AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She rested her hand over his erection. “Not soft as silk.”
“I would hope not,” came his guttural response.
Grace stroked his length, wondering how they’d ever manage to fit together. They would, somehow. But she wasn’t sure she’d find the experience as pleasurable as she’d hoped. “Luc, make love to me.”
“Not in a bathtub. Not for your first time.”
She pulled back and stood. Bubbles slid from her body, clinging to her breasts and belly, and to the strip of hair between her legs. “I seem to remember seeing a huge bed somewhere around here. Will that do?”
His eyes darkened, filled with a desperate desire that caused her to shake with an answering passion. He jackknifed upward, water cascading off him in sheets. Snagging a towel, he wrapped it around her and helped her from the tub. He took his time toweling her off, his touch deliberately arousing. He rubbed her breasts, abrading the nipples with the soft terry cloth, then her stomach. Finally, he slid the towel between her legs in a slow, torturous assault. Her knees buckled in reaction and he lifted her in his arms, carrying her through to the bedroom.
There he laid her on the mattress. This time nothing separated them, but for some reason she didn’t feel the least modest or shy. She held out her arms to him and he joined her, kissing her repeatedly, deep, drugging kisses. All the while he caressed her, from breast to belly. She mirrored his movements, finding his flat nipples in the mat of hair across his chest before chasing downward to the hard, rippled surface of his abdomen. His hand drifted lower, from belly to thigh. She followed his lead, exploring the taut, toned muscles of his thighs, the sprinkle of hairs grazing her palm. He shifted from thigh to the heated core of her and she cupped him, stroked him, massaged him. His fingers played with the soft folds of her cleft, dipping into liquid warmth and she traced her thumb across the rounded tip of him. An urgent craving cascaded through her, compelling. Demanding. Unable to resist, she parted her legs, tilting her hips to encourage his touch, before drawing him to her.
He settled between her thighs and drove inward. She froze and he did, too, giving her time to adjust to the uncomfortable stretching. “I love you, Grace,” he told her.
“Oh, Luc. I love you so very much.”
He kissed her, taking her mouth in the sweetest of kisses at the same instant as he mated their bodies, melding them one to the other. The pain came and went, fleeting and negligible. But what followed was more spectacular than anything she’d ever imagined possible. He thrust into her with measured, easy strokes. She clung to him, simply allowing him to set the pace. Little by little, she moved with him, discovering the steps to an exquisite dance only the two of them would ever share.
An urgency built itself into the rhythm, a rising compulsion, a culmination that drove them onward. The breath sobbed from her lungs and she clung to him, desperate to reach that shining pinnacle. An instant later, she slammed against it and shattered, coming utterly undone. With a roar, Luc followed her, tumbling with her, his arms locked around her, his breath hot and frantic against neck.
“Cara mia,I think you have killed me.”
“I think we died together because this has got to be heaven.”
He pulled back, grinning down at her. “It is heaven, with you. I think it will always be heaven, so long as you’re in my arms.”
For some reason, a lingering doubt assailed her. “Are you sure? Are you really sure?”
He cupped her face and kissed her, a soothing, reassuring kiss. “I’ve been sure for a very long time. I’ve just been waiting for you to realize what’s been right under your nose for the past year.”
“You’ve been waiting for me? I don’t understand. Why did you wait, instead of saying something sooner?”
“Have you forgotten about Will-William?”
“Yes,” she admitted. And she had. Since he didn’t exist, he was easy to forget.
“Your fictitious fiancé has plagued me for a full year. He’s been a thorn in my side that I could neither remove, nor overlook.”
“You never said anything.”
His gaze hardened. “I don’t poach. It wouldn’t be honorable.”
No, he didn’t. Otherwise Dom would never have suggested the plan. “You know why I pretended to be engaged. At least, now you do.”
“I do.” He frowned, though it looked more thoughtful than irritated. “I will admit, it proved beneficial in one regard.”
“In what way?”
He regarded her seriously. “It gave us plenty of time to get to know each other, really get to know each other. As people, not just lovers.”
She couldn’t deny it. “I learned you weren’t quite the man your father described. Yes, you were charming. And yes, women seem to buzz around you like bees around nectar.”
“What can I say? It’s my Salvatore charm.” His teasing faded. “Not that it ever worked on you.”
She snuggled into his embrace. “Oh, it worked. I just couldn’t let you know how well it was working.” She returned to her original point. “But you never took anyone for granted. You’re one of the hardest working men I’ve ever met, as well as one of the most generous. And you genuinely care about people.”
“As do you,amorata mia.And people care about you. They can’t help themselves. You have the kindest heart I’ve ever known.”
