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It was no hardship to study his honed and golden flesh, but as she drank in his raw, masculine beauty Nicola was filled with confusion, his words sowing seeds of doubt in a mind which had always been a fertile breeding ground for rejection. Why was he talking about herloverslike that—when he was the only lover she’d ever had?
The only one she could ever imagine wanting.
But there was no time to dwell on her fears because soon he had her moaning again as he filled her with his hardness.
His movements were deep and the confident thrust of her pelvis made him utter something helpless in Italian. And when she could hold back no longer, she began to spasm around him as he shuddered out his own fulfilment. And didn’t that shared moment of orgasm feel extra special? Was thattendernessshe could feel in his kiss? Was it that which made a rush of longing swell up inside her and stupid tears prick the backs of her eyes, so that she had to blink them away and turn her head away, praying he hadn’t noticed?
The room was quiet and, with a lazy yawn, Alessio gazed out of the window at the green blur of leaves in the treetops. It felt good to look at nature for a change, he reflected, after years of the metal and glass view of his high-tech Manhattan penthouse. He stretched, unable to shake off this exquisite sense of lethargy as he tried get his head around what had just happened. The sex had been unbelievable,sì. In fact, he would go so far as to admit it was the best sex he’d ever had, which was saying something, given his extensive track record. But just before that last incredible orgasm, he had heard something which had hovered disturbingly on the edges of his mind and was coming back to him now with unwelcome clarity. Had that been a muffled sob choking from Nicola’s lips? The telltale sound of unwanted emotion intruding?
He frowned because their chemistry was off the scale,sì, but was purely physical. He knew that and she needed to know it, too. Before she started to care. Before she fell in love with him, as so many others had done, even though he’d never given anyone cause to love him. Women like his mother, for whom a man’s wealth was paramount. Women who would sacrifice a child’s happiness as a means to an end.
But Nicola was different from other women, he conceded. And not just because she had chosen a sandwich in the park—which she had paid for—instead of eating in a luxury restaurant. He recognised that in many ways she was still an innocent and he respected her too much to break her heart. Turning over, he reached for her—the tantalising throb of an erection making him regret the inevitability of what he was about to say.
‘You know I have to fly to Japan tomorrow?’
‘I don’t think you mentioned it, no.’ That polite, gallery smile was back. ‘I’m sure it will be lovely. Although I’ve never been there, of course.’
He frowned, because he had been expectingsomesort of disappointment, not that shrugging acceptance. ‘I was thinking that next time I’m in London—’ he kept his voice deliberately casual ‘—we could see each other.’
Her wary expression didn’t change. ‘Sure. Why not?’
Her lips were so inviting that he might have left the subject alone and kissed her into sweet oblivion if he hadn’t noticed the shiny streak of a dried tear on her cheek, which was enough to reinforce his resolve. Because if this was to continue in the way he intended it to, it was vital that he set down some rules, right from the start.
‘I like you, Nicola,’ he said slowly. ‘In fact, I like you a lot. You’re bright and funny and beautiful and one day you’re going to meet an amazing man and marry him.’ He paused as he met the question in her eyes. ‘But that man isn’t going to be me.’
He waited for the inevitable storm. For fireworks and indignation. But there were none. That serene mask was back in place and, ironically, he wanted to shatter it—to glimpse the passion she only ever showed when he was deep inside her. But there was no passion on her face now. Just cool calculation.
‘The first time I had dinner with you,’ she said calmly, as if they were discussing nothing more controversial than the sandwich they had eaten in the park, ‘I told you that I didn’t want to marry anyone. Which remains true. I also remember saying, very explicitly, that even if I did—even if I did—you would be the last person on earth I would ever choose. Which also happened to be true. And my position on that hasn’t changed.’
She flicked a thick handful of blonde hair over her bare shoulder. ‘So I find it more than a little irritating to have been cast in the role of some sort of pining desperado—no, please don’t interrupt me, Alessio—which seems more about feedingyourego than reflectingmyfeelings with any degree of accuracy.’
Taken aback by her objections and more than a little aroused by her cool logic and, of course, by the provocative movement of her breasts, Alessio held up his palms in a gesture of mock submission. ‘Bene, bene!You’ve convinced me. I just wanted to put it out there, that’s all. So that there could be no misunderstanding.’
There was a pause and her eyes glinted with what might have been humour, but it might have been something else. Something both dangerous and alluring.
‘You seem to be the only one in danger of misunderstanding, if you don’t mind my saying so.’
He frowned. Would she consider it patronising if he admitted that it had been an unexpected feeling ofprotectivenesswhich had inspired his words to her? A desire not to hurt her, rather than a desire to feed his ego. He suspected she would. He met her shuttered grey stare. ‘I still want you,’ he said simply.
Nicola could see that for herself. The unmistakable outline of his erection was visible beneath the fine linen sheet and that realisation provoked an answering stab of heat, low in her sex. She could feel her breasts begin to flood and from the quick flicker of his sapphire gaze, she could tell that her reaction hadn’t escaped him.
What would most women in this situation do? she wondered desperately. She supposed it depended on what they wanted. If they were holding out for commitment, then they might just cut their losses and leave. It would hurt for a while, but they’d get over it.
But she wasn’t holding out for commitment.
She had lost her virginity to him. The only thing she had left to lose was her heart and that didn’thaveto happen—not as long as she guarded it fiercely. Because here was an opportunity to learn. The same kind of opportunity which had propelled her from abject poverty into one of the plushest art galleries in Mayfair. She had become an expert and, likewise, could learn from Alessio by watching and listening and, of course, participating. But this wouldn’t involve studying by torchlight while everyone else was asleep, or juggling two waitress jobs while she studied hard at night school. This would consist of lessons in sex from someone who was unbelievably good at it.
‘And I want you, too. Isn’t that why I’m here?’ But it still took a lot of nerve to actually come out and say it. ‘Because you can teach me.’
He frowned. ‘Teach you what?’
‘Everything you know.’ She shrugged. ‘About sex.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘You’re not making any sense.’
‘Think about it, Alessio,’ she challenged softly. ‘You’re experienced and I’m not—but I’ve always been an excellent student.’ The perplexed darkening of his blue eyes gave her a sudden heady rush of satisfaction, because this was a Nicola she felt comfortable with. Who saw what she wanted and went out to get it. ‘And obviously—given my rather competitive nature—I want to be the best lover I can. And you can show me how to achieve that.’ She paused. ‘Can’t you?’
His face was a picture. There was desire—yes, but it was the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes that made him seem more human. More accessible. And that was dangerous. She couldn’t possibly make such a cold-blooded demand if she was then going to commit the cardinal crime of falling in love with him. There was no point in being bold and ambitious if she then came over as vulnerable.
