Page 27

Home sounded amazing. She couldn’t keep pretending. Not when he kept holding her hand, not when the heat of his grip told her he didn’t want to let go.

At the SUV, he didn’t simply guide her in. He lifted her as if she weighed nothing, setting her carefully on the leather seat.

“Scoot over,” he muttered.

She obeyed, sliding across the seat, but he stopped her before she reached the far side, tugging her back close to him.

“Home,” he ordered the driver.

The SUV glided onto the highway, the city lights streaking past. Madelaine leaned into Paulo’s side, with his arm around her, her pulse racing, her mind spinning out of control.

Chapter 20

Paulo knew this was a mistake. A dangerous, reckless mistake. He should send her upstairs alone. He should tell her to lock her door, just to be extra safe. He should turn away before the need clawing in his chest consumed him.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he caught her hand in his and led her through the silent house, every step echoing like a drumbeat, until they paused at the bottom of the stairs.

“I want you, Madelaine,” he growled, his voice raw, infused with hunger. He lifted her hand and pressed her palm to his chest, over his pounding heart. Not where he really wanted her touch, but it was as far as his control would let him go. “I want to take you upstairs. I want you, naked, in my bed. I want to make love to you until we forget our own names.” He leaned closer, touching his forehead to her own. “But if you don’t want that, if you tell me no, then you walk up those stairs alone and I’ll never touch you again.”

Her answer was immediate. “I want you too.”

For one terrifying, exhilarating moment, he nearly pinned her to the wall and took her right there, cameras be damned. The need was that all-encompassing.

But reason, barely, won.

Not here. Not where his guards could watch her on a monitor later. She was his, and absolutely not for their eyes.

With a rough exhale, he scooped her into his arms. She gave a startled gasp, then clung to him, her arms winding tight around his neck.

And then, hell, her lips grazed his ear. A teasing nip at his lobe.

He stumbled on the last stair, nearly losing his footing, the shock of desire weakening his knees.

He frowned down at her, but she only smiled wickedly, her fingers threading through his hair, her touch setting fire to every cell in his body.

He needed to get to his bedroom. He needed Madelaine bared to his eyes so that he could finally see all the delicious curves that had been distracting him for too long. He needed her body spread out beneath him as he kissed and explored every inch of her. He wanted to know what she liked and disliked. He wanted to hear her cries of release when he gave her a first climax.

“Now,” he growled as he kicked the door to his bedroom closed and set her on her feet, “strip everything off!”

She stepped back, her eyes widening with surprise.

“Paulo,” she began, but he fisted his hands on his hips. “Madelaine, I’m hanging on by a thread right now,” he explained through clenched teeth. “If you don’t want this, then leave. But if you do…?”

He grunted when she flung herself into his arms, grabbing the back of his head to pull him in closer. She kissed him deeply, wiggling her body against his. She nipped at his lower lip, pulling on it just a little before deepening the kiss further.

Lifting her higher, he pressed his erection against her core, carrying her to the bed while continuing to kiss her.

He considered tossing her onto the bed and stripping her clothes off, but instead, he set her down beside it, his shaft throbbing urgently with the need to bury itself into her soft heat. But he had to slow down. For some reason, this moment seemed…important. In the past, sex had just been a release. With Madelaine, it would be different. More important, although he didn’t have words to explain it. He just knew that sex with Madelaine would be life changing.

“I need you naked,” he told her, then pulled her sweater over her head. She let him, then he stared down at the most glorious set of breasts he’d ever seen. Cupping them reverently, he stroked the taut peaks with his thumbs, watching as they hardened before his eyes. “Beautiful!” he growled.

“Please,” she whimpered, moving closer as she quickly unbuttoned his dress shirt, pushing it off his shoulders and letting it fall to the floor.

He stayed focused on her breasts, reveling in her gorgeous nipples that were begging him to taste them. He pressed her backwards until she tumbled onto the bed. He’d be back for that taste later, because right now, he needed Madelaine naked.

When she fell backwards, he bent down and pulled at her leggings, taking everything off at once.