Робин Грейди – Australia: Sinful Secrets: Public Marriage, Private Secrets / Every Girl's Secret Fantasy / The Heart Surgeon's Secret Child (страница 21)

Heat pulsed through her veins, setting her body on fire…for him, only him. The sane, sensible part of her issued a silent warning her emotional heart chose to ignore. She needed this, him, with every breath she took, and she defied rational thought as her hands sought to remove his jacket, loosen his tie, then tear hurriedly at the buttons on his shirt…aware he was equally bent on dispensing with her clothes.

Skin, just skin…warm, fluid muscle and sinew. She revelled in the feel of him, the clean male musky scent mingling with the exclusive tones of his cologne.

His hand trailed low over her stomach and sought her moist heat, the acutely sensitive clitoris…he sensed her intake of breath as he skilfully brought her to orgasm.

Eroticism at its pinnacle…shameless and wildly primitive…and at that moment she couldn’t see, only feel, with the desperate need for fulfilment.

More. She wanted so much more. Now. It had to be now, or she’d die.

She linked her hands at his nape and in one agile movement straddled his hips, instinctively arching in against his arousal as he cupped her bottom to hold her there.

His mouth sought hers as he invaded the inner depths, searching delicate tissues, savouring the taste and feel of her…teasing the highly sensitised heat as he moved her against the length of his arousal…until she closed the edge of her teeth over his tongue in silent urgency for his possession.

Which he gave, positioning her as he slid in carefully, stilled, then thrust in deep…absorbing her cry as he held her there, aware her heartbeat thudded in unison with his own.

It wasn’t enough… He wanted her in bed, under him, at his mercy as he drove her wild.

A few steps was all it took, and he disengaged, tore back the bedcovers in one easy movement, then tumbled them both down onto the sheeted mattress.

His mouth sought the sensitive curve at the edge of her neck, then traced a path to her breast, moistened the tender peak and drew it into his mouth. He heard the breath hitch in her throat as he tugged hard, and he softened his touch as her nails pressed into his biceps.

Not content, he trailed light kisses to her waist, lingered at her navel, then with lazy appreciation moved slowly down to settle at the apex of her thighs.

Her body quivered as he blew gently against the sensitive flesh, then sought the honeyed cleft, traced it with the tip of his tongue, bestowed an open-mouthed kiss… Then he sought the satiny entrance and delved deep, only to retreat and graze the clitoris until she shattered beneath his touch.

With one easy movement, he shifted and began trailing soft kisses down one inner thigh to her knee and back again, before inching slowly to her breast.

Her hands, which had been digging into the mattress, moved to clasp his hips…and it was he who felt the breath hitch in his throat as she enclosed his arousal, stroked him, then eased to cup him.

‘Careful, querida, he warned her gently as he nipped the swollen peak with the edge of his teeth…only to chuckle quietly as she grasped his head and dragged his mouth to her own in a kiss that took passion to new heights.

It was then he entered her in a slow, deep slide that drew a soft moan from her throat as her muscles tightened, gripping him as she urged him to quicken the pace, demanding as he lost himself in deep, powerful thrusts that rocked them both as they soared high…so high. She simply held on as he took her to the edge, suspended her there, then tipped her over in a glorious free-fall that left them both dragging breath into their lungs.

Sated, and deliciously replete, she held him close, murmuring indistinctly as she rested in his embrace.

His, indisputably his.

As he was hers…had been from the first moment he had laid eyes on her. She’d intrigued him…he who’d become jaded with the women of his acquaintance. Mostly sycophants who imagined being attractive arm candy and receptive in bed would gain them entry into his world…for a time.

Gianna had been different. Alive, sparkling…unutterably sweet, and honest, with a dry wit he’d found remarkably refreshing. No hidden agenda, and equally at ease with his high-powered lifestyle. She’d taught him to lighten up, to laugh a little…and to love with his heart, his soul.

He’d proposed, gifted her his ring, for marriage had been a given…just a matter of organising a day, a time.

Her accidental pregnancy had delighted him, precipitating the wedding. But the unforeseen miscarriage had been followed soon after by Sierra’s damnably false innuendos…and Gianna had slipped to a place where he’d been unable to reach her.

‘Sleep,’ he bade her gently, and he watched her lashes drift down.

‘You should leave.’

He pressed a light kiss to her temple and nestled her close in against him. ‘Later.’

Except it was she who stirred in the early pre-dawn hours to the light trail of his mouth as he nuzzled the hollow at the base of her throat. She who uttered little protest as he made love to her again…a slow, gentle loving that was all her pleasure, after which he scooped her into his arms and carried her into the en suite bathroom, where he shared her shower, teasing her with the soap before gifting it to her to return the favour.

Which she did, so caught up in the thrall of him and what they’d shared that she refused to think.

This…this was heaven. The beautiful aftermath of good sex. Very good sex. Intimacy at its most rapturous, when the heart was gloriously alive…and free from intrusive thought.

If only it could remain like this, Gianna pondered a trifle wistfully. To be able to go back to the place before it all went wrong…to view it from a different mind-set and avoid the pain and bitterness.

A hollow laugh rose and died in her throat.

So much for not thinking.

‘Don’t,’ Raúl chided gently.

She didn’t pretend to misunderstand. ‘It’s impossible not to.’

He caught hold of her chin and tilted it so she had no recourse but to meet the darkness in his eyes. ‘There has never been anyone since you. No one.’

No one? Not even…

Dared she believe him …trust him? At the time of their marriage she would have given an unequivocal yes.

Now, even discounting Sierra’s damning words to the contrary, it seemed almost impossible to comprehend a man with Raúl’s sexual energy could remain celibate for such a long period of time.

There were so many layers to remove to reach the kernel of truth, she perceived.

Sex…even very good sex…did little more than temporarily paper over the cracks.

Which brought forth the question…had she been wrong three years ago? So distressed and emotionally traumatised that she’d chosen to believe Sierra’s accounting instead of trusting Raúl?

It was something she’d agonised over countless times, only to reach the same conclusion…logic in favour of an unlikely truth.

Did she possess the nous, the courage, to confront Sierra and shoot down each and every purported fact…and verify it as fallacy?

She had the rest of her life in front of her…a successful business, a pleasant apartment, a good lifestyle.

All of which she’d trade in a heartbeat…

Oh, God.

She closed her eyes, counted to ten, then slowly opened them again.

Don’t let intimacy cloud an important issue, she cautioned herself silently as Raúl released her and closed the water dial.

With ease he caught up a towel and hitched it at his waist, then he filched another and gently blotted the moisture from her body.

Towelled dry, he drew her into the bedroom, straightened the covers, then slid beneath them and gathered her in.

The remembered closeness of being held like this…the soft drift of his fingers as they trailed her spine…the way one hand cupped her head and the slide of his lips to her forehead…it was like coming home to a place where her body instinctively knew it belonged.

CHAPTER NINE

GIANNA drifted awake, reluctant to leave what she perceived to be an exquisite dream, only to fail as she became slowly aware of her sprawled position in the bed when she usually woke curled on her side.

She yawned, stretched a little…and felt the sexual pull deep within. For a brief moment she stilled, then groaned.

Raúl.

Ohmigod, they hadn’t…

She lifted her head and saw the empty space he’d occupied, became aware the scent of his cologne still lingered and weathered the memory, in detail, of what had transpired through the night.

Hell.

The time? She picked up her watch and did a double-take to see it was almost nine.

She never slept in—well, let’s qualify that. She hadn’t had reason to sleep late for a long while.

Time to rise and shine, shower, dress and greet whatever the day might hold, she decided as she gathered up fresh clothes and headed for the en suite bathroom.

Twenty minutes later she entered the dining room to find Raúl and Teresa enjoying breakfast.

‘Good morning.’

Gianna met Teresa’s warm smile with one of her own, and returned the greeting while studiously avoiding Raúl’s thoughtful gaze.

‘Do help yourself and join us.’