into the warm confessional of his arms.
‘Then that is what I must do now, mio dolce,’ he said softly.
That was a shock; it hurt desperately to hear his rejection. ‘No! Why?’ She looked up at him in anguish.
‘You mustn’t take a life changing decision in the space of a few seconds,’ he warned, but she was determined.
‘If only you knew, Gianni. I’ve waited so long for this experience, and passed up so many opportunities. My focus was always on something else, but now it’s my turn to make a decision. I want experience. I want to know what it’s like to live as other people do. When I watch you with women, you all seem to be members of some wonderful secret society. I’m sentenced always to be an outsider. I need a taste of real life, Gianni. I’ve spent years concentrating on my work. Now I want you to be the man who shows me what I’ve been missing!’
He was quiet for a moment, while his fingertips danced delicately over her back.
‘Are you sure?’ he said at last.
‘I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, Gianni. Take me,’ she whispered simply.
Outside in the dusk a nightingale poured out its heart in an ecstasy of song. Acting on visceral instinct, Gianni dipped his head and touched his lips to her neck. Meg gasped, revelling in the experience. It was an invitation he couldn’t refuse. He wanted to go on enjoying the anticipation of what was to come, but the temptation was too great. Suddenly he was kissing her with more power and passion than she had experienced in her whole life. His tongue urged into her mouth. She let him explore with a relish that had been building since the moment they first met. This felt so right. For the first time in months—years—she was free to put herself first. She had been waiting for so long. Her needs and desires surged in a tumble of excitement. Her hands went up to his head, clawing at his hair to pull him closer. Hungry for his kisses, she was desperate for his attention. His fingertips felt hot through the thin silk of her dress. They circled over her back, ran up and down over her ribs with the sweet certainty of possession. Meg undulated beneath him until the soft pale skin of her inner thigh was rubbing against his leg. It brought back all the turmoil his caresses had as they danced. Now they could release all that pent up passion in one wild moment. She threw back her head with a gasp.
‘Oh, Gianni…’ she called out, and he was there to answer her cry.
‘Good, isn’t it?’ he purred. The low resonance of his voice was so delicious she could almost taste him.
‘Don’t stop…please, don’t stop…’
‘Don’t worry, mio tesoro, I’m not going to…’ His hands roamed over her willing body. His kisses worked their way up from her cleavage and over her neck.
‘And now…to make sure you really are as eager as you say, undress me.’ The words were growled into her hair. Tentatively, Meg’s hands went to the tiny pearl buttons of his shirt. As it fell open, the warm fragrance of his body tantalised her into diving her hands inside, encircling his waist with her hands. Leaning her head against his chest, she pressed her cheek against the soft fur covering it. For longer than either of them realised they clung together in the dappled darkness. Then Gianni’s hands stroked her dress up until he could reach the hem. From there he peeled it off over her head in one fluid movement. With it went her last inhibition. She stood before him proudly wearing nothing more than a few scraps of silk and lace.
He smiled.
‘You are lovely,’ he breathed.
Meg closed her mind to thoughts of how many other women he had spoken to like this. Tonight, he was hers. None of his yesterdays mattered. She could only focus on this moment, suspended in time among bowers of tropical luxury. She didn’t care about the shadows. For now a thousand tiny coloured lights illuminated her life.
‘This is going to be the best ever…’ Gianni whispered, in his element. ‘You will be totally mine.’
His gaze now went deeper than mere sexual gratification. He had taken plenty of women in his life, but none had given themselves to him so freely and so willingly. He smiled to himself, fuelled by more than a hint of pride. The experiences she shared with him tonight would colour the rest of her life. She would measure any other man against him—
All of a sudden a frown flitted across his face. For some strange reason, he found the idea of Meg in the arms of any other man unthinkable.
‘You can never be anything more than a mistress to me, remember,’ he reminded her, caressing the sleek beauty of her hair. ‘There can be no strings on either side.’
‘I can’t think of anything more unlikely than a tethered Gianni.’ She chuckled, her voice rich with meaning.
Excitement burned in her eyes. His body sprang to life at the sight of it.
‘You’d better believe it,’ he growled, rising to the challenge.
Teasing her mouth with his lips, he fed her hunger with his own. She wrapped herself around his body, eager for the penetration of his tongue. The questing point thrust into the accepting softness of her mouth, blocking her moans of pleasure. As Gianni kissed her his hands roamed over the back of her head, twining into her thick silky mane of hair. Meg felt a rising pulse throbbing between them. It was him, it was her, it was both of them, melding in a frisson of excitement. Light-headed with arousal, she ground herself against his body in an ecstasy of anticipation. Gianni responded by trailing his touch down around the curve of her shoulder to mould her breasts with his hands. As his thumbs brushed her nipples a tightening low in her belly pulled breath deep into her lungs. She needed him. Reaching down, she returned his caresses by tracing the shape of his maleness through the soft fabric of his clothes.
Taking her hand, he drew her down gently to the soft mossy bed among the flowers. ‘This will be like making love in heaven,’ he murmured, his voice thick and low as he released her from his embrace. ‘And I shall make it heaven for you.’
Dragging off his shirt, he threw it aside. The sudden movement stirred the soft darkness of his curls into a tousle that Meg could not resist. She stretched out her hand to it. Gianni instantly buried his cheek against her palm, covering the inside of her wrist with a flutter of butterfly kisses. Pleasure danced in her eyes as he stripped off the rest of his clothes and she saw his arousal springing from the soft luxuriance of his body hair.
‘Now you’re the one who is overdressed, carissima!’ he purred softly. Meg trembled from head to foot. Her fingers stumbled to help him, but he stopped her. ‘No—this pleasure will be mine.’
With a teasing smile, he slid his strong brown fingers between her skin and the thin straps of her bra. Pulling them down over her shoulders, he exposed the glory of her breasts. Meg blossomed under his appreciative gaze. When he closed in on her lips again she moved forward, eager for his touch. As his fingers strayed down to the waistband of her panties she gasped. With infinite gentleness he traced the lace around her waist and over her hips. When his fingers finally insinuated themselves between the wisp of fabric and her skin, she gasped again. A throb of excitement was building up between her thighs. With a moan she felt him ease her panties down, leaving her naked before him.
‘And now the teasing has to stop…’
Every inch of her skin was alight with desire for him. Liquid longing spilled from her body as his fingers spread over her flanks and swept around to caress the sweet soft
