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A loaded silence falls between us. The playful mood shifts, replaced by an undercurrent of anticipation. Clara's smile fades, lips parting slightly as her breathing grows shallower. I wonder if she's picking up on the hungry tension now gripping me. This close, I'm hyper-aware of every minute movement she makes. The rapid flutter of her pulse at the base of her swanlike neck. How she bites her lush lower lip. She radiates nervous energy, setting my senses alight.
Her mouth looks soft. I wonder what it would feel like to have her lips against mine. I imagine her delicate curves pressed up against me, molding to my hard planes as she yields to my touch.
Clara swallows hard, her throat moving in a way that sends an involuntary twitch to my cock. Her eyes flick to mine, then away. Is that desire there?
I take a step closer. Her head tilts up, eyes never leaving my face. I know I should stop, retreat from this dangerous dance. But I'm caught up in this moment, lost to her spell.
My gaze drops to her lips. I want to taste her. Devour her. Claim her.
As if pulled by some invisible tether, Clara leans into me.
A mere breath separates us now. I can feel the warmth of her body, sense her growing desire. I should stop, should regain my composure.
But I've already crossed the line.
I bring my mouth down to hers, savoring the heat of her lips. Clara's breath hitches, her eyes widening for a fraction of a second before slipping closed. The softness of her mouth yields to the insistent pressure of my kiss. I cup her face with one hand, coaxing her lips apart. A soft sigh escapes her as I deepen the kiss, our tongues tangling in a sensual dance.
My other hand moves to her hip, tracing the curve of her waist. Her skin is so warm, so silky, and I long to explore every inch of her. I want to see her, touch her, taste her.
She moans into my mouth, and I'm lost. All reason flees, replaced by a primal need to claim her as my own. I pull her against me, reveling in the press of her soft body against mine. I'm rock hard now, the evidence of my desire impossible to hide.
The kiss grows more heated. Her hands slide up my chest, exploring the hard planes of my body. I want her to touch me everywhere, to sate the hunger that's been growing since the moment I saw her.
My hand moves to her breast, cupping the soft curve through the thin cotton. She arches into my touch, nipples hardening into peaks against my palm. My cock throbs, aching to be inside her.
I can't remember the last time anyone stirred me to this level of raw need. Some long forgotten instinct has awakened inside me, demanding I take what I want.
Her eyes are huge, pupils blown wide with what I desperately hope is desire. She's trembling now. From fear? Anticipation?
Our kisses turn hungry, almost savage. Pent-up longing and scalding attraction erupting between us. The gardens and mansion fall away, narrowing down to just Clara. The intoxicating slide of her lips over mine. Her nails raking down my nape. My palms spanning the curve of her waist. We're lost in each other, caution tossed aside.
I'm seconds from pulling at the hem of her shirt when Clara abruptly pulls away, breaking our connection. Her breathing comes in ragged gasps, lips swollen from the force of our kiss. She presses her fingertips to her mouth, eyes huge.
"I...I can't, Antonio." Her voice shakes. She takes several stumbling steps backward, looking utterly ravaged. "We shouldn't have...I have to go."
I reach for her reflexively, desperate to bring her back into my arms. "Clara, wait—"
But she's already whirling, chestnut hair flying as she flees down the garden path. I watch helplessly as she disappears back into the mansion, still able to taste her on my tongue. The sting of rejection rips through my chest, twin to the ache of unfulfilled desire.
I'm left shaken, my mind and body warring with each other. Everything felt so right in that moment. She wanted me - I know she did. Her passion matched my own, desire overtaking reason for us both. So why did she run?
I curse under my breath, raking a hand through my hair. Of course she ran. What the hell was I thinking, kissing her like that? She's not some random girl I can toy with then discard. Clara is here under our family's protection, which means she's off limits.
Guilt gnaws at me. I've never been one to mix business and pleasure. Keeping the boundary between my duties and personal pursuits is how I've risen so far in the organization. And yet this slip of a girl has me throwing all those rules aside, heedless of the consequences.
With effort, I rein in my seesawing emotions. This recklessness stops now, before real damage is done. I have to stay away from her, no matter how strong the temptation. Even as I make that silent vow, I can still feel the ghost of Clara's lips on mine, the brush of her body against me. The insistent throb below my belt is testament to how much I want her. How difficult it will be to turn away.
Even as self-recrimination wars with frustrated desire, another thought gnaws at me. I can't shake the uneasy suspicion that Clara is hiding something from me. The fear in her eyes after we kissed, the way she ran from my embrace...she wasn't just panicking about being caught together. No, her reaction spoke to something deeper, beyond fleeting passion.
There is more at play here than just an innocent girl caught up in her father's financial mess. Clara holds secrets of her own. I'm sure of it now. But what could they be? And how have our lives been intertwined by circumstance?
CHAPTER7
CLARA
The bitter coffee burns my tongue as I take a tentative sip, the five Ricci brothers' gazes weighing heavily upon me. I shift in my seat, the wooden chair creaking under my weight. I didn't sleep well again last night, tossing and turning thinking about the mysterious letter from the Ferraro family. Then, there was that kiss with Antonio and how desperately I wanted it to continue. I sat up half the night replaying that moment. The crush of Antonio's mouth on mine. His hands climbing up my sides, fingers splayed possessively across my back. The warmth that flooded my core when I knew he wanted more.
Heat creeps into my face again, thinking of that moment. And then how I left him abruptly in the garden, disgusted at how I was making a bad situation worse. At how my body had betrayed me, melting into his embrace when my mind screamed danger.
