New Year at the Boss's Bidding(20)

Instead, he turned his attention to giving her the pleasure she craved.  He touched the black lace panties with the tip of one finger, moving  down over her, the damp fabric arousing his ardour higher and higher.

She moved against him, testing his control beyond any limits he'd known  before. He slipped his finger inside the damp black lace, teasing her  heated flesh until she writhed against him. Within seconds she gasped as  spasms of pleasure rocked her body. He ceased his teasing and ripped  off his jeans and underwear as she lay, eyes closed in pleasure.

* * *

Tilly couldn't stop shaking. She'd lost all control of her body-and it  was so good. In a faraway place she knew what it was, knew that for the  first time she'd exploded with pleasure, from just a touch. A very  expert and practised touch.                       
       
           



       

As the waves of passion ebbed over her she closed her eyes, unsure what  to do next. She felt Xavier move away, heard the sound of denim  dropping to the floor and with stars of ecstasy still in her head she  couldn't do or say anything but tremble with lingering desire.

Seconds later Xavier was beside her, pulling the other throw over them.  He was naked. Completely naked. The heated hardness of his erection  pressed against her hip and she couldn't help the smile of contentment  that tugged at her lips.

He wanted her. Desired her.

She turned towards him as he pulled her against him, the blackness of  his eyes so intense, so full of unquenched desire she knew she was lost.  He pressed himself against her, forcing a ragged breath through her  lips, which he caught with a kiss so powerful she almost cried out.

Driven by something new and wild, she pushed against him, rolling him  onto his back, until she was over him, able the feel him close to her,  almost touching yet not quite.

'Stuzzicare!' His eyes locked with hers and his jaw clenched as if he was desperately trying to stay in control.

'What does that mean?' The seductive whisper surprised even her and she  pressed her fingertips against his stomach, tracing the arrow of dark  hair downwards, wanting to use her new-found power over him and make him  dissolve as rapidly as she had done from his touch.

'Tease!' He ground the word out as he fought against her need to rob  him of all his self-control, until she touched his heated hardness, her  fingers closing around him, each movement making her feel more powerful,  more in control.

His hand caught her arm and she looked deep into his eyes, seeing the  battle between ecstasy and control being waged there. 'We have all  night, cara.'

She smiled and quirked a brow at him, shocked to discover the  mischievous imp that lurked within her. She tried to pull her wrist  free, but he held her tightly and before she could say anything had  pushed her back onto the throw. Quickly and expertly he rolled on a  condom then covered her body with his. She smiled impishly at him, and  teased him by moving her hips, pressing herself against him. He shut his  eyes and raised his head. She reached up and kissed his chest, feeling  the guttural groan as well as hearing it.

'You teased me first.' She lifted her legs, wrapping them around him,  the throw slipping away so she could feel the heat of the fire. The tip  of his erection touched her and his body seemed gripped by rigidity,  every muscle fighting against her new-found seductress.

Emboldened, she rotated her hips, sliding her hands over his back,  feeling the tension there, wishing he would let go and give in to the  moment, as she was. She wanted him inside her, deep inside her.

A harsh torrent of Italian, so fast she couldn't possibly understand  it, rushed from him as she lifted her hips higher and took him inside  her. She closed her eyes against the building fire that threatened to  explode when he thrust into her. She cried out with shocked pleasure as  he filled her, moving with her until their bodies became damp and their  cries mingled in the darkness.

Slowly her breathing returned to normal and he kissed her face softly,  pulling her into the warmth of his body. The heat of the fire warmed her  back as she lay facing him, looking into dark eyes that still  smouldered with passion. She shivered as a tremor of shock slipped over  her. She'd given herself to him, not just her virginity but her heart.  She'd thought one night would be uncomplicated, but he'd taken a little  piece of her heart.

Beyond the walls of the manor the wind wailed. 'I've never done that  before,' she whispered, and moved instinctively closer to him, suddenly  aware of what she'd told him. 'Been so spontaneous, I mean.'

He looked at her, desire still filling his eyes, but a hint of suspicion lingered there too. 'I know.'

She tried for bravado, desperate to hide how vulnerable she felt right now. 'No, but I guess I can tick that off my list now.'

'You should have told me you were a virgin.' He brushed his fingers  along her shoulder, the expression on his face full of disbelief. 'I  assumed that as you'd been engaged you would have made love before.'

Embarrassment raced over her as his fingers trailed lightly and slowly  down her spine, his words unlocking the past with alarming speed. 'I  guess I always pushed Jason away, determined not to be left  broken-hearted, like my mother.'

He didn't say anything, didn't ask her to enlarge on it, but being so  far removed from reality she couldn't stop the words flowing out. 'After  my father died my mother met a new man. He made her happy but I just  saw it a way of mending her heart and replacing my father.'                       
       
           



       

'Sorry.' He whispered that one word against her hair as he pulled her close, as if he was trying to chase away her demons.

Now with adult eyes she knew her mother had lost the man she'd loved  with a passion. Tilly realised she too had shunned love and passion,  scared of the hurt her mother had endured. She'd used the solace of the  companionship and friendship she and Jason had enjoyed growing up as a  protection against such emotions. She'd been too scared to love him and  had denied him what he'd wanted, forcing him into the arms of another  woman.

'As a child, I could never understand why she wanted to be with someone  else.' It was strange how things suddenly looked so different. With  just the orange glow from the fire and Xavier's arms around her she felt  safe to talk, safe to explore her past. She carried on. The floodgates  had been opened. 'It's been over ten years since my father died and I  think part of my mother died that day too. I didn't want to be like  that.'

'Do you still see your father's family?' He began to stroke her hair  and at first it was soothing, but very quickly the sizzle inside her  grew and she moved to look into his face.

'I haven't seen them or been back to Tuscany since my father died.' Not  wanting to talk about things that hurt, she focused instead on  rekindling the burning need that had claimed her, forcing her to accept  she did have passion flowing in her veins. She pressed her lips against  his and he responded, pulling her against his hardening body and the  conclusion of the kiss was sealed.

* * *

Xavier woke in the early hours, not because of his usual nightmares but  because of the warmth of Tilly's body against his. The room was darker  and much colder. Carefully he moved away from Tilly and went to the  fire, stoking it before putting on more logs. He watched the flames as  they flickered into life, wrapping around the wood. That was what had  happened to him. The flames of passion had engulfed him, not letting him  go, making him want the impossible.

She'd cast a spell on him, holding him captive, but he wished she'd trusted him enough to have told him she'd been a virgin.

She murmured and he turned to look at her, but thankfully she didn't  wake. As the glow from the fire began to reach the darker corners of the  room, it caressed her partially uncovered body. Her golden hair was  spread out around her and her face was serene and peaceful.

In an effort to ensure the fire would last as long as possible he put  more logs on and made his way back to their makeshift bed.

'Xavier?' Her throaty whisper, totally unexpected, almost froze him to the spot.

'Scusi,' he apologised as he got back beneath the covers. 'I didn't mean to wake you.'

She gave him a sleepy smile and looked into his face as he lay next to  her, his head propped on one elbow. 'How did you hurt yourself so  badly?'

Her words slammed into him, instantly killing the lust that had begun  to course through him once more. He didn't want to tell anyone about it,  least of all Tilly and certainly not here, not in this haven from  reality, where emotions he'd thought dead were being revived.

'There is nothing to tell.' He caressed her cheek with the backs of his  fingers, keeping his words soft, aiming for distraction, trying to pull  them back into the clutches of desire.