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‘Yes. I’m n
ot making that mistake twice.’ His fingers smoothed her damp skin and she shivered with anticipation as she felt his hand on her thigh.
‘There’s something I need to say to you.’ Her tone was urgent. ‘I’m nothing like Carly.’
He inhaled sharply. ‘Izzy—’
‘I just want you to know that I’d never—’
He silenced her with a hot, hard kiss. ‘You think I’d be here with you if I thought you were like her?’
‘For what it’s worth, I didn’t plan any of this to happen.’ It seemed imperative that he know that and he paused. His head blocked the sun and she stared into the raw hunger in his eyes, feeling something she’d never felt before.
‘Neither did I.’ With unsteady fingers he removed her bikini top. ‘I didn’t plan this either.
The intention was to haul you off that stage and keep you out of trouble. But you’ve been nothing but trouble from the moment I put you in my car. I can’t believe what you do to me. You drive me crazy.’
Izzy was about to say that he had the same effect on her when his mouth brushed against her nipple and sensation shot through her body like a lightning bolt. She squirmed, consumed by a fiery flash of heat that burned from head to toe. Realising that the power was all his, she gave a moan of desperation and slid her leg over his, locking him against her.
His mouth returned to hers, hot and demanding. She felt the erotic slide of his tongue, the scrape of male stubble against her cheek and the sure touch of his hands on her body, and the world around her ceased to exist. She was aware of nothing except him, not the heat of the sun pounding down on them, the stillness of the hot summer air or the occasional rustle of leaves in the shadows of the maze. Her world was reduced to just this man and the sensations that engulfed her.
Sure and confident, he kissed his way down her body, driving her wild with the skill of his mouth and the touch of his hands. And she touched back, her hands as bold as his, as urgent for him as he was for her.
At some point—she wasn’t even sure when—she lost the rest of her bikini and he spread her thighs with possessive hands and subjected her to an exploration of such intimacy that her body caught fire.
‘Matteo …’ She moaned his name and he responded by shifting her under the virile heat of his body.
Their mouths clashed and this time the kiss was crazy, hot and out of control. Dimly, she was aware of him dragging something from his abandoned shirt and then of the brief pause during which she thought her body was going to explode from sheer desperation. She felt the hardness of him against her and had no time to even gasp before he was surging into her, each rhythmic thrust taking him deeper, joining them completely, and it felt so impossibly good that she cried out his name and arched into him. Sensation robbed her of breath. There were things she wanted to say but she couldn’t form the words so she just closed her eyes and gave herself up to the moment.
And he knew what he wanted and he took it, took her as she lay beneath him on the grassy track with the sun dappling the earth around them. But she was past caring about her surroundings and so was he and she slid her hands into his hair instinctively, trying to hold on to something solid as her body flew into the storm. He kissed through all of it, held her as her body splintered around his, as each spasm that ripped through her ripped through him until her body robbed his of control.
Weakened by a sheer overload of sensation, Izzy lay beneath him, limp and in shock.
Gradually the world intruded. She became aware of the sweet notes of birdsong, of the hard ground pressing through the thin layer of the towel and of his body, sleek and powerful, still covering hers. And she became aware of the pounding of her own heart and feelings that were new to her. Strong feelings.
‘Matt …’ Some of those feelings seeped into the way she said his name and she instantly regretted that lapse because she felt him tense and knew she’d shattered the moment.
The hand that had been stroking her hair stilled.
When he lifted his head and looked down at her his eyes were veiled.
‘We should probably move,’ he said in a neutral tone. ‘This place is secluded but not exactly secret.’
The sudden thud of disappointment made no sense because a man like him, who had avoided emotional commitment and intimacy for his entire life, wasn’t suddenly going to embrace it after one hot encounter, was he?
Even so, as he sprang to his feet she wanted to drag him back to her, to prolong the moment because it had felt so real, and for that little sliver of time she’d wanted to pretend it was something different.
But the moment had passed and he was the prince again.
He didn’t need bodyguards, Izzy thought numbly, because he’d built a steel cage around himself.
But at least he hadn’t lied to her, she reminded herself as she reached for her bikini. What they’d shared had been honest. He’d made no promises and neither had she. For a moment she thought about Brian and then pushed the thought away. No way was she letting Brian ruin this moment.
Feeling his gaze on her, Izzy slithered back into her bikini and forced herself to be matter-of-fact. ‘Nice … maze.’
A reluctant smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he dressed swiftly. ‘It has never been used for that purpose before. We should go.’
So that was that then.
