“There’re three additional bedrooms downstairs, in case you don’t like this one,” he informed me.
“Don’t be silly. Just put me down and let me show you how much I love it.”
He sat on the bed and brought me onto his lap. “You need to rest. We have all the time in the world.”
I frowned. “I rested on the fuckin’ plane like you asked when all I really wanted was to hear you groan my name.”
He sucked below my ear. “Yeah?”
A rush of heat flashed across my skin. My hands explored the lean flesh under his shirt. “Hell yeah. Don’t you?”
He pushed me lower on his hips so I could feel his answer physically. “All I’ve been waiting for, since you set foot on that plane to Ireland, is the second you’d return,” he whispered, slowly undressing me. “So I can throw you on my bed and thrust out every latent need and desire I’ve had for the last four months.”
His breath came rougher now as I sat naked in his lap. He yanked at the bottom of his shirt, pulling it over his head, and I stared at his beauty. Lying back, he brought me to his mouth so that I was straddling him. My breathing accelerated as he ran his mouth softly between my legs and then inhaled. “Remind myself of how you smelled. How you tasted.” His tongue licked inside me, and I moaned. “How you moaned. HowIcan make you moan.”
I lost myself in those minutes with his head between my legs as he devoured me. Owned me. Then for the next hours our bodies joined, testing out the sturdiness of the furniture of every room in the house.
Scene65
Maggie
“Amore, get out of the water. The boat is gonna be here in an hour. We’re gonna be late,” Mike said, holding a towel, his feet bare in the sand.
I focused on his face—not his perfect, naked, tanned chest or the black swimwear hugging his junk—as I edged to the shore. “I don’t wanna go anywhere.”
“Please,” he pleaded, making baby sounds.
I rippled the water with my feet in a protest as I came out. His eyes ogled my crimson string bikini—something I’d have never thought about wearing if he hadn’t literally begged me to wear it—one more time before he wrapped the towel around my body.
“I don’t think I can handle another one of your surprises, Mike,” I said, taking his hand as they started for the house.
“Who said anything about a surprise? We’re just celebrating New Year’s.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re an amazing actor, but not with me.”
“Critics beg to differ, Ms. Dawson. They saidBlack Sheephas been my best performance so far, and it is so because I’m an amazing actor with you.”
“Stop it.” I climbed up the stairs that led directly to the master bedroom from the beach. “I know you’re planning something. And it’s big.”
He opened the French door with a smile. “We had a deal, Maggie. So let me do my thing.”
My eyes caught the sparkling evening gown on the bed as I got inside the room. A new dress he must have packed with all the new clothes he’d bought me for this trip. “Oh my God. You planned this even before we got here.”
He rubbed my arms, holding my gaze. “Vita mia, just don’t think too much. I promise it’ll be fun.”
I dropped off the towel and stepped forward. He took a deep breath as my damp body and hands touched him. “Maggie…” He smiled. “We’re gonna be late.”
I took off my top. “That’s the point.”
His eyes dropped to my breasts as they tumbled free before him. “Fuck.” His lips pressed in a tight line as if he was in pain. “I’m gonna go get dressed.”
He practically ran out of the room.
Shit. I had no choice but to shower and put on the dress. A crystal top with a sheer back and a red skirt with a huge slit on the side.
Dancing. I convinced myself we were going dancing to celebrate New Year’s like he’d said. If I let my mind believe what my heart was telling me, I wouldn’t take two steps out of the house without a panic attack.
Applying the final touches of mascara and lipstick, I saw his stunning figure in the mirror. He leaned against the doorframe in a black tux, his hands in his pockets, his eyes twinkling with admiration.
