Page 15 of Claiming His Wife

A tear of bitter regret fell on his shoulder blade. Unthinkingly, she bent her head and lapped it away with the tip of her tongue. And heard him moan softly, deep in his throat.

Awake? For how long? When had the rhythm of his breathing altered, become shallower, more rapid? Cassie's body went still. Waiting. Tense with the dread of having the tables turned on her. And he said, his voice husky with need, 'Touch me, Cass.'

Relief drenched through her. He wasn't going to take his revenge by telling her to keep her hands to herself. Relief and something stronger, wilder, had her pressing her naked body to his, fitting her thighs beneath his, her hand dipping lower.

Fully aroused, he was sensational. She shuddered with deep, spiralling ecstasy, her head spinning wildly as he groaned raggedly and swept round to­wards her, crushing her in his arms, parting her legs with a strong hair-roughened thigh.

'Wait—' She freed her trapped hand and raised it to gently touch his face, the heel of her palm resting along his tough, stubbly jawline, her fingers against one jutting cheekbone. 'I want to tell you—I promise you it wasn't just that I'd had a bit too much to drink. It was the thought of tonight that intoxicated me...'

If

he believed her, he didn't say so. But perhaps the way his mouth took hers was answer enough. The hungry mastery of his kiss made her feel as if she were drowning; the hands that caressed and tor­mented every inch of her body sent her into a state of delirium and there were no words spoken when he finally plunged into her willing, receptive body.

But who needed words when two desperately needy bodies, two loving souls were communing in the darkness of the warm, sweetly scented Spanish night?

'If I didn't know better, I'd say you were not the woman I married.' Roman's slightly accented voice was soft and sultry and Cassie smiled dreamily into his smoky eyes.

The tone of his voice told her that he liked the woman she had become in his bed far better than the woman he had married. She wasn't going to spoil the magic they'd created together by reminding him of why he'd chosen an immature, biddable little thing .to be his wife.

Around dawn they'd fallen asleep in each other's arms and, moments ago, his light kisses on her eye­lids had woken her. Last night had been spectacular; they hadn't been able to get enough of each other, like starving people suddenly coming across a ban­quet.

Untutored as she was, her responses to him had surprised her. She'd been quite shameless, very much more than merely willing, wanting to give to him as much as he had given to her.

'Same beautiful hair,' he murmured, running his fingers through the long silky strands that were splayed out over the pillow, burnished to copper by the sunlight that filtered through the partly opened louvres. 'Same eyes—like the finest topaz—but with a light behind them that was never there before.'

The tips of his fingers slid across her cheek, found her parted lips and she reached up, looping her hands behind his head, pulling him down to her, and the kiss was like a drug, sending her spinning out of control and when he broke it she gave a tiny sob of denial.

'Shh—' he murmured, his eyes wicked, his sultry mouth curving. 'Patience, mi esposa. I have not yet finished my inventory. Indulge me.'

She placed a shaky hand on his broad, bronzed chest, her body trembling with sharp awareness, her voice thick as she protested, 'Do you like tormenting me?'

'I love it.' His sensual mouth framed the words softly, liquid grey eyes gleaming beneath the thick black lashes. 'Almost as much as I love touching you, looking at you. Cassie, mia, you have matured beautifully.'

A languid hand slid the silk sheet away from her body. 'Lie back for me; let me look at you,' he com­manded lazily as his hands swept over her engorged breasts, over her slender waist, following the femi­nine flare of her hips, then trailing inwards, to the apex of her thighs. Cassie reached for him, writhing with the burning fever of desire, parting her legs in wanton invitation, glorying in the release of knowing her feeble hang-ups were a thing of the past, that she could at last show him how much she loved him.

Then briefly, like a shadow, she saw a frown gather between his eyes, his jawline tightening as he pulled in his breath.

Something was wrong. Hadn't she pleased him as much as she'd thought she had? Despite what he'd just said, did he suddenly find her eagerness distaste­ful? Anxiety clouded Cassie's eyes as she lifted a tentative hand and laid it against the side of his face.

'Roman?'

At her touch, the sound of her voice, the frown disappeared and the stillness that had held his body rigid melted away. She saw dark colour streak his hard, jutting cheekbones as he gave a rough growl low in his throat and demonstrated the full power of his possession.

She hadn't known it could be like this, Cassie mused one hour later as they exited the shower, wrapped around each other. The physical expression of love was so addictive.

She felt so sated she could barely move, and closed her eyes as he reached for a fluffy bath sheet and gently patted her dry before mopping the mois­ture from his own superb body. Thankfully, whatever had briefly troubled him had been forgotten. Or per­haps she had simply imagined it...

'The day is half gone,' he told her as he rubbed the towel over his hair, leaving it sticking up in en­dearing spikes. 'What would you like to do with the rest of it? Take a picnic to the beach? Or perhaps you'd prefer a restaurant?'

'I'd rather stay here,' she admitted huskily, her golden eyes drenched with soft emotion.

Roman grinned at her, his teeth very white against the bronze tones of his skin, his eyes glinting wick­edly. 'I hoped you'd say that. Far more interesting things can happen in the privacy of our own home.' He dropped the towel, closed the small gap between them and put a brief kiss across her mouth. 'I'll make coffee and find something to eat. Come down when you're ready. And Cass—' he was already at the door to their adjoining bedroom '—wear something easy to get out of!'

Waves of love rolled over her, making her giddy. She wanted to stay here with him for ever, just the two of them.

Just the two? She suddenly remembered that she'd forgotten to take her pill last night. They might al­ready be a threesome! She couldn't recall how many times they'd made love.

But it didn't matter, did it? Surely now that the lovemaking side of their marriage had been put so magnificently right he would want her to stay, want to make their marriage work? He had never pre­tended to be in love with her, but after last night he would put their troubled past behind him and build on what they now had.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com