Her smile was tremulous, but she didn’t look at him. “I’m not having regrets.”
“Then what’s the matter?”
“I really don’t know.” How, Francesca wondered, could she even begin to describe what she was feeling when she couldn’t make sense of it herself? And even if she could make sense of it, he wouldn’t want to hear it. What they’d shared had been purely transactional.
She’d imagined that when it was over, she would feel glee at having rid herself of her virginity burden under her own terms. She hadn’t expected to feel bereft. She hadn’t expected to feel Gino’s absence when he closed the bathroom door. She hadn’t expected her eyes to flicker below his waistline when he came back out, and for heat to flood her system to think that he’d been inside her.
She could still feel him inside her.
They’d shared the greatest intimacy two humans could share, and…
And for him, it was an intimacy that meant nothing. That’s why she was feeling bereft, she realised sadly. The most intimate and significant event of her whole life had meant nothing to the man she’d shared it with. In reality, it should mean nothing to her either.
“I think I should go to my bed now,” she said quietly.
He was silent a long moment. “I promised you the whole night.”
“That’s okay. You’re not breaking it if it comes from me.”
He caught her chin and gently turned her face to him. “What’s wrong, Chicca? Did I hurt you in some way?”
“No.” She sighed and then attempted a smile. “You didn’t hurt me at all. You were very gentle with me, so thank you. It was… nice.”
Any hurt she was feeling was self-inflicted. She’d asked for this. He’d tried to dissuade her – triedhardto dissuade her – but she’d refused to listen to reason.
He raised an eyebrow. “Nice?”
Well aware that her cheeks had caught fire again, she attempted to brazen it out and lighten the atmosphere. She didn’t want it to end on a sour note, not when it had felt so special, even if it had only been her who’d felt the specialness of it. “When I leave my rating for my stay here, I’ll give a bonus star for virginity taking. By the time I’ve posted my review, all the local virgins will be queuing for miles to be deflowered.”
His smile at this made her heart swell. Eyes crinkling, he placed an elbow close to her and leaned onto it, murmuring, “Should I create a special deflowering room for them?”
“For sure. Get one of your staff to run the booking system for you.”
His smile widened before fading a little. “If you’re preparing to leave me such a good review, why do you want to go back to your bed?”
Arching an eyebrow, she somehow managed to keep the brazen lightness in her voice. “I didn’t ask tosleepwith you, Gino.”
“Ah… You mean you only wanted me for my body?”
“Absolutely.”
“And now that you’ve had your fun, you want to cut and run?”
“You must think me the perfect woman,” she deadpanned.
“I shall insist all future virgins use you as a template for best practice.”
“I’ll write a pamphlet you can distribute in the waiting room, if you want?”
His eyes didn’t crinkle with his next smile, which fell quickly as he sighed and stroked her arm. “You know, for someone who only wanted me for my body, you’re not making very good use of it.”
All the amusement she’d managed to conjure in herself died away. “Please don’t compare me to your other lovers,” she whispered. She couldn’t bear that.
What amusement had been shining in his eyes died too. Lifting himself, he gently smoothed her hair. “I would never do that, Chicca.” And then he tilted his head and smiled again. “All I meant was that I promised you the whole night. We still have some hours until the sun comes up, and there is still much to teach you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ah, my sweet virgin…” He leaned his face closer and brushed a kiss to her mouth. Incredibly, the flame between her legs flickered back to life. “What we did was only the beginning of what sex can be. You said you wanted me to teach you…” His lips skimmed over her cheek and nuzzled into her neck. “So let me teach you.” Bringing his mouth up to her ear, he whispered, “The choice is yours, Chicca. You can spend the last hours of our night together in my bed learning what pleasure is all about, or you can go back to your bed and sleep…”
