Was there anywhere on earth more beautiful than Cesar’s Roman garden? Lit by moonlight, marble statues stood in silent repose like elegant ghosts from ancient times that at any moment might step down from their pedestals to join them. Beyond the vast expanse of garden the lights of Rome sparkled like precious gems. Floral fragrances teased her senses, lending a soothing quality to the setting they had chosen to have this talk that was at odds with the tension between them. But when a band was stretched tight it had to snap at some point. She was acutely aware of Cesar at her side. For some reason, she was drawn to the now deserted pavilion. The door was unlocked and yielded easily. She walked in, and Cesar followed.
‘This is our chance to talk,’ she said.
Cesar closed the door behind them. Leaning back against it, he stared at her. ‘Is this what you want?’
It took a single step in either direction to answer his question. She stepped forward.
Cesar dipped his head and brushed her lips with his. ‘You’d better not take advantage of me,’ she whispered.
‘I’d say the shoe was on the other foot.’
But he made the next move, moving in for a gentle, lingering kiss, and as he teased the seam of her lips apart, an overwhelming surge of hunger consumed her.
The moment was right. Reaching up, she linked her hands behind his neck.
Looping her hair around her fist, Cesar drew her head back. ‘I’ve always loved chocolate.’
‘It must have melted in my hand,’ she admitted between whimpers of pleasure.
‘I don’t care how it got there,’ he assured her, lavishing kisses on her neck, her chin, her cheeks, and finally her lips. ‘Only that I get to lick it off.’
Her answer was to press her body against his. Leaning into him, she parted her lips, inviting the invasion of his tongue.
Cesar unleashed a tiger inside her. The fact that she was inexperienced, and definitely playing with fire, meant nothing to her now. All she could think of was keeping him close so he deepened the kiss. Their bodies acted independently, seeking each other greedily and fiercely, while throaty sounds of pleasure flew from her lips.
‘I think you want this,’ Cesar observed as he teased her with more and more kisses.
‘You think?’ she whispered as she began to undress him.
There was a moment’s pause when they stared at each other as if for the first time, and then clothes were flying everywhere.
Cesar was even more beautiful than she had imagined, though in a harsh and rugged way. With a lazy smile, he mapped her breasts, delivering exquisite pleasure that left her incapable of speech. Sounds of encouragement flew from her throat when he tormented her nipples into tight buds of sensation.
‘You have magnificent breasts,’ Cesar commented matter-of-factly.
‘I’m glad you approve.’
He laughed in a way that made sensation travel from her breasts to the sweet spot between her legs. ‘Your nipples are so responsive—like the rest of you, I’m guessing?’
‘You wouldn’t be wrong,’ she admitted.
Cesar’s voice was a seduction in itself, and made her hungry for more. Naked skin to naked skin was all she could think about. Instinct said Cesar would pleasure her as no one else could.
Swinging her into his arms, he carried her across to a well-padded banquette. But seduction was not on his mind. ‘You wanted to talk to me?’ he prompted.
Cesar’s swift change of pace was a reminder to keep her wits about her, or this opportunity to talk would be wasted. Having proved he could seduce her with little or no effort at all, Cesar had put that one aside in favour of interrogation.
‘I don’t have all night,’ he said, confirming this.
‘I apologise for the article, but there was a very good reason for it.’
‘What reason could there possibly be?’ His voice was cool, his expression unyielding. ‘Did you expect me to seduce you and then forget what you’d done? Is that why you agreed to come with me into the garden?’
‘That was never my intention.’ Her voice was heated, and she had wanted a civilised talk. Why could they never meet without passion of getting in the way? ‘I was just grateful to have an opportunity to talk to you. Please believe me when I tell you that everything is not as it seems.’
‘So you didn’t write the article, as you didn’t kiss me just now?’
‘If you only knew the truth,’ she protested.
