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He tensed. 'Stasia—'
'Do you really think I didn't know how you felt after we made love?' Despite her efforts, her voice shook. 'You hated yourself, Rico. Hated yourself for losing that control that you pride yourself on, hated yourself for touching someone like me.'
He inhaled sharply. 'That isn't true.'
Something in his voice made her look towards him. Their eyes clashed, her breath caught, and suddenly she was remembering every moment of the night before. The heat. The power of masculine thrust. Raw sexual excitement.
And he was remembering it too.
'Let's just both agree that it won't be happening again.' She dragged her eyes away from his and concentrated on her plate, wondering if she was ever going to feel like eating again.
Even a fresh orange had lost its appeal. 'Unless you're intending to invite Chiara to share our bedroom, there's no point. So you can save your regrets.'
'I don't regret making love to you,' he said, his Sicilian accent suddenly unusually pronounced. 'And the point,' he drawled slowly, 'is that you and I can't be together and not rip each other's clothes off. And don't pretend you were a victim last night. You wanted it every bit as much as me.'
She wanted to deny it. She wanted to wipe the smug, self-satisfied look off his impossibly handsome face. But how could she? When she'd dug her nails into his sleek, muscular back and virtually begged him for more? She couldn't even convince herself so what chance was there of convincing him?
She took refuge in attack. 'You really think you're the ultimate lover, don't you?'
He didn't hesitate, his black eyes burning into hers. 'If your reaction last night was anything to go by, then yes.' He gave a casual lift of his broad shoulders and she licked dry lips, wondering if there was any way she could learn control over her body. Surely there must be something she could do to make her indifferent to this man? She lifted her chin.
'So what do you regret then?'
'Hurting you.' His voice was velvety smooth and as intimate as his gaze. 'I was rough and I'm sorry.'
He caught her by surprise and astonishment stifled the sharp remark she'd intended to make. She'd never heard him apologize for anything before. He had more self-confidence than anyone she knew, a trait that had guaranteed him unrivalled success in business. When
negotiating deals he waited for others to lose their nerve—
Suddenly she felt incredibly self-conscious, which was utterly ridiculous considering the intimacies they'd shared the night before. 'You didn't hurt me.' Her voice was croaky and he gave a half smile.
'Good. But if I didn't then it was only because you were as desperate as I was.' The smile faded and suddenly his eyes were cold and assessing. 'So what's your excuse, my beautiful wife? Lover not been satisfying you lately?'
'Damn you, Rico.' She rose to her feet so swiftly that her chair scraped the terrace noisily and almost fell. Goaded and furious that he'd somehow turned what for her had been an act of love into something sordid and purely physical, she turned on him. 'You spent your entire time working. You only came home for sex and towards the end even that wasn't very often. You employ thousands of people. You need to learn to delegate.'
She took a step towards the villa but his hand closed over her wrist like a vice, preventing her escape. Her heart was suddenly pounding at a frightening pace and she met the fierce blaze of anger in his eyes with a sinking feeling. She shouldn't have said that.
'When I need a lesson on how to run my business, I'll ask you. And when I need a lesson on how to keep my wife satisfied, I'll ask for that too.' His voice was even but the tiny muscle flickering in his cheek betrayed his fury. 'Clearly I didn't keep you anywhere near busy enough in the bedroom. It's probably only fair to warn you that while we are at the villa you're going to be too exhausted to move, let alone look at another man, cara mia.'
'Rico—'
He ignored her shaky protest, his expression revealing a gr
im sense of purpose as he lifted her easily and carried her back to the bedroom.
'Rico—for goodness' sake—-' She struggled for a few seconds but already her body was responding. He only had to glance in her direction and she was lost. She felt the familiar curl of desire low in her pelvis, her whole body achingly sensitive to his touch.
He deposited her on the bed and came over her, pinning her down when she would have rolled away from him.
'You wanted more of my attention—' his voice was muffled in her neck and she cried out as his tongue licked a sensuous path towards her ear '—and now you're going to get it.'
'Rico-—this is just pretend—'
'Not pretend,' he murmured in thickened tones, stripping her with a skilled precision and spreading her legs for his seeking mouth.
She gasped in shock and then cried out as the skilled flick of his tongue sent shock waves of sensation scorching through her trembling body. He was merciless, exploring her with ruthless intimacy until she hovered on the edge of sexual ecstasy, her mind and body beyond her control.
When he finally penetrated her shivering, desperate body she gave a low moan and he paused, a sheen of sweat on his bronzed features, his own breathing decidedly unsteady.
