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‘I know. I’m just being nosy.’ At least, Clara thought she was just being nosy.
She felt strange. Really strange. The beats of her heart were still erratic and there was a lethargy in her bones countered by a buzzing in her veins. But there was something else too, as unexpected as it was frightening because it reminded her a little of how she’d felt when she was a child and possessive of her mother. She had a vague memory of her Australian cousins coming to stay and one of them, Beth, grazing her knee and Clara’s mum kissing the knee better. Clara, unused to sharing her mother’s affection, had made sure to remind Beth that she was her mummy, not Beth’s.
What she was feeling now was similar to that feeling and yet different. It came from a different place but she was at a loss to explain where that place was, and as she was at a loss she decided to push it from her mind and simply enjoy being held in Marcelo’s arms.
Just lying there, being held so tenderly, his fingers making circles in her lower back...
It felt wonderful.
‘Is sex always that amazing?’ she asked.
He breathed deeply. ‘No.’
Unsure if he was telling her the truth—after all, Marcelo had had sex with lots of women—Clara tilted her head back so she could see into his eyes.
As if he guessed why she was looking at him, he brushed his lips to hers and weaved his fingers through her hair. ‘What you and I just shared, bella, that is not normal.’
‘Really?’
‘Really. What you made me feel...’ He took another deep inhalation through his nose. ‘I have never felt anything like that before.’
Well, that warmed her already impossibly warm insides up.
‘I can’t believe I was happy to go through life never experiencing that,’ she said, fresh wonderment filling her. ‘Do you think it would be like that with someone else for me? Or is it just because you’re an amazing lover?’
He gave a choked laugh. ‘I don’t know. The chemistry between us is rare.’
‘And you would know,’ she agreed. ‘And I suppose it’s that chemistry that makes me want to do it all again.’ Wriggling out of his hold, she raised herself up so she could study his face. ‘What you did to me...is it nice if a woman does the same to you?’
He palmed one of her cheeks. ‘Yes, but it’s not something you should do because you feel you have to return a favour.’
‘I think I would like giving you pleasure.’ She encircled a brown nipple. ‘I would definitely like to try.’
‘You might like it more if I showered first.’
Her beaming smile shot straight into Marcelo’s heart. ‘Then let’s take a shower together. I’m dying to see your bathroom.’
Deliciously spent from a second night of making love, Clara rested her chin on Marcelo’s chest and tiptoed her fingers up and down his abdomen. ‘Are you ever tempted to leave?’ she asked idly.
There was a pause before he said, ‘What, quit being royal?’
‘It’s been done before in other royal families.’
‘What makes you ask?’
She laughed softly and pressed a kiss to his nipple. ‘You rescued me because you were bored out of your mind. You’re a man who thrives on adventure. Let’s face it, there’s not much excitement to be had as a working royal, not for a man like you.’
Marcelo stretched an arm above his head and fixed his gaze to the ceiling. ‘There are days when I would like nothing more than to turn my back on it all but the damage to my family would be immense. Besides, this is the deal we made—they would support my military career and in return, when that career was over, I would become a full-time working royal. I’m living the life that’s been mapped out for me since my birth and I shouldn’t complain because it’s a great life.’
‘So you suppress yourself for your family’s sake.’
‘For duty’s sake,’ he corrected.
‘But in your case, duty and family go hand in hand.’
‘Sure,’ he agreed. ‘We are figureheads for our country. There are expectations about our behaviour. I got enough excitement in the army to last me a lifetime.’
‘Obviously not or you’d have let your army friends rescue me,’ she teased.
