Our Little Secret

by Rachael Stewart

  ‘What is it?’ he murmurs against my skin, his tongue flicking beneath my earlobe before taking it between his teeth. Oh, yes!

  ‘I don’t want to disappoint.’

  He chuckles low in his throat, the sound rumbling through me and provoking my throbbing, orgasm-starved clit. ‘Never.’

  I bite into my lower lip and clutch his head to me as his hands rake down my sides and beneath my breasts, the light fabric of my dress doing nothing to hinder the heat of his touch.

  ‘Your skin is so soft, your scent...intoxicating.’

  The compliments run off his tongue and merge with the sweetness of his sympathy and his compassion. I’m not boring in my grief, not to him—a man who doesn’t even enjoy a healthy relationship with his own mother.

  Strict, severe, controlling, hard... All words I’ve heard to describe him, words I’d have used myself based on what I knew of him. Hell, Dani wasn’t entirely convinced he’d even show up this week. She doubted him. Meanwhile, he’s been off buying a whole castle and vineyard to match, all to make his little sister happy.

  ‘You’re making me dizzy...’ Dizzy on the rush, dizzy on the confusion. How can Dani have doubted him?

  ‘I’m about to make you more so.’

  His head lifts, his eyes burning into mine as he slips his hands beneath the straps of my dress and bra. My skin thrums beneath his delicate touch as he traces the line of my shoulders. Heat floods my belly, my breasts, my blood, and my nipples prickle, ready for the first sweep of air as he coaxes my clothing away.

  ‘Ever since I saw you last night, I have fantasised about you.’

  Fantasised? About me? I can’t breathe as the excited rush of his confession consumes me. It sounds too good to be true, feels too good to be true. Yet looking into the fire in his eyes I know he means it.

  ‘Your eyes...’ he murmurs, reaching round my back and unhooking my bra clasp. I lower my arms and let it fall to the floor, my eyes lost in the sincerity, the passion, of his.

  ‘Your lips...’

  He eases my dress down and it pools at my feet, the coolness of the air-conditioned room caressing my naked skin. He leans in, his shirt a delicate tease against my breasts, and it’s enough to make me whimper. His mouth lifts at the corners and his eyes flare. He raises his fingers to my chin and runs the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip, dragging it down as he slips his tongue inside, deep, unyielding, slow. I’ve never felt anything more erotic, never been more aware of every touch, of every sound.

  ‘Your mouth is made for sin, cara mia.’

  Sin... It sounds even sexier on his tongue, with his lips brushing against mine, his breath merging with my own.

  ‘It’s enough to drive a man insane. The way you wet your lips, the way you bite down just here... The things it makes a man think of...’

  My clit pulses. The things he’s making me think of right now...

  ‘The things it makes me think of...’ It’s as if he’s in my head. The raw edge to his voice projects every one of those thoughts into my mind and the liquid heat spreads between my thighs, upping the throbbing ache down low.

  I want to take him in my mouth. I want to wrap my lips around him and tease him.

  I want it all.

  ‘But your body...’

  He steps back and the cool air sweeps between us, making my skin prickle up, making me feel exposed and self-conscious. Sunlight streams in from the large glass doors, illuminating my naked skin, my thong and sandals all that I am left in.

  ‘No, cara.’ He reaches for my hands as I attempt to cover myself, his fingers gentle around my wrists as he moves them back to my side. ‘It’s a crime to have your body so unloved, so neglected. Let me fix that.’

  Dani’s words come back to me. He is the fixer; he’ll make everything right. I almost laugh.

  ‘Then come back here.’ I lift my chin, injecting the confidence I want to feel, reminding myself that this is the new me. A better me. With the lust for life I used to possess. I’ve been through the wringer and come out stronger for it. ‘Do as you say.’

  ‘Patience.’ His eyes dance and burn in the sunlight as he steps close again. ‘Sex cannot be rushed.’

  Now I laugh, soft and breathy. ‘I beg to differ.’

  ‘Okay, sometimes it can be rushed.’ His grin makes my pulse skip. ‘But not when you’ve been without for so long.’

  He combs his hands through the hair at the base of my neck and my skin zings beneath his touch. How is it possible that a simple caress can make me feel this alive head to toe?

  ‘I intend to make sure that this one time...’ his fingers massage into my scalp, stroking, soothing, hypnotising, as his eyes fixed on mine work the same magic ‘...is something you remember long after we part.’

  I shiver with his promise, with the knowledge that I know he can deliver on it, but there’s the persistent voice at the back of my mind, the responsible one. ‘We don’t have long; we need to get out there and deal with your mother.’

  ‘My mother...’ his eyes flash ‘...will be in her room, having ordered a breakfast she will hardly eat, making up for it with champagne and taking several hours to put on her face. She will not bother Dani any further for now.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘Because I know her.’ He kisses me deep. ‘And now I want no more talk of her. Agreed?’

  ‘Agreed.’

  ‘Eyes closed, cara, just feel...concentrate on my touch.’

  I dutifully do as he asks.

  ‘Bene,’ he whispers, close, so close I can feel his breath sweep against my cheek, his fingers light and soft as they trail tantalisingly down my sides.

  I suck in my stomach, try to contain the wild flutters taking off inside. Everything is so much more like this. Blind. Unexpected.

  His fingers splay out, his palms smoothing down, beneath the waistband of my thong as he takes it with him, leaving it caught around my ankles.

  ‘I want to taste you.’ His breath sweeps over the wet curls between my legs and I shiver with the delicious little ripple that runs through me. He’s there. Right, there! And I claw the wall, wait for that first touch, his mouth, his tongue...but he rises, his fierce kiss cutting off the frustrated whimper I can’t contain.

  ‘Your mouth tastes of heaven, but your pussy...’ he murmurs, his hands cupping my jaw. ‘That will be the true feast.’

  I bite into my lip, arch back as he takes his time to travel down once more, licking and nipping at my flesh. He rolls his thumb and forefinger over one nipple and I tremble. His mouth surrounds the other and he sucks it in deep. The combined onslaught making me moan, my body writhe.

  ‘Part your legs for me, cara.’

  I do as he says, pulling my thong taut against my ankles.

  ‘Bene.’

  I know I’m spread open to him, that he can see it all, and I can hear the passion in his voice, the way my surrender makes him feel. His tongue scoops inside my seam and parts me, flicking over my hammering clit, and I buck, my cry loud, desperate.

  He does it again and again, surrounding me with his mouth, and he sucks back hard.

  ‘Molto bene.’

  Tasty. He thinks I’m tasty. I fling my hands out, bury them in his hair. He has me going out of my mind. Never have I been so devoured, so thoroughly tongued and ravished. Never have I felt so desired.

  He separates my folds with his fingers and I feel his eyes burning into my clit. I want to see; I need to see. I drop my head forward and open my eyes to watch him dip to my exposed clit, and softly—oh, so softly—his tongue circles over me. The colour streaking his cheeks tells me how much he’s into this too, how much he wants me in return.

  ‘Rafael...’

  It’s a groan, a plea. His eyes flick to mine and the fire, the hunger, sucks away my ability to breathe. He leans back in, surrounding me ane
w, his appreciative growl rumbling over the clustered nerve-endings and my entire body quivers. I’m going to come. I’m really going to come. But I don’t want to. Not yet.

  I want to draw this out. I want to prolong the pleasure, the illicit heat that’s whipping through me. I just need to hold onto it. Keep it there...

  I run my hands through his hair and watch as his long, lithe fingers part me to the fierce work of his mouth, his tongue. I feel suffocated by the fight to contain it, the pleasure-filled explosion that I’m on the cusp of experiencing.

  I try to drag him up, to tell him with my actions that I want him inside me, and he shakes his head.

  ‘No, cara, you will come for me like this.’

  His mouth descends, his tongue flicking over my clit in a rhythm that has my eyes wanting to roll back in my head. I arch back, my hands locked in his hair, my body rigid as every sense hones in on his attention. There’s the pressure of his fingers as he holds me in place, the air-conditioned breeze that sweeps over my sensitised skin, and the heat of the sunlight that streaks across me.

  I know how wanton I must look, I know how desperate, but never have I felt more alive, more in control of my own pleasure, of taking what my body needs. Argh!

  I explode from within, my entire body pulsing with such acute pleasure that my cry erupts from deep inside, animalistic and foreign to my own ears. I’m shaking and bucking. Ripple after ripple runs through me as his mouth stays fixed upon me, his tongue softening over the sensitised nub. I claw at his hair and clutch him to me as my head falls forward, my eyes latching on to his as the aftershocks work their way through me, and so much passes in that one look. Gratitude rises up. Gratitude and so much more.

  ‘Thank you,’ I whisper.

  He presses a kiss to my curls, to the inside of my thigh, and looks up at me, his grin carnal, his mouth all wet with my need. ‘You wish to thank me, cara?’

  ‘Hell, yeah.’

  He gives a throaty chuckle, a sound I’m quickly getting hooked on, and rises slowly up my body, taking his time over my skin, nuzzling every curve, kissing every sensitised spot he has uncovered.

  ‘I don’t need thanking...’

  He reaches my lips and teases them apart, his tongue grazing softly against mine.

  ‘I believe I enjoyed it just as—’

  A rap on the door cuts him off and we look to it, wide-eyed. Panic rises up inside me, my entire body flushing with heat that has nothing to do with my orgasm and everything to do with being caught.

  Another rap. ‘Rafael, you in there?’

  Our eyes lock together.

  ‘Tyler,’ we say in unison.

  ‘I’ll deal with it.’ He presses a kiss to my gaping mouth and heads to the door while I wriggle back into my thong and scramble to collect up my clothing.

  He pauses with a hand on the door handle to give me time to race across the room to the bathroom that I can see through a stone archway. I hear the door open as I disappear around the corner and pin myself to the wall. Hastily, I pull on my bra, shoving my breasts inside. It’s not as though Tyler can see me, but the idea of standing just a few strides away unclothed...

  As for Rafael, he’s currently sporting an erection in his beige chinos that no one could miss. Tyler included. Oh, God.

  ‘Tyler, what’s up?’

  I’m impressed at how normal Rafael sounds. As if he hasn’t just been tongue-deep in my pussy. And even the thought alone reignites my clit. I bite into my lip and step into my dress.

  ‘Hey. It’s your cousin, Dante.’ I hear Tyler walk into the room and press myself back against the cool Venetian plaster, eyes on the ceiling as I focus on the pattern in the plaster work and silently plead for him to be quick. ‘He’s been trying to get hold of you.’

  ‘He has?’

  ‘Yeah. Hey, you all right? You look a little...flushed.’

  Flushed. I squeeze my eyes shut. Okay, so Rafael sounds fine, but he clearly doesn’t look it. I just hope Tyler doesn’t look below waist height!

  ‘I’m fine. Not long been back from my run and I went at it hard.’

  My eyes open and I press my lips together. He went at it seriously hard. My mind wanders to what else is still hard, and the pining throb in my clit deepens.

  ‘I should have joined you.’ He blows out a breath and I trap the laugh that’s desperate to erupt. It emerges as a squeak and I clamp a hand over my mouth. ‘What...? Did you hear that?’

  Silence. I hold my breath.

  ‘No. Didn’t hear a thing. Anyway, you were saying Dante’s been trying to reach me?’

  Tyler lets out a heavy sigh. ‘Yeah, he has. Seriously, man, I swear we should’ve just eloped.’

  ‘Like my sister would have let you.’

  ‘True. But it’s only day one and I already feel like a storm is approaching.’

  Rafael gives a laugh. ‘Welcome to the Perez family!’

  ‘Thanks for the encouragement.’ I can hear Tyler’s grimace.

  ‘You’ll get used to it soon enough. Just tell me what’s going on. You and Dani are supposed to pass all the stress my way this week. I know Marianna’s kicking up a storm, but I’ll deal with that shortly. What’s up with Dante?’

  ‘I’m not sure, just that it’s urgent and he’s been trying to call you, but you’re not picking up.’

  Rafael curses under his breath. ‘I must have been in the shower. I’ll give him a call now. In the meantime, why don’t you take Dani out to enjoy the grounds before everyone else arrives and chaos truly descends?’

  ‘I think I’d rather hit the bar. Remind me why your family is so complicated?’

  I wince. I can just imagine the shutter falling over Rafael’s expression.

  ‘You were the one who decided Dani was worth dealing with the rest of us.’

  Tyler laughs. ‘It’s true. That woman is worth putting up with every one of you eccentric Perezes.’

  I hear them make for the door and the gentle creak of the antique hinges as it swings open.

  ‘On a serious note, though,’ Rafael says, and I can hear the sincerity in his voice. I feel it warm me to my toes. ‘Leave the stressing to me, si?’

  ‘Will do, Raf. And thanks.’

  ‘Prego.’

  The door clicks shut and I let out a breath. Thank goodness that’s over. I push away from the wall and head back into the room.

  Rafael has his palm pressed against the door, his head down and shoulders hunched.

  ‘That was close,’ I say quietly.

  He spins to face me, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. ‘What’s life without a little danger, eh?’

  He walks to the bedside table, picks up the phone that’s there and grimaces at the screen. ‘I need to call my cousin back.’

  ‘Of course.’ I chew the corner of my mouth. This isn’t awkward. Not at all. I’m kind of in limbo. My body is still reeling from an orgasm so intense I feel like jelly inside and out, but there’s a pressing urge to express something, anything. ‘I’ll... I’ll leave you to it.’

  ‘Faye?’ His fingers are soft as they close around my wrist and he waits for me to meet his eye. ‘I’m sorry I need to deal with this.’

  I shake my head. ‘I’m the one who’s sorry. Hardly seems fair that I get to have fun and leave while you...’ I shrug.

  His smile lights up his eyes now and it makes everything better in an instant. ‘I had fun, believe me.’

  I laugh softly. ‘You know what I mean.’

  ‘I do.’

  One second passes, two, and I force myself to pull away. He has to call his cousin; he doesn’t have time for this.

  ‘Wait,’ he says, and my heart lurches. ‘Let me check the way is clear.’

  I don’t know what I hoped he would say, but my heart sinks just as quickly. He walks ahead of me, scooping up
a pastry on the way, and opens the door. He does a quick sweep, turning back a second later.

  ‘Clear.’

  I laugh again. ‘I feel like a naughty schoolgirl sneaking about after hours.’

  His eyes flare. ‘Are you trying to tease me?’

  My lower belly comes alive. ‘I wouldn’t dare.’

  I smile as I pass him, feeling lighter than air, happy that the connection between us is just as strong as it was before I got my rocks off.

  ‘Take this with you.’

  I cock one eyebrow at the pastry he offers to me. It looks very much like a croissant. A very sweet and carb-loaded croissant. ‘Doesn’t it defeat the point of going for a run this morning, eating all this naughtiness?’

  ‘These are the reason I run.’

  I take it from him with a grin. ‘You have a sweet tooth?’

  ‘And that surprises you?’

  ‘Yes.’ My grin widens. ‘You’re really not what I expected, Rafael Perez.’

  He frowns as his eyes sparkle. ‘What did you expect?’

  ‘I don’t dare say. You’ll have to ask Dani.’

  He laughs, low and husky. ‘Fair enough. Now go, and when you bite into it, and your taste buds dance, know that it tastes only a fraction as good as you do.’

  I’m on cloud nine as I walk away, nibbling at the delicious pastry, his soft, ‘Ciao, bella,’ following behind.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Danielle and Tyler’s Wedding Week

  Monday: Dive and Dine. Poolside, two p.m.

  ‘SI, DANTE, CIAO.’

  I end the second call with my cousin that day and place my phone on the antique escritoire that sits alongside the opening to my balcony. It’s positioned to make the most of the view, and as I take up my drink, I do just that. I try to lose myself in the rolling hills as I massage the knot at the base of my skull.

  It’s no use, though. Neither my fingers nor the view can work the same magic as Faye and take away the pressure that’s been building since my showdown with Marianna. As for her ‘issues’, I’ve had the staff move her to a room at the front of the house, which makes the most of the stunning landscape but brings her far too close to my wing. And I had the ‘talk’ about suitable male companions—more to pay lip service to the idea than actually to acquiesce and, for now, she is quiet.