His black jumper pulled across the powerful muscles of his shoulders as he leaned forward and his jeans were tight over his thighs.
Suddenly her throat dried and she swung her legs off the sofa and stood up.
‘Luca…’
He put the poker down on the hearth and turned, his eyes darkening as they clashed with hers.
‘Luca, I don’t think… I— Would you—?’ She broke off, blushing furiously but he rose to his feet in a fluid movement and walked slowly towards her.
She waited, breathless, for him to speak, but he didn’t. Instead he stopped only inches away from her, his eyes still burning into hers. And then he lowered his head and covered her mouth with his, lifting his hands slowly and stroking his fingers down her cheeks as he kissed her.
His hands slid round the back of her head, angling her face so that he had better access to her mouth, and she felt the tip of his tongue slide between her lips.
Her body started to tremble and she kissed him back, her tongue tangling with his, her hands sliding under the wool of his jumper and settling on the silken smoothness of his hot flesh.
There was surely
no one else in the world who could kiss like Luca.
She didn’t feel him move, but suddenly she was lying on the soft rug in front of the flickering fire. They were both breathing rapidly and he stared down at her for a long moment, as if unsure about something.
Surely he wasn’t going to change his mind? Not now…
‘Luca.’ She slid her hands further under his jumper, loving the feel of his hard muscles, loving his strength. Impatient to feel more of him, she pushed the soft fabric up his body and he sat back on his heels and dragged the garment over his head, throwing it carelessly onto the floor next to them.
Tia could barely breathe. Impatient for more, she lifted her hands and reached for his zip.
He smiled. A wicked, intimate smile that made her groan in desperation.
‘Patience, cara mia.’ He lowered himself onto her, carefully supporting his weight on his elbows, and this time his kiss was hot and purposeful, and she knew with a shiver of excitement that this was a kiss that was going all the way.
It was like holding a flame to dry timber. Something inside her ignited and the flames spread, licking through her trembling, quivering body
Her hands slid behind his neck, drawing him closer, and her heart thudded uncontrollably as he kissed her with a savage passion.
Somehow the buttons of her dress were undone and he dragged his mouth away from hers, his breathing laboured, his eyes dark with need as he wrenched the dress down her body. Frantic to feel him against her she used her legs to kick it away, her heart pounding as she felt his long, skilled fingers slip inside the elastic of her panties.
It had been so long…
His name on her lips was barely more than a whisper as he touched her intimately, as only he ever had, his fingers working a magic that left her shaking with need.
Impatiently she pushed his trousers down his hips, feeling the comforting weight of his muscular body press down on her as he parted her thighs. She felt his hard hands on her buttocks as he guided her closer to him and then he paused.
He said something in Italian that she didn’t understand, hesitating for just long enough to drive her wild with frustration.
‘Luca, please…’ She lifted her hips towards him and he altered his position, entering her smoothly and slowly, with none of the fierce desperation that had characterised their previous encounters.
But his touch was all the more arousing for its unusual gentleness. Instead of slaking their need with driving force, he took her slowly, introducing her to an eroticism that she’d never known before. Hypnotised by the heat in his eyes, she gazed up at him, the incredible intimacy between them making her breathless. In the past there had been an edge of violence to their love-making, a mutual desperation that had driven them both wild. But this time his movements were slow and deliberate, building the excitement between them to an almost intolerable level.
Still holding his gaze, she slid her hands over his hard buttocks, urging him still closer, and she felt him move deep inside her, filling her and driving her towards completion.
Then he lowered his dark head and his mouth closed over hers again, his tongue touching hers, tasting, seducing until she felt a throbbing need build inside her. As spasms of pleasure convulsed her body she felt him tighten his grip and knew that he’d reached the same pinnacle.
She held him tightly, her eyes squeezed closed as she tried to bring herself back to earth, tried to cope with the turmoil of her emotions.
Despite all her efforts, tears stung her eyelids and slid down her cheeks. He’d made love to her so gently, so possessively, and yet he still hadn’t said that he loved her.
Was he still thinking about Luisa?