“I’m avirgin,” he shouts out, glaring at me. “I’m a virgin, okay?”
CHAPTER21
TEDDY
My face feels sohot I think I might have permanent burn marks on my cheeks after this. I can’t look at Alessandro, can’t bring myself to see his reaction. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, after a long moment of silence. “I’m sorry.”
I hear him shift, come closer, and he sits near me on the bed. I can feel him looking at me, but when I dare to glance up, his face is unreadable. At least the cynical loathing is gone from his eyes. I couldn’t bear the way he looked at me when I was stumbling over my explanation.
“Why are you apologizing?” he asks, his voice gentle and soft. He reaches out and closes a hand over my ankle, a gesture that warms me with comfort and longing.
“For—for being…”
He shakes his head. “Never apologize for being new to something,topolino.”
I just shrug. I can’t speak, embarrassed not only by my own virginity but by the fact that I’m so embarrassed about it in the first place. I’m angry, too—angry that I’m so awkward and humiliated anduseless.
“Come here. Come here to me.” I want more of the warmth in Alessandro’s voice, so I shuffle over to him, my eyes cast down again, stiff-shouldered when he first embraces me, but relaxing into him as the seconds go by. “I’m glad that you told me. I can see that you are upset by it, but you shouldn’t be; it makes me happy to think you would trust me, of all people, to initiate you.”
He pulls me into his lap, and I straddle him again, looking down into his face. “You don’t think I’m a freak?”
He actually laughs at that, his eye—the one unaffected by the scar—crinkling up with good humor. “Of the two of us, you are most certainly not the freak.” His hand travels down my spine, caressing me slowly, stopping at the curve of my back. His fingers play just under the band of my underwear, suggestive.
“You still want to…” I can’t say it.
“Oh, yes,” he tells me, eyes shining with desire. “Yes, I want you very much, Teddy.” The fingers slide lower, grabbing at my asscheek and making me gasp. “But are you sure you still want me?”
“Yes.”
He studies me carefully for a moment before smiling again. “Then let’s enjoy ourselves.” His other hand, the one not kneading my ass, curls around the back of my neck, and he pulls my lips to his. It’s not the same passionate, soul-devouring kiss we had yesterday, but it’s no less toe-curlingly good. He teases my mouth open with his tongue as his fingers trace the crack of my ass, making me shiver.
“All those fantasies,” I gasp out, finally feeling bold again, “Idowant them. I do.”
“Yes,” he murmurs against my neck. “I’ll let you have your fantasies, little mouse, but you must let me have mine as well.”
I shudder as he lays me carefully down so that my head is resting among the pillows. He stands over me, dark eyes sweeping up and down my body, and I fight not to tuck my hands over myself, try to breathe slowly, in and out.
What fantasies would someone like Alessandro Castellani have? My heartbeat picks up just contemplating it.
He leans over, his hand next to me on the bed, brushing his lips against mine, then over my cheek until they hover over my ear. “Will you let me explore? I want to find out the secrets of your body.”
“Yes, please.” His chuckle makes me warm all over. He sits next to me on the bed, still fully dressed, and lets his hand rest over my heart.
“So fast,” he murmurs. “Are you still afraid?”
“A little bit.”
He smirks at that. “Good. A little fear is good.” His hand slides over to my left nipple, his fingers bumping over it, then returning to trace a circle. The tingles spread from my chest through my abdomen, make my balls throb and my feet arch.
“Look at me,” he says. And then he gathers my nipple into a pinch, firm, watching my reaction.
I keep looking at him, even though I worry at what my face is giving away. The pinch gets tighter, and he tugs a little, making me arch up, making me catch my breath.
“Do you like that?”
I nod, not daring to speak. He begins to twist, implacable until I cry out, grab at his wrist, and then he lets go completely, shushing me and soothing me, his hand massaging the pain, sending it away quickly.
“A little fear,” he says, “and a little pain. But only a little.”
