His grunt of desire slammed into her before he seized her arms. Leaning back against the lounger, he tugged her on top of him. Strong arms imprisoned her as he moulded her body to his.
The evidence of arousal against her belly was unmistakable, gave her strength she hadn’t known existed. She plunged her tongue into his mouth, felt the stab of pleasure when he jerked beneath her and groaned long and deep.
Firm hands angled her head for a deeper penetration that made her pulse thud a hundred times faster.
He made love to her with his mouth, lapping at her lips with long strokes that pulled at the hot, demanding place between her legs.
Her hands hungrily explored his warm, firm muscle and hair-roughened chest. When her fingers encountered his nipple, she grazed her nail against it, the way she knew drove him mad.
He tore his mouth from hers, his eyes molten grey as he gazed up at her.
‘Cara mia, this will not end well for either of us if you don’t stop that.’
Brazenly, she repeated the action. And watched in fascination as it puckered and goose bumps rose around the hard disc. Before she could give in to the urge to taste it, Narciso was moving her higher, stark purpose on his face.
‘One bad turn deserves another.’ Roughly, he tugged at her bikini string and caught one plump breast in his mouth as they were freed from the garment.
The sight of him feasting on her in the dimming light was so erotic, Ruby’s nails dug into his chest.
Her hips bucked against his hardness, that hunger climbing even higher as she rubbed against his full, heavy thickness. The thought of having that power inside her made her whimper. When his teeth tugged at her in response, her moan turned into a cry.
Foolish or not, dangerous or not, she wanted him. More than she’d ever wanted anything in her life. For the first time, Ruby understood a little bit of the passion that drove her parents. Of the need that forced two people wholly unsuited to stay together. If it was anywhere near this addictive, this mad, she could almost sympathise...
‘Narciso...please...’
One hand splayed over her bottom, squeezed before grabbing the stretchy material of her bikini. He pulled, sending a million stars bursting behind her closed eyelids as the pressure on her heated clitoris intensified her pleasure. At her shocked gasp, he pulled tighter. Liquid heat rushed to fill her sensitive flesh. Almost immediately, she needed more, so much more that her body was threatening to burst out of her skin. She sank her hands into his hair and bit down on the rough skin of his jaw.
He cursed and froze, hard fingers gripping her hips. When the sensation slid from pleasure to a hint of pain, she lifted her head to gaze drowsily at him.
‘What...?’
‘Before this goes any further I need to be sure you want this,’ he rasped.
She looked down, saw her state of undress, saw his hard, ready body.
Instinctively she went to adjust her clothes, her face flushing with heat. ‘God, what’s wrong with me?’
He stopped her agitated movements with steady hands. ‘Hey, there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re a sensual creature, with natural needs just like—’
‘My father?’ she inserted bleakly.
Surprisingly gentle hands framed her face. ‘If you were like him you wouldn’t still be a virgin. Do you get that?’
Tears prickled her eyes. ‘But...I...’
‘No, no more excuses. You stopped being their puppet a long time ago—you just forgot to cut the strings.’
Her breath stalled and her vision blurred. He brushed away her tears and she fought to speak. ‘What does that say about me?’
His jaw clenched. ‘That we sometimes spend too much time looking in the rear-view mirror to see what’s ahead.’
She moved on top of him because, despite everything going south, her hunger hadn’t abated one iota. His hands clamped down harder on her hips.
‘What’s in your rear-view mirror?’ she asked him softly.
‘Too much. Much too much.’
His answer held a depth of anguish that cut to her soul. Heart aching for him, she started to lean down but he caught and held her still.
‘No.’
She looked into his face and saw his slightly ashen pallor. ‘You don’t want me to kiss you?’
His chest heaved and he glanced away.
The realisation hit her like a bolt of lightning. ‘You stopped us making love on the plane and just now because you don’t think you’re worth it, do you? Why not? Because your father told you you weren’t?’
‘Ruby, stop,’ he warned.
She ignored him, the need to offer comfort bleeding through her. She caressed his taut cheek. A pulse beat so hard in his jaw, her fingers tingled from the contact.
‘Cara, I’m a man on the edge. A man who wants what he shouldn’t have. Get off me before I do something we’ll both regret, per favore.’
Fresh tears prickled her eyes, stung the back of her throat.
If anyone had told her a week ago she’d be lying on top of the world’s most notorious playboy, baring her soul to him and catching a glimpse of his ragged soul in return, she’d have called them insane.
Her hands shook as she slowly removed them from his face. Levering herself away from him was equally hard because her knees rebelled at supporting her in her weakened state.
Snatching at her bikini top, desperately trying to ignore his silent scrutiny, she tied the strings as best she could and secured the sarong over her chest.
Her hair was an unruly mess she didn’t bother to tackle. What had just happened had gone beyond outer appearances.
She looked down at him and he returned her look, the torture unveiled now. She floundered, torn between helping him and fleeing to examine her own confused emotions. Eventually, she chose the latter. ‘I have a few things to take care of in the kitchen before I go to bed. Bona notti.’
Slowly, he rose to tower over her, and in the fading daylight she saw his bunched fists at his sides.
His smile was cut from rough stone. ‘I’ve awakened too many demons for me to have a restful night, tesoro. But I wish you a good night all the same.’
* * *
I’ve awakened too many demons...
Ruby lay in bed a few hours later, wracked with guilt.
She’d pushed him to relive his past, to rake over old wounds because she’d wanted to know the real man underneath the gloss.
To reassure herself he wouldn’t hurt or betray her?
Shame coiled through her as she acknowledged that she’d been testing him. But then deep down, ever since he’d turned away from her on the plane, she’d known Narciso was nothing like her father. Or Simon.
And still she’d pushed...
She reared up and gripped the side of her bed. Her head cautioned her against the need to find out if she’d pushed him too far, if the demons were indeed keeping him awake. But her heart propelled her to her feet.
She went down the hallway and knocked on his door before her courage deserted her.
The evidence that he was indeed up came a second later when the door was wrenched open. He was dressed in his silk pajama bottoms and nothing else.
‘What the hell are you doing here, Ruby?’ he flung at her.
She struggled to look up from his chest. ‘I...wanted to