He smiled, but beneath the amusement, there was something darker, something dominant in his expression that had never been there before. He was a man who knew he had every right to claim what was his to claim, and he was eager to do so.
The worst was how my body reacted to the fight with Savio. I was becoming increasingly aroused.
Savio’s smile turned daring as he reached between us, his hand sliding down my side to my stomach.
I struggled against his hold. “Don’t you dare,” I whispered harshly. There was a hint of vulnerability in my voice that annoyed me.
Savio’s brown eyes held mine as he lightly stroked the inside of my thigh. He didn’t move closer to my center. “Gemma, I know you’re fucking wet. I know you want me to touch your pussy. Just say it and I’ll show you how it feels to have an orgasm.”
“I’ve had orgasms before,” I muttered despite the burst of heat in my cheeks.
Savio’s expression turned feral. “When you touched yourself?”
I considered making a story up about having some guy getting me off secretly, but I wasn’t suicidal, nor did I want an innocent man to die so I could taunt Savio. He was a Falcone, no matter how much he enjoyed our banter, there was a limit to what he’d tolerate.
“I have capable hands,” I said.
Savio smirked. “I don’t doubt it, but it’s something entirely different if a man licks you or finger-fucks you, Gemma, trust me.”
“Do you even know how to please a woman? Whores always pretend they enjoy it.” He and his brothers, like so many men in our world, had used the services of the whores from their clubs in the past, even I knew that.
“I’ve had enough girls scream my name.”
Jealousy burned through me, and I tried to crush it. Of course, Savio saw. He chuckled, and a new wave of fury erupted in me.
“I’m all yours now, Kitty.”
Was he really?
He kissed my throat then made his way up to my lips. His tongue teased them open, nudged, caressed, stroked the inside of my mouth until everything was spinning and my panties stuck to my center. I didn’t even know it could be like that. My body had never reacted this way before. Soon I felt the proof of Savio’s arousal, and my senses returned. I pulled out of the kiss, breathless and hot.
“I’m not going to sleep with you,” I said again, firmer this time.
It must have finally sunk in, because he frowned. “So you want to make me wait.”
“You’ll have to wait, or you’ll have to take what you want against my will.”
He kissed my cheek. “Ahh, Kitty, you know that’s not my style. I want your pussy to scream for my cock, and it’ll happen. This game you’re playing, I’m a master in it. The wait will be every bit as torturous for you as it’ll be for me, trust me.”
The way I could feel the low vibrato of his voice between my legs, I feared he was right, but I wouldn’t let him get the upper hand, not this time.
“Get off me. I’m tired and want to get ready.”
“Of course,” he said as he straightened his knee, lightly brushing my crotch. I twitched at the spike of pleasure, my eyes widening, my breath halting.
Savio smiled knowingly as he straightened. With flushed cheeks, I took in the bulge in his pants, then quickly tore my gaze away.
I tried to sit up, but the dress prevented that. Sighing, I held out my hands. “Can you help me up?”
“Only if you can help me get this down,” he said with a nod toward his crotch.
“I could kick you between the legs…”
Savio shook his head with a chuckle. He finally took my hands and tugged. I came to my feet, bringing us once again close. Savio’s eyes made me swallow hard.
“I thought you wanted to get ready,” he murmured, making the words sound way dirtier than they were. I wasn’t sure how to stand a chance against him in this battle of wills, because it was completely out of my comfort zone. I had no experience in the game of seduction.
I took a step back from him. Savio was too much to handle for me, but I wasn’t someone who gave up easily.
“Will you at least allow me to get you out of this dress or will you deny me this too?” He was joking. I didn’t miss the darker note in his voice, though.
I’d need his help to get out of the dress anyway. The heavy fabric was closed with hooks and buttons at my waist and over my butt. I nodded.
“Does that mean I’m allowed to undress you?”
“Yes,” I said quietly, even as my heart beat in my throat. The most I’d ever showed a man was my stomach. No one had ever seen me without clothes.
Savio caressed my bare back, making my breath hitch. Then he loosened the hooks and helped me pull down the top. Even facing the other way, I felt exposed. I brought my palms up to cover my breasts when Savio slowly dragged my skirt down until I could step out. I wasn’t sure where he was, but aware of his gaze as he saw me in only white lace panties.
I was torn between the urge to run into the bathroom and turn around to see his expression.
Suddenly, I felt him behind me and he pressed the softest kiss to the nape of my neck. “My God, Gem, you’re killing me.”
A smile tugged at my mouth at the longing in his voice.
“That makes you happy?”
Biting my lip, I hurried into the bathroom and closed the door. My heart was hammering against my ribcage. Forcing myself to calm down, I took in my surroundings. I’d never had a bathroom for myself, always had to share it with every member of my family. The Falcone mansion probably harbored a dozen bathrooms, all of them as splendid as this with the granite floors and walls, floor-to-ceiling showers and endless vanity counters.
I took a long shower before I removed my makeup and let down my hair. Then I began brushing my teeth.
“Getting ready can’t possibly take this long, Gem. I’m coming in.”
The toothbrush wedged between my teeth, I grabbed a robe from a hook and put it on. My clothes were still outside.
My fingers around the brush tightened when Savio walked in completely naked and with a boner that drove heat into my cheeks. I stopped brushing and froze.
Savio didn’t show the slightest hint of shame. Of course not, he’d been naked in front of so many women, it wasn’t anything special.
His eyes flashed with amusement when he noticed my expression. I had seen him naked before, that one time, but this couldn’t compare. He was bigger than I thought possible. The bull definitely added to the intimidation factor.
Chuckling, he stepped inside the shower and curled his hand around his erection.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
“Jerking off since you refuse to take care of it for me.”
“I’m sure you have a girl on speed dial who’d gladly help you.”
Savio’s gaze was pure fire. “No other girls, Gem.”
I spit out the toothpaste, wiped my mouth and fled the room.
Ignoring the nightgown that I was supposed to wear tonight, I grabbed a pair of Savio’s sweatpants out of one of the dressers and put on one of my tank tops. That way I’d feel more like myself. Being in a bed with Savio was bad enough.
A few minutes later, Savio came out of the bathroom in sweatpants not unlike the ones I’d put on, his eyes scanning me from head to toe. He walked over to the bench in front of the bed, took the ridiculous piece of silk and held up the flimsy negligee with a cocked eyebrow. “What? No sexy nightgown for me?”
I shrugged. “If you want sexy outfits, you can go to the Sugar Trap and leer at the whores over there.”
Savio’s smile turned darker as he dropped the nightgown on the ground and sauntered over to me with that self-assured swagger that made me furious. “I never said you weren’t sexy.” He stopped beside me, his hand sliding over my hip and lower back, as he leaned down, close to my ear. “To be honest, seeing you in my sweatpants is the fucking sexiest thing I can imagine, so thank you for that.”
I shivered but gave a small shrug. “I didn’t try to be sexy for you.”
“And yet you are,” he murmured. “I’ve never jerked off as quickly as I did with the idea of being the first inside of you.”
Was there anything that made this man blush? Or at least the slightest bit embarrassed? I took a step to the side. “Well, you won’t be tonight.”
“Not tonight, but eventually, Gem. I’ll be the only man that’ll ever be inside you. I’ll be the first everything.”
He was right. Even if I didn’t sleep with him tonight, I would eventually, and not only because Savio was my husband and thus the only man I was supposed to give myself to but also because for as long as I could remember, it had always been him I wanted.
Gemma didn’t deny it. She tugged a strand of her hair behind her ear and approached the bed hesitantly. Now that I paid closer attention, I saw how nervous she was. She kept moving her fingers in an attempt to hide their shaking. After a moment in which she looked as if the bed might attack her, she glanced at me.
“It’s your bed now too.”
She nodded absent-mindedly and climbed under the covers.
I walked to the other side of the bed and slid in beside her. She was tense, sitting upright against the headrest. I mimicked the position. “Do you intend to spend all night like this?”
“What do you suggest?” she asked, which showed how frazzled she was. My Gem was nervous about being in a bed with me.