spoke his voice was soft in the darkness.

‘Haven’t you?’

A shiver of awareness ripped through her whole body and she didn’t pretend to misunderstand him.

‘Well—maybe I have. Once.’ Her heart was thumping and bumping against her chest, as if it were trying to escape while there was still a chance.

His fingers tightened on her shoulder. ‘You have willpower that most people would envy.’

‘If you’re talking about us, then we would have been a nightmare together, you know we would.’

He gave a low laugh and rolled her gently onto her back. ‘It would have been explosive, tesoro. And you know it. Which is why you’ve been holding back. What’s wrong with sexual attraction, Lindsay?’

‘Nothing, as long as both parties recognise it for what it is. Ruby doesn’t.’

This was the time that she should push him away. This was the time she should tell him that, although she’d realised she’d handled Ruby all wrong, she didn’t want to change the way she lived herself. She wasn’t about to hurl herself from a place of safety into the dangerous unknown of raw sexual excitement.

She should tell him that. She should tell him that right now.

But she couldn’t manage to form the words. Instead her hand slid over his shoulder, feeling the hard curve of male muscle under her seeking fingers.

This level of chemistry wasn’t something she’d ever experienced before—and probably never would again.

If she let it pass, would she regret it?

Would she look back in her old age and think, If only?

Or would she smile and tell her grandchildren that passion wasn’t always dangerous, as long as you recognised it for what it was?

There would be no ‘happy ever after’ with Alessio Capelli, but she knew that, didn’t she? It wasn’t a mistake. It was a choice.

‘Lindsay—’ The husky, questioning note in his voice made her realise that her hand had curved around his neck.

She sensed that he was holding back—that this was all up to her—but she had no more time to agonise over her decision because her hands were drawing his head towards hers.

Apparently it was all the encouragement he needed because he instantly took control, his hands not quite steady as he rolled her onto her back and covered her body with his.

It seemed that her senses still remembered how he’d kissed her on the beach, and a pool of heat coiled itself in her pelvis and she waited in an agony of anticipation for the slow, skilled assault of his mouth.

Only this time he didn’t give her slow.

This time he brought his mouth down on hers with a driven sense of purpose that propelled her from a state of simmering anticipation to explosive excitement. Hot with longing, she felt him cup her face with lean, strong hands and then part her lips with his tongue. He took her mouth with devastating expertise, his demanding and intimate exploration creating erotic curls of heat low in her pelvis.

It was like being drugged and her last coherent thought was, How did he learn to kiss like this? Before she slid down and down into a sensual world that was beyond her control.

Her senses connected like an electric circuit, sending sparks to every part of her and she was lost, totally lost.

She pressed herself against his hard, powerful body, felt the roughness of his thigh graze against the softness of hers, felt the scrape of stubble against her cheek as he dragged his mouth from hers only to bury it in her neck.

‘Alessio—I can’t wait—don’t wait—’ She writhed, lost in the sensation he was creating. ‘Please—’ But her plea turned to a moan as she felt his mouth fasten over the pink, throbbing tip of her breast. Up until that moment she hadn’t even realised that he’d removed her costume and suddenly she was aware that she was naked. But the feeling that engulfed her wasn’t embarrassment, but desperation.

It seemed that the more he touched her, the more she wanted, and when she felt his hand reach down between her thighs she gave a low moan of encouragement that changed to a gasp as she felt the skilled slide of his fingers.

She felt wild, desperate and totally unlike herself, writhing against him as she tried to relieve the unbearable ache in her pelvis.

‘You feel so good, tesoro,’ Alessio groaned and then gently moved his hand, cupped her bottom and positioned her to his satisfaction.

For a breathless moment she felt the hot, silken tip of his erection against her, and then he brought his mouth down on hers again and entered her with a series of controlled thrusts that drove the breath from her body. He was big, so big that for a moment she tensed, and he must have sensed her sudden apprehension because he paused for a moment and lifted his mouth from hers just enough to speak.

‘I’m hurting you?’

‘No, I—no—’

‘Then relax, tesoro,’ he instructed huskily, ‘and let your body do what it is desperate to do.’ But he lowered his mouth to hers again and kissed her until the explicit movement of his tongue in her mouth made her rake her fingers over the smooth muscle of his shoulders.

She whimpered deep in her throat and he lifted her hips and sank himself deep inside her, his eyes half-open as he watched her abandoned response. And then he withdrew slightly and did it again, creating waves of pure pulsing pleasure that consumed her entire body.

Completely out of control, she clung to him, her cries smothered by his mouth, her body hovering on the edge of ecstasy as he drove her higher and higher. And then finally, when she thought she couldn’t possibly go on any longer, her body exploded around him and the rhythmic pulse of her moist flesh drove him to his own completion.

Alessio held her firmly as he surged into her over and over again and his rhythmic thrusts prolonged her own sensual ecstasy until the whole experience became one long shower of intolerable excitement.

He woke to sunshine and silence and even before he turned his head to glance around the room, he knew he was alone.