“I’m staying the night, teroso.”
He didn’t ask for permission. Natalie turned her head on his shoulder and snuggled her face into his neck, grateful that he’d somehow sensed that she needed companionship after stripping away the defenses she had built up over the years and allowing herself to experience the hurt and the pain she’d felt at that time.
She knew with an account as lucrative as the Cadbury’s contract, Stephano would have gone prepared for negotiations to overrun by days, if necessary. He would have packed an extra set or two of fresh clothing in his overnight case.
“We can only help people who want to be helped.” Stephano’s words caressed her ear as he spoke. “Renata’s two previous lovers cheated on her and she couldn’t let the past go and start afresh with me. Even my friends were a threat to her because her last boyfriend cheated on her with a transvestite. I tried to be understanding, but her jealousy would have destroyed both of us if I hadn’t ended the relationship.”
They had more in common than she’d realized, Natalie thought, as she stroked the back of Stephano’s neck soothingly. Though their experiences had been vastly dissimilar, they had both had past lovers with emotional problems. And letting go of Renata hadn’t been easy for Stephano—the remembered pain was there in his voice.
***
Natalie smiled as she watched Stephano unashamedly moisturize his face as she massaged night cream into hers. She’d thought that he would have been in bed, waiting impatiently as she went through her after-shower routine, but he had one of his own. It was to be expected—good looks were an asset in their field of work and flawless grooming was everything. No matter how tired she was, she always cleansed and moisturized before going to bed.
He finished before her, slapping on the moisturizer instead of working it in a massaging motion as she was doing, and came to stand behind her to nibble on her neck.
She had another good few years to worry about wrinkles, she decided, and turned in his arms to kiss him.
Stephano backed her up to the bed and fell onto it with her.
“I’m going to pleasure you until you scream.” He placed her hands above her head and commanded, “Don’t move them!”
“Really?” she challenged his first statement with a laugh.
“Yes,” he confirmed. “Don’t do a single thing. Just close your eyes, lie back and let me do all the work.”
“That sounds easy.” She smiled and closed her eyes obediently.
Stephano started by pressing soft kisses against her forehead and her eyelids, and along her pert nose before kissing her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he plunged his tongue deep into her mouth.
Reaching up, he placed her hands back against the sheet on either side of her head.
“Leave them there,” he growled as he moved his lips along the curve of her jaw and then slowly across the slender column of her neck. He’d discovered that the side of her neck was particularly vulnerable and he went in for the kill.
“Ah.” Natalie clutched the sides of the pillow beneath her head and tried to stay silent as Stephano sucked on the soft skin of her neck, pulling the flesh into his mouth and teasing it with his tongue. Who would have thought that someone kissing your neck could be so arousing. And trust Stephano to know exactly the right amount of pressure to apply to drive her out of her mind. But it was a contest now and she refused to scream as he had promised she would. Her toes curled and her hips undulated as she tried to contain the sensations.
Stephano cupped her breasts as he moved down the bed, holding her gaze as he began to tweak her nipples firmly. She bit her bottom lip and remained stoic. Stephano smiled as he bent his head and captured her right nipple between his teeth. She lost the battle, gasping as she pressed her head deeper into the pillow, her neck arching.
Forgetting that her hands were supposed to remain where he’d placed them, she cupped his head instinctively as he moved to her other breast. He suckled her gently as his fingers plucked the nipple his lips had abandoned, the moisture making it seem like it was still covered by his lips.
Again her hips undulated instinctively as the emptiness between her thighs begged to be filled. Ignoring her silent plead, Stephano moved further down the bed, wedging his broad shoulder between her thighs and exposing her fully to his gaze, Natalie realized in horror. Instinctively she tried to close her legs.
“Don’t be shy, mia bella.” Stephano kept them open effortlessly. “You’re beautiful to me in every way.”
Blushing with embarrassment, Natalie closed her eyes as he dipped his head and kissed the soft skin of her inner thigh. He seemed in no hurry to get to where she wanted him most, turning his head to nibble on the sensitive skin of her other thigh.