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BELLA SOMEHOW GOT her legs to carry her into the cream and gold bedroom where Sergio finally dropped her hand from his. Not that this afforded her much relief, since he immediately started to undo the buttons on her top. Her body swayed slightly as her mind reeled. She wanted him even more desperately this time. Wanted him so much that she felt almost ill. Her heart was racing and her stomach churning. She was tempted to reach up and rip the top off herself, so impatient was she to be naked before him. When he finally peeled the top back off her shoulders, her belly tightened alarmingly, making her fiercely aware of her full bladder. Too much of that champagne, she realised with some dismay.
‘I...I need to go to the bathroom,’ she said shakily.
His dark eyes narrowed. ‘You’re not going cold on me, are you?’ he asked.
‘God, no,’ she choked out. She was so hot she was on the verge of combustion!
‘Come back naked, then. I like my women naked.’
Bella sucked in sharply at the sudden harshness in his voice, and in his statement.
He seemed to sense her hurt for he immediately reached out to run a softly seductive finger down her cheek and around her mouth. ‘But only when they’re as lovely as you, beautiful Bella,’ he murmured.
Her chin still lifted, her pride stung by being lumped together with all his other women. And there would have been plenty. She could see that. Perversely, she didn’t like that thought. ‘I would imagine you don’t go to bed with any other kind,’ she snapped, stupidly letting her jealousy show.
He smiled a knowing smile, his provocative finger dropping away. ‘You could be right. But it’s a common failing in bachelors. And beautiful women. I can’t see you going to bed with an ugly man.’
She could not find an answer to that. Despite their flaws, her lovers had all been tall, dark and handsome. Like Sergio. But there’d only been three of them whereas she suspected he’d had girlfriends galore. Who would have guessed that the reserved boy she’d come to know and like enormously would one day become a playboy? And a billionaire as well!
‘Let’s not have a lovers’ tiff,’ he went on, still smiling. ‘Now go do what you have to do. I need to get some condoms from my room, anyway. We’ll meet back on this bed sans clothes in a couple of minutes, okay?’
Bella tried to hold on to her resentment at his high-handed attitude but it was futile. Already she was a slave to the exquisite pleasure that going to bed with Sergio promised. As much as she didn’t like the idea of his being a playboy, his wealth of experience did have some compensations. He certainly knew what he was doing in bed. Which was more than could be said for her. But she was learning.
It did cross Bella’s mind that her past lovers had all been playboys as well, with lots of bedroom experience. But she’d never had an orgasm with them. Never wanted them the way she wanted Sergio. It was a puzzle all right, she thought as she stripped off her clothes and stared at herself in the large vanity mirror, taking in her pink cheeks and erect nipples. But not a puzzle she cared to think about for long. All she wanted was to get back out there and be waiting for Sergio, naked, the way he liked his women.
He was there before her, stretched out on top of the cream cotton sheets, as naked as she was. More naked this time, she noted, no condom covering the awesome length of his erection.
When she stared, then hesitated to join him on the bed, Sergio rolled over onto his side and pointed to the pile of condoms sitting on the bedside table right next to her. ‘I will use one when it’s strictly necessary,’ he told her. ‘But till then, I thought it might be more pleasurable without protection.’
Bella found his casual manner exasperating yet perversely exciting. Could it be that his taking all the emotion out of the situation made her relax and actually enjoy the sex? It seemed a possible solution to the puzzle. Certainly, when she was with Sergio, she wasn’t wondering if he really loved her or not. Because she knew he didn’t!
Shaking her head at him, she climbed onto the bed, determined to act as casually as he was. But it was just an act. Suddenly, her earlier eagerness to take him in her mouth faded in the face of actually doing it. Her mouth dried at the thought.
Time for some of that new boldness, Bella. Time to take the reins, perhaps. Something you’re not used to doing, but you’re not an idiot, or ignorant. You know what men like.
‘Right,’ she said briskly. ‘Just lie back, Sergio, and I’ll see if I can help you out with your sleeping problem.’
Oddly enough, her deciding to take control of the situation did wonders for her own sudden lack of confidence. As she sat up and bent her head towards Sergio’s impatient flesh, Bella experienced the same rush of adrenalin that always swept through her once she actually stepped out onto a stage and began to sing. Performing for an audience always thrilled her. She was never nervous at all, not once the show actually started. Of course, it did help that she always practised her role and her songs till she was note perfect.
The role she was about to play was not one she’d overly practised, or even remotely perfected.
She should have experienced a crisis of confidence but she didn’t.
I can do this, she told herself as her lips hovered above him. I am a quick study. And observant. I will soon know what pleases him most.
Bella sucked in a deep breath, her lips falling apart in a last moment of panic.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#u05dafb25-506a-5672-8213-7d5e994377c5)
SERGIO SHUDDERED WHEN her lips brushed over the straining tip of his erection.
Dear God, what an idiot am I to think I could stand this for more than a few seconds.
His teeth clenched down hard in his jaw when she did it again, his gut tightening as he braced himself for more torment. And she gave him more, doing everything that he’d ever dreamt of her doing. Licking him. Kissing him. Sucking him. Then taking him into her mouth, slowly, inch by inch, till he couldn’t bear it any more.
‘No,’ he grunted out when he was right on the verge of coming.
Her head immediately lifted, her eyes glazed, her lips looking swollen yet soft and luscious and deliciously wet.
‘No?’ she queried, sounding totally confused. And of course she would be. The men she’d been with would have let her go all the way; would have demanded it. But that was not what he wanted. Not this time. He wanted to come inside her. Wanted her to make love to him with her whole body, not just her mouth.
‘No,’ he repeated, his voice rough and raw. ‘That’s enough of that. I want the real thing, after all.’
She didn’t say a word, just stared down at him for a long moment. But then she gave herself a little shake of her shoulders and reached for a condom.
‘I think you’d better put this on,’ she said, her hand trembling in a way that almost got to him.
So she was turned on to the max. That was good, wasn’t it? It didn’t mean anything special.
He tore the packet open with his teeth and sheathed himself without a fumble.
‘What’s so funny?’ he said when he noticed her small smile.
‘Just thinking how practice makes perfect.’
He almost retorted that he’d been thinking exactly the same thing about her. But he had enough common sense left to know how easily women could be put off by the wrong comment.
So he just smiled and rolled over on top of her, his erection pressed between them.
‘I want to kiss that delicious mouth of yours whilst it still tastes of me.’
His mouth hovered over hers. ‘You are seriously sexy. Now kiss me, Bella.’
A wave of dark triumph rushed through him when she obeyed him. Though she did close her eyes, as if by doing that she was lessening his power over her. But it only strengthened his resolve to seduce her further, to make her do things that perhaps she hadn’t done before, make her want him to dominate her totally.
He sent his tongue in deep before setting up a rhythm that echoed what he ached to do to her. In and out, in and out, till she was gasping for breath. Only then did he stop, withdrawing totally, then rolling over onto his back, taking her with him.
‘Sit up, Bella,’ he commanded, and she did so, staring dazedly down at him as she sat up and straddled him.
‘Now take down your hair.’
God, but he adored the way her hands shook as they lifted to do his bidding. Seeing her so turned on didn’t make up for all the years he’d suffered because of his unrequited passion for her, but it was something.
He watched in awe as her glorious hair tumbled in erotic disarray around her shoulders. It was her crowning glory, her hair; soft and silky with a slight wave when dry and lots of curls when wet. He glanced down at where only the narrowest strip of fair curls guarded her sex. Some chose to totally denude their bodies but he’d always preferred a little mystery.
Bella still remained a mystery to him in some ways. But not in the bedroom. She obviously liked being in control sometimes. But mostly she preferred playing the submissive role. That was fine by him. He liked being the boss in the bedroom.
‘You can take over now,’ he said, appealing to both sides of her nature.
She looked startled for a split second, but then smiled, a rather enigmatic smile that he could not read. Without saying a word, she rose up onto her knees, her eyes dropping to his freed erection. A groan hovered on his lips when she grasped it with both hands, directing it carefully but inexorably to the entrance to her body. Both their eyes remained glued to that spot, Sergio’s heartbeat ceasing as his flesh began to slowly disappear within hers.
Dear God...it felt incredible. She was incredible. And so hot.
He didn’t start breathing again till he was fully inside her. He might have stayed relatively sane if she hadn’t started to move, rising up high then sinking back down upon him with her eyes shut, her head thrown back in an attitude of blissful rapture. Her own breathing grew more rapid, a harsh panting escaping from her parted lips. She was off in another world, a world where it didn’t seem to matter what male body was underneath her. And did he care? Hell, no. He was too far gone to care about anything but being released from the agony that was gripping his sex.
Her first contraction sent him over the edge, his hips jerking up from the bed as he ejaculated into her with the violence of an erupting volcano. Reaching blindly for her shoulders, he dragged her down on top of him, holding her tightly whilst their bodies throbbed and shuddered together, wallowing in the fact that she was as crazy in lust as he was.
If only she hadn’t nestled into his neck with her face. If only she hadn’t pressed her mouth against his skin, murmuring his name at the same time.
His heart immediately squeezed tight, then flowered open, emotion flooding in.
His groan was the groan of defeat. Or was it resignation?
He could keep telling himself it was just lust dictating his actions with Bella; and this was true to a degree. But Sergio could no longer pretend that his emotions hadn’t become involved as well. Was it love yet? He hoped not. He’d never actually fallen in love before so he had nothing to guide him. But he could not deny that she was getting under his skin in more ways than just sexual. Which was most unfortunate. Bella didn’t want him to fall in love with her, and he sure as hell didn’t want to fall in love with her. Once their holiday fling was over, she would return to her life on the other side of the world, with this interlude just a pleasant memory. Their friendship—even with benefits—would not survive. She’d get sucked back into her career and that would be that. She wouldn’t give him a second thought, the way she hadn’t when their parents had divorced all those years ago. It had been bad enough lusting after her from afar. He didn’t want to love her from afar as well.
Sergio decided then and there to make sure that didn’t happen.
So get your butt out of this bed, Sergio, he told himself firmly. And cut back on the sex from now on. She’s too damned good at it, that’s the trouble. All these fabulous climaxes are scrambling your brains, and messing with your emotions. The plan to get her out of your system was seriously flawed from the start. Logic should have told you that once you had Bella in your bed, you’d be in danger of becoming even more obsessed with her.
It took a supreme effort of will for Sergio to extricate himself from under her body, especially when she moaned and tried to cling to him. Thankfully, her limbs were weak, though her eyelids fluttered open when he pulled the sheet up over her.
‘Don’t leave me,’ she begged softly.
God, but she was the very devil; a siren calling him to sure disaster.
He had to get out of here. And now!
‘Go to sleep, Bella,’ he commanded. ‘You’ve had enough for tonight. And quite frankly, so have I.’
So saying, he whirled round and strode from the bedroom before she could glimpse that he hadn’t had enough of her. Not by a long shot!
His self-lecturing didn’t stop after he returned to the master bedroom, continuing all through the long cold shower he forced himself to endure.
‘No sex tomorrow,’ Sergio muttered as the icy shards of water lashed his burgeoning erection into retreat. ‘Thankfully, Maria will be here for a few hours during the day. That should stop me from going skinny dipping with Bella in the pool, then sweeping her off to the master bedroom for a lazy afternoon of non-stop lovemaking.’
Unfortunately, both ideas projected arousing images that refused to be banished. Sergio imagined their indulging in lots of oral foreplay in the pool and its surrounds. Maybe he’d even let her go all the way with that delicious mouth of hers. God, but she was good at that. Once he came that way, he’d be able to take his time with her in bed without his own frustration getting the better of him. He could play with her for ages. Maybe even bind her to the bedposts. Would she let him do that? he wondered. Possibly not yet. But soon, she would. He was sure of it. She—
Sergio abruptly pulled himself up short. What in hell did he think he was doing, making plans for seducing Bella further? He was supposed to be working out how to reduce the amount of sex between them, not increase it.
He shook his head at himself, vowing to do everything in his power to take control of the situation. Some sex with Bella was fine. But only last thing at night, and only under the pretext of helping them both with their insomnia. Because let’s face it, Sergio, you’re not going to be able to sleep till you’ve had her again. But sex during the day is simply not on. That will only lead to your becoming addicted to her. Or worse!
By the time Sergio emerged from the shower, he had his body and his mind under control. He also had a plan to survive the next month, because that was what it had come down to. Surviving. Of course, having a plan and putting it into action were sometimes two different things entirely. It also wouldn’t help that he would have Maria playing matchmaker the whole time Bella was here. Thank God he’d accepted that invitation to go to dinner at Claudia’s tomorrow night. That would take care of a few hours in the evening when temptation would be at its highest. And thank God come Monday he could legitimately spend every weekday at the factory in Milan. If truth be told, it was high time he got to work with sorting out the family business, anyway. Maybe, if he got deeply involved with that, being with Bella would lessen in importance.
And maybe the sun won’t come up tomorrow, Sergio, he thought with a rueful laugh.
He sighed a deep sigh and ordered himself to go to bed and go to sleep. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as good at obeying his orders as Bella. Sergio tossed and turned for ages, not dropping off till the sky was turning that peculiar shade of mauve that preceded the dawn. When he eventually regained consciousness, the balcony outside the master bedroom was bathed in sunshine.
The sun had come up, was his first thought.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#u05dafb25-506a-5672-8213-7d5e994377c5)
THE KITCHEN IN the villa was large and welcoming, with a flagstone floor, pine cupboards, marble benchtops and a central wooden table that could seat up to eight people. When Bella entered it shortly after noon Sergio was seated at the far end of the table, dressed in colourful board shorts and a white T-shirt. His eyes were down, his large hands cupped around a steaming mug of what she presumed was coffee. He still hadn’t shaved and he looked even sexier to Bella than he had yesterday. Maria was standing at the kitchen sink, humming away and staring through the window at the lake beyond.
Sergio’s head lifted at her arrival, his dark gaze sweeping over her from top to toe before returning to her face, a small smile curving that wicked mouth of his.
It was a struggle not to look embarrassed in any way. But she managed, Bella having determined before coming downstairs not to act like some simpering virgin whom Sergio had seduced against her will. When she’d first woken this morning, the memories of the day before had momentarily overwhelmed her. In a way, it all seemed surreal. Her unexpected lust for Sergio. His astonishing proposal that they have a friends with benefits fling. And then her even more astonishing boldness in bed.
Was that really her, going down on him so avidly, then sitting on top of him and riding him so wildly and wantonly?
Part of her had wanted to shrink from that person. Her mother had brought her up to believe that nice girls definitely didn’t do things like that.
Thinking about her mother’s hypocritical advice over the years had quickly banished any sense of shame over the night before, Bella accepting with a new sexual maturity that she’d enjoyed every incredibly exciting second. She’d especially enjoyed experiencing her first orgasms. Lord, but she’d never dreamt of such pleasure. Or such blissful satisfaction.
Bella wondered momentarily as she smiled at Sergio how he would react if she told him she’d never had an orgasm before last night?
Not that she would. He clearly believed she was an experienced woman of the world. To reveal that the opposite was the case might send him running a mile, something she certainly didn’t want. What Bella wanted more than anything was more of what she’d had last night. She actually found amusement in the realisation that her mother would die at the R-rated desires running through her darling daughter’s head.
‘Good morning,’ she said brightly as she pulled out the chair at the opposite end of the table.
Maria immediately spun around from the sink.
‘At last! Someone is up who will eat breakfast!’ she exclaimed. ‘Sergio, he just want coffee. But not decent Italian coffee. He prefer that weak rubbish they drink in London. So what you want, Bella? A nice omelette, perhaps? But first a cup of espresso.’
Bella looked sheepish as she sat down. ‘Would you be offended if I had what Sergio’s having?’
Sergio laughed. ‘See, Maria? I am not the only one with a weak stomach this morning.’
‘Pah! You two. I know why you no want breakfast. Too much pizza and champagne last night.’
‘Too much something,’ Sergio muttered under his breath, then smiled at Bella, his eyes glittering with a knowing amusement.
Bella kept her cool on the outside, but her insides didn’t fare quite so well. Truly, the man was the devil in disguise. Who would have believed that the once-conservative Sergio would turn into such a Casanova?
Not that she really minded.
‘So how did you sleep?’ he asked her.
‘Very well,’ she replied without batting an eyelid. ‘And you?’
‘Like a log.’
‘Champagne always makes me drowsy,’ she said, determined to play the game as well as he did.
‘Then we’ll open another bottle tonight.’
‘I thought you were going to your neighbour’s place for dinner tonight,’ she reminded him.
‘So I am. But I shouldn’t get back too late.’
