by Abby Green
Ciro’s whole body was taut with the effort it was taking him not to swing Lara up into his arms and take her to the nearest horizontal surface, so he could lay her down and banish the demons that had been stalking him for two long years.
She felt like liquid fire in his arms. The soft contours of her body melted into his as if they’d been made especially for him. A ridiculously romantic notion that he didn’t even have the wherewithal to reject right now, because he was so consumed with desire and need.
She tasted of sparkling wine and something much sweeter. And she exuded a kind of blind trust in Ciro, following and mimicking his movements. Darting out her tongue to touch his, as if she was afraid of what might happen if she was bolder. It ratcheted up his levels of arousal to a point where he had to bite back a groan. It reminded him of how she’d been before...which had to be his fevered imagination...
Her effect on him was as explosive as it always had been. Even though he now knew who she was and what she was capable of. It was as if that knowledge had added a darker edge to his desire. Because she was no longer an innocent—if she ever had been.
His hands couldn’t rest on her waist. He had to explore her or die. Tracing over the curve of her hip, and up, he felt the silk of her dress slide over her body under his hand.
Ciro held his breath for a moment when he found and cupped her breast, felt its lush weight filling his hand, the press of her nipple against his palm. He wanted to taste her there, explore the hard nub with his tongue and teeth, make her squirm with pleasure. Make her moan...
Lara was drowning in heat and sensation. She’d never felt so many things at once. It was overwhelming, but utterly addictive. The rough stroke of Ciro’s tongue on hers made her yearn to know what his tongue would feel like on her breast. He squeezed her there and her body vibrated with pleasure. It was too much. It wasn’t enough.
Lara knew that she should pull back, put a stop to this, but some vital part of her resolve was dissolving in Ciro’s arms and a fatal lethargy was taking over. A strong desire to put herself in the hands of this man. To capitulate to his every command.
‘I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you.’
She’d wanted him too—even though it had terrified her. And two years of purgatory had only made that wanting stronger. It was one of her big regrets that Ciro had never made love to her. That she’d had no palpable memory to comfort her in the long and lonely nights of her marriage.
It was also one of the reasons she’d found that superhuman strength to push her husband off her on their wedding night. The thought of any man but Ciro touching her had been utterly repulsive.
And now she was here in Ciro’s arms. And she wanted him to touch her so desperately that she blocked out all the inner voices whispering warnings.
But a tiny sliver of oxygen got to her brain and she pulled back with an effort, struggling to open her eyes and calm her thundering heart.
Ciro’s eyes were so dark they were fathomless. ‘Lara...’
Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth as she said, ‘Is this really a good idea?’
CHAPTER FIVE
A COOL BREEZE skated over Ciro’s skin and he felt a prickle of exposure. Lara looked utterly wanton with her tousled hair and flushed cheeks. Her too-big eyes. Her plump and swollen mouth.
‘Yes. We are consummating this marriage. You want me, Lara. You can’t deny it.’
She looked down for a moment and it incensed Ciro. He had seen the way she’d morphed into another person in front of him once before. He tipped her chin back up, expecting to see some measure of triumph or satisfaction because she knew he couldn’t hide how much he wanted her, but there was nothing in those huge blue eyes except an emotion he couldn’t define. An emotion that caught at his chest, making it tight.
‘Say it, Lara. Admit it.’
She bit her lip and looked at him searchingly, as if trying to find the answer to some riddle. Ciro was so used to women jumping into his arms at the slightest invitation that this was a wholly new experience.
Except it wasn’t. Lara had been like this before. Hesitant. Shy. Lying.
‘I do want you, Ciro. I always have.’
Ciro couldn’t keep the bitterness from his voice when he replied. ‘That was one thing that was honest between us at least.’
Lara didn’t want to be reminded of the past. She wanted to stay in this moment. This moment, when she could almost pretend the previous two years hadn’t happened.
A sense of urgency gripped her and she pressed against Ciro, spreading her hands on his chest. ‘Please, make love to me.’
Ciro looked down at her for such a long moment that Lara instinctively started to pull back, suspecting that perhaps this was all part of his plan to humiliate her when she was at her most vulnerable, but then he made a small rough sound and grabbed her hand, entwining his fingers with hers to lead her back into the palazzo.
Her heart was thundering so loudly she was sure he must be able to hear it. There wasn’t any sign of Isabella or Roberto and Lara was glad. This moment was too raw to be witnessed. This was no benign wedding night consummation.
Lara’s hand felt tiny in Ciro’s and he instinctively tightened his grip, even as he rejected the notion that she was somehow vulnerable.
Disconcertingly, it reminded him of how fragile and delicate she’d felt during the kidnapping. How he’d been afraid he’d hurt her because he was holding her so tight. But they’d ripped her out of his arms anyway, and in that moment Ciro had known—
He shut his rogue thoughts down right there. Not now. Never would he think of that again.
He pushed open his bedroom door and looked at Lara. She met his gaze and there was something indecipherable in her expression. Determined.
She took her hand out of his and walked into the room and over to the bed, kicking off her sandals as she went. She had her back to him and he could see her hands move. The silk dress started to loosen around her body.
She made a movement and he watched her shrug the dress from her shoulders so that it landed in a silken ripple by her feet. He was frozen to the spot, taking in the naked contours of her body covered only by the tiniest wisps of lace across her back and bottom. Nothing—no amount of anticipation—could have prepared him for this moment.
Ciro was glad she was facing away from him because he was convulsed with need and desire. Once again she was reaching inside him and turning his guts inside out—except this time he would slay the dragon, and once he’d had her she would lose the hold she’d had over him since they’d met.
Lara was practically naked, dressed only in her panties and a flimsy lace bra. She could sense Ciro behind her. Looking at her. She wasn’t sure what had possessed her. A moment ago she’d been filled with a sense of bravado, but now little tremors were going through her body at the thought of facing Ciro like this.
And then she heard a rough-sounding, ‘Lara...’
Swallowing her fear, she slowly turned around and Ciro filled her vision. She could see the tension in his body, making him loom even larger than he normally did. Suddenly self-conscious, she crossed one arm over her breasts and covered herself between her legs with the other hand.
Ciro shook his head. ‘No...let me see you. I’ve waited for this for so long.’
After a moment Lara did as he asked, dropping her hands to her sides, clenching them into fists. In the dim light of the room she couldn’t see where Ciro’s dark gaze touched her. But she could feel it. On her breasts, her belly, waist, thighs...between her legs.
Her skin broke into goosebumps.
Ciro walked towards her, his usual grace absent. When he stood in front of her she could see the stark expression of pure need on his face. His eyes were blazing.
‘You are more beautiful than I ever imagined.’
Lara ducked her head, overwhelmed by what she saw in his
eyes. ‘I’m not...truly...’
He tipped up her chin and there was something else on his face now, an expression she couldn’t decipher. Something like frustration.
‘Yes, you are. You really don’t have to put on this act, Lara. It’s just us here now.’
He thought she was acting coy. She was stripped bare, save for some scraps of material. She’d never been more exposed. And he couldn’t see it.
She realised she couldn’t entirely blame him. After all, she’d done her best to convince him she was someone else. Someone who cared more for prestige and social standing than anything else.
‘Lara.’
She looked at him and her whirling thoughts stopped. She sucked in a breath.
‘I need to hear you say it again.’
Lara’s heart squeezed. There was no going back. She needed this as much as he did.
She stepped closer, until they were touching and his clothes caused friction against her naked skin. She went up on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his neck. ‘Please...’ she said.
She trailed her mouth along his jaw, up to where she could feel the rough edges of his scar on the right side of his face. He tensed, and then he put his hands on her arms, hauling her up and closer, before his mouth found hers and the whole world burst into flame.
Lara sensed Ciro shedding his clothes, but while his mouth was on hers she couldn’t focus on anything except his intoxicating scent and the dark sensuality of his kiss. Deep and drugging.
When his hot bare skin met hers she stopped and drew back, dizzy from the kiss, and even dizzier when she saw that Ciro was completely naked. The breath left her body as she feasted unashamedly on his perfect form.
She’d never seen him fully naked. Broad shoulders, a wide, powerful chest with a dusting of dark hair that dissected his abdominals in a tantalising line all the way down to where his arousal jutted proudly between his legs. Her gaze stopped there, heat rising inside her at this very potent evidence of his desire for her.
‘Cara mia...if you keep looking at me like that we won’t make it to the bed.’
With difficulty, Lara raised her gaze to Ciro’s again.
He took her hand and led her over to the bed. ‘Lie down,’ he instructed.
Lara lay down on the bed, hoping that he hadn’t noticed the tremor in her limbs. Ciro stood for a long moment, his dark gaze moving up and down her body. Then he sat on the bed and lifted a hand, tracing the shape of her jaw and her mouth, which was still swollen from his kisses.
He trailed his hand down, dipping his fingers into the hollow at the base of her throat, and then over her chest to her breasts. Her nipples were two hard points, pressing against the delicate lace of her bra.
Ciro tortured her slowly, trailing his fingers between her breasts, under one and then the other, before covering one breast with his palm, its heat and weight making Lara bite her lip. She could feel the point of her nipple stabbing Ciro’s palm, and instinctively she arched her back to push herself into his hand.
His mouth quirked. With an expertise that spoke of his experience he undid the front clasp of her bra and peeled the lace squares back, baring her to his gaze. He squeezed her breast gently and Lara’s breath hitched. She was unprepared for the spiking of pleasure deep down in her core. Then he took his hand away and placed both hands either side of her body, so he could lower his head and...
Lara nearly jack-knifed off the bed when she felt the potent drugging sensation of Ciro’s hot mouth closing over first one nipple and then the other.
He put a hand on her belly, as if to calm her. She was breathing so fast it hurt—but not nearly as much as the exquisite torture of his mouth on her flesh...the hot, wet heat, teeth tugging gently at her sensitised flesh.
Lara’s whole body was on fire now, as the bed dipped and Ciro moved to lie alongside her. The hand on her belly moved down until it rested at the juncture of her legs. With the same expert economical touch he dispensed with her panties, throwing them to the floor. He touched her thigh.
‘Open for me, bella.’
Lara opened her legs and Ciro’s hand slid down to explore where she was so aroused. It was excruciating. It was exquisite. She’d never known anything like it before.
Ciro had been a model of restraint two years before, when he’d discovered she was a virgin. So much so that she’d begun to feel seriously insecure. She’d ached with wanting him but he’d always seemed so in control.
Not any more.
Lara’s nails scored her palms as Ciro massaged her throbbing flesh with his fingers before sliding one deep inside her. The sensation was electrifying. Lara instinctively reached for his wrist but he was remorseless.
‘Trust me, cara mia.’
In the midst of this sensual onslaught Lara felt a dangerous bubble of emotion rise up. She did trust Ciro. Perhaps not with her heart any more, but in a very deep and fundamental way. She’d never expected to see him again, be with him again. Certainly not like this. But she’d fantasised about it in her lonely bed so many times...
Shocked and aghast at the welling of emotion—she shouldn’t be feeling emotion right now!—she almost cried out with relief when Ciro took his hand away and replaced it with his body, settling between her legs as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As if they’d done this dance a million times before.
His weight was heavy and she revelled in it, widening her legs so that he came into closer contact with the cradle of her femininity, where every nerve-ending was pulsating with need.
Ciro had to take a breath and resist the urge to drive deep into Lara’s willing body. He could feel the pulse of her desire against him, and the way she was opening like a flower under his body. He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman like this. Lovemaking for him had always held a certain amount of detachment. But here, right now, he was...consumed.
But then he’d always known instinctively that Lara had a different kind of hold over him. Something he hadn’t encountered before. Something that made him nervous. But right now nerves were gone.
Ciro reached for and found protection, miraculously thinking of it at the last second, rolling it on with uncharacteristic clumsiness.
He positioned himself at the juncture of Lara’s legs and looked down into her eyes. It was another thing he usually avoided with lovers, but with Lara he couldn’t seem to move unless his gaze was locked onto hers.
Her expression was soft, unfocused. Her cheeks were flushed. Damp strands of her hair clung to her forehead. She was biting her lip.
‘Ciro...please.’
In this there was no other Lara. He had undone her, exposed her.
He felt her move beneath him and couldn’t hold on. He plunged deep inside her, feeling every muscle in his body spasming with pleasure at the sheer sensation of his body moving deep into the clasp of hers.
The very tight clasp...
It took a second for him to register in his overheated brain that Lara had tensed, and now she looked anything but unfocused. There was an expression of shock on her face. Awe. And...pain?
Ciro moved slightly and she sucked in a breath. His brain didn’t seem to be working properly. He knew he was big but he’d thought she’d be experienced enough...
‘Lara, am I hurting you?’
‘It’s okay...don’t stop now. Please don’t stop.’
She sounded breathless.
She put her hands on his hips, and even as a very uncomfortable truth made itself graphically known to him Ciro could no more deny his primal urge to move than he could stop breathing.
Lara consciously relaxed her muscles, and for a second she almost cried out because the sensation was so intense. But as Ciro started to move again she could feel the pain easing, her body adapting to his, softening around him. And then, pleasure became the dominant sensation as the steady, rhythmic glide of Ciro
’s body in and out of hers led to a rising excitement, a sense of urgency and desperation that made her reach around to clasp his firm muscular buttocks, silently pleading with him to go deeper, faster...
Lara wasn’t prepared for the sudden rush of intense pleasure. It was so unexpected and overwhelming that it was all she could do to cling on to Ciro as his body bucked into hers, again and again, as he too was torn apart and lost all control, finally slumping against her, his head buried in her neck, his ragged breath warm against her damp skin.
For those few moments while they were still intimately joined, their pulses racing, Lara knew complete contentment. Something she hadn’t experienced in a very long time. But then Ciro moved, and she winced slightly as he extricated himself from her embrace. Her muscles were tender.
Ciro wasn’t looking at her. He sat on the edge of the bed, his back to her, head downbent. His breathing was still uneven. Lara felt a chill skate across her bare flesh and instinctively reached for a sheet to cover herself.
After a moment he got up without a word and went into the bathroom. Lara heard the hiss of the shower. She lay in bed with the sheet pulled up over her chest, totally unsure of herself and not knowing how to behave.
Should she join Ciro in the shower? It seemed like the kind of thing a sophisticated lover would do... But he hadn’t said anything and perhaps he wanted to be alone.
He suddenly emerged from the bathroom, taking Lara by surprise. He had a towel slung around his waist and his skin glistened with moisture. For a second she was breathless at the mere thought that moments ago they’d been joined as intimately as it was possible to be joined with another person.
He said, ‘I’ve run you a bath. You’ll be sore. Then we need to talk.’
Lara swallowed. Had it been that obvious? Had he noticed she was—had been—a virgin?
Feeling totally exposed, and far too vulnerable after what had just happened, Lara got up from the bed as elegantly as she could and went into the bathroom, trailing the sheet behind her.