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Not ‘this afternoon’. Not even ‘later’. Tonight. As in, after dark. For sex.
Just as they’d agreed.
She smiled brightly. ‘Sounds good to me. See you later!’
There were approximately four million things Sienna would prefer to do than shop, particularly in a high-end place like the Passeig de Gràcia, but the simple fact was she was in need of clothes. She’d brought only enough for one night’s stay, and though she could—and would—avail herself of the laundry facilities in Alejandro’s apartment, there was also a feminine instinct flaring to life inside her, a desire to look her best, to absolutely wow him.
She strolled the street in the early afternoon sun, succumbing to an ice-cream vendor halfway down, choosing a small cone and eating it as she walked, the warmth of the day wrapping around her as the ice cream sought to bring cool and refreshment. She smiled, for no reason except that, in that moment, she felt abuzz with contentment. How could she not? Alejandro had set parts of her soul on fire that she hadn’t even known existed, so for a moment she was able to push aside the worries that usually dogged her—worries that now included Olivia and her marriage. While their financial situation was considerably improved—Olivia had ploughed money into a bank account for Sienna and given her a credit card linked to it, telling her it was hers to do with what she wanted—Sienna still couldn’t help but wonder if Olivia’s marriage had come at too high a price.
Only Alejandro’s voice was there, soothing those worries away, reminding her of what Luca had said, of his claim to love Olivia. And Sienna smiled, because it was impossible not to believe Alejandro, and if he was right, then it meant Olivia had got everything she wanted and deserved in life.
And Sienna?
Her marriage wouldn’t be about love. She didn’t want to run the risk of that. Oh, she was happy for Olivia, but falling in love—real, genuine, everlasting love—was like betting on a lightning strike landing at your feet. She wasn’t going to risk her future happiness to something so unpredictable.
And sex?
Her heart skipped a beat, because a month ago the idea of a sexless, loveless marriage had seemed reassuringly practical. But now that Alejandro was bringing her to life, waking her up, she wondered if she could go back. Would she be satisfied without making love to her husband?
And what if her husband didn’t invoke these same feelings in her? What if this was exceptionally good sex? She had no point of reference, but it was very easy to believe that Alejandro was a master at all that he did.
The thought stirred colour in her cheeks and she ducked between the doors of a department store with her head lowered, losing herself in the racks of nondescript clothes for the afternoon and trying not to think about Alejandro’s mastery over her body—and how any other man might pale in comparison, even her husband...
‘I thought we agreed you’d be naked.’ His voice caught her completely off guard, but not her body. It flooded with hormones as though it had been waiting for him and was finally at ease.
She spun slowly, turning away from the glass windows that framed a view of the dusk-hued sky, her pulse throbbing when she saw him, so handsome in his suit, the way he looked at her sending a thousand sparks through her body.
‘I’ve been out all afternoon. It didn’t feel appropriate.’
He smiled appreciatively. ‘Perhaps not. Though Barcelona is a very free society. Expression of self is encouraged.’ His gaze raked her figure. ‘However, I do like being the only man who’s seen you naked.’
Heat at the possessive intent of his words spun through her like mini tornados.
‘Even if that does puzzle me.’ He was walking towards her, eyes hooked to hers, the look of intent only intensifying as he drew closer.
Her breath snagged in her throat, but she didn’t take the easy path and look away; she couldn’t. She was mesmerised by him.
‘What does?’
‘You’re a very sexy, beautiful woman.’ His fingers threaded beneath the straps of her dress, sending goosebumps running across her flesh. ‘Surely there must have been times when you wanted to understand your body better.’
Her cheeks glowed. His fingers slid the dress down further. She shivered at the touch, so light, but somehow with the strength of a thousand thunderclaps.
‘When I was a teenager, I had a few boyfriends, if you could call them that. Mum watched Olivia like a hawk—she was the beautiful one, the one Mum worried would be getting all the attention. Apparently, she didn’t think there was much risk of that with me.’
His fingers crept to her back, unlatching her bra, so she forgot what she was saying. Even the feeling of it dropping away from her skin sent shock waves through her. Her nipples, so sensitive from last night’s attention, tingled without having been so much as touched.
‘So you were able to sneak around a little?’ he prompted.
‘A very little.’ She bit down on her lip, memories of that time in her life unpleasant and troubling. ‘It’s really not worth discussing.’
But Alejandro wasn’t someone to be easily put off the scent. ‘Humour me.’
‘What do you want to know?’ She sighed dramatically. ‘My first kiss? A truly disastrous experience that was more like eating eel than anything romantic. So much tongue and wetness.’ She shuddered for effect. ‘My second kiss was not much better. I felt as though he was trying to eat my face off.’
Alejandro’s amusement was in the depths of his eyes, but there was also a tightness there. ‘And your third and fourth kisses? Tell me you did not stop at two, querida?’
‘Third was marginally better.’ Hence, she’d allowed things to progress to the point he’d observed her cantaloupe-sized breasts and all the criticism her mother had poured into her teenage brain had flared to life, too big to ignore.
