the palazzo.
Her heart was thundering so loudly she was sure he must be able to hear it. There wasn’t any sign of Isabella or Roberto and Lara was glad. This moment was too raw to be witnessed. This was no benign wedding night consummation.
Lara’s hand felt tiny in Ciro’s and he instinctively tightened his grip, even as he rejected the notion that she was somehow vulnerable.
Disconcertingly, it reminded him of how fragile and delicate she’d felt during the kidnapping. How he’d been afraid he’d hurt her because he was holding her so tight. But they’d ripped her out of his arms anyway, and in that moment Ciro had known—
He shut his rogue thoughts down right there. Not now. Never would he think of that again.
He pushed open his bedroom door and looked at Lara. She met his gaze and there was something indecipherable in her expression. Determined.
She took her hand out of his and walked into the room and over to the bed, kicking off her sandals as she went. She had her back to him and he could see her hands move. The silk dress started to loosen around her body.
She made a movement and he watched her shrug the dress from her shoulders so that it landed in a silken ripple by her feet. He was frozen to the spot, taking in the naked contours of her body covered only by the tiniest wisps of lace across her back and bottom. Nothing—no amount of anticipation—could have prepared him for this moment.
Ciro was glad she was facing away from him because he was convulsed with need and desire. Once again she was reaching inside him and turning his guts inside out—except this time he would slay the dragon, and once he’d had her she would lose the hold she’d had over him since they’d met.
Lara was practically naked, dressed only in her panties and a flimsy lace bra. She could sense Ciro behind her. Looking at her. She wasn’t sure what had possessed her. A moment ago she’d been filled with a sense of bravado, but now little tremors were going through her body at the thought of facing Ciro like this.
And then she heard a rough-sounding, ‘Lara...’
Swallowing her fear, she slowly turned around and Ciro filled her vision. She could see the tension in his body, making him loom even larger than he normally did. Suddenly self-conscious, she crossed one arm over her breasts and covered herself between her legs with the other hand.
Ciro shook his head. ‘No...let me see you. I’ve waited for this for so long.’
After a moment Lara did as he asked, dropping her hands to her sides, clenching them into fists. In the dim light of the room she couldn’t see where Ciro’s dark gaze touched her. But she could feel it. On her breasts, her belly, waist, thighs...between her legs.
Her skin broke into goosebumps.
Ciro walked towards her, his usual grace absent. When he stood in front of her she could see the stark expression of pure need on his face. His eyes were blazing.
‘You are more beautiful than I ever imagined.’
Lara ducked her head, overwhelmed by what she saw in his eyes. ‘I’m not...truly...’
He tipped up her chin and there was something else on his face now, an expression she couldn’t decipher. Something like frustration.
‘Yes, you are. You really don’t have to put on this act, Lara. It’s just us here now.’
He thought she was acting coy. She was stripped bare, save for some scraps of material. She’d never been more exposed. And he couldn’t see it.
She realised she couldn’t entirely blame him. After all, she’d done her best to convince him she was someone else. Someone who cared more for prestige and social standing than anything else.
‘Lara.’
She looked at him and her whirling thoughts stopped. She sucked in a breath.
‘I need to hear you say it again.’
Lara’s heart squeezed. There was no going back. She needed this as much as he did.
She stepped closer, until they were touching and his clothes caused friction against her naked skin. She went up on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his neck. ‘Please...’ she said.
She trailed her mouth along his jaw, up to where she could feel the rough edges of his scar on the right side of his face. He tensed, and then he put his hands on her arms, hauling her up and closer, before his mouth found hers and the whole world burst into flame.
Lara sensed Ciro shedding his clothes, but while his mouth was on hers she couldn’t focus on anything except his intoxicating scent and the dark sensuality of his kiss. Deep and drugging.
When his hot bare skin met hers she stopped and drew back, dizzy from the kiss, and even dizzier when she saw that Ciro was completely naked. The breath left her body as she feasted unashamedly on his perfect form.
She’d never seen him fully naked. Broad shoulders, a wide, powerful chest with a dusting of dark hair that dissected his abdominals in a tantalising line all the way down to where his arousal jutted proudly between his legs. Her gaze stopped there, heat rising inside her at this very potent evidence of his desire for her.
‘Cara mia...if you keep looking at me like that we won’t make it to the bed.’
With difficulty, Lara raised her gaze to Ciro’s again.
He took her hand and led her over to the bed. ‘Lie down,’ he instructed.
Lara lay down on the bed, hoping that he hadn’t noticed the tremor in her limbs. Ciro stood for a long moment, his dark gaze moving up and down her body. Then he sat on the bed and lifted a hand, tracing the shape of her jaw and her mouth, which was still swollen from his kisses.
He trailed his hand down, dipping his fingers into the hollow at the base of her throat, and then over her chest to her breasts. Her nipples were two hard points, pressing against the delicate lace of her bra.
Ciro tortured her slowly, trailing his fingers between her breasts, under one and then the other, before covering one breast with his palm, its heat and weight making Lara bite her lip. She could feel the point of her nipple stabbing Ciro’s palm, and instinctively she arched her back to push herself into his hand.
His mouth quirked. With an expertise that spoke of his experience he undid the front clasp of her bra and peeled the lace squares back, baring her to his gaze. He squeezed her breast gently and Lara’s breath hitched. She was unprepared for the spiking of pleasure deep down in her core. Then he took his hand away and placed both hands either side of her body, so he could lower his head and...
Lara nearly jack-knifed off the bed when she felt the potent drugging sensation of Ciro’s hot mouth closing over first one nipple and then the other.
He put a hand on her belly, as if to calm her. She was breathing so fast it hurt—but not nearly as much as the exquisite torture of his mouth on her flesh...the hot, wet heat, teeth tugging gently at her sensitised flesh.
Lara’s whole body was on fire now, as the bed dipped and Ciro moved to lie alongside her. The hand on her belly moved down until it rested at the juncture of her legs. With the same
