Modern Romance September 2016 Books 1-4. Кейт Хьюит

buttons yielded and the dress tore.

      She should have been horrified, but she didn’t care about that; all she wanted was to feel his touch on her breasts, his skin against hers. In response, she pushed his shirt from his shoulders, forcing him to briefly release her as he levered himself up, and virtually tore the shirt from him.

      He paused and looked at her, his chest rising and falling rapidly with each desire-driven breath. ‘You are more beautiful than I could ever have imagined.’ Then with a wicked smile he removed his jeans, until he stood before her in black briefs which did little to conceal his hardened state of arousal.

      She sat up and began to undo the remainder of her buttons. He placed one hand on the bed and leant towards her, the muscles in his arm firming as he did so, snagging her attention. ‘No more,’ he said gruffly. ‘That is for me to do, but first I need to take care of a practical issue.’

      ‘Practical?’ Her mind stumbled. What was he talking about?

      ‘The small issue of contraception.’

      How had she forgotten that? What kind of idiot would he think she was? She watched him closely for any hint of shock at her brazen behaviour, but was more shocked when he opened his bedside drawer, took out his wallet and produced the necessary foil packet. Did he always keep his island home so prepared?

      Before she had a chance to dwell on that, he’d wrapped his hands around her ankles, then slipped off her sandals, his grey eyes watching her intently. She blushed as his attention lowered, to her exposed breasts, and had to force herself to stay there beneath his scrutiny instead of giving in to the innocent urge for modesty.

      He stroked his fingers up her legs, over her knees and under her dress and she was transfixed by the fire of need which raged in her. Just when she thought he was going to touch her intimately, he moved back, leaving her aching. But that ache was soon quenched as he moved over her, lowering his body onto hers as he claimed her lips in a kiss so wild and demanding she gasped aloud.

      As if driven by her response, he slid his legs between hers and she could feel the heat and hardness of him. All she could think about was moving against him, finding a way, any way, to get closer, and she became irritated by her half-undressed state. She could feel his bare chest against her naked breasts, but it wasn’t enough. Nowhere near enough.

      His hands moved down between their bodies as he lifted his weight from her and in seconds the remainder of the buttons were undone and her dress pushed away from her. Underwear was now the only barrier between them.

      Giving in to an instinct that was new and exciting, she lifted one leg and with pointed toes trailed it up his leg. The growl of pleasure he gave emboldened her further and she moved her palms against his buttocks, pressing him against her until a string of muttered Russian words flew from his lips.

      ‘If you continue with this, I am not going to remember your inexperience and will lose all control.’ He looked down at her, his arms braced as he held his upper body above her, but still his erection pressed against her.

      She smiled at him, liking the power over him she now had. ‘In that case.’ The taunt in her voice was clear as she wrapped her other leg around him, forcing him so close that if it wasn’t for their underwear she would be his.

      The thought sent heat spiralling through her. She wanted this man to claim her, to take her most precious gift, because somehow she’d fallen in love with him. She had no idea when, but in their constant battles for control, she’d lost her heart to him. She was already his; no matter what happened now, she was his.

      * * *

      ‘Bianca, have mercy on me.’ Surprised at the hoarseness of his voice, Liev claimed her lips once more in a kiss so mind-blowing he very nearly lost control right there and then. What was it about this woman that was so different from any other?

      ‘Never,’ she gasped as he pulled away from her and looked down at her, hair spread across the pillow and eyes closed in total abandon.

      He moved down, trailing his fingers over her stomach until he reached the final physical barrier between them, and as he slid off the bed, he pulled her panties down those delicious legs that had caught his attention the first time he’d seen her. Now that demure and controlled woman was his, her passion so fierce it almost burned him.

      She opened her eyes and looked at him, a nervous question in them. She was so beautiful it broke his heart. Did he have one to break? He’d always thought that it had been replaced by stone the day his life had changed.

      He grabbed the foil packet he’d pulled out of his wallet earlier, removed his underwear and, with her eyes hungrily devouring him, rolled on the condom. He’d intended to take it slowly, to try to be mindful of her claim of inexperience, but as he covered her body with his, hers welcomed his so expertly he lost that final thread of control and thrust into her, deep and hard.

      Her fingernails dug into his shoulders, and with her head pushed back deep into the pillow, she cried out in shock and pleasure. He stilled, the effort making his body shake. She was more than inexperienced. She was a virgin.

      ‘Don’t stop, Liev, please.’

      She moved her hips, urging him to continue, and that final thread of control he’d been hanging on to snapped. He moved inside her, and as she wrapped her legs around him again, keeping him deep inside her, he was lost. Waves of pleasure, so big he thought he might drown, cascaded over him, and he knew this moment would change things. It would change him, change everything he’d been driven to do since he was a young boy.

      She gasped his name as her release swept her away, dragging him with her until he lay over her, shaking in a way he’d never done before. All he could think about was that he’d taken her virginity, stolen it with his deceit and lies, because there was no way she would have surrendered such a precious gift if she’d known all he wanted was revenge on ICE, revenge that would destroy her brother too.

      With his breathing still ragged and his body still humming, he moved off her, disgusted with himself. He’d taken a woman’s innocence in the name of revenge. What kind of man did that make him?

      ‘Liev?’ He heard her startled question as he strode to the bathroom, but he couldn’t look at her, not yet. She would see the anger and disgust blazing in his eyes and she didn’t deserve that. She didn’t deserve any of this.

      * * *

      Bianca heard the shower and lay there, unable to move. She wanted to run back to her room and hide from the anger she’d seen blazing in his eyes and the contempt as he’d glanced back at her.

      Should she have told him, made it clear that she was totally inexperienced—a virgin?

      What had she done to change things so drastically? The passion had been so intense her body had burned for his; now it was icy cold with shock and she realised she was shivering. Whatever was wrong, she wasn’t going to run and hide. Bianca Di Sione didn’t hide; she faced things head-on. Always had done and always would do.

      She pulled the delicate and creased fabric of her dress together, buttoning it up and wishing her hands would stop shaking. When he came out of that bathroom, she was standing in front of the mirror brushing down her hair, smoothing away the just-tumbled-in-bed look.

      Their eyes met in the mirror and she blinked at the image of him naked but for a skimpy white towel around his hips. The passion she’d just experienced flared to life again and she wondered if this was to be the moment they would go back to bed—if they were lovers.

      ‘You should have told me, Bianca.’ He looked at her in the mirror, those icy grey eyes full of regret. ‘You should have made it clear you were not just inexperienced. You should have said you were a virgin.’

      Indignation rose, as did the need to protect herself, just as she’d done ten years ago. ‘And if I had?’

      He walked over to her and stood before her, hardly caring about his state of undress. She looked up at him, trying to ignore the increasingly rushing pulse just from being so close to him.