“You will not work this weekend.”
“Sabato…”
He lifted a finger to her lips. “Do you want this?” His dark eyes bore into hers. He did not need to clarify what ‘this’ was. It was him. And everything he could give her.
The bill. The damn bill. It frayed at the edges of her consciousness. The extra hours she’d begged Ewan for this weekend would have covered it. Guilt washed over her, because she knew she was going to ignore it. For the first time since taking charge of Andrew, and moving to London, Emily wanted to do the irresponsible thing. To do something for herself, and her pleasure entirely. Besides, she could call the electricity company and beg to pay it in instalments.
But Ewan was counting on her. He wasn’t just her boss; he was her friend.
She nodded slowly. “You know I do. But I at least need to text my manager…”
“No, cara. The only thing you need to do is feel.” His lips were heaven and hell on her skin. A blessing and a curse. Pleasure and pain. She moaned as he moved his mouth over her, tasting every inch of her skin as he dispensed with the underwear she’d hastily pulled on.
“I want to…” she dug her nails into his shoulders. “I want to…” She made a noise of frustration as her usual eloquence deserted her.
His laugh was a deep rumble. “What do you want, my sweet innocent Emily?”
She lifted her mouth and ran her tongue over his muscular chest. He was salty and her insides clenched with desire. “I want more.”
“Yes, I am sure.” He pressed his elbows into the bed on either side of her head, so that their faces were aligned. “I want that too.” He was serious, suddenly. Business like. “I want you in a way that is new and foreign to me.” The admission sent a thrill trickling down her spine. Even in her sensual fog, she knew his confession was one to cherish. It promised that she was different. That this was new for him, too. “But you are inexperienced. A novice.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I do not make a habit of taking innocence for the sake of it, cara. I wanted you before I knew. I want you still. But I need to know this is definitely what you want. That you are not going to regret this, when the weekend is over.”
When the weekend is over. When the weekend was over… she would go back to her normal life, and he would go back to his. Which was, presumably, far away. In a different place, perhaps as far removed from her as it was possible to be. Not just geographically. Financially, socially; in every way.
“I won’t regret it.”
And she wouldn’t. She might bitterly regret the temporary nature of their time together, but she wouldn’t regret the time itself. Nor what they were about to do.
A frown crossed his features. A small flicker of doubt. “Why?” He ran a finger from her chin to the valley between her breasts.
“Why?” She repeated, lifting her hips and smiling when his eyes widened with obvious desire.
“Why have you not done this? Why are you still a virgin?”
Her cheeks flushed pink. “I’m twenty two, Sabato, not ninety two.”
His laugh was self-derisive. “Am I so different to you, cara? At twenty two, I had enjoyed many lovers. I did not consider myself young, by any stretch.”
“No,” she bit down on her lip. “Nor do I.” Her eyes searched his. “It’s not that I’m too young. I’ve been too busy.”
“For sex?” He was teasing, and for some reason, it truly needled her.
“Yes. I’ve had responsibilities.”
The way she said it, with such reverence, made him pause. “Such as?”
She thought of Andrew, her sweet brother, and smiled slowly. “Family stuff.” She lifted her finger to the dimples that were right at the top of his head – his mystery scars. “My mum had me when she was a teenager. Fifteen, actually. I was brought up partly by mum, and also my grandparents.”
“Milly,” he supplied, showcasing his excellent recall for details and facts.
“Yes. Milly and Jacob. I think they always blamed themselves for having been too lax with mum. For giving her too many freedoms; too much trust.” She shrugged and dropped her hand to his chest. “It was a … mistake … they were not going to repeat with me.”
“They put bars over your windows and made you wear a Maid Marion style chastity belt?” He joked, wondering how the usual thrust and parry of teenage hormones had been pulled into order.
“They didn’t need to.” Her eyes flecked with an emotion he didn’t immediately comprehend. “I grew up knowing what my arrival had meant for my mother. She put her life on hold for a long time, because of me.”
His expression was dark. “That is not your fault. You should never have been made to feel …”
“No, no,” she cut him off. “My mother was wonderful. She adored me. We were always more like friends than anything else. But she didn’t want me to cut short my dreams because of something as fleeting as hormones and teenage lust.”
He wondered, briefly, about her dreams. Surely not to work as a housekeeper at a hotel in central London.
“What’s changed now?” He asked. “Why are you now willing to explore your sensuality?”
Her expression was bemused. “Do you really not know?”
He frowned.
She pushed up on her elbows. Her breasts crushed to his chest and her mouth sought his. “I met you,” she said simply. She wrapped her legs around his back, pulling him closer to her.
Sabato groaned, his body awash with feelings he couldn’t fathom. He had made love to many, and yet never done this. The morning they’d spent together had served as an exquisitely torturous foreplay. He paused at her entrance, wishing he could just take her. That he could just enjoy her.
“A moment,” he promised thickly. His withdrawal from her, and the bed, was like being slapped. She almost cried out with pain as he moved across the room, to the bathroom.
He returned a moment later, holding a foil square. “Speaking of consequences,” he murmured thickly.
“Oh, right. Of course.” She could have wept for her inexperience. Her eyes shuttered closed in mortification. “I didn’t think…”
“It is my job to think for both of us, cara. This is all very new to you.” His sweetness and consideration made her heart turn over in her chest. He unfurled the condom over himself, and for the first time, Emily properly realised how enormous his erection was. “You need to tell me if I’m hurting you. This will be at your speed, Emily.” The way he said her name was like a fragment of song. Em-mee-leah, it sounded on his lips.
She nodded, but nerves were flicking through her body.
“Don’t think about it,” he urged. He brought his mouth to her breasts, taking one dusky pink aureole into his mouth while his fingers played with the other. Emily’s back was arching, her body fluttering with sensations. Her fingers sought his flesh, needling his buttocks. He was so close, gently probing, and all she could think was more, please. She was hot and cold, besieged by a torrent of sensations.
Sabato had not been with a virgin since he was one himself. Anxiety now at hurting her, or ruining this gift, flashed briefly in his gut. But anxiety and self-doubt were not natural for Sabato, and they were quickly consumed by his overriding confidence. He would make this special for Emily. He would make it special for them both.
He focussed on moving slowly, allowing her time to adjust to his size. The barrier was unmistakable, and as he broke through it, he kissed her lips gently, reassuringly. He felt her body still, heard her intake of breath, and he kissed away the pain and discomfort. It was gone in an instant, and her moaning resumed.
“Okay?” He asked, whispering into her ear.
“Yes,” she promised huskily. “Better than okay.”
He smiled. Now, he moved inside of her swiftly, stoking wave after wave of pleasure in her beautiful body.
Emily was at the centre of a maelstrom of fireworks. She was flame and light, heat and ash. She erupted with an intensity that terrified her. She thought, in that moment,
she would do anything in the world that Sabato asked of her. She would do anything for him, if only she could continue to feel this.
She had barely floated back to earth when he began to move inside of her again; and this time, he kissed the column of her throat, sending all new feelings ricocheting through her.
Emily was drifting high into the sky, floating towards heaven. Her mind was spinning and her body was singing. Sabato moved harder and faster, and Emily tipped out of control once more. This time, Sabato grabbed hold of her and followed, releasing himself with a guttural cry into the evening air.
He held her tight, while their breathing steadied and they came back to earth together. His arms held her close, and his mouth stayed pressed to her flesh.
“So that’s what all the fuss is about,” she replied, her lips lifting at the corners.
“Mmm,” he agreed, running his hands over her hair. “That’s what all the fuss is about.” He stroked her cheek. “Do you feel okay?”
Emily focussed on the core of her being. She stretched her toes and curled around to face him. “I feel better than okay. I feel great.”
He laughed, a sound so rich with pleasure that it warmed her. “Me too.”
Emily bit down on her lower lip. “Are you sure?”
“Sure about what?”
“Um,” Emily’s eyes dropped to the white sheet between them. “Are you sure that was okay?”
He knitted his dark brows together. “What do you mean?”
Mortification was as intense as pleasure had been a minute earlier. “Are you sure it was okay for you?”
“Oh, cara,” he shook his head with amusement. “It was definitely okay. It was… exquisite. Every bit as magical as I imagined.”
“Really?” She looked up at him, now, immeasurably pleased that she hadn’t been alone in the euphoric stakes.
“Really,” he nodded with a mock seriousness. “And now, I will phone for some food while you have a shower.”
“Shower?”
He nodded sagely. “Trust me. You feel fine, but a warm shower will make sure of it.” He kissed her forehead and then pushed off the bed. “That was the beginning, cara. There is more to come.”
Her cheeks flushed at the very idea. She watched him stroll across the hotel room, uncaring of his nakedness. He was a spectacular specimen of masculinity, all lean planes and muscular strength. His skin had a honey caramel tan all over. Did he spend time sunbathing in the nude? A smile played on her lips at the very thought of a man like Sabato Montepulciano sunbathing at all. And yet, he hailed from Italy, where it was far warmer than London. Where did he live? What did he do when he wasn’t raising money for children’s hospitals and buying up five star hotels? There was so much she didn’t know about him, and now her heart was firing in her chest. Not with concern that she’d slept with a virtual stranger. No, she was filled with excitement at the very idea of getting to know him better. Of learning his secrets and understanding what made him tick.
She moved through to the bathroom and started the water running. While it built up to its maximum temperature, she busied herself folding towels and arranging them properly on the shelves. As she lifted the last one into place, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror.
Is that me? She wondered, staring at the woman who had some of her characteristics. Her blue eyes were shining, her auburn hair in disarray. Her body had spots of pink from where Sabato’s stubble had rubbed her. She felt different, and she definitely looked it. She lifted trembling fingers to her lips. They were full and sensitive.
Well, she was no longer a virgin. And she had lost her virginity in a pretty spectacular way. No awkward fumbling around in the back of the car for her.
Sabato appeared behind her, still naked, still gorgeous. He wrapped his arms around her waist and stared at her in the mirror. “You are smiling.”
She made a sound of agreement. In the reflection, her eyes sought his. “I was just thinking that good things come to those who wait.”
Emily wasn’t sure what made Sabato’s expression shift, but something caused him to look darkly reflective for a moment. “Did you tidy the towels in here?”
Her cheeks flushed. “I couldn’t help it. I guess it’s instinct now.”
He reached down and linked his fingers with hers. When he stepped into the shower, she followed. The water was heavenly on her body, warm and refreshing. Emily made a noise of pleasure as the stream flowed over her body. Reality was dipping at the edges, threatening to intrude but Emily wanted to stay in that moment a little while longer.
Sabato pressed his fingers into the small of her back, and gently rubbed her sensitive flesh. Emily relaxed in his arms, her whole body weakened by pleasure.
“I have to call my boss,” she said, her voice rich with complaint.
Sabato lifted her fingers to his lips. “Why?” He kissed each fingertip, his eyes holding hers.
“Because! I just haven’t turned up for my shift. Ewan will be beside himself.”
Sabato stroked the sensitive flesh on the inside of her wrist. “I have notified the hotel you will not be working for the rest of the weekend.”
Emily froze. A fever flared inside of her. “You did what?”
Sabato’s smile was relaxed. “I had my assistant make arrangements. You are not needed this weekend.”
Emily pulled her hand away, and stared up at Sabato as though he’d started speaking Martian. “You … you got your assistant to… make arrangements?”
“Yes.”
She stepped around him and reached for a towel. She wrapped it around herself as she walked, angrily, from the bathroom. Sabato followed almost immediately, as she’d known he would.
“What is wrong with that? It is what you wish, after all.”
“No!” She snapped angrily, crossing her arms over her chest. “Oh my God, Sabato, you had no right.”
A muscle flecked in his jaw. Being pulled to task by anyone was a wholly new experience. By this woman, who had been so soft and pliable in his arms, it was a very unwelcome one. “I wanted you. You wanted me.”
“But this is my job! My life!”
“And I made sure my assistant would handle it discreetly. It is not as though she has called your manager and told him what we are doing,” he promised.
Emily made a sound of mortification. “But she knows? Sabato, how could you do this?”
“What is my assistant to you? To her you are just another name, why do you care?”
Emily’s face drained of all colour, and Sabato, to his credit, realised immediately how his words had sounded. “You are not just another name. I only mean that my assistant is not privy to the details of my life. She was given a request and she has carried it out.”
Just another name. Just another name. The words were imploding like little bombs inside her brain, causing craters of doubt to form through her consciousness. “How often do you do this?”
Sabato’s brow furrowed. He was losing her. And that mattered to him in a way he couldn’t quite, at that point, comprehend. He closed the distance between them and put his hands on her hips. “I have never done this before.”
She made a noise of frustrated disbelief.
“Emily, I have never been with a woman like you. Sex has always been pleasurable for me, but I remain completely in control. With you, it is not possible.”
Her heart was thumping against her ribcage. Was he being honest?
“When I saw you earlier, I thought you were the most captivating woman in the world. When we spoke, I knew I wanted you. When we kissed, I knew I would have you. And when you came here, with me, I knew I needed to spend every moment of this weekend with you.” He pressed his lips against her forehead. “It was selfish of me to arrange it. I concede that. But can you comprehend how impossible it was for me to let you walk out that door?”
Emily’s heart turned over in her chest. He didn’t want to let her go. She grabbed the justification with both hands. She didn’t want
to look beyond it. She didn’t want to focus on how overbearing and chauvinistic such an act was. How conceited. Because he’d been motivated by desire. For her.
“We have a weekend,” he continued, as though he feared she might be wavering. “One weekend. Please, do not let this ruin it.”
“You are…” She pressed her lips together and then a weak smile broke across her face. “You are impossible to stay mad at,” she grumbled, pressing a fist lightly into his chest. “But don’t do something like this again. I know my job might not seem important to you, but it is to me.”
“I understand.” The burst of relief he felt at having averted the argument was phenomenal. It had the power of a cyclone and it rushed through him. “I am truly sorry.” His smile was dazzling. “I thought it would be a pleasant surprise.”
She nodded. “I at least need to call my manager. We’re friends. I need to explain…”
“That his boss’s boss has been seducing you?” He said, a slight tone of amusement in his accented words.
Emily pulled an expression of assumed awe. “Gee, that must make you my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss.”
Sabato nodded seriously. “And yet you appear to be completely in charge of me. So, cara, what shall we do next?”
CHAPTER FOUR
“You can come out of hiding now,” Sabato drawled, amusement impossible to suppress owing to the sight of Emily’s slender frame concealed by the partially closed door.
Her tone was indignant. “I was not hiding.”
“Oh, really? What were you doing? Checking for cobwebs?”
Her cheeks flushed a dark shade of red, and she lowered her gaze. “Okay, fine,” she muttered, padding barefoot towards Sabato. She’d pulled on one of his shirts, and left most of the top and bottom buttons undone, so that it revealed a distracting amount of cleavage and her flat stomach. He forced himself to focus on her face. “I just don’t want everyone to gossip about me.”
“Why do you care?” He asked simply, shrugging his broad shoulders.
Seduced by the Italian Tycoon: From the first moment they met, she was powerless to resist him Page 5