The Gold Collection. Maggie Cox

      Her words were like a siren’s song, and Dante could not control his body’s reaction. Damn it, he could not remember ever being at the mercy of his hormones the way he was with Rebekah. He did not like the effect she had on him, but his willpower seemed to have taken a hike and he could not prevent himself from pressing forwards and sinking deeper into her sensual embrace.

      ‘You’re sure?’ Stupid question, he thought grimly. She was hardly likely to admit she was lying. He either believed her or he didn’t—his choice. With good reason he had vowed never to trust a woman again, but as he stared into her eyes he felt certain she was telling the truth. He relaxed, and at the same time his muscles tightened in anticipation. ‘I want to reassure you that I’ve always used protection for health reasons as much as to prevent conception,’ he told her.

      Oh, God. Why did he have to make it sound so clinical? Rebekah knew she was blushing and felt angry for being so stupid. Dante was being sensible, and she should be glad that he was so realistic. When he had first started to withdraw from her the sense of disappointment had been unbearable and she had been desperate for him to continue making love to her. She was still desperate, she acknowledged, her breath quickening when she felt him stir within her. It felt as though all her nerve-endings were taut with anticipation to experience the sexual release she sensed he would give her.

      ‘I’m … healthy too,’ she mumbled. ‘I’ve only ever had one other partner, and … and that was a while ago.’

      Did she mean that the only other guy she had slept with, apart from him, was the ex-boyfriend she had mentioned? Or had she had an affair after she’d broken up with the Welsh guy? Why was he curious? Dante wondered impatiently. All he cared about was that with the contraception issue dealt with, there was no reason not to continue giving in to the passion between them.

      He rested his weight on his elbows and circled his hips against hers, giving her a lazy smile when she drew a swift breath.

      ‘So, there’s nothing to prevent me doing this?’ he murmured as he thrust forwards, drew back a little and thrust again with deep measured strokes that sent ripples of pleasure through him—and, from her wide-eyed expression, her too.

      ‘Yes … I mean … no, oh …’ Rebekah dug her nails into Dante’s shoulders and writhed helplessly beneath him as he drove into her again and again. ‘Don’t stop,’ she pleaded, uncaring that she sounded desperate. Each devastating thrust felt like the sweetest torture that built her excitement to an unbearable level. He was a magician, a sorcerer, who was creating mind-blowing magic that made her body tremble. She had never known sex could be like this, so intense and all-consuming that she felt as though if she died now it would be the sweetest death. She understood now why the French referred to sex as la petite mort—the little death.

      And then she stopped thinking, as each of her senses focused on reaching the climax that she knew from experience often remained frustratingly out of reach. Dante had increased his pace and she knew from the harsh sound of his breathing that he was close to the edge.

      ‘Please wait,’ she muttered, and then tensed as she realised with agonising embarrassment that she had spoken her thoughts out loud.

      Dante gave a soft laugh, but the unexpectedly gentle expression in his eyes reassured her that he was not laughing at her. ‘Of course I will wait for you, cara. Do you think I would take my pleasure without first ensuring yours?’ Was that the kind of selfish behaviour she was used to with her ex-boyfriend? he wondered. He had heard the faint desperation in her voice and he was determined to make this the best sexual experience she had ever had.

      ‘Let me see if I can help,’ he murmured as he bent his head and flicked his tongue across her nipple, teasing it and tormenting it until she whimpered and he transferred his mouth to its twin.

      The sensation of Dante sucking hard on each of her nipples in turn while he continued to thrust powerfully into her drove Rebekah wild. She arched her hips and gave a little sob when he slipped his hand between their joined bodies and found her most sensitive spot. The pleasure he induced when he caressed her there was so intense that she cried out. And suddenly she was at the edge of the precipice, suspended for a few breathless seconds before she tumbled into ecstasy. The explosive orgasm was unlike anything she had ever experienced. It blew her mind and sent convulsive shudders of pleasure through her so that she threw her head back against the armrest of the sofa and could not hold back her husky cries of amazement.

      It was too much for Dante. Watching Rebekah come apart so spectacularly was highly erotic. He felt the pressure build inside him until it was intolerable and, with a final thrust, he reached the exquisite moment of release and gave a savage groan.

      For a long time afterwards they lay with their bodies still joined, Dante with his head pillowed on her breasts while he dragged oxygen into his lungs. That had been good, he mused. He hadn’t had such intensely satisfying sex for a long while. Maybe never that good, a little voice inside his head pointed out. One thing he was certain of was that once was not going to be enough. His body was already stirring as he contemplated making love to Rebekah again. But, for now, curiously he was in no rush to move and break the languorous aftermath of physical pleasure that had left him feeling deeply relaxed.

      Rebekah’s pounding heart gradually resumed its normal rhythm. A sweet lassitude made her muscles feel heavy, but inside her head a voice was saying wow! A rueful smile curved her lips. So that was what she had been missing all these years. Her sex life with Gareth had never set the world alight. Making love with Dante had been a revelation. But there was a danger that it could become addictive, which was why she could not allow it to happen again. The pang her heart gave at the thought that this was a once-only event was a timely warning that it would be far too easy to fall for him.

      She pushed against his shoulder, wondering what the protocol was now. Presumably they would spend the remainder of the night in their own rooms. Should she put her dress back on or, God forbid, saunter out of the sitting room naked? She might have enjoyed wild and abandoned sex with him, but the idea of parading her wobbly bits past him made her shudder.

      Dante lifted his head and gave her a lazy smile that evoked a curious little ache inside her. ‘Am I too heavy for you, cara?’ He pressed his lips to her breast before lifting himself off her but, instead of getting up from the sofa as she had expected, he settled on his side next to her and pulled her close. ‘That was amazing—you were amazing,’ he murmured. His thick black eyelashes brushed his cheeks.

      The steady rise and fall of his chest told Rebekah he had fallen asleep. For a few minutes she gave in to temptation and snuggled up to him, loving the feel of his warm skin and the faint abrasion of dark hairs beneath her cheek. It would be so easy to pretend that they were proper lovers, to imagine that what they had just shared had been special and had meant something. She was obviously not cut out for casual sex, she thought ruefully. She was finding it hard to separate her emotions from the physical act of making love with Dante, but she did not kid herself that he would suffer the same problem.

      Moving carefully so that she did not disturb him, she propped herself on her elbow and studied him. His hard-boned face was all angles and planes in the lamplight. But the lock of jet-black hair that had fallen across his brow softened his features and in sleep he lost a little of his arrogance and looked relaxed and so achingly beautiful that Rebekah longed to touch him and trace the sensual curve of his mouth. But if she woke him they would undoubtedly have sex again and her emotions would become even more involved.

      It was best to walk away now. But it took all her willpower to extricate herself from his arms. He gave a little grunt of protest and she held her breath, but he did not stir as she gathered up her clothes and tiptoed from the room.

CHAPTER FIVE

      SOFT golden light filled Dante’s vision when he opened his eyes. For a few seconds he was puzzled before he remembered where he was—not in his bed, but lying on a sofa in the sitting room. He sat up when he realised that Rebekah was no longer cuddled