The Taming of the Thief (20 page)

 
   
 
She
couldn't stop looking at him, even when she tried, her gaze returned to him,
time and again.
So utterly male and completely at ease with
his nudity.

 
   
 
“Stop
thinking,” Pietr patted the bed next to him. “Come, lay down and talk to me.”

 
   
 
“Talk?”
She doubted he just wanted to talk.

 
   
 
“
Oui.
Talk.”
He
patted the bed again. Sophie realized to move, she would have to drop her arms
and crawl to his side. Shyness and desire collided.

 
   
 
“Will
you close your eyes?” She bit down on the inside of her cheek at the
ridiculousness of her own request.

 
   
 
“
Non
.” Pietr
chuckled. “I like looking at you.”

 
   
 
Sophie dropped her gaze to his midsection. If
she were completely honest, she liked looking at him too and he was unabashed
by her regard, but he waited. He didn't hurry her along or make impatient
noises as she wrestled with herself.

 
   
 
Slowly, she dropped her arms and eased over
the bed, inching closer to him until she
laid
alongside him, not quite touching. She would have pulled the pillow between
them, but he rolled onto his side, catching it with one hand.

 
   
 
“
Non
. We can
lay
here, not touching, but I don't want you to hide from
me.”

 
   
 
Shivers tap-danced up her spine, her nipples
stiffening under his approving gaze roving the length of her.

 
   
 
“You
are beautiful. More beautiful than I imagined.” The ease with which he spoke
did little to dilute the raw passion in his words. Sophie reached out a
tentative hand, hovering just an inch from his skin.

 
   
 
The
air around him shimmered with heat rolling off his body. His nearness scorched,
setting her senses aflame.

 
   
 
“You
can touch me,” Pietr murmured. “I won't bite…unless you ask very nicely.”

 
   
 
Laughter bubbled out and Sophie felt one band
of tension around her chest relax. “Do you get to travel, a lot?”

 
   
 
“All over the world.”

 
   
 
“Is
it always for business?”

 
   
 
Her
hand inched closer, just barely skimming the soft hair curling on his chest. It
tickled her palm, but Pietr laid quiescent, one arm behind his head and the
other snaked beneath the pillows.

 
   
 
“I
help out my cousin with his security work, I procure information as needed, but
I prefer to travel for myself.”

 
   
 
“Do
you have a favorite place?” Her gaze skittered up his chest to meet his. Pietr
watched her with a lazy, almost predatory smile on his face. She read the need
in his gaze, but his body remained still, letting her explore. A muscle ticked
in his jaw when her hand came to rest on his chest. His heart thudded against
his ribs and the muscles flexed, responding to her light caress.

 
   
 
“I
have a small villa with a vineyard outside of Verona. It's quiet. Most of the
locals prefer horses and small motorbikes to cars and the afternoons on the
veranda are hot, simple and exquisite.” His words were thick, but an oddly
reflective note crept into his voice. “My father bought it for my mother, but
we rarely went there when I was younger. I discovered it among our holdings
when I prepared for University.”

 
   
 
“Discovered?” Sophie laughed, letting her hand
explore his chest, following the line of each pectoral and amazed by the
contrast of hard strength and silky heat.

 
   
 
“
Oui.
Most of the holdings were in a trust
and my Aunt and Uncle never dipped into those funds while I lived with them.
They ensured that the attorneys kept the homes up, financed staffs to take care
of them and left me to decide what I wanted to do with them.” His chest
expanded, muscles leaping as she grew bolder, stroking her nails lightly across
his flesh to one brown, puckered nipple.

 
   
 
Sophie wet her lips and wondered if a man's
nipples could be as sensitive as a woman's. Would he enjoy the feeling of her
tongue on him as she had his?

 
   
 
“So
what did you do?” Her voice was huskier, lower and she inched closer, aware
that her foot just touched the side of his calf. She bit down on her lip before
sliding her foot further, testing the heat of his lower body.

 
   
 
“Max,
my cousin, and I took a few months to tour the properties. But I left the villa
for last, I don't know why, but I was reluctant to go there.” Pietr shrugged,
the motion bouncing the bed a little and Sophie slid into him, her breasts
squashing up against his side, her leg nestling intimately against his.

 
   
 
Her
gaze jerked up to meet his darkening eyes.

 
   
 
She
knew she should move, but she didn't want to. Her earlier insecurity fled,
leaving only a quaking awareness that she perched on the cusp of something
wonderful. All she had to do was reach out and hold onto him.

 
   
 
Her
fingers curled against his chest, one by one, she forced her tense muscles to
relax and settle in against him.

 
   
 
“Sophie?” Pietr framed her name as a question,
filling each syllable with equal parts invitation and inquiry.

 
   
 
“When
did you go visit?” She didn't know how she kept track of the conversation as
coils of heat slid through her begging her to wrap her body around him. His
legs shifted, allowing hers to nestle more firmly against him even as his
glided against hers, teasingly close to the moist heat at the apex of her
thighs.

 
   
 
“It
was the end of summer, Max had to return for University a week before I did. So
I flew to Italy and drove to Verona.” Pietr shifted again, the hand beneath the
pillow gliding out to lightly stroke her back. Sophie closed her eyes. The
sensation was both soothing and erotic. Dipping her head, she pressed her lips
to his shoulder.

 
   
 
“I
knew I had to go and that it had to be me that made the trip.”

 
   
 
Pietr's hand flattened on the small of her
back and with the barest of nudges, her body pressed fully into his. She was
aware of him—of every contact. His erection burned along her hip, thick and
throbbing. Peeking from his shoulder, she looked down the line of their
touching bodies and felt the last soap bubble of her reluctance pop.

 
   
 
“And
what happened?” The words breathed out on a hushed, husky whisper.

 
   
 
Pietr's fingers caressed her spine, a gentle
gliding motion that came nearer to the swell of her bottom with each downward
stroke. Sophie held her breath, muscles clenching as he finally answered her
unspoken need. With one roll of her hips, she rubbed against his thigh,
sparking a new and glorious tension in her belly.

 
   
 
“It
took my breath away.” Something in his voice tugged her gaze upwards. Pietr
stared at her, raw need straining every muscle in his face and still only his
hand moved against her, stroking the curve of her bottom, dipping teasingly along
the curve to her thighs and back again.

 
   
 
“Pietr.”
She whispered his name, a plea, a request, a need
on her lips. He went still, his fingers teasing at the cusp of her damp folds,
waiting. “Please.”

 
   
 
His
body scissored and Sophie rolled onto her back, his body snugging up against
her, his hands stroking and his mouth stealing her breath in a savage kiss.

 
   
S
ophie
arched up and Pietr took her mouth again, addicted to the sweet vanilla and
warm spice of her. Under his fingers, she became pure feminine seduction, hot
and slick with need. But he wasn't ready to end this, not when they'd just
gotten started.

 
   
 
His
fingers dipped between her legs, teasing as he licked and kissed his way down
her jaw to her throat and over the satin hollow of her breasts. Her chest rose
and fell in jagged breaths, her hands sliding into his hair.

 
   
 
“Pietr.”
The unhidden passion peaking in her voice sent his
blood roaring. He'd teased her earlier, teased her that he wanted to hear her
call out his name while he made love to her. He wanted to splay her wide, delve
into her deepest secrets and he wanted his name on her lips as he did so.

 
   
 
He
fought the urge to claim her, wanting to make it last, wanting to give her
everything. Her body jerked as his fingers slipped between the hot, damp folds.
She bucked as his mouth closed over one plump nipple, tongue swirling over the
turgid peak. Her fingers tightened in his hair, dragging at him and he refused,
sliding against her.

 
   
 
Sophie's breath came in hard, short gasps and
he lifted his head to blow a cool breath over the swollen nipple, nipping his
way to the other so he could lavish it with the same attention. His fingers
continued to flick against her, holding firm against the buck of her hips.

 
   
 
She was
so open, so fresh and so unrestrained in her passion. Her nails scraped against
his scalp, the soft sounds of her pleasure rising in volume. He suckled hard at
her breast, thrusting into her slick channel with one finger and then another
before letting his thumb glide over her sensitive clit.

 
   
 
Her
wet sex clenched around him. Her body writhed as though desperately seeking
escape and to be closer at the same time. He grinned against her breast,
lifting his head to watch the orgasm take over her face.

 
   
 
Tears
sparkled in her eyes as her mouth opened and closed, he slipped his fingers in
and out, tormenting the nub until her face strained and she exhaled a wordless,
soundless cry.

 
   
 
“Beautiful.” He stroked her trembling body and
slipping up to cover her body, one hand adjusting her hips to cradle his while
the other tangled in her hair.

 
   
 
She
rose up to meet him, arms wrapping around his shoulders, mouth slanting open
under his for a kiss that threatened to short-circuit his good intentions. Her
body rolled against his, wild, wanton and free. He wanted to savor the lush
feel of her body against his, but her eager hands glided over his back to
clench at his bottom.

 
   
 
His
cock hard and swollen between them pushed his patience to its limits.

 
   
 
He
wanted all of her.

 
   
 
He
wanted nothing separating them.

 
   
 
“Lift
your legs,
bien-aimee
,” he murmured
against her lips, easing his hand under her bottom, positioning her and
himself. “Open your eyes.”

 
   
 
A
sweet heaven of feminine flesh met him as she gave him what he wanted, and then
he slid inside of her, the silken heat scorching him. Pietr gazed into her
eyes, watching the emotions swirl through them. Wonder.
Pleasure.
Surprise.