Page 212 of Valentino

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The door clicks as it releases and I turn toward him. “What are you doing?”

“Shut up.”

“You shut up,” I breathe.

“Stop it,” he growls.

“You stop it,” I fume.

Fireworks explode, his lips take mine and we slam into my room. My hands are in his hair; our kiss is out of control. Frantic, deep, and passionate, filled with so much want. All the torment of the last three years coming to a climax.

He lifts me to bring my legs around his waist before throwing me onto the bed and crawling over me.

“Stop making me fucking need you,” he whispers, not an apology but a declaration of some sort.

We fall still as we stare at each other.

And this is it, the moment where I decide whether to move on from the man that I haven’t been able to forget, or to try again in a different timeline.

Try….

“It’s only fair that you need me…because…” I look up into his big, beautiful eyes, “…I need you.”

As if relieved, his eyes flutter closed as he kisses me, I reach up and try to push his suit jacket off over his shoulders and he throws it to the side.

His dark eyes hold mine; he jerks the bow tie off and the aggression of the movement only adds to the excitement. If I wasn’t trying my hardest to act calm I would let out a cheer.

His attention goes down to the buttons on his shirt, and I hold my breath as I watch him slowly undo them. With every one that comes loose, I see a little more tanned skin, feel a little more of his presence take over me.

Memories reawaken, like a chorus from my favorite song, visions of the two of us together from the magical time I spent in his arms play through my mind.

With the last button undone his shirt gets thrown, and I’m blessed with the sight of his body. Broad shoulders, a six-pack of muscles in his stomach, and that perfect V that disappears into his black suit pants. His brown wavy hair falls over his eyes as he stares down at me. Just for a moment I forget everything, because damn, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a beautiful man.

He slides his hands up my thighs, hooks his thumbs under my bikini pants and slides them down my legs and then off.

Our eyes don’t leave each other’s, and for me it’s so that I can make sure this isn’t a figment of my imagination. Then he gets to work on the buttons of my shirt, and suddenly I’m lying before him with my shirt open and naked from the waist down.

He pulls my bikini top to the side and takes my nipple into his mouth, sucking as his hands slide down my torso and around to cup my behind. His breath is quivering as if he’s barely holding on to control and seeing him like this…. Feeling him like this has me feeling the same.

He drops lower, is he…oh no.

I grab his shoulder to try and stop him. “Val.”

His eyes flick up to me in question.

“Too much.”

“Shut up.” He nibbles down over my chest. “Isn’t that the point,” he murmurs against my stomach as his lips move lower.

I feel his fingers part my lips and time stops; I stare up at the ceiling as I wait for his reaction. Or next move…. Or the world to spin off its axis and explode into the universe. This feels like a seismic event of epic proportions.

His tongue swipes through me, barely there, just a whisper, and my back arches off the mattress. “Oh,” I whimper.

“Oh yeah.” He smiles into me, before licking me again. “You like that?”

I nod as my back arches of its own accord.