He smiled and captured her hand and pressed a kiss to each of her fingertips, his eyes holding hers. ‘In a strange way, yes, although I have to say I’ve never made love to a virgin before.’
‘Are you nervous?’
His mouth twisted into a rueful grimace. ‘A bit.’
‘Don’t be.’ She pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss. ‘I want you to make love to me. I feel like I’ve been waiting all my life for this moment.’
Luca brought his mouth back to hers in a kiss that drugged her senses and ramped up her desire for him until she was arching her back and whimpering. His hands explored her breasts in soft strokes, his lips and tongue caressing her until she was breathless with longing. The ache between her legs intensified, a hot, throbbing ache that travelled through her pelvis like the spread of fire.
He moved down her body with a series of kisses from her breasts to her belly and then to the heart of her femininity. Artie drew in a breath, tense with excitement as his fingers spread her, his lips and tongue exploring her, teasing a response from her that shook her body into a cataclysmic orgasm. It swept her up in its rolling waves, the pulsations carrying her into a place beyond the reach of thought or even full consciousness. Blissful sensations washed over her, peace flooding her being—the quiet after the storm.
‘I had no idea it could be like...like that...’ Artie could barely get her voice to work and a sudden shyness swept over her.
Luca moved back up her body to plant a kiss to her lips. She could taste herself on his lips and it added a whole new layer of disturbing but delightful intimacy. ‘It will only get better.’ He brushed his knuckles over her warm cheeks. ‘Don’t be shy, cara.’
Artie bit her lip. ‘Easy for you to say. You’ve probably done this a hundred times, possibly more. I’m a complete novice.’
He smoothed her hair back from her face, his expression suddenly serious. ‘The press makes a big thing out of my lifestyle but I haven’t been as profligate as they make out. Unfortunately, my grandfather believes what he reads in the press.’ His mouth twisted ruefully. ‘I’ve had relationships—fleeting ones that were entirely transactional. And I’ve always tried not to deliberately hurt anyone. But of course, it still does happen occasionally.’
I hope I don’t get hurt.
The potential to get hurt once their relationship came to its inevitable end was a real and present worry, but even so, Artie couldn’t bring herself to stop things before they got any more complicated. He had revealed things about himself that made her hungry to learn more about him. His workaholism, his carefully guarded heart, his history of short-term, going-nowhere relationships. He was imprisoned by his lifestyle in the same way she was imprisoned by the castello. Would he go back to his playboy existence once they parted?
Artie lifted her hand and stroked his stubbly jaw. ‘I want you to make love to me. I want you to experience pleasure too.’
Luca’s eyes were dark and hooded as he gazed at her mouth. ‘Everything about you brings me pleasure, cara. Absolutely everything.’ And his mouth came down and sealed hers.
The kiss was long and intense and Artie could feel the tension rising in his body as well as her own. His legs were entangled with hers, his aroused body pressing urgently against her, his breathing as ragged as hers. His mouth moved down to her breasts, subjecting them to a passionate exploration that left her squirming and whimpering with need. She slid her hand down from his chest to his taut abdomen, desperate to explore the hard contours of his body. He drew in a quick breath when her hand encountered his erection and it made her all the bolder in her caresses. He was velvet-wrapped steel, so exotically, erotically different from her, and she couldn’t wait to experience those differences inside her body.
Luca eased back and reached for a condom, swiftly applying it before coming back to her, his gaze meshing with hers. ‘I’ll go slowly but please tell me if you want to stop at any point. I don’t want to hurt you.’
Artie brushed his hair back from his forehead, her lower body so aware of his thick male presence at her entrance. ‘You won’t hurt me.’ Her tone was breathless with anticipation, her body aching for his possession.
He gently nudged apart her feminine folds, allowing her time to get used to him as he progressed. Slow, shallow, sensual. Her body welcomed him, wrapping around him without pain, without resistance.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked, pausing in his movements.
‘More than okay.’ Artie sighed with pure pleasure, her hands going to his taut buttocks to hold him to her.
He thrust a little deeper, still keeping his movements slow and measured. She arched her hips to take more of him in, her body tingling with darts and arrows of pleasure as his body moved within hers. His breathing rate changed, becoming more laboured as his pace increased. She was swept up into his rhythm, her senses reeling as the tension built to an exquisite crescendo. She was almost at the pinnacle, hovering in the infinitesimal moment before total fulfilment. Wanting, aching, needing to fly but not sure how to do it.
Luca reached down between their bodies and coaxed her swollen feminine flesh into an earth-shattering orgasm. Spirals of intense pleasure burst through her body, ripples and waves and darts of bliss, throwing her senses into a tailspin and her mind into disarray.
Luca reached his release soon after, an agonised groan escaping his lips as his body convulsed and spilled. Artie held him close, breathing in the scent of their lovemaking, thrilled to have brought him to a place of blissful satiation.
Artie lay with him in the peaceful aftermath, her thoughts drifting... The boundaries between the physical and the emotional were becoming increasingly blurred. She knew she would always remember this moment as a pivotal one in her life as a woman.
Luca Ferrantelli. Her husband. Her first lover.
The presence of his body, the desire that drew them together bonded her to him in a way that was beyond the physical. The chemistry between her and Luca was so powerful, so magical it had produced a cataclysmic reaction. An explosion of pleasure she could still feel reverberating throughout her body.
How could she have thought he was arrogant and unyielding? He had taken such respectful care of her every step of the way. He had held back his own release in order to make sure she was satisfied first. She couldn’t have asked for a more considerate and generous lover.
But it didn’t mean she was falling in love with him.
Artie knew the rules and had accepted them. She could be modern and hip about their arrangement. Sure she could. This was about a physical connection so intense, so rapturous she wanted to make the most of it.
Luca leaned up on one elbow and slowly withdrew from her body, carefully disposing of the condom. He rolled back to cradle one side of her face with his hand, his eyes searching hers. ‘How do you feel?’ His voice had a husky edge, his expression tender in a way she hadn’t been expecting. Had he too been affected by her first time and their first time together?
‘I’m fine.’
A frown pulled at his brow. ‘I didn’t hurt you?’
‘Not at all.’ She smoothed away his frown with her fingertip. ‘Thanks for being so gentle with me.’
His hand brushed back the hair from her face in the tenderest of movements. ‘Your enjoyment is top priority for me. I don’t want you to feel you ever have to service my needs above your own.’
Artie ran her fingertip over the fullness of his bottom lip, not quite able to meet his gaze. ‘Was it good for you too?’
He tipped up her chin and smiled, and her chest felt like it was cracking open. ‘Off the charts.’ He leaned down to press a soft, lingering kiss to her lips. He lifted off again, his expression becoming thoughtful. ‘I’ve never been a virgin trophy hunter. A woman’s virginity is not something I consider a prize to be claimed or a conquest to be sought.’ He captured a loose strand of her hair and tucked it back b
ehind her ear. ‘But I have to say I feel privileged to have made love with you.’
Artie wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her cheek against the wall of his chest. ‘I feel privileged too. You made it so special.’
There was a moment or two of silence.
Luca stroked his hand down between Artie’s shoulder blades to the base of her spine. ‘I should let you get up and get dressed.’
Artie lifted her head off his chest to smile at him. ‘Is that what you really want me to do right now?’
He grinned and pressed her back down on the bed with his weight playfully pinning her. ‘Not right now.’ And he brought his mouth back down to hers.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LATER THAT MORNING, Luca had to convince himself to get out of bed with Artie. He couldn’t remember a time when he had spent a morning more pleasurably. Making love with her for the first time had affected him in a way he hadn’t been expecting. The mutual passion they had shared had been beyond anything he had experienced before. And that was deeply troubling.
Why was it so special? Because she was innocent and he so worldly and jaded that making love with her was something completely different from the shallow hook-ups he preferred? Or was it the exquisite feel of her skin next to his? Her mouth beneath his? Her touch, her sighs, her gasps and cries that made him feel more of a man than he ever had before?
The trust she had shown in him had touched him deeply. And he had honoured that trust by making sure she was completely satisfied, and yet his own satisfaction had risen to a whole new level of experience. It was as if his body had been asleep before now. Operating on a lower setting that didn’t fully register all the nuances of mind-blowing sex. The glide of soft hands on his body, the velvet-soft press of lips on his heated skin, the delicious friction of female flesh against him. Every moment was imprinted on his brain, every kiss, every touch branded on his body.
And he wanted it to continue, which was the most troubling thought of all. He, who never stayed with a lover longer than a week or two. He, who never envisaged a future with anyone. He, who had locked down his emotions so long ago he didn’t think he had the capacity to feel anything for anyone any more.
And yet...
Every time Artie looked at him with those big brown eyes, something tugged in his chest. Every time her pillow-soft lips met his, fire spread through his body, a raging fire of lust and longing unlike any he had felt before. Every time she smiled it was like encountering sunshine after a lifetime of darkness.
Luca swung his legs over the side of the bed before he was tempted to make love to her for the third time. He turned and held out a hand to her. ‘Come on. Time for some more exposure therapy.’
Artie unfolded her limbs and stood in front of him, her hands going to his hips, sending his blood racing. Her eyes were bright and sparkling, her lips swollen from his kisses. ‘Let’s stay here instead. It’ll be more fun.’
Luca gave her a stern look. Exposure therapy was well known to be the pits the first few times but it still had to be endured for results. ‘Cara, you’re procrastinating. It’s classic avoidance behaviour and it will only make things worse.’
Her gaze lost its playful spark and her mouth tightened. Her hands fell away from his hips and she turned and snatched up a loose bed sheet and covered her nakedness, as if she was suddenly ashamed of her body. ‘Last time I looked, you were my temporary husband and lover, not my therapist. I don’t appreciate you trying to fix me.’
Luca suppressed a frustrated sigh. ‘I’m not trying to fix you, cara. I’m trying to help you gain the courage to go a little further each day. I’ll be with you all the time and I won’t push you into doing anything you don’t want to do. You can trust me, okay?’
Her teeth chewed at her lower lip, her gaze still guarded. ‘Look, I know you mean well, but we tried it before and I failed.’
‘That doesn’t mean you’ll fail today.’
There was a long moment of silence.
Artie released a long, shuddering breath. ‘Okay... I’ll give it another try.’ She swallowed and glanced at him, her cheeks tinged with pink. ‘Do you mind if I have a quick shower first?’
Luca waved his hand towards the bathroom. ‘Go right ahead. I’ll meet you downstairs in half an hour.’ He needed to put some space between them before he was tempted to join her in the shower.
She walked to the door of the bathroom, then stopped and turned to look back at him with a frown between her eyes. ‘Did you only make love to me to make me more amenable to going outside the castello grounds with you?’
‘I made love with you because I wanted you and you wanted me.’
And I still want you. Badly.
Her teeth did another nibble of her lip, uncertainty etched on her features. ‘I hope I don’t disappoint you this time...’
Luca came over to her and tipped up her chin and planted a soft kiss to her lips. ‘You could never disappoint me.’
* * *
Artie showered and changed with her mind reeling at what Luca wanted her to do. She had failed so many times. Why should this time be any different? Panic flapped its wings in her brain and her belly, fear chilled her skin and sent a tremble through her legs. But she took comfort in the fact he promised to stay with her, to support her as she confronted her fear—a fear she had lived with so long it was a part of her identity. She literally didn’t know who she was now without it. But making love with Luca had given her the confidence to step outside her comfort zone. Her skin still sang with the magic of his touch, the slightly tender muscles in her core reminding her of the power and potency of his body.
Luca was waiting for her downstairs and took her hand at the front door. ‘Ready? Our goal is to go farther than we went yesterday—even if we don’t make it outside the gates it will still be an improvement. That’s the way to approach difficult tasks—break them up into smaller, achievable segments.’
Artie drew in a shaky breath, her chest feeling as if a flock of frightened finches were trapped inside. ‘Sounds like a sensible plan. Okay, let’s give it a go.’
The sun was shining and white fluffy clouds were scudding across the sky. A light breeze scented with old-world roses danced past Artie’s face. Luca’s fingers wrapped around hers, strong, warm, supportive, and she glanced up at him and gave a wobbly smile. ‘Thanks for being so patient.’
He looped her arm through his, holding her close as they walked slowly but surely down the cobbled footpath to the wrought-iron front gates. ‘I probably made you go too fast the first time. Let’s slow it down a bit. We’ve got plenty of time to stop and smell the roses.’
Artie walked beside him and tried to concentrate on the spicy fragrance of the roses rather than the fear crawling over her skin. She was conscious of Luca’s muscular arm linked with hers and the way he matched his stride to hers. She flicked him another self-conscious glance. ‘You must think this is completely ridiculous. That I’m completely ridiculous.’
He gave her a light squeeze. ‘I don’t think that at all. Fear is a very powerful emotion. It can be paralysing. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of—’
‘Commitment,’ Artie offered.
There was a slight pause before he answered. ‘That too.’
‘Fear of love.’ She was on a roll, hardly noticing how many cobblestones there were to go to the front gate.
There was another silence, longer this time, punctured only by the sound of the whispering breeze and twittering birds in the overgrown shrubbery.
‘Fear of not being capable of loving.’ His tone contained a rueful note.
Artie stopped walking to look up at his mask-like expression. ‘Why do you think you’re not capable of loving someone? You love your grandfather, don’t you?’
Luca gave a twisted smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘Familial love is an entirely different sort of l
ove. However, choosing to love someone for the rest of my life is not something I feel capable of doing. I would only end up hurting them by letting them down in the end.’
‘But is loving someone a choice?’ Artie asked. ‘I mean, I haven’t fallen in love myself but I’ve always understood it to be outside of one’s control. It just happens.’
He captured a loose tendril of her hair and tucked it back behind her ear. His touch was light and yet electrifying, his gaze dark and inscrutable. ‘A lucky few find love for a lifetime. But some lives are tragically cut short and then that same love becomes a torture for the one left behind.’
‘Is that what happened to your mother?’
Luca’s gaze drifted into the distance, his expression becoming shadowed. ‘I will never forget the look of utter devastation on my mother’s face when she was told my father and brother had drowned. She didn’t come with us that day and when only I came home...’ He swallowed tightly and continued in a tone rough and husky with banked-down emotion. ‘For months, years, she couldn’t look at me without crying. I found it easier to keep my distance. I hated seeing her like that, knowing I was responsible for what happened.’
Artie wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. ‘Oh, Luca, you have to learn to forgive yourself. I’m sure your mother doesn’t blame you. You were a young teenager. She was probably relieved you hadn’t been taken as well. It could have happened. You could have all been drowned.’
He eased out of her hug and gave her a grim look. ‘There were times in the early days when I wished I had been taken with them. But then I realised I owed it to my father and brother to live the best life I could to honour them.’
A life of hard work. A life with no love. No commitment. No emotional vulnerability. A life of isolation...not unlike her own.
A life of isolation she would go back to once their marriage was over.
Artie glanced at the front gates of the castello and drew in a shuddering breath. The verdigris-covered gates blurred in front of her into a grotesque vision of blue and green twisted metal. The sun disappeared behind a cloud and the birds suddenly went quiet as if disturbed by a menacing predator lurking in the shadows.
His Innocent's Passionate Awakening Page 10