‘WILL YOU JUST ease up—before I either fall over or you pull my arm out of its socket?’ Lia complained as Gregorio continued his march down the street, his fingers firmly around the top of her arm as he pulled her along beside him. Everyone instinctively stepped out of his way, and consequently hers too. They obviously knew from looking at Gregorio’s face not to get in his way.
His expression was... Dark and dangerous. That was the only way Lia could think of to describe it. Thunderous brows were lowered over even darker and stormier eyes, his jaw was tight, lips still thinned, his jaw clenched. His whole body language said, Get out of my way or risk being trampled underfoot.
An impression no doubt added to by the two men who were six and half feet of pure muscle following just a couple of steps behind them.
‘Gregorio—’
‘It would be better if you did not speak to me right now,’ he bit out, without so much as glancing at her.
‘But—’
‘Dios, do you ever do as you are told?’ He maintained his hold on her arm as he turned to face her, his eyes glittering darkly as he glowered at her from his superior height. ‘Do you have any idea what you risked by meeting Richardson alone?’
She did now. ‘I wasn’t exactly alone when one of your men follows me everywhere I go. Besides, David would never—’ She broke off with a wince, knowing that the David she had met today was not the man who had wooed and won her. Today he had been that cornered animal. Feral. Likely to strike out and maim or kill without warning.
Gregorio eyed her scornfully. ‘Do not try to convince me of something you no longer believe yourself!’
Her cheeks warmed. ‘That isn’t true—’
‘Do you still have feelings for him? Is that it?’ Gregorio snapped disgustedly. ‘You want to believe he is not involved because you are still in love with him?’
‘No!’
Gregorio couldn’t miss the vehemence in her denial. ‘Then why meet with him at all? Why would you even do something like that when I have told you of my suspicions regarding him?’
‘Because I needed to know—to see for myself—whether or not David is capable of doing what you suspect he has!’ She glared at him.
‘And?’
She gave a shiver. ‘He’s more than capable. In fact I was about to excuse myself from having lunch with him when you arrived and started acting like a caveman.’
Given the circumstances, Gregorio considered his behaviour earlier to have been quite circumspect. What he had really wanted to do was rip David Richardson’s head from his shoulders for daring to so much as breathe the same air as Lia.
If Lia thought he had behaved like a caveman when he’d joined her and Richardson, then she should have seen him when he’d first received Silvio’s phone call telling him exactly who she was meeting for lunch.
Gregorio had left the hotel immediately and walked the short distance to the bistro. Seeing Lia sitting cosily in a booth with Richardson had only made him angrier. Overhearing Richardson’s scornful comments to her, mocking her social fall and her need to work for a living, had made Gregorio want to slam his fist into the other man’s face.
‘I consider myself to have been very restrained,’ he assured her tightly.
‘Is your restraint an excuse for all that nonsense about an engagement ring too?’ She eyed him disgustedly.
Gregorio felt warmth staining his cheeks. ‘It was my way of letting Richardson know that you aren’t alone in the world, no matter what he may think to the contrary.’
‘By giving him the impression that I’m now engaged to you?’
A nerve pulsed in his jaw. ‘It worked, didn’t it?’
‘And what if he decides to tell someone else about our bogus engagement? Maybe the media?’ Lia challenged. ‘Did you even think of that?’
Of course Gregorio hadn’t thought of that. His only objective had been to protect Lia.
Really?
Was he being honest with himself?
Knowing Lia was with David Richardson had filled him with a blinding rage. Seeing her in the company of the other man, her hair a loose tumble about her shoulders in the way that he liked it, had sent every thought from his head except getting rid of Richardson.
And one word.
Mine.
Lia was his—whether she knew it yet or not.
Perhaps it was time that she did.
‘Gregorio!’ Lia squeaked in protest when he didn’t answer her but instead resumed pulling her along the street beside him, his face set in grim lines.
Lia wasn’t sure she altogether trusted that expression. And she felt even less reassured when they entered the hotel through the underground car park, where one of the lifts for the penthouse floor was situated. Gregorio scanned his key card to open the doors and pressed the button for the penthouse floor once they were both inside.
Lia could only assume the two bodyguards would either remain downstairs or come up later. Because Gregorio obviously wasn’t willing to let them travel in the same lift as them.
Lia could feel the heat and tension radiating from Gregorio now they were together in this small confined space. He didn’t so much as look at her—because he was so disgusted with her?—but his harsh expression said he was every inch the arrogant and ruthless Gregorio de la Cruz at this moment.
She ran the tip of her tongue over the dryness of her lips before speaking. ‘I believe I owe you an apology for the way I behaved and spoke to you yesterday evening—’
Her words were cut off abruptly as Gregorio pressed her back against one of the mirrored walls, grasping both her wrists in one of his hands before lifting her hands above her head and holding them there as he fiercely claimed her lips with his own.
The length of his body was pressed intimately against Lia’s, allowing her to feel how aroused he was. And she was aware of the response of her own body.
She kissed him back with all the pent-up emotions from last night and from this morning, parting her lips to allow Gregorio’s tongue to claim the heat of her mouth. Possessively. The victor with his captive. Exactly like that conquistador Lia had once likened him to.
She loved it.
Was she falling in love with Gregorio?
It was far too soon for her to know that for sure. Besides, right here and right now she just wanted to kiss and devour him in the same way he was claiming her. To lose herself in the desire that was never far away when the two of them were together.
She pressed even closer against him as she returned heated kiss for heated kiss. Neither of them was even aware of it when the lift doors opened and then closed again—until the lift started to go back down again.
‘Dios mio!’ Gregorio reluctantly dragged his mouth from Lia’s, his forehead resting on hers as he kept her pressed up against the wall. ‘You are driving me so crazy we risk being stuck in this lift for the rest of the day.’
Lia laughed softly under her breath. ‘I’d much rather we spent our time in a bed!’
Gregorio drew his breath in sharply. ‘Me too.’
She smiled teasingly. ‘That’s it? Just “me too”?’
He grimaced. ‘As you said, conversation seems to be our downfall. I do not want to ruin the moment as I obviously did yesterday evening.’
She sobered. ‘That was completely my fault. I felt defensive after Cathy and Rick arrived. But I should never have talked to you in that way.’ She moistened lips slightly swollen from the force of their kisses. ‘You drive me crazy too, Gregorio.’
‘I—’
Gregorio turned away as the lift reached the ground floor and the doors opened automatically to reveal a surprised Silvio and Raphael, waiting outside.
Gregorio made no move to separate himself from Lia. ‘Could you inform Mr Harrington that Miss Fairbanks will be spending the rest of the day with me in my suite?’ he told them, before once again pressing the button for the penthouse floor.
Lia giggled, and buried her face against Gregorio’s chest as the lift doors closed and they began their second ascent in as many minutes.
Gregorio had never heard Lia giggle before. It was pleasant. Warming.
An indication that she was happy?
Dios, he hoped so. Because there was no way he was going to be able to let her walk away from him again today.
Lia’s confidence faltered slightly as they stepped out of the lift into Gregorio’s suite. He was ten years older, and so much more experienced than she was. He’d had dozens of lovers, whereas she’d only had one—and not a very satisfactory one at that.
She had believed sexual compatibility to be of minor importance when she’d been with David. They’d loved each other, mixed in the same social circles, and their families had approved of the match. Her lack of sexual pleasure with David hadn’t seemed that important.
What an idiot I was.
A stupid, naïve idiot who, after reaching a climax in Gregorio’s arms while still fully clothed, couldn’t wait to experience that sexual release again.
David had always ensured he took his own pleasure, but what if she couldn’t satisfy Gregorio? What if—?
‘You think too much.’ Gregorio reached up and smoothed the frown from her brow. ‘First we will take a shower together.’
He clasped her hand in his as they walked down the hallway.
Was Gregorio expecting her to take all her clothes off and get in the shower with him?
Lia had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had seen photographs of the women Gregorio usually went to bed with, and although she took care of her body she knew she didn’t match up to those model-thin, toned-bodied blondes. Despite her weight loss, her breasts were firm and up-tilting, but a little too big for the slenderness of her waist. Her hips were too curvy—
‘You are still thinking too much,’ Gregorio murmured indulgently, turning to face her as the two of them stood in the middle of the terracotta-tiled bathroom. ‘You are very beautiful, Lia.’
He gently claimed her lips with his. Sipping. Tasting. Claiming.
Lia was so lost in her rising desire she wasn’t even aware of Gregorio removing her jacket, and then unfastening her blouse before dropping it to the floor with her jacket. Or of his unfastening of the zip of her skirt before that too slid down to join her jacket and blouse.
Heat blazed in her cheeks as Gregorio ended their kiss, stepping back, making her painfully aware that she was now wearing only a cream bra and matching panties, along with suspenders and stockings. And for some inexplicable reason she was still wearing her high-heeled shoes!
Lia wondered what Gregorio saw as his hands tightened about hers. His eyes were dark as he looked his fill of her from the top of her head to her ridiculous high-heeled shoes.
‘You are every one of my fantasies come to life,’ he approved darkly.
Lia somehow doubted that. ‘Aren’t you a bit overdressed for taking a shower?’ she said lightly, changing the subject.
He released her hands and stepped back and out of his shoes before stretching his arms out at his sides. ‘Undress me. No—keep your shoes on,’ he added gruffly as she would have stepped out of them.
‘Now who’s bossy?’ she teased.
‘Those high heels are very sexy.’
The burning in her cheeks seemed to have become a permanent fixture as Lia slipped the jacket from Gregorio’s shoulders and down his arms before placing it neatly on the vanity: the suit had probably cost more than Lia was going to earn in a month.
His eyes glittered down at her as she stepped forward to unfasten and remove his tie before undoing the buttons on his shirt.
Lia’s breath caught in her throat as she bared his chest, her fingers caressing lightly over that olive-toned flesh as she took off his shirt. His body really was beautiful—as perfect as any sculpture of a Greek god and yet, unlike a statue, warm and firm to the touch.
Her fingers were slightly clumsy as she unfastened the button of his trousers and tugged the zip down. The material slid down his hips and thighs before he stepped out of the trousers altogether, revealing that he wore a pair of black boxers beneath, the bulge of his arousal once again visible against the fitted material.
Forget all the gods: Gregorio was pure perfection.
Wide shoulders, toned pecs and abs, long muscular legs...
Just looking at him made Lia’s heart beat faster and louder.
‘Take them off.’
Lia’s breathing became ragged as she raised her hands to the waistband of Gregorio’s boxers, hooking a finger at each hip before slowly pulling the material downwards. Which, considering Gregorio’s large and obvious erection, wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
She had to ease and stretch the material over that pulsing flesh, before falling down on her knees in front of him as she slowly moved the material downwards and then off completely, along with his socks.
Her gaze returned hungrily to Gregorio’s fully engorged and fiercely jutting arousal.
‘Lia...!’
She knew what Gregorio wanted, what his husky voice was begging for. Not demanding. Begging.
Had Lia fallen to her knees deliberately? For just this purpose?
Absolutely.
She wanted to hear Gregorio’s groans of pleasure as she took him into her mouth. To taste and lick him. To suck him.
Just thinking of that, and of how the two of them must look right now—Gregorio completely naked and fully aroused, her wearing only bra, panties and stockings—caused her own level of desire to increase achingly.
Gregorio drew his breath in sharply, his knees almost buckling as he watched Lia’s fingers encircle him. She slowly licked her parted lips before bending forward to take him into the heat of her mouth.
His hands moved, his fingers grasping her bared shoulders as her other hand cupped him beneath his arousal. At the same time she took him deeper into the heat of her mouth. She pulled back again—slowly, firmly—her tongue a hot rasp over the sensitive tip, her cheeks hollowed as she sucked.
Gregorio thought the top of his head was going to explode as Lia set a tortuous rhythm. Taking all of him, deeply. Followed by the slow and tormenting drag of withdrawal. The continuous hot stroke of her tongue on his sensitised flesh. The rhythmic squeeze of her hands.
And all the while she looked so damned sexy in her bra, panties and stockings, her hair a wild tumble of auburn, gold and cinnamon about her shoulders, Gregorio couldn’t take his eyes off her.
He could feel the heat of his release building, every muscle in his body straining as he fought for control of that release. The pleasure was too much...too much—
‘No...!’ He pushed her away from him, fingers digging into the soft flesh of her shoulders when she looked up at him with sensual dark eyes. ‘Lia...’ He pulled her up to her feet, his arms going about her waist as he drew her in tightly against him. ‘That was incredible.’
Oral sex had been a definite no-no with David, so this was the first time Lia had ever...
Having no interest in exploring the boundaries of their sexual relationship was surely another sign that David had just been using her.
What an idiot she had been!
‘I liked it too,’ Lia acknowledged huskily.
‘I do not want it to be over too soon.’
Gregorio gave one of those sensual smiles that transformed his face from austere to breathtaking.
‘My turn,’ he murmured with satisfaction, and he reached behind her and unfastened her bra before removing it completely. ‘Dios!’ He spoke almost reverently as his gaze feasted on her pertly bared breasts. ‘I love these...’ His hands cupped beneath her breasts as he lowered his head to suckle each engorged nipple in turn.
Lia groaned, clinging to Gregorio’s shoulders as she was engulfed in pleasure, heat instantly spreading to her core.
‘I want to taste you...’
Gregorio straightened before lifting her up in his arms and carrying her out of the bathroom and down the hallway to his bedroom. He lay her down carefully on the bed, kneeling beside her to hook his thumbs in her panties, pulling them slowly down over her hips and thighs and then off completely, leaving Lia dressed only in the suspenders and stockings.
His eyes darkened as he looked at her. ‘You are the sexiest woman—’
‘You’ve seen today?’ she teased, sure that Gregorio had been with women a lot sexier than her.
He tilted his head as he studied her. ‘Why do you do that? Is it your way of pushing me away?’
She gave a splutter of laughter at the ridiculousness of that statement when they were both naked. ‘Do I look as if I’m pushing you away?’
Gregorio didn’t return her smile. ‘We both have pasts, Lia. I can no more take mine away than you can. But there is just the two of us here. Now. Together.’ He lay down on the bed beside her, his hand cupping her cheek as he turned her face towards him. ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Lia, and you are the most beautiful woman it has been my privilege to make love to.’
Her cheeks heated, although at the same time she still felt sceptical. ‘I think we’re both agreed that it’s best if we don’t talk.’
‘Because you do not believe me?’
‘Gregorio—’
‘It is okay.’ His thumb caressed her full bottom lip. ‘I have every intention of showing you how beautiful you are to me.’
And if that was Gregorio’s intention then that was exactly what he did as he made love to her tenderly, appreciatively, savagely. Squeezing and caressing her breasts as he drove her wild with his lips and tongue, driving Lia over the edge of release time and time again. Until she was so sensitised that his lightest touch inflamed her senses and she crashed into another orgasm.
And still she hungered for more. More of Gregorio’s lovemaking. More of him.
‘I need to be inside you now,’ he finally rasped, his hair tousled from where Lia had grabbed hold of its darkness at the height of her pleasure.
‘Please...’ She arched up, needing to be filled, needing to have Gregorio inside her as much as he wanted to be there.
Lia’s unease returned during the time it took him to open the foil packet he had taken from the bedside drawer and roll the condom on with an expertise that indicated he had done it many times before.
Gregorio frowned slightly, obviously seeing the uncertainty flickering across Lia’s face. ‘I realise this is not in the least romantic, but it is my responsibility to protect you.’
There was no arguing with that comment. None that made any sense in the circumstances, anyway.
And Lia totally forgot about that moment of unease as Gregorio knelt between her thighs and slowly, erotically, eased himself into her. Stretching her, filling her, as if they were two parts of a whole, finally joined together.
‘That feels so good,’ Gregorio groaned as he lay down on top of her, taking his weight on his elbows and claiming her mouth with his as he slowly began to thrust inside her. ‘You feel so good, Lia.’
Lia groaned as Gregorio’s movement sent off tiny explosions inside her, wrapping her legs about his waist and pulling him in deeper still. Their breathing became loud and ragged and those thrusts became less co-ordinated as the pleasure built, higher and higher.
Gregorio broke the kiss to groan, his body tense. ‘Come with me, bella. Now!’ he rasped, and he began to pulse inside her, taking Lia with him in an orgasm so strong and intense she screamed out her pleasure.