And he had a lot!
Ida had wanted to explore his body and now he let her, with the proviso that his trousers stayed on and she only touched bare flesh.
She was fascinated by his hands, the sweeping indent of his back, the wide sprawl of his shoulders, and the way he jumped when she rolled him over then sat astride him and nipped tiny scraping kisses down his neck.
He was sensitive just below the shoulder blades, and just above his hip. Ida felt a tiny tremor of response when she kissed him there. Heard his hissed breath when she kissed her way down his chest, her hair trailing over him. She was fascinated by the counterpoint of hot, satiny skin and that smattering of hair that felt so good to the touch. How would it feel against her bare breasts?
This was her opportunity to find out. Tonight, the wedding night they’d never had, she could do what she wanted, secure in the knowledge she could walk away tomorrow and never look back.
A sharp pang sheared through her, making her pause.
‘Ida? Is something wrong?’
She slanted a look at Cesare, lying with his hands behind his head, biceps curled in a way that created another tight curl, this time in her pelvis. A sexual response, she assured herself, but something more too.Thatdisturbed her.
This was supposed to be a fleeting thing, a chance to satisfy and finally eradicate that edgy feeling of need.
‘What could be wrong?’
Ida had been alone so long, depending on no one but herself. This yearning for connection rocked her.
Of all the people in the world, Cesare was the last to want more from her than a single night. She couldn’t let her mind stray to impossibilities.
She’d make the most of tonight then move on. There was no other option.
‘I can’t imagine,’ he said and reached out, pulling her to him. He held her for a long moment, liquid dark eyes intent on her. ‘You would tell me if there’s a problem.’
It was neither a question nor a statement. A command perhaps. Therewassomething intrinsically commanding about him, even half-dressed. Especially half-dressed, for there was no mistaking his strength and aura of certainty.
Ida envied him. For years she’d felt weak and worried.
But she didn’t feel that way as he flicked her bra undone.
She barely had time to realise what he’d done when his hands and mouth were on her and that glorious conflagration started again, fed by his outrageously extravagant praise.
After that, things blurred again. Another swipe of his hands and her underwear was completely gone. Then Cesare set about exploring her even more thoroughly than she had him.
This man had a sixth sense where her body was concerned. He knew, or quickly discovered, where to touch to make her breath catch and her body burn.
By the time he drew back, reaching for the buckle of his belt, Ida was spent, sprawled boneless on the bed, her body shimmering with pleasure after another exquisite climax.
Even so, the sight of Cesare tugging at his belt then rising and pushing the last of his clothes to the floor made every hormone sit up and take note. Watching him roll on a condom was unbelievably arousing, even for a woman who should be comatose from bliss.
The man was beautiful. His body all symmetry and entrancing planes. Ida’s gaze dropped to those heavy thighs and above them a spear of an erection that looked potently impressive.
She thought of their difference in size and about scary stories she’d heard of disastrous first times.
Then Cesare’s mouth quirked up at one side, probably because of how she stared, and her tremble of nerves subsided. Theirs might be a temporary alliance, but he’d proven patient and considerate.
Remarkable as it was,she trusted him.
Ida met his smile with one of her own and lay back, waiting.
That smile. That body.
Did Ida have any idea how she tested his control, lying there looking so tempting? So outrageously seductive and adorably rumpled?
Adorably? Surely not. Yet there was something about her mix of enthusiasm and almost unconscious allure that made him feel protective as well as aroused.