He groaned. ‘Oh, now that’s unfair.’
‘And it’s a ver-r-ry nice view from here. If I were an artist, I’d definitely book you as a life model.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that an offer to come and wash my back in the shower?’
She laughed. ‘A moment ago, you told me to hold that thought until tonight.’
‘I just changed my mind.’ Before she realised what he was going to do, he walked swiftly back to the bed, scooped her up, and carried her to the bathroom.
‘You’re going to be late,’ she warned, still laughing.
‘Don’t care.’ His gaze smouldered as he set her back down on her feet. ‘I want you. Wet and naked. And wrapped round me.’
Her heart skipped a beat at the huskiness in his tone. ‘That’s what I want, too.’
‘Good.’ He switched on the shower, stepped into the bath and took her hand. ‘Come with me.’ His eyes glittered. ‘And I mean that in more than one sense.’
Oh-h-h. Her nipples tightened at the thought. She stopped thinking and simply stepped into the bath next to him. The water sprayed down, droplets sparkling against his skin. Wet, naked, sexy male. She couldn’t resist touching him; she took the shower gel and poured it on to her palm, then started lathering his body. Starting with his shoulders, then his pecs, then down over his ribcage.
‘You’re playing with fire, here,’ he warned.
‘Actually, I’m playing with water,’ she corrected, and lathered his abdomen. She watched his pupils dilate as she traced the skin on his belly, just a few millimetres away from his erect penis. Just round the outline of his erection. Not quite close enough to touch, but close enough for him to imagine and want and need.
She had every intention of driving him as crazy as he drove her.
‘Francesca,’ he muttered hoarsely, ‘if you keep teasing me like that…’
‘You’ll what?’ She licked her lips, enjoying his shudder of desire in reaction. And then she poured more shower gel into her hand and slid it along his length.
‘Yes.’ The word was hissed between clenched teeth. ‘Please. Yes. Oh.’
She loved the fact he couldn’t even say the words in the right order. And she really hadn’t finished yet. She sluiced the lather from him, then dropped to her knees. Bent her head. Breathed on him so he could feel the heat of her mouth, the promise of what she was about to do.
‘Fran.’
It was the last coherent word he uttered. In a voice so gravelly, so out of control, that it gave her a real kick.
And then she licked him.
Teased him with her tongue.
Took him deep into her mouth, until he was quivering and tangling his fingers into her hair, urging him on.
And she loved the fact that she could make him lose control to the point where he was babbling.
‘Fran.’ Gio was torn between letting her take him over the edge and stopping her before it was too late.
The need to be inside her won.
Just.
Gently, he stopped her. Drew her to her feet. Kissed her hard, then lifted her so that her back was to the tiles. He slid a hand between her thighs, pushing one finger and then two inside her.
‘Gio.’ It was her turn to go incoherent as he found just the right spot with his thumb, circling and teasing until she was quivering, trying to buck her hips against him. Then, and only then, he cupped her buttocks with both hands, lifted her slightly, and eased his body into hers. Pushed deep. Jammed his mouth over hers to swallow her little murmurs of pleasure as his thrusts grew harder, faster, deeper.
He barely noticed that the hot water had run out; all he could think of was the way she felt around him. Like warm, wet silk. A perfect fit.
And as her body started rippling around his, tipping him into his own release, it felt like a thousand sparklers going off around them.
Gio was late for work. And when Fran finally picked up the voicemail message on her mobile phone, she only just made it back to her flat in time to meet the letting agent. Clearly he’d dealt with similar situations before, because he didn’t drag out the painful part of seeing just how much damage there was; he was methodical, but thankfully he was also quick. Ceiling, floor, walls, furniture: it was just a mess.
‘Keep a note of your hotel bills,’ he told Fran. ‘Because we’ll claim those back for you.’
‘I’m staying with a friend.’
‘That’s OK for now, but be aware that these things aren’t particularly quick to sort out,’ he warned. ‘We have to dry the place out, repair the ceiling and then check that all the utilities work safely before you can move back in. So if you need to move to a hotel at some point, make sure you keep the bills. Now, I’m also going to need a list from you of everything that’s been damaged in your personal possessions. Did you take photographs, by any chance?’