A Shocking Proposal In Sicily. Rachael Thomas

of completely losing his grasp on reality. Losing everything. His whole body ached for her and the satisfaction he knew only she could give. He’d never been so hard. So ready.

      She moved closer, her smoky eyes filling with need, exploding with desire. Shimmying her hips provocatively, pressing against his erection. And he thought he’d never been so hard.

      He tightened his hold on her, keeping her delicious body against him. ‘See what you do to me?’ He barely recognised the coarse rasp of his voice.

      She smiled. Moved her hips again, forcing him to bite down hard on the growl of desire threatening to rip from him.

      ‘I feel,’ she purred. Damn, but she was a merciless tease. ‘But I don’t see.’

      He couldn’t hold back any longer. He had to taste her. Had to feel her lips beneath his. Feel the passion that burnt in her eyes, taste it on her tongue as it danced with his.

      But if he gave into that need here?

      It wasn’t worth imagining. Or was it? Erotic images swept through his mind, faster than lightning. Their bodies entwined in the erotic dance of desire.

      Rafe inhaled deeply as she pressed her body even harder against his. Making those images so hot they became X-rated.

      ‘I think we should retire to my suite.’ His voice was hoarse and ragged with desire. He hadn’t known anything like it. Ever. It was like a wild fire bearing down on him at an alarming pace, offering no escape. Not that he wanted any escape.

      There was a slight pause as she looked up at him. A hint of uncertainty and hesitation. The fire cooled briefly, stilled, as if waiting to see which way the wind would take it. As he watched her, she looked innocent. Vulnerable. Then it was gone. The sex siren, the seductress, was back in play and the fire raged on relentlessly.

      ‘And I was enjoying this moment.’ She raised her brows, looking up at him, bringing her lips tantalisingly close to his. ‘I was enjoying my power over you.’

      ‘If you carry on with this power game, I am going to have to kiss you. Right here. Right now.’ His voice was more of a feral growl, the like of which he’d never heard before. How could one woman, a woman he’d only just met, have such an effect on him?

      ‘Then kiss me. Right here and right now.’ Her bold and brazen reply excited him further. There would be no backing out now. This would be taken to the inevitable conclusion—in the privacy of his suite.

      She moved closer still, her breath feathering his lips. ‘Kiss me.’

      Hell, he couldn’t wait any longer. He had to taste her. She moved her lips closer, a spark of sexy mischief in her eyes. He placed his champagne glass on the bar, not taking his eyes from hers, and spread his palm over her shoulder blades, at the same time crushing her lips beneath his.

      She gasped into his mouth, her eyes wide, and again that aura of innocence briefly shone through. A woman playing with fire. The fire of desire. Desire he could no longer control. She closed her eyes, long lashes sweeping down over her cheeks as she began to kiss him back. As hard and demanding as his kiss, sweeping away any doubts.

      This woman was far from innocent. This was a woman in control of her sexuality. A woman who knew exactly what she wanted. And right now he was in no doubt. She wanted him.

      Her tongue entwined with his and her arms wound round his neck, her fingers sliding into his hair, long nails scratching his scalp. He delved his tongue deeper into her mouth, tasting champagne. Tasting her.

      He had to get them out of here. He was in danger of ripping her sexy tight blouse and skirt from her body right here in the bar.

      He lifted his lips away from hers reluctantly, dragging in a deep breath of sanity.

      ‘Your suite,’ she whispered, opening her eyes and looking up at him. Already she looked deliciously tousled.

      Lust pounded through him. He barely had any control left. Virtually no restraint. His need for this woman, this moment, was so intense. He wanted to revel in her power. Be tamed by her. It either stopped here and now or...

      ‘This is what you want?’ He tried to steady his voice, needing to calm the heated desire thundering through him like a sudden eruption from Mount Etna. Despite this desire, despite the way her body begged him for more than just a kiss, he needed to hear her say it.

      Did he really have to ask?

      ‘It is,’ Kaliana said softly, her voice husky, her breathing rapid and uneven. He was giving her the chance to back out, proving he wanted her as much as she wanted him. Giving her the power. Power which made her feel alive.

      She brushed her lips over his lightly, wanting to kiss away the control he’d suddenly found. She wanted him at her mercy. Her at his. She breathed against his lips, driven by a need too powerful to resist. ‘It is. Take me to your suite.’

      He held her gaze, looking deep into her eyes, as if satisfying himself she spoke the truth and for a moment she wondered if he knew. If he’d guessed she was a virgin. As if he’d guessed her act of bold bravado was exactly that. Was this man of undeniable experience about to turn her down? Leaving her aching for him, for satisfaction? Leaving her not knowing what it would be like to be sexually fulfilled?

      She wanted this night of pleasure, this night of unknown desires. She needed it. To prove she was alive. Locked within her was the woman Alif had gently coaxed into the first flush of womanhood with his love.

      She held her breath.

      Pain rushed through her at the thought of Alif and the love they’d shared. The passion they should have known together. Was it wrong she felt such desire with another man?

      She looked up at Rafe, felt the pull of attraction, the spark of desire, the heat of passion. It wasn’t wrong. Something this powerful couldn’t be. Unexpected, but not wrong.

      ‘I want you,’ she whispered, drawing again on the elation of being free to indulge in this desire. Free to be a woman who knew what she wanted and took it.

      And she wanted this night and this man. Nobody except Rafe could stop it now. Tonight, she would finally bloom into the woman she could be.

      ‘And I want you.’ His accent suddenly deepened, the intensity in those dark eyes mirroring every need and emotion inside her.

      ‘I want you to make love to me.’ Her breath was ragged, her words slipping out, firm and decisive. Elation at her freedom, her power of abandonment to be exactly what she wanted, rose ever higher. She wanted to feel his kisses all over her body. His strong hands caressing her, pleasuring her in ways she could only imagine. For too long she’d locked herself behind a barrier of grief, but she couldn’t do it any more. Not if she had to give up on everything she’d ever dared to hope for and sacrifice her secret dreams of one day finding the kind of love she’d shared with Alif. If love a second time even existed. ‘I want you to make love to me. Tonight.’

      ‘Tonight?’ The hoarseness of his voice left her in no doubt he was fighting a losing battle as much as she was.

      ‘Tonight,’ she teased. ‘All night.’

      He inhaled deeply, his eyes piercing into hers. Taking her hand, he silently led her through the serene calmness of the hotel bar, some guests casting them curious but knowing glances.

      Together they stepped into the lift. The air crackled with tension. Neither moved. Towards each other or away. The only contact was her hand in his. Silence enveloped them as the lift moved swiftly upwards. She didn’t dare look at him. Something wild was about to explode between them and if they even so much as looked at one another it would happen before they reached the privacy of his suite.

      She drew in a deep breath, his scent stirring her desire ever higher, and she willed the lift to stop. Willed the doors to open. Beside her, he was rigid, his body motionless with control