Page 42 of Twelve Nights of Nights of Christmas

‘Let’s test that theory, shall we?’ He drew her to her feet and a thrill of expectation shot through her.

‘Now?’

‘Was it the champagne, Evie?’ He murmured the words against her mouth and her eyes closed, her heart racing crazily as she rose on her toes and slid her arms around his neck. He slid his hands down her back and pressed her into him, his kiss tasting of hunger and passion.

Evie opened her mouth under his, matching his erotic demands with her own. Dimly, she registered that she shouldn’t be feeling this way. They’d made love for most of the night and yet the fierce hunger inside her was as acute as if they hadn’t ever touched. She was greedy for more of what they’d shared.

Rio pushed the robe down her arms with confident hands and the silky fabric slid over her hips and pooled on the floor, leaving her naked.

‘It’s daylight—’ Evie could feel her face burning and he gave a slow smile as he tightened his hands on her shoulders and moved her away from him slightly.

‘I know.’

‘Stop staring at me,’ she muttered. ‘You’ve been with so many seriously beautiful women—’

‘And none have excited me the way you do,’ he said huskily, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her into the bedroom. ‘You have the most incredible body.’

‘You only think that because you’re tall—and strong, which is why you can carry me without putting your back out—’

‘You are extremely slender—’ he lowered her onto the mattress ‘—most of your weight is your breasts and your astonishingly long legs and I have no complaints about either so you have no reason to be shy.’ He stripped off his shirt and came down beside her in a fluid movement. ‘I’ve never been with a woman as inexperienced as you—’

‘I think I prefer the word “wholesome”.’ Her confidence faltered. ‘Is it a problem?’

‘No. It’s a complete turn-on. But I’m probably going to shock you.’ His dark eyes held hers for a moment and then he gently brushed away a strand of hair from her forehead with the tips of his fingers. ‘I’m going to teach you everything you don’t know, tesoro.’

The brief flicker of trepidation was swiftly transformed into breathless excitement as he kissed his way across her jaw and down her body to her exposed breasts. When he fastened his mouth over one straining peak the pleasure shafted through her and when his skilled fingers toyed with the other the torment rose to screaming pitch.

By the time he eventually pushed her thighs apart she was writhing against the sheets, the excitement ripping through her body like a vicious storm.

With no concession to the bright rays of sun spotlighting the room, Rio parted her with gentle fingers, placed his mouth against her and proceeded to subject her to the most extreme degree of erotic torture. With infinite skill, he explored her with tongue and fingers until Evie was on fire, her whole body burning in the flames he’d created. Tortured by the heat, she tried to move her hips to relieve the unbearable ache but he pinned her flat with his free hand, channelling the whole erotic experience into that one molten part of her until there was nothing in her world but him and the feelings he created.

Overwhelmed, she writhed and sobbed. ‘Please—oh—how can you do those things at the same time—?’

He gave a husky laugh. ‘I told you I was good at multi-tasking—’

Out of her mind with desire, Evie barely registered the fact that he was now above her before he sank into her with a single possessive thrust that filled her completely. The force and power of him stretched her sensitive flesh and she immediately shot into a climax so intense, so exquisitely agonizing, that her nails dug hard into the sleek muscle of his shoulder as her body convulsed around his.

He captured her mouth, kissing her with erotic intent as he slowly built the rhythm again, driving them both back towards that same peak. And this time, when she tumbled, she took him with her and he kept his mouth on hers, sharing every cry and every gasp, their bodies locked together in a shimmering heat created by the intensity of their own passion.

CHAPTER SEVEN

‘YOU’RE insatiable. It’s been more than a week—you should be bored with me by now.’ Laughing, Evie rolled onto her stomach and leaned on Rio’s chest. ‘Aren’t you ever tired?’

He watched her from beneath lowered lids, his gaze slumberous and unmistakably sexual. ‘No. I find sex with you incredibly energizing.’

‘So that’s how you manage to work such long hours—’

‘You should be grateful for that,’ he said huskily. ‘Otherwise, you wouldn’t be getting any sleep at all, tesoro.’

‘It’s only two days until Christmas. You shouldn’t be working.’ Sometimes, when she woke in the dark, she discovered that he wasn’t in bed with her. On one occasion she’d tiptoed sleepily from the bed to find him and discovered him working on the laptop, his gaze fixed intently on the ghostly green glow of the screen.

‘I don’t need much sleep. I had a few hours.’ He slid his hand into her hair, pulled her head down and kissed her. ‘Ready for breakfast?’

Evie felt a flutter of nerves in her stomach. Breakfast and mornings meant one thing to her. ‘Have the newspapers arrived yet?’

He frowned. ‘I have no idea and I don’t care.’

‘I care—I keep thinking about that stupid, horrid photograph.’ The mood punctured, she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.