She clasped my wrist, then blinked. Her eyes widened as she glanced down and spotted my eager cock.
‘Didn’t you come?’ she asked, sounding concerned.
I let out a gruff laugh, enjoying her expression. How could she be so hot and yet also so unsure? In a way, though, her innocence was strangely beguiling. Gullibility was not something I had ever valued before now. In fact, normally I would happily exploit it. But on her it was almost like a strength instead of a weakness, a shield against the darkness.
I shook off the dumb notion—clearly the stress of the last few months had taken a bigger toll than I had realised. But my voice was rough with an emotion I didn’t like when I spoke. ‘Yes. But my cock has other ideas,’ I said, being deliberately crude.
I dragged the sheet up and over us both, placed my hand behind my head and willed my cock to behave.
Dio.What the hell was happening to me? I enjoyed sex as much as the next man, probably more. It had always been a valuable stress release from the danger I lived in. But I had never been insatiable. Had never felt this grinding hunger to possess a woman so completely, even the prospect of a pregnancy hadn’t deterred me—or disgusted me, as it should.
In fact, when she revealed she wasn’t on the pill, and I had realised I hadn’t even thought of protection myself—something I had never forgotten before—my first reaction had been a surge of adrenaline so intense it had blindsided me. The elemental desire to mark her as mine, to see her body grow and change as it nurtured my seed, had been nothing short of animalistic. And so erotic, I’d known I had to have her again or die.
But even now, it didn’t feel like we were done—which was almost as concerning as my dumb decision to let her ride me bareback.
I should have her escorted back to her hotel. I had never brought a woman to the palazzo before—which was why Gattuso had been so concerned when we had arrived. The villa was my stronghold and the base of my operations in Naples. I kept the estate heavily guarded, and the only people I allowed into the house itself were people I paid well for their loyalty. Not a one-night hookup who did not even know who I was.
Normally I would take a woman I wanted to my cabin on the yacht. Because then I could leave them there at my convenience… I didn’t sleep much, and rarely at night. It was in the dark that danger lurked. I had learnt this the hard way as a boy… And I did not need a woman in my bed for anything other than sex. Nighttime was when I needed to be at my most alert.
But as she lay silently beside me, just listening to her breathing, knowing she was there felt good. So when she lifted the sheet, clearly intending to slip away from me again, I found myself reaching out to grasp her wrist.
Don’t leave me.
The request almost slipped out, but I bit it back, horrified it had sprung into my head in the first place. Where had that come from? I had not needed anyone—and certainly not a woman—since I had lost my mother.
‘Where are you going?’ I demanded more roughly than I had intended when I saw her flinch.
‘I don’t… I don’t think I can take you again so soon,’ she murmured, clearly referring to my needy cock, which still hadn’t got the message.
I dragged her back towards me and kissed her nose, touched by her bluntness and enjoying her latest show of independence. Funny, I had never found honesty a turn-on before now either, but with her it was. Women were too willing to do as I asked of them, especially since I had become a don. As a result, my sex life had become jaded… I was prepared to use force in my business, but it was not something which had ever excited me in bed. I didn’t trade protection or anything else for sex. My father, Don Salvatore, had taught me there was a code with women, as with everything else. A code of honour that should not be broken.
I had thought his code foolish as a teenager. In fact, it had angered me. Because my mother had broken the code—by not honouring their marriage—and he had always refused to condemn her for it. She had not shown loyalty to my father or the family, when she had run from him and taken me with her. And left us both at the mercy of a man who had enjoyed hurting us.
I pushed the thoughts of my past to one side. It had no place here. Was this the reason for my foolish desire to keep Mia close tonight? A layover from my screwed-up childhood?
But as my gaze sank to her breasts, plump and round, the freckles across her cleavage visible in the moonlight, my erection swelled. I almost sighed with relief. This was about sex, nothing more. And being too long without a woman. Mia and I were extraordinarily compatible, and the fact she had no idea who I was added novelty to this encounter, which made the sex more addictive.
‘Stay until morning…’ I demanded.
Once dawn broke, I would have had my fill of her, and any thoughts about my past would be locked away again. I was not that frightened child anymore. I was a man who could command an army. An army that had won the war to regain all my father’s territory—when Dante had tried to encroach on it after his death.
She stared back at me, those wide, guileless eyes a misty emerald in the moonlight, the scent of her intoxicating as she considered my proposal. As I waited for her answer, I had the unsettling thought maybe my desire for her to say yes was about more than just sex. My heart throbbed in my throat, the sense of anticipation as rare as it was disturbing.
‘Okay,’ she said, blushing prettily, clearly having surprised herself.
Relief coursed through me, but I forced myself not to show it.
‘But can I have a shower?’ she asked.
I laughed, breaking the tension.Dio, but she was adorable. I kept a firm grip on her wrist and tugged her to me until I could hook my leg over hers and make her aware of my growing need.
‘Yes, but only if I can join you.’ I pressed a finger to her lower lip, excitement surging when she nipped the tip. ‘I still want to feel these lips wrapped around my cock.’
Her mouth curved in a sensual smile as she stretched against me—bold and beautiful. And then she licked her lips, and the searing heat in her gaze made my cock throb back to full mast.
‘All right,’ she replied, her voice as husky as mine. ‘If you insist.’
‘I do,’ I said.
