‘Sergio, is something wrong?’
‘What could possibly be wrong, cara?’ he drawled. ‘We’ve both got what we want, especially if you conceive a child tonight.’
If all she wanted was a stud, that was what she would get, Sergio thought grimly. He didn’t want to admit that she had hurt more than his pride. His heart was hurting, and that made him angry because he didn’t want to feel vulnerable. He didn’t want to feel anything, certainly not this hollow ache of loneliness.
He slid his hands beneath her bottom, tilted her hips and unhesitatingly drove his hard shaft into her. Kristen had been fantasising about him making love to her all evening and her body was eager and receptive. But Sergio stilled. ‘Did I hurt you?’ He cursed roughly. ‘I should have taken more care.’
He began to withdraw, but Kristen wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down. ‘You didn’t hurt me.’ Casting aside her pride, she whispered, ‘Make love to me, Sergio, please...’
Her husky plea breached Sergio’s defences and, with a low groan, he thrust into her and felt the sweet embrace of her body as her vaginal muscles tightened around him. Something was happening to him. He no longer felt in control of himself, but after a lifetime of controlling his emotions he was afraid to let go. Instead he concentrated on giving Kristen physical pleasure. He knew how to please her, knew every secret of her body, and he made love to her with all his skill while he desperately tried to keep his mind, his soul detached from her.
Kristen sensed that something was different. There was no tenderness in the way Sergio made love to her, but her body did not care and simply responded to his mastery so that too soon she felt the first spasms of her orgasm and she gave a soft cry as indescribable pleasure overwhelmed her and enslaved her in its sensual embrace.
Sergio must have been deliberately pacing himself until he felt her come and before the ripples of her climax had faded he gave a powerful thrust and spilled his seed into her, but his harsh groan seemed to have been torn from his throat and almost immediately he rolled off her.
She lay beside him, stunned by the swift, almost emotionless coupling they had just shared. She didn’t know what to say to him, especially when he murmured, ‘I hope I satisfied you, cara?’ The endearment sounded faintly mocking and her hurt turned to anger. She wanted to demand what the hell was wrong with him, but he had already got up from the bed and was pulling on his trousers and his grim expression warned her that a confrontation between them now would be explosive.
‘I need to read through some paperwork in connection with the phone call I took earlier. I’ll go downstairs to my study and leave you to get some sleep.’ He hesitated, and for a second she glimpsed a look of pain in his eyes that tugged on her heart. But he blinked, and she wondered if she had imagined it as he said in a curiously husky voice, ‘It was a tiring day.’
It had been a perfect day that had been ruined by Sergio’s sudden change of mood. Hours later, Kristen was still awake, trying to understand what had gone wrong that had turned him into a cold stranger. Maybe he had changed his mind and no longer wanted to marry her? But he wanted Nico, and so had decided he would have to go through with a wedding to gain custody of his son.
She had promised herself she would not cry, but alone in the bed they usually shared she couldn’t hold back her tears. When Sergio stood beside the bed a little before dawn and watched her while she slept, the sight of her tear-streaked face made his gut twist. He reached down and touched her hair. He longed to slide between the sheets and draw her into his arms, but he couldn’t tonight after the cold way he had made love to her. It was not her fault that she did not love him. Dio, his own mother had not loved him, so why should anyone else? he thought despairingly. He despised himself for upsetting Kristen tonight. She had been right to be wary of him and he couldn’t blame her if tomorrow she told him she had changed her mind about marrying him.