by Laura Breck
“Frightening, isn’t it.” She ran her hands up his arms to his shoulders.
“It was at first, but I realize how I contributed to it by becoming angry.”
She traced his collarbones, settled her hands on his chest. “It really started the day before. My mother. She said some things that made me doubt my own decisions about you.”
“She doesn’t like me.”
“I think it was Monica putting thoughts into her head.” She furrowed her brows. “I want to apologize.”
“You don’t—”
She touched her fingers softly to his lips. “I want to. Looking back, I think it was the warning from my mother about not really knowing you. Then I saw your outline, and my imagination went wild. It was all my fault, and I’m truly sorry.”
He kissed her fingers and held her hand. “It almost ended us, Valerie. I almost let it…” He swallowed. “I talked to Jarrodd, and he gave me some advice in case it happens again.”
“I appreciate that. I met with my therapist, and I think I have it permanently under control.”
“Really. How?”
She patted his chest with her hand and tipped her head. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you.” She stepped back and gestured toward the living room. “Would you like to sit?”
Without a word, he put his hand on her back and walked with her to the couch.
The scent of roses perfumed the air. “Thank you so much for the flowers. They are lovely.”
“You’re welcome.” He sat and put his arm along the back of the couch, wordlessly inviting her to sit next to him.
She sat on the couch but a few feet from him. “And I started to read your manuscript. It’s fascinating. Thank you for sharing it with me. I know how difficult it must have been for you.”
His eyes darkened, intensity flashed from them. “I’ve never let anyone but my editor read my manuscripts. I want you to know how much I trust you.”
“That’s kind of you.” She sounded ungrateful, but she had to tamp down her attraction to him and fight to keep the conversation from becoming too emotionally charged. It was almost impossible, sitting this close, but she needed a clear head to gauge his response.
“Antonio, before you say anything more, I have something to tell you.”
His eyes turned wary.
“This relationship has been difficult for both of us. The spark is definitely there. We feel the attraction. But there’s also anger, secrecy, doubt.”
He shook his head. “Just tell me, Valerie. Are we through?”
“No. I don’t want to give up on us. But I’d like to take a step back.” She would tell him the truth. “After the panic attack, I realized I’d been sitting home waiting for you to become someone else. That was just irrational. I can’t change you, and I can’t realistically ask you to change for me.”
He shifted. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”
She smiled and shook her head. “I’m not looking for anything from you. But in the last week and a half, I’ve made some decisions about my life. Some you may not like.”
His jaw tensed. “What are they?”
“I need to experience more of what dating is all about.” She laughed nervously. “I’ve been so sheltered I haven’t gotten a chance to really know all the different types of men out there.”
“Some of them you don’t want to know.”
“I realize that, but I’ve been selective in my choices.”
His eyebrow went up. “Choices?”
She smiled softly, hoping to console him. “A few men I’d like to explore relationships with.” She laid her hand on his on the back of the couch. “I’m not trying to make you jealous, and I’m not playing games. I just realized my experience is so limited, I’ve been unprepared for the things that have happened to me.”
“You’ve met a few men?” He was stuck on her first sentence? “When did this happen?” Under her fingers, his hand fisted and his eyes narrowed.
Before she could answer, her cell phone rang. “I’m sorry, do you mind if I check that? It might be a patient.” She knew it wasn’t, but this was part of the test.
“No, not at all.”
He was being sarcastic, but she got up and went to her purse and pulled out her phone. “Hm. Long distance.” Pat’s number. She’d texted him and asked him to call when she knew Antonio would be here. She’d felt devious, but she needed to present a strong message to him.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Pat. Is this still a good time? I’m in northern California on a business trip, but I’ll always make time for you, Valerie.”
So sweet. Valerie hated to manipulate Pat this way, but she would do all she could to make it up to him. Somehow. She glanced at Antonio who watched her, and she shrugged her shoulders and walked into the kitchen. “Pat, I’m sorry, but something just came up. Could I call you back?”
“Sure, but just one question, and it won’t take a minute. I’m going to be in Las Vegas this weekend, and I thought we could set a date for an early morning round of golf. I’m online with them now, and if you can make it, I’ll book us a tee time.”
From the kitchen, she watched Antonio. He ran his hand through his hair, his “tell,” letting her know he felt frustrated. He leaned forward, put his elbows on his knees, and banged his fists together.
“Hello?” Pat called.
“I’m here, sorry. Yes, I’d like that. Let me get my calendar.” She walked back into the living room and dug in her purse for her appointment calendar. “Okay. Which day?”
“Saturday, 7 A.M. at the T.P.C. by you.”
She repeated as she wrote. “Seven A.M. at the T.P.C. in Summerlin. I look forward to seeing you.”
“Can’t wait to see you.” Pat sounded excited. She’d either be breaking the golf date, or keeping it and never seeing Antonio again, and the pang of guilt about Pat warred with her heartbreak about Antonio. “Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.” She set her phone and calendar on the table. “I’m really sorry, Antonio.”
“Golf?”
“Pardon me?” She took her spot on the couch.
“You said T.P.C.—the Tournament Players Club. You’re playing golf?”
“Yes, I play. Rarely, and not well. I guess I’ll have to go hit a bucket of balls before my golf date.” She sucked in her breath, looked at him. She didn’t mean to use the word “date.”
“Where’d you meet him?” His voice was low. Too calm.
“In San Diego. He’s a friend of Sloan’s boyfriend.”
“How nice.” Sarcasm again. “He’s coming all this way to play golf with you.”
“Actually, he’s a salesman, and Las Vegas is part of his territory.”
“And the other man you’re dating?”
“Jules has a friend she wants me to meet.”
Antonio took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he banged his fists together again. “Any others?”
“Her cousin just moved back here from—”
“Enough! Shit. It’s been a week, and you’re already going out with three guys?” He visibly tried to calm himself, sat back, and put his arm across the top of the couch.
She looked into his eyes, seeing frustration. “Please don’t think I’m doing this just to get your attention. I know it must seem that way.”
“Damn right it does. And you sure as hell got it.” He looked her up and down. “Woman, you need to know something. There is only one man for you, and he’s sitting right in front of you.”
Chapter Nineteen
Antonio’s words made Valerie weak. His eyes were piercing, looking at her with passion, not anger. Her womb pulsed with sexual longing, her nipples hardened as chills ran up her spine. God, how she wanted him. All he had to do was act territorial instead of furious, and she turned into a quivering mass of nerve endings.
He was the one.
And it was the right time.
She nodded, dropped her hands in her lap, palms up. “You’re ri
ght. I wish I could deny it, Antonio.”
He narrowed his eyes, staring into hers. “What are you saying?”
“I don’t know what I was thinking, wanting to see other men.”
“There are no other men.”
“Why would I deny it? What else am I looking for in a man?”
“You’re looking for stability.”
“Yes. Stability.” She touched his hand on the back of the couch. Her eyelids felt droopy, like she was in a trance.
“A man without a hair-trigger temper.”
She moved closer, put her hand under his shirt sleeve, felt his powerful muscles. “No hair-trigger.”
He laughed at her double entendre. “And someone you can trust.”
“Trust is important.” She put her other hand on his thigh, felt him tense.
“What about honesty?”
She moved her hand from his thigh to his chest, over his heart. “It will come with time.”
“And the hottest sex, the most mind-blowing orgasms you’ll ever live through.”
“Yes, I want the sex,” she whispered, beginning to float.
He sprang. As if after holding himself so tightly, in one fast motion, in one second, he pulled her onto his lap, one hand at the nape of her neck, the other on her stomach.
“When?” His eyes burned.
“Now. I need you now, Antonio.”
He groaned, pressed his lips to hers. “Say it again.”
“Antonio. Prendete mi! Lo sono.”
His mouth ravished hers, his tongue frenzied. She met him just as fiercely, her tongue tasting him, exploring his mouth. Their breath mingled. She sighed delicately then moaned as his hand moved from her stomach, lower, just the slightest touch of his fingers making her quiver.
He took his lips from hers, looked into her eyes. “Upstairs?”
She nodded. “Mm hm.” She stood, and her knees shook. When he stood and looked down at her, she felt completely feminine and powerfully seductive. She put her hands on his chest. “I’ve wanted you in my bed for so long.”
His nostrils flared. His breath was labored, like he’d run a mile. “Move, woman, or it’s going to happen here on the couch.”
She smiled. “You don’t want this moment to last forever?”
“Mi uccidi!”
“I am a tease. You told me that once before.”
“And I believe you called me a horny bastard.”
“Come with me.” She led him by the hand to the stairs. As they walked up to the second floor, she looked at his handsome face. His eyes watched her every move.
Her bedroom was softly lit from the glow of The Strip. At the bed, she stopped and turned to him.
“Valerie. My God, you’re beautiful.” He kissed her, so completely dominating her it was as if her muscles failed. Between soulful kisses, he whispered sweet Italian love words and removed her halter top. His shirt came off next, and when he pulled her against him, she rubbed her rock-hard nipples against his chest.
“Yes, that’s perfect. Torture me.”
She reached down and grabbed his belt buckle.
He said through clenched teeth, “Spogliami.”
She gladly obeyed, unbuckling, unbuttoning, unzipping. She pulled his pants down, let them drop to the floor, and he kicked them away. She looked at his underwear. They were very brief, very sexy, and did not contain his hard shaft at all.
“It’s huge,” she heard herself say then looked into his eyes, feeling a little nervous.
“You can take it all, Valerie. It will be perfect inside you. I’ll go slowly, baby.”
She reached down, touched him.
He jerked as if a thousand volts shot through his body. Her gaze shot to his. “Feels good. Don’t stop.” The words sounded harsh, like gravel.
She freed him from his underwear, slid them down his legs to the floor, and he kicked them away immediately. She looked at his hard cock then wrapped her hand around him.
He groaned and shuddered. “Unbelievable. I’m going out of my mind.”
She could become addicted to this intense passion. She smiled seductively up at him. He put his hands on her shoulders, his eyes smoldering with red-hot tension.
“Antonio, you are fantastic. More perfect than I imagined.”
He picked her up in his powerful arms, and she let out a surprised, “Oh.” Setting her down on the silk bedding, he placed his hands on each side of her waist and just looked at her, her face, her breasts. Her breath came faster, the tingling in her nipples increased as his breath grew heavy.
“Beautiful. A goddess.”
She bit her lower lip, looked into his eyes, reached down, and unzipped her shorts. “Antonio.” She lifted her arms to him, and he slowly lowered himself to lie on her, the feeling of his hard body pressing her into the soft mattress exciting, overwhelming. Her anticipation grew, she felt the pulsing low in her body, hot, wet, ready for him. Then he rolled over, and she was on top. He slid her shorts down her legs. She wiggled and kicked until they were off.
“Birth control?” he asked.
“I’m on the pill.”
He looked surprised. “Since when?”
“Since the day at the Omelet House.”
His hand on her neck, he traced her lower lip with his thumb. “For me?”
“Yes.” She kissed the tip. “Only for you.”
He pulled back. “I want you to know I was tested. I’m clean. But if you want me to wear protection, I will.”
She touched his face, shook her head. “No. I want to feel every hot inch of you, skin on skin.”
He groaned, rolled them over again, and she was on the bottom. Looking into her eyes, he took a breath. “I’m going to make love to you, Valerie. It will be slow and hot. I want you to talk to me. Tell me what you like. Tell me how you like it.”
His voice made every inch of her quiver, his scent invaded her mind, the heat of his body scalded her flesh. Her eyes closed, and she could come any second.
“Hang on. I know what you want, but if you wait—”
“No.” She grabbed his hand, boldly moved it to her panties. “Now.”
He laughed seductively. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.” He put his hand into her panties, found her clit, and vibrated his finger.
Seconds later, she exploded. “Yes! Antonio. Yes!” Her brain filled with a million stars all spinning, racing through her bloodstream, centering on his finger as her body shook in rhythm with his pace. She sucked in a breath, held it, and floated gently back to earth.
“Selfish.”
She smiled with her eyes closed. “I am. Always have been.”
“Always will be?”
She opened her eyes and put her hands at the nape of his neck. “Teach me to share.”
He groaned. “My turn.” He ducked his head, took one nipple in his mouth.
She let her fingernails dig into his shoulders as his tongue teased her. Nipping, licking, sucking. He held her nipple between his teeth and performed some kind of miracle that made her want to climax again. Then he released it only to do the same to the other one.
She grabbed his hair, encouraging him to continue. She let out a squeal. “That is amazing.”
He hummed his agreement, and the vibration of his mouth sent pleasure streaming from her breast down low to her belly.
He kissed her between her breasts then lifted his head and looked into her eyes. She could barely keep hers open, the pleasure was intense. His tongue tasted her, and she shuddered, let out a breathy sigh.
“You like?”
“Oh, yes. Don’t stop.”
He smiled and kissed her again, teasing with his tongue. He sucked her skin, bit gently. Inching his way down her body. At her ribs, he traced the ridges with his tongue. Down lower at her belly button, he kissed then dipped his tongue in, circling, sending waves of pleasure to her core.
He sucked the skin of her belly, nibbled. “You taste good, Valerie. I want to eat you.”
His words
sent her drifting toward another climax. “Do it.” She didn’t care how wanton she sounded.
He laughed softly. “Demanding, too. The perfect woman for me.” Then his lips were on her panties. “If your underwear wasn’t so damn cute, I’d rip it off with my teeth.”
“Go ahead. I can buy more.”
He pressed his lips to her muff. “Uh uh. I want to save these. Keep them in my pocket and smell your sexy body when we’re apart.”
She felt herself going over the edge. “Now, Antonio. I can’t wait.”
He taunted her, “No, sweet. You need to wait. You’ve had one orgasm already. Control yourself.”
“Please?” she said sweetly, hoping he would have mercy on her.
“Woman.” He pulled her underwear down quickly, gently pressed her thighs apart, spread her lips. He held her hips, his tongue creating magic on her bud, flicking expertly, bringing her to an amazing orgasm. This time it was fireworks. They exploded in her brain, her body convulsed as each new wave of color shot through her. It went on and on, longer than she thought possible. She was breathless and could barely see when the climax ended.
She lifted her head weakly, looked down at him. He smiled at her from between her legs. “Selfish, demanding, and manipulative. Everything I’ve been looking for in a woman.”
She dropped her head back onto the bed with a satisfied laugh. “You are fantastic. I’m completely exhausted.”
“Do you need to rest a few minutes?”
“Just a few, if you…” Her voice trailed off. It felt like her brain totally disengaged.
“Baby, you taste so good.” His hand caressed her thighs. “Beautiful. Absolute perfection.” He blew softly on her sensitive flesh. It was exquisitely erotic.
How did he know exactly what to do to make her crazy? His tongue touched her swollen skin. Softly, gently, teasing. Her nerve endings pulsated with the lovely sensation.
She heard herself moan again then squeal as his tongue plunged into her, withdrew, plunged, withdrew, over and over again. Her blood coursed through her, heating and sensitizing every inch of her flesh.
When he stopped, she looked down at him. Sexy, like a Roman god poised between her legs, pleasuring her, making her too weak to do anything but let him.