by Anna Hackett
She felt dirty. She jerked backward. “I will never want you, Corus. Or the evil you offer.”
His eyes turned hard. “I offer you what the WindKeeper won’t.”
“What you offer is nothing compared to Antonio.”
He hissed. “You think he offers more than me? He is no better than me. All he can give you is the fire and passion of lust.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Fine.” Corus tossed his head back. “I’ll leave you to suffer. You will never have any satisfaction from Venti.” His dangerous smirk reappeared. “In fact, I think my nemesis is too far gone. Not even you can save him now.”
Her eyes widened. What the hell was he talking about? She glanced up at the upper level.
“You’re far too late.” Corus laughed as he melted away into the shadows. “Soon he will be exactly like me.”
Sophia ran. She slammed open the door and clambered up the stairs, uncaring that two museum employees gawked at her like she’d lost her mind.
She ran past the desk of Antonio’s assistant, heedless of the woman’s call to stop, and skidded to a stop at his door. She rapped her knuckles against the wood. “Antonio?”
Ominous silence.
Heart in her throat, she turned the handle. She slipped inside and closed the door behind her.
A huge window showcased a perfect view of the terracotta dome of the Duomo and the rooftops of Florence. But the office was empty. No Antonio.
A shudder ran through her and she sagged against the door. Corus had been winding her up.
Then she heard a groan.
“Antonio?” She hurried across the room, skirting the big desk.
He was on his knees. Perspiration shone on his face and dampened his hair. He looked up at her through tortured eyes. “Sophia.” A spasm crossed his face. “Get out of here.”
She reached out, her hand hovering near his face. She didn’t know if she should touch him. “How can I help you?”
He shook his head, the movement slow. “I’ve lost control. The lust is…dragging me under. You need to go before I hurt you.”
She swallowed. She’d spent a year running from everything. Running from her heartache, her loss. Running from life. She’d closed herself off and stopped trusting herself.
Now, with this man who needed her help, she was going to take the biggest risk of her life. “I’m not leaving you.”
Chapter Five
Sophia jabbed the button on the intercom on Antonio’s desk. “Claudia, can you have Signor Venti’s car brought round, per favore?”
“Si, Signorina Crane,” Antonio’s assistant answered.
Sophia stared down at his dark head, touched a hand to his hair. “You can fight this.”
He gripped her wrist in a tight clasp, almost crushing her bones. He dragged her closer and delved under her skirt, his hands cupping her buttocks and his face pressing against her belly.
She trembled. She felt his hot breath through the fabric of her skirt and desire rushed through her.
He looked up, his eyes threaded with fire. “You’re playing a dangerous game.” His fingers caressed her, sliding lower, brushing her through the thin barrier of her panties.
“This isn’t a game.”
He yanked her down, his mouth capturing hers. His hard arms wrapped around her, holding her tight as his lips, tongue and teeth ravished her. She accepted the wild kiss, returned it. Slowly, she felt a little of his control return.
She tangled her hands into his dark hair and broke the kiss. “I trust you, Antonio. I know you can control this.”
A grimace crossed his face and his hands slid away from her. “Damn you for being so stubborn.”
She used her strength to get him to his feet. “I told you before, I can help you. I’ve been running from everything for too long…I’ve decided it’s time to stop.”
“Hell of time for you to decide that, bella.”
Together they stumbled out of his office. When they passed the next doorway, Claudia appeared, a worried look on her face. Sophia waved her off. As they headed down the stairs, Sophia felt the heat pouring off his body. His hair and dress shirt were damp.
When they descended the front steps of the museum and she saw the silver Ferrari waiting out the front, she breathed a sigh of relief.
She got Antonio settled, snatched the keys from the young museum employee, then slid into the driver’s seat. She shot Antonio a glance. His eyes were closed, his breathing shallow, deep grooves bracketing his mouth.
She knew what he needed. If he denied himself much longer, he would be lost, just as Corus promised.
She started the car and pulled out into the street. She’d been to a cocktail party at Antonio’s home and remembered where it was. He owned an exquisite townhouse in the heart of Florence, only a few minutes from the museum.
She screeched to a stop in front of a stone and cream-colored building topped by a terracotta-tiled roof. Burgundy shutters flanked the windows.
She opened her door, but before she could skirt the car, he opened his door and stood with a hand braced on the roof. “Let me help—”
“Don’t touch me.” A vicious shake of his head. “I can make it from here. I want you to go.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Let’s get inside—”
“Sophia.” He waited until she looked at him. “It’d be best, safest, if you left Florence. Go home until this…is over.”
Until the Tempest Winds were defeated. Or until he succumbed to his lust.
Ignoring him, she unlocked his front door. “Corus paid me a visit.”
Antonio jerked to a stop. “What? Did he hurt you?”
She opened the door. “No. But he told me you were…”
“Close to breaking.” Antonio moved up the steps, paused beside her. “He senses it. He whispers on the wind, trying to tip me over the edge.” Antonio’s shoulders slumped.
“You aren’t giving up now.” She brushed past him and moved inside.
He followed her in, his usual lithe stride stiff. She paused at the base of the curving staircase and waited for him to go up. She stayed a step behind him as they ascended. His hand gripped the railing, his knuckles strained white.
At the end of the hall, he opened his bedroom door. A lump lodged in her throat. The room was gorgeous, decorated in dark masculine colors. The bed was large, the intricate headboard twisted into sensuous shapes that hinted of naked, entwined bodies.
“Come on.” She gripped his arm and helped him sit on the black silk sheets.
“I’m here. Now go.”
She thrust her hands on her hips. “I told you, I’m not leaving you.” She yanked his damp shirt over his head.
He moaned, doubling over. “It’s getting worse. If you don’t leave, I’m going to tear those neat and tidy clothes off you, throw you on the floor and thrust myself between those slim thighs of yours.”
Instant heat flooded her, turning her slick between her legs. Her gaze traced his sculpted chest and her pulse raced.
A growl tore from his throat. “I can smell your arousal.”
She saw his eyes were glowing, as though flames flickered in their depths.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” His big shoulders heaved. “There’s a box under the bed. Pull it out.”
She kneeled and reached under the bed, her hands touching a large wooden box. She slid it out and flipped open the top.
A set of chains, the metal shiny and new, lay inside. Just like the ones Corus had used.
Antonio sucked in a deep breath. “I had them made the day the Venti Tempesta escaped. Silver is the only thing that can hold a wind.” He lay back on the bed, spreading his legs and reaching his arms above him. “Chain me.”
Sophia swallowed. “There must be another way.”
“There isn’t. Do it,” he snapped.
She sat on the edge of the big bed. The chains had been designed to clamp around an ankle or wrist and the other end around the headboard and footboar
d of the bed. She attached one to the footboard, then to his ankle.
After his legs were chained, she tied up his left arm. She couldn’t look at him as she completed the task. His big body twitched and she realized he was fighting the need to stop her.
As she reached for his second wrist, he reached up and gripped her chin. His eyes still burned, his beautiful green irises shot through with red. “Thank you, bella. For helping me.”
She nodded and clamped the final chain in place.
Then she stood. “I’ll do anything to help you.” She started to unbutton her shirt.
His eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
She shucked off the shirt, then after a flick of the zipper on her skirt, slid it down her legs. “I’m going to help you. We can beat the lust together.”
“No.” His hot gaze raked over her. “Leave.” He jerked against the chains.
Sophia took her bra off and then skimmed her panties down. Nothing had ever felt so right before. She’d give Antonio what he needed. What they both needed. “You feared you’d hurt me, but chained like this, you can’t.”
He yanked against the chains like a wild beast, perspiration slicking his magnificent body. His face reflected his battle—it glowed with lust but under that she saw something else.
“Just let yourself go, Antonio. I promise I won’t let you fall. Won’t let you get lost.” He thought he had no tenderness, but she saw it in him. She’d show him.
She sidled closer, pressed her hands and knees to the silk sheets. “I’m the one in control now.”
***
The torment had never been this bad.
Antonio strained against the chains. He wanted Sophia gone, somewhere safe. But she was determined to try and save him.
He was terrified he’d hurt her.
She crawled closer, her beautiful body naked. She was all creamy skin and tantalizing curves. Her blue eyes glowed.
The beast in him yanked on the chains, wanting to reach for her. The man in him tugged on the chains, desperate to free himself and make her leave.
But as she’d told him, she was in control.
“I want you, Sophia. More than I want to breathe. But this can’t happen. You have to go.”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “Quiet now. I know what I’m doing.”
When she straddled his hips, he felt the slick warmth of her brush his taut belly. His hips jerked up.
She pressed her palms to his chest, her touch burning through him, setting fire to his already inflamed senses. She smoothed her hands over him. The touch did little to soothe him.
Her hands moved up her own body, cupping her breasts, then moving over her heart. “Somehow I know deep inside what to do to help you.”
She leaned down and fused her mouth to his. The kiss held desire, but also more. He returned it, wanting more, wanting to touch every part of her. Even her soul.
She broke away and with a stunning smile on her face, slid lower down his body. When her slim hands tugged at his trousers, Antonio thought he’d simply explode and go up in flames.
In seconds she freed him, then held his erection cupped in her hand. Her touch was maddening and he growled. She shoved his trousers down as far as his splayed legs allowed. Her hands shaped him, running his length and circling his girth, driving the lust in him to breaking point. He kicked against the metal binding him.
If he didn’t have her, he’d lose what was left of his mind.
When her mouth closed over the head of his erection, Antonio let out a shout. Her tongue swirled over him and molten sensations seared through him—through every muscle, every nerve, every cell.
She sucked him in, her tongue and mouth hot and teasing. He wouldn’t survive this. But at least he’d die knowing the most excruciating pleasure of his life.
On the edge of release, Antonio realized he was growling, the sound coming from deep in his chest. Then Sophia sat up, her wonderful mouth pulling away. She moved until her thighs straddled his hips, until her hot, wet core touched him. Again he fought the chains, mindless, desperate.
She positioned herself over him. He felt the head of his erection nestle at her entrance. But she didn’t lower herself.
Frenzied by wild need, he thrust upward, desperate to sink himself inside her warmth.
But an agile move of her hips prevented it. “Don’t you realize?” Her voice was husky, desire in its depths. “You have to let me have control. I have to trust myself and you have to let go. Only then can we beat the lust.”
Antonio froze. Her eyes glowed an otherworldly shade of blue. Her pale skin shined like marble. He felt a brush of power over his burning skin, like the kiss of a cool breeze.
She shook her head, her mahogany hair swishing with the move. “I don’t know how I know, but I do. It’s like it’s imprinted inside me.”
Aurae. The word echoed in his head.
Sophia was Aurae. One of those women gifted with control of the breezes. A woman with the power to control his vice.
To free himself, he had to give himself to her. He was a dominant man by nature, one who’d held power all his life. Giving control to another went against everything he was.
But hadn’t he already given her control when he’d asked her to chain him? Hadn’t he already given her ultimate control when he’d let himself start falling for her?
He fought against the bright lust in him and focused on his feelings for this woman. They were there, under the desire, brighter and hotter than his vice. He forced his body to still.
“Look at me.” Her whisper was more than a request, it was a siren’s command.
He did as she asked, losing himself in the soul-stripping blue. She thrust her hips down.
Antonio groaned. She encased him, her body tight, wet and hot. The sensation was shocking, stunning. His body coiled to breaking point.
“Sophia.” Her name came from his throat on a rasp. “Please.”
She rocked her hips and had him bucking against her. Then she lifted herself and rode him. Her rhythm was hard and fast. She took every inch of him, rising and falling, taking him deep with every plunge.
Carnal fury tore through him. Unable to stop himself, he thrust his hips up, matching her fierce tempo. If he’d been free, he would have pushed her down onto the silk and pistoned between her legs. He would have touched every inch of her, marking her as his.
Her strangled cries fueled his raw, mindless desire. Antonio surrendered himself to her. The flood of emotions was staggering, boiling through him with every drag of her body on his.
She stripped the lust away. In its wake, there was hot, natural desire and something he was too afraid to name. The bright, hot spark of something he’d thought himself incapable of feeling.
Her body clamped down on his, convulsing. She arched her back and screamed.
The unbearable pressure in Antonio broke. His hips surged up again and with a groan, he emptied himself inside her.
Chapter Six
The pleasure spilling through Sophia electrified her. This man was hers.
A part of her—the damaged part—still worried he’d break her heart. But she knew now she needed to be strong enough to try.
She felt his strong body shuddering beneath her, his cock still hard inside her. She bit down on her lip. For the first time in so long, she felt happy. Not burdened by the past. She was beginning to realize exactly what she wanted from the man beneath her.
A second orgasm caught her by surprise, throwing her up and shattering her. The room dimmed and she closed her eyes against pleasure so sharp it was almost painful.
When she regained awareness, she was collapsed on top of his chest, damp skin to damp skin. His heart beat fast and loud beneath her ear.
Antonio had given his body to her, but by surrendering his control, he’d also given her his trust. She knew he had so much to offer and she’d take great pleasure in helping him realize that.
“Sophia?” His voice was low, sated. “How do
you feel?”
She lifted her head. When she saw his face, she sucked in a breath.
His eyes were the clear liquid green she was falling in love with. The lines that had carved his face were gone. The smile had a boyish edge she’d never seen in him before.
“I think I should be asking you that question.” She felt a flutter in her belly. “The lust? It’s gone?”
He shook his head. “No. It will always be a part of me.” His smile widened. “But it’s under control.”
She found a smile touching her own lips. “I’m so glad.”
“Now—” he jangled the chains “—how about freeing me?”
With a choked laugh, she set to work. In minutes, he was free. She turned to face him, but his strong hands grabbed her, pressing her down onto the soft mattress. His weight moved over her, his arms caging her in.
“You are a frighteningly courageous woman, Sophia Crane.” His lips brushed over hers, sipping and tasting. It was a slower, lazier kiss that stole her breath.
The way he savored her made her heart flip flop in her chest. “I’ve been the opposite of brave lately. Ever since I miscarried and lost that precious spark of life, I’ve been hiding. I think you help bring out the courage in me.”
His mouth traveled down her neck, nipping at her ear lobe, pressing kisses to the mad flutter of her pulse in her neck. “It was inside you all along.” He pulled back, his face turning serious. “Do you know what you are?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Does the word Aurae mean anything to you?”
That single word shivered over her, foreign but achingly familiar. She’d heard it before. “I think my grandmother mentioned it. She used to tell me ancient legends instead of bedtime stories. Wait, I’ve seen it somewhere else as well…in my research. They were involved with the winds as well.”
“The Aurae were women who controlled the seasonal breezes.”
Sophia focused on the word. Something unfurled inside her. “They died out. Disappeared.”
Antonio nodded. “We’re not sure what happened but when they died, they took with them the ability to help calm the vices of the wind.”