“The shallows aren’t always a waste of time.”
“They are when diving into the deep end is so rewarding.”
Neither of them was talking about swimming and from the seriousness of his expression now, they both knew it.
“I dove in once before and learned to rue my impetuousness.”
“Which doesn’t mean you should never go diving again.”
“I almost drowned the last time.”
He shook his head. “Not you. You got the breath knocked out of you, but you’re fighting fit again.”
He was right. Baron had hurt her, but her nature didn’t allow for wallowing in misery. She’d picked up and moved on, in every way but her willingness to risk her heart again.
Angelo tapped her nose. “You’re enjoying the water now, admit it.”
“Yes, I am.” What had felt frigidly cold against skin heated by the sun now felt refreshing.
“Diving into deep waters can be terrifying or rewarding depending on who you do your diving with and what kind of water he leads you into.”
Oh, gosh. She didn’t know if she could handle this. He’d been challenging her to see him as a unique individual since the moment they met, but this was more. This was a direct attack on the way she’d been handling relationships for two years.
Or rather avoiding them.
“What kind would I find myself in with you?” she couldn’t help asking.
Strong fingers curled around her waist under the water and she found herself being pulled against him. “The kind that will leave you sated with pleasure.”
“I’ve been sated before, but that didn’t make up for the hurt that came later.”
“No one can guarantee the future, bella mia, but the present is here for us to enjoy.”
There was something extremely intimate about being called an endearment in his mother’s native language. It made her feel special to him. Only that was probably wishful thinking. No doubt, he slipped into Italian with every woman he wanted to bed. It was sexy.
The cynical thoughts made her angry. Was she going to spend the rest of her life thinking the worst of every man who came into it? That made her a victim of her past, not victorious over it and Angelo had been right. She was a strong woman, too strong to let her past control her.
“Yes, the present is here for us to enjoy.”
When his lips covered hers this time, there was no hesitation, no gentle persuasion. It was all raw passion and masculine claim-staking, a sensual demand that she acknowledge his ability and right to give her pleasure.
And she gave it to him through a mouth that willingly molded to his.
Lips cool from the water soon heated against hers and his tongue pressed against her mouth, this time demanding entrance. With a groan of needs long denied, she opened to him. Unlike Baron’s carefully orchestrated seductions, Angelo took her mouth like a conquering marauder. Imprinting himself on every millimeter of the interior, he devastated her lips with a carnality that left her weak.
He lifted her more firmly against him, his reaction to their kiss pressing blatantly against her thighs.
Her breasts ached and swelled in the confines of her halter top, while her most secret flesh grew hot and wetter than the water surrounding them. She laid her hands against the sculpted muscles of his chest, her fingers delighting in the sensation of wet, slick skin covered by curling black hair. The kiss deepened into territory she’d never explored and she dug her nails into his pecs. He groaned against her lips.
A shower of water broke them apart, the sound of laughter around them grating on nerves sensitized by his lovemaking. And it had been lovemaking even if he hadn’t done any more than kiss her. Some of the other partygoers had swum through the low arched partition to the outside and were engaging in a game of tag.
Incapable of the coordination it took to tread water, Tara took advantage of her proximity to the edge to grab it with both hands. She hung there while her body struggled for breath and she tried to regain control over her emotions.
“Do you want me to apologize?” He spoke very close to her ear.
She shook her head, not looking at him. “I was with you all the way.”
“I didn’t mean to lose control, stellina. Public displays of affection are not my thing. The thought of embarrassing a lover leaves me cold.”
But then neither of them had expected the other guests in the pool to follow them inside.
“Stellina?” she asked, not ready to dwell on the implication of her own loss of control or his insinuation she was his lover.
His lips quirked. “Little star.”
Thinking of her five-foot-nine stature, she shook her head. “Hardly that.”