The Medici Mistress: Nothing and no one would stop him from having her. (3 page)

And he was every bit as strong as she’d fantasized. His chest muscles rippled beneath his golden tan, his arm muscles were pronounced. She gulped.

“You do not need to be nervous,” he said, watching as she pulled at his belt, and fumbled with the opening of his pants.

“I’m not,” she promised. “I’m just… overwhelmed.”

His eyes flared at her honesty. It was the perfect word for how he, too, felt. Along with blindsided, mystified, and side swiped.

“How old are you,
cara
?”

She bit down on her lip. “Twenty one.”

“So young.”

“How old are you?” She smiled distractedly as the pants finally gave way and dropped to his ankles. He stepped out of them, and then pulled off his own boxers. He was so impatient. So desperate for her.

“Older than you.”

Renewed guilt bubbled in his gut. He ignored it. So what if he was twelve years her senior? Twenty one was still old enough, he told himself. She was no teenager.

“How old?” She persisted.

“Old and wise enough to know how to drive you wild,” he promised huskily, lifting her up easily and putting her back on the bed. She went willingly. Her body was quivering with anticipation. She watched as he rolled a condom over his arousal, her heart racing for all sorts of reasons.

“You always drive me wild,” she murmured, reaching her hands up and running them down his face. He saw the emotion in her face. He would come to despise himself for not recognizing that she was in love with him, then. He acted with no thoughts for her emotions, and the guilt had become immense. But in that wonderful, heady moment, there was no guilt, and no shame; just pleasure to be had.

He kissed her again, because her mouth was irresistible, and her legs lifted, wrapping around his waist. She pulled him towards her, unconsciously clenching her thighs so that his arousal was teasing at the heart of her soul.

“Giac,” she called into the palatial bedroom, her voice shrill with desire.

He groaned. As he moved inside her, he knew he was closing some doors, and opening another, fantastic, life changing experience.

He froze, as he met an unmistakable barrier. “Annie?” He broke their kiss to stare down at her, his face ashen.

She flushed, shaking her head from side to side. “I’m fine. Don’t stop.”

He wanted to remonstrate with her; to ask why she hadn’t said anything. But Annie lifted her hips again, taking him deeper into her heavenly core. He swore as he thrust inside her. “I do not want to hurt you,” he promised against her ear.

“You won’t,” she smiled slowly, as the brief, sharp pain that had punctuated her first time with a man subsided. It left in its place only pleasure, and she reveled in the tide of enjoyment that was spreading through her body.

He moved with greater care than he knew he had the strength for. He watched as her body spasmed, her face colored, and she cried out, as a fierce orgasm ripped through her. She was so heavenly. He wanted so much more from Annie, but he was terrified of hurting her. It was then that he knew how serious he was about her. He had a real problem on his hands.

“Are you okay?” He asked, holding his own orgasm at bay with effort.

“Okay?” She grinned up at him, in a way that made his heart ache. “I’m so much better than okay. I had no idea…”

He growled, lowering his head and nipping her sensitive flesh at the top of her breast with his teeth. She yelped and writhed at the same time. “You should have told me,” he said, moving into her once more.

“I didn’t think this was going to happen,” she pointed out, though speech was becoming difficult.

“Didn’t you?”

She blushed. “I hoped… that’s not the same thing as knowing.”

“No.” He thrust into her again, deep and hard, watching, fascinated, as she thrashed beneath him, her body wild with pleasure and sensation.

“That feels amazing,” she cried out, as again, he pushed into her hard, demanding total supplication.

“I was gentle with you, when I realized it was your first time. Now I truly want to own you,” he whispered. “Will you let me show you what our bodies can do?”

Excitement and adrenalin charged her body. She nodded wordlessly. When he thrust into her this time, she realized how much he’d been holding back. Her insides stretched to accommodate his length, her body bucked against his in immediate response to the foreign invasion. But her heart was thudding with pleasure and her mouth was wide, making strange, gurgling noises of delight as he drove her nearer and nearer to the edge.

“Come here,” he said firmly, breaking the connection only so that he could pull her towards the edge of the bed. He re-entered her from a standing position, lifting her buttocks off the mattress with his strong hands. He held her half aloft while he took possession of her. She had no idea how loudly she screamed when her body tipped over into an abyss of unimaginable pleasure. He followed her, his cry animalistic as he finally allowed himself the release he craved.

It took several moments for his breathing to return to normal. Finally, he looked down at her. She was so beautiful. The shred of anger and resentment he’d been feeling, at having unwittingly been pulled into service to relieve Annie of her cumbersome virginity, disappeared entirely.

“You should have told me,” he said again, reaching down and taking her hands in his.

She nodded, not quite meeting his eyes. “Are you… was there a problem?”

“A problem?” He pulled at her wrists, easing her into a standing position.

“I mean… didn’t you, um, enjoy that?”

His laugh was thick with surprise. “That is not what I meant.” He frowned, his heart unmistakably tender. “I enjoyed being with you, Annie Carlton. Very much.” Too much, he silently added. It was a feeling he knew he would never forget and always want. “But your first time should be special, not like this.”

“Oh.” Her hurt was so obvious, he might as well have stabbed her. He winced.

“I mean… Hell.” He dragged a hand through his thick hair and looked at her beseechingly. For the first time in his adult life, he was lost for words. “With someone you love. You know. A boyfriend.”

“Oh.” She said again. “I understand.”

“No.” He shook his head, swallowing past the pain that hurting her caused him. “You don’t.” He groaned, pulling her against his chest and stroking her hair. He could feel the frantic racing of her heart, and for some reason, it made him think of her as vulnerable and fragile. And she was. Completely vulnerable to a man like him. A man who was supposed to be getting married in just over a month. He thought of Carrie, and felt nothing. Nothing beyond loyalty and companionship, anyway. The woman in his arms caused his body to reverberate at a different frequency; he’d never known anything like it.

“This can’t go anywhere,” he said, to remind himself rather than her.

“Oh.”

It was the third time she’d made the small, pathetic noise of acceptance, and he laughed despite the weight in his heart.

“Come. Let’s have a spa.”

Annie moved to follow him, but doubt was clouding her mind. What had she just done? Heck, it wasn’t like she had been saving herself. But she’d never thought she’d lose her virginity in a one night stand with a billionaire, who had no intention of sticking around, even for a little while.

She winced at her own stupidity, regret making her feel stupid. She dropped his hand and stopped walking. “No.” She shook her head. She’d slept with him in the heat of the moment, but sanity was returning to her now. “I… I should actually go.” She scanned the room, and saw her dress crumpled in the corner. She ran to it and scooped it up, shaking it out and pulling it on without pausing. She strode down the corridor, fully aware that he was following her, and not caring. Nor did she care that she’d left her underwear somewhere in his apartment. She needed fresh air, immediately.

“Wait,” he commanded, his tone imperious, his voice clearly demanding obedience.

She didn’t falter.

“Annie,” he spoke sharply, increasing his pace to reach her. “
Cara
, you do not need to run out like this.”

She stopped walking, forcing herself to speak calmly. There was a dull pain in between her legs; the pain that came from muscles having been stretched in completely new ways. She wanted to be back in her own small apartment, to process what had just taken place.

“Giac, it’s fine. I’m glad that it’s over with. And you’re right- you were the perfect man to lose my virginity to. Skilled, desirable, and with no strings attached.” She smiled at him brightly. “Thank you.”

“What the hell are you saying? Did you intend to sleep with me- or anyone – just to get it over with? Is that what you wanted?”

“For my first time to be with someone tall, dark and handsome? Isn’t that what every girl wants?”

“I don’t believe you,” he said quietly, uncaring of his own nakedness.

“Believe what you want, Giac. Being a virgin at twenty one is embarrassing.”

“No,” he denied. “It isn’t. It’s remarkable, and fascinating, but certainly not something to be ashamed of.”

She ignored the way his words made her heart soar. “Whatever. Thank you.”

“Thank you?” He retorted with disbelief. “You do not thank me for making love to you. And you do not run out on me.”

“Oh, you’re wrong, Giac, on both scores.” She scanned the room, saw her handbag dangling over a chair and reached for it. She hooked it over her shoulder and threw him what she hoped would pass as a casual smile. She knew she had moments before the shock of her situation really sunk in. “Good bye.”

“Annie,” he said coldly. “I am not a man to be walked out on. If you leave now, that is the end of us.”

She nodded. “I understand.” Hadn’t he already said there could be no ‘us’, anyway?

As she hit the Mayfair pavement, and walked towards Bond Street tube, she felt only shock. She didn’t know that Giac watched her slow, confused walk until she passed out of sight. He swore when she turned the corner, and reached for some clothes.

He was completely incapable of letting her go.

It took him precisely three minutes to catch up with her. And three minutes to forever change the course of his life.

CHAPTER THREE

“We have to talk,” he said into his mobile, watching Annie out on the terrace of his penthouse. She was wearing a ridiculously short pair of denim cutoffs, and a simple white singlet top. Her hair fell as one down her back.

“That’s funny. I’ve been thinking the same thing.” Carrie’s voice was distracted. “What’s up?”

Outside, Annie lifted her tea cup to her lips, her hands so elegant and fine, her mouth so desirable, that he felt himself stir to arousal. In the three nights since they’d first slept together, they’d barely left his bed. Work had taken a complete back seat for both, as discovering one another’s bodies became the order of the day.

Still. The certainty of hurting a woman he greatly admired made him hesitate. “It can wait until I’m back in the States. Will you be home next week?”

“Sure thing, Giac. Is everything okay? You sound different.”

If he sounded different, it’s because he was different. A changed man, courtesy of one beautiful and independent Annie Carlton.

“It’s fine.” He forced himself to make small talk. To ask about Carrie’s life, and the various charity events she was knee-deep in organizing, though he barely listened to a word she said. It was sheer relief to hang up the phone. He caught sight of his reflection as he moved purposefully through the lounge room. He despised himself for what he was doing.

“I think we should eat.”

Annie regarded him thoughtfully, through her clear green eyes. “That would be a novel change.” Her lips quirked into a small smile as she studied his low slung jeans and exposed chest.

“Yes. I realize we’ve been existing on a diet of sex and brie cheese for days, but perhaps we should bring actual food into the equation.”

“Well, it’s important to keep your strength up,” she mulled impishly, setting her tea aside and moving languidly towards him.

The whirlwind of the last few days had been life altering for Annie. After he’d chased her down and caught her just as she was entering the tube station, her world had begun to shift completely. He’d convinced her that he’d spoken hastily. That there could be a future for them. He didn’t know enough to speak in absolutes. It had been all she’d needed to hear.

“And yours, my beautiful Signorina.”

She nibbled the flesh at the base of his neck, running her hands over his back. “Of course, if you really want to eat dinner, you should probably stop walking around in a state of very, very sexy undress. It’s utterly distracting.”

He sucked in a deep breath. His body was alive with need for her, but his mind was focused on something else. Getting to know the temptress who had captivated him so completely. “Is there anything you don’t eat?”

“I’m a vegetarian.”

He looked at her, scandalized. “Seriously?”

“Yes. What’s wrong with that?”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. This can have no future. How can I be with a woman who does not appreciate a good piece of fillet mignon?”