Page 71 of Winter With You

‘I can’t do just doing,’ he whispered.

‘Why?’ It was a soft plea.

‘Because I need to feel it,’ he said, pressing their heads together and letting his lips touch hers with the lightest brush. ‘And I want you to feel it too.’

She reached up with her free hand and palmed his face, closing the small gap between their bodies, her hips meeting his and sending a direct message that needed no translation.

‘Show me,’ she said, voice coated with a heat that scorched his insides.

He squeezed her wrist a touch tighter and heard her exhale as he dropped his forehead, moved his mouth to hover over hers. And that’s where he waited, focussing on this connection, but also not overthinking it.

‘Luca.’ She breathed the word, his name, the heat from her exhalation meeting his parted mouth. There was no more waiting to be done.

He captured her mouth with his, assured, a little rough, heading deep as he felt her fingers slip into his hair, clawing at his scalp. He let go of her wrist then, cradling her head in the palm of his hand and, with his other hand he used his index finger to snake a path down the bare skin of her arm.

‘Do you feel that?’ he asked, taking his mouth from hers.

She shivered in his arms. ‘Yes.’

‘And this?’ He kissed her mouth again, this time dragging his teeth over her bottom lip, his libido giving him the biggest head rush.

‘How about this?’ she asked.

Before he had a chance to react, she had jumped up, her lips leaving his, her legs wrapping around his midriff and her teeth grazing his neck. He closed his eyes as all his thoughts rolled down to his penis.

‘Gabriella,’ he moaned.

‘Say that again,’ she breathed as he held her in place at his waist. ‘In the bedroom.’

He pushed her up a little in the air, his hands at her ass. ‘How about the shower?’

‘Take me,’ she told him. ‘Just take me.’

No more words were needed.

45

Her eyes were wide open as she lay naked in the bed, staring into the dark of Luca’s bedroom, making pictures out of the shapes his furniture was creating in the shadows. Gabriella. Thirty-four. Likes to pretend she has her life together. In reality she’s hanging by a thread that has been fraying since her sister died. Brave. Scared. Currently concerned about how much she is feeling at peace being spooned by her naked stylist…

‘Are you awake?’ he whispered.

‘No.’ She smiled to herself as she felt him pull her even closer still.

‘Do you want to be?’ he asked, his voice soft in her ear.

She smiled for a second but then thought about his question a bit deeper. ‘I don’t know. Being awake means facing up to everything.’

‘You mean embracing everything?’

‘Ah, a positive spin,’ Gabriella said, shifting in the circle of his arms and ending up facing him. ‘You know there isn’t always one of those.’

‘Disagree.’

She palmed his face. ‘Discuss.’

‘A few hours ago I was in a Christmas market covered in blood and now…’ He stopped talking, leaned into her hand, brought his mouth close to hers.

‘And now?’