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‘I’m thinking...wondering actually...’ Rose turned in the water so that she could face him ‘...whether I might touch you. Whether you’d want me to...’
His eyes darkened suddenly. ‘Do you really need to ask?’
No. The question had carried no risk with it because it was obvious what they both wanted.
‘I thought it would be polite to ask, since I didn’t last time.’
‘You can do that again any time you feel like it.’ Matteo reached out, brushing the side of her face with his fingers.
‘I’m not the one you want. You know that, don’t you? I’m only here for a few months and then I go back to London. I can’t do anything else because I don’t know how to begin again.’
He lifted his arm out of the water, holding on to the rock that lined the pool to steady himself. She felt his other hand on the small of her back, pulling her a little closer to him.
‘You are exactly the one I want, Rose. We can neither of us go back and undo the past, but we have the present. And I never dreamed that just the present could be so special.’
The pressure of his hand increased a little and her body drifted against his. The friction of their bodies in the water made her gasp. Then he kissed her, just a brush of his lips on hers.
She felt his finger trace her spine. ‘A little ice first. Then a little heat...’ He kissed her neck, and she jolted against him as he nipped at her ear. ‘Then you call out for me.’
‘Yes...’ She felt like screaming for him. Now. But that would be too easy and over far too soon. If this was a seduction, then she wanted it to be just as slow and delicious as he obviously did.
They drifted together in the water, his kisses becoming more and more insistent until here and now were the only things that mattered. But he guided her over to the edge of the pool, levering himself up onto the rocks and bending to help her out.
‘Go and get dressed.’ His lips curved as if this was all part of the game. Getting dressed and going home. Back to his bed, where they could do whatever they wanted together.
His gaze didn’t follow her as she slipped behind the fold in the rocks, and Rose didn’t steal a look at him either. As they walked back down to the car together, he held her hand. They both knew exactly where this was headed and didn’t need to rush.
* * *
He drew up in front of his house. Now was the time to either finish what they’d started or walk away. Matteo didn’t want to walk away.
And, even though he’d given her plenty of opportunity to change her mind, it seemed that Rose didn’t want to walk away either. They’d made their promises. William would never be hurt. They would hold each other and let each other go. They would be tender.
As soon as he switched off the engine she reached for him, and the world went crazy again. Ice melted into a molten pool of lava, reasonable thought was tipped headlong out of the window, and all he knew was that he wanted to be close to her.
Unfortunately, there was only so much you could do in the front seat of a car. He disentangled himself from her embrace, practically falling out of the driver’s seat. It was tempting to sweep her up in his arms, but when he explored the idea briefly it lost its glamour. The gesture was the kind of thing that he supposed might be expected of him, he’d done it a few times before in the distant past when other women weren’t all measured against Rose. But Rose was special, and he didn’t want to carry her up to his bedroom like a rag doll. He wanted her to walk.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t kiss her on the way, though. Let her know that, when they both ended up in the same place, under their own steam, it was a kismet that he wanted more than anything.
By the time they got to the bedroom there was more kissing than walking. A kind of long, rolling embrace, both unaware of anything in their path. Matteo hit his shin on something, and his only perception of pain was that it was yet another of the sharp sensations that seemed to be cascading through him.
They collapsed together on the bed, and somehow Rose ended up on top of him. All he could do was watch as she straddled his hips, her skirt spread out around her legs, her chest rising and falling as her breath quickened.
She bent towards him, her hand sliding under his T-shirt as she kissed him. Another bolt of pleasure shot from her fingers as they found his nipple, pinching it gently.
‘You know...that whatever you give now, you get back...’ He tried to make it sound like a warning, but it was just a promise.
‘I’m counting on it.’ She laughed against his lips, her hand wandering across his chest, and Matteo felt his muscles tense at her touch as he wondered what her next move was going to be.
Suddenly she sat up straight, bunching the frayed neck of his T-shirt between her fingers, her intentions clear.
‘You wouldn’t...’ She probably hadn’t been about to actually do it, but the challenge made it a distinct possibility now. ‘What if this is my favourite T-shirt?’
‘It’s red, you can’t even see the colour.’ She bent down, kissing his lips. ‘I’ll take you shopping and buy you another, honey...’
The sudden reversal of roles, accompanied by the tug as she tore the T-shirt off him, made his head spin. Rose bent to kiss his chest, and Matteo lay back, revelling in the sensation. She took her time about working her way down to the waistband of his jeans and he craved what he knew would come next.
Her fingers teased and then touched. He groaned as she slowly pulled the zip open, freeing him for her caress. Helpless, and loving every moment of it, he let her strip him naked.
