A laugh escaped her. “I didn’t notice before, but you have an accent.”
His mouth curved to one side, an answering laugh turning his eyes to a dazzling gold. “Maybe it’s because Italian was our first language, even though my brothers and I were born and raised in San Francisco.”
She wanted to ask more questions, to learn everything possible about him. But more urgent demands took precedence. Unable to help herself, she feathered a line of kisses along the firm sweep of his jaw. It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. Forking her hands into his crisp, dark hair she drew his head downward and found his mouth withhers.
With a moan of pleasure, she sank inward, tasting the single sip of wine he’d consumedbefore passion had overruled social niceties. He teased her with a series of gentle kisses, at distinct odds with the ones they had shared earlier.
These tempted. Suggested. Offered a dazzling promise of hot, sultry nights and endless pleasure. She pressed closer, her silk-covered breasts warm and heavy against the bare expanse of his chest. She reached for the zip to his trousers just as an insistent burr came from the cell phone he’d tucked into his pocket. Startled, she took a hasty stepback.
“Wait.” Sev fished out the phone and set it for voice mail before tossing it toward a nearby coffee table. It missed, clattering to the floor. “There. All taken care of.”
“Don’t you need to get that?” she asked.
“It’s just my brother. It can wait until morning.”
A slight frown creased his brow. Once upon a time he’d have taken Marco’s call regardless of the circumstances. On some level he recognized the urgency of speaking to his brother. But that urgency faded to a dull, nagging sensation, one easily dismissed.
Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. Not this crazed need. Not taking time away from business for a sexual interlude. Not the haste and desperation of making thiswoman his. From the minute they kissed, nothing else existed for him but a raw, desperate wanting, one he intended to satisfy.
“Forget about the phone.” He cupped her neck and urged her closer, forking his fingers into her hair and tumbling the loosened strands into total disarray. “Forget about everything but right here and right now.”
She relaxed against him and in the muted light her hair gleamed softly while her dark eyes held mysteries he longed to probe. He found the zip to her dress and lowered it the length of her spine. She released a sigh as the fabric parted. Inch by inch, the silk slid from her shoulders, revealing acres of smooth, pale skin. It skimmed her breasts before drifting downward to cling to her hips. Asimple nudge sent the gown floating to the carpet, leaving her standing within his embrace wearing nothing but garter and stockings, panties and heels. And her jewelry. It glittered against a palate of cream.
He cupped her hips, supporting her as he sank downward, brushing a series of slow, openmouthed kisses from the pearled tips of her breasts to her soft belly. He slipped her heels from her feet and tossed them aside. Then he turned his attention to her stockings. It only took a moment to release the light-as-air nylons and roll them down the endless length of her legs, before disposing of her garterbelt.
Damn, but she was sheer perfection, with narrow, coltish ankles, shapely calves and long, toned thighs. He paused where lilac silk acted as her final bastion of defense to press a kiss against the very heart of her. She trembled beneath his touch, sagging within his grasp.
“No more,” she gasped. “I mean—”
“I know what you mean,” he replied roughly.
And he did. If they didn’t find the bedroom soon, they weren’t going to make it there at all. He rose and her hands flew to his waistband, ripping at his belt and zipper. He backed her toward the bedroom as she fought to strip him, all the while snatching greedy, biting kisses. In the hallway, he kicked off his shoes and stepped free of his trousers. And then he swung her into hisarms.
Sev reached the bed in three short steps and returned her to her feet. He cupped her face, his hands sweeping past the necklace she still wore. The feel of cool gemstones against his heated flesh allowed sanity to return for a brief instant, at least long enough for him to recognize his obligation to protect her jewelry from harm. With a practiced flick of his fingers, he removed necklace, bracelet and earrings and arranged them with due care on the nightstand table.
Satisfied, he returned his attention to Francesca, lowering her to the mattress. She layin a tumble of creamy white against the darkness of the duvet. Opening the box he’d purchased at the gift store, he removed protection and put it within easy reach. Then he stripped off his boxers and joined Francesca on the bed. Lights from the city drifted through the unshaded windows opposite them, tinting her with an opalescent glow that battled the shadows attempting to conceal her fromhim.
The peaks of her naked breasts reflected the muted light, while darkness flung a protective arm low across her belly where her final scrap of clothing remained. She lay quietly beneath his scrutiny, her face turned toward his. Light and shadow worked its magic there, as well, the moon slicing a band of brightness across the ripe fullness of her bee-stung mouth, leaving her eyes—eyes the deep, rich brown of bittersweet chocolate—hidden fromhim.
He traced a path from moonlight to shadow, delving into the mysteries the dark kept hidden. Her eyes fluttered shut and filled him with an intense curiosity to know all she fought to hide. “What are you thinking?” he asked.
“I’m wondering how I came to be here.” She shuddered beneath his touch and it took her a minute to finish. “One instant my life is simple and clear-cut and the next it has me so confused I can’t think straight.”
“Then don’t think. Just feel.”
He kissed her cupid’s mouth. Unable to resist, he captured the plump bottom lip between his teeth and tugged ever so gently. His reward came in the low, helpless moan that escapedher.
“Do that again,” she urged.
“All night long, if that’s what you want.”
He teased her lips once more, light, brushing strokes that promised without satisfying, suggested without delivering. To his amusement, she chased his wandering mouth in greedy pursuit. He finally let her catch him, delighting in the way she coaxed him into a deeper kiss. She gave both promise and satisfaction, delivering on all he’d suggested. He couldn’t get enough of the taste of her, of the incredible parry and slide and nibble of lips and tongue and teeth.
With each exchange, the fever within burned higher and brighter, demanding instant gratification. Sev resisted, refusing to rush. Francesca deserved more. For that matter, so did he. He wanted to explore every inch of her, to delve over each luscious hill and into every valley. To commit her to memory, and then repeat the process in case he’d missed something.
“Why have you stopped?” The question came in a whisper, her confusion communicatedthrough the growing tension in her shoulders and back. “Is something wrong?”
“I haven’t stopped,” he reassured. “I’ve just slowed down.”
