He pulled her in closer, the darkness wrapping around them but failing to hide that bright blue gaze or the gold of her hair. The slant of her stunning cheekbones.
She wasn’t pulling away.
Luca’s body was on fire. From somewhere he found his voice and it sounded coarse, rough. ‘What am I doing?’
‘This...’
And then he pulled her right into him and his mouth found hers with unerring precision. Her breasts swelled against his chest—in outrage? He didn’t know, because he was falling over the very thin edge of his control.
When he felt her resistance give way after an infinitesimal moment, triumph surged through his body. He couldn’t think any more, because he was swept up in the decadent darkness of a kiss that intoxicated him and reminded him of only one other similar moment...with her...seven years before.
SERENA WAS STILL in shock at finding herself in Luca’s arms with his mouth on hers. When he’d woken her at first, she’d had an almost overwhelming instinctive need to burrow close to him, the tentacles of that horrible nightmare clinging like slimy vines to her hot skin.
And then she’d realised just who she was with—just who was precipitating such weak feelings of wanting to seek strength and comfort. Luca Fonseca, of all people? And that dream... She hadn’t had it for a long time—not since she’d been in rehab. And to be having it again, here, was galling. As if she was going backwards. Not forwards. And it was all his fault, for getting under her skin.
Fresh anger made her struggle futilely against Luca’s superior strength even after she’d let the hot tide of desire take her over, revealing how much she wanted him. She pulled back, ripping her mouth from his, mortified to find herself breathing harshly, her breasts moving rapidly against the steel wall of his chest, nipples tight and stinging.
Her body and her mind seemed to be inhabiting two different people. Her body was saying Please don’t stop and her head was screaming Stop now!
‘What is it, minha beleza?’
The gravelly tone of Luca’s voice rubbed along her nerve-endings, setting them alight. Traitors.
‘Do you really think this is a good idea?’
Dammit. She sounded as if she wanted him to convince her that it was, her voice all breathy.
His eyes were like black pits in his face and Serena was glad she couldn’t make out their expression. She half expected Luca to come to his senses and recoil, but instead he seemed to move even closer. His hands slipped down her arms and came around her back, making her feel quivery at how light his touch was—and yet it burned.
‘Luca...?’
‘Hmm...?’
His mouth came close again and his lips feathered a kiss to her neck. Liquid fire spread through Serena’s pelvis. Damn him.
She swallowed, her body taking over her mind, making her move treacherously closer to that huge hard body.
‘I don’t think this is a good idea. We’ll regret it.’
Luca pulled back for a moment and said throatily, ‘You think too much.’
And then he was covering her mouth with his again, and any last sliver of defence or righteous anger at how vulnerable he made her feel drained away. She was drowning in his strength. Mouth clinging to his, skin tightening all over as he coaxed her lips apart to explore deeper with his tongue. His kiss seven years ago had seared itself onto her memory like a brand. This was like being woken from a deep sleep. She’d never really enjoyed kissing or being touched by men...until him. And now this.
Barely aware of the fact that Luca was pulling down the zips of their sleeping bags, she only knew that there was nothing between them now, and that he was pulling her on top of him so her breasts were crushed against his broad chest.
Both hands were on her head, fingers thrust deep into her hair, and Luca positioned her so that he could plunder her mouth with devastating skill. Serena could feel herself getting damp between her legs.
Luca drew back for a moment and Serena opened her eyes, breathing heavily. With a smooth move he manoeuvred them so that Serena was on her back and loomed over her. He looked wild, feral. Exactly the way she imagined the marauding Portuguese conquistadores must have looked when they’d first walked on this land.
He smoothed some hair behind her ear and Serena’s breath grew choppier. Her fingers itched to touch him, to feel that chest, so when his head lowered to hers again her hands went to the buttons of his shirt and undid them, sliding in to feel the dense musculature of his chest.
She was unable to hold back a deep sound of satisfaction as her hands explored, revelling in his strength. She dragged her fingers over his chest, sliding over the ridges of his muscles, a nail grazing a flat hard nipple. Her mouth watered. She wanted to taste it.
His beard tickled her slightly, but that was soon forgotten as his tongue thrust deep, making her arch up against him. He was pulling down the strap of her vest, taking with it her bra strap, exposing the slope of her breast.
When Luca pulled back again she was gasping for breath. She looked up, but everything was blurry for a moment. She could feel Luca’s fingers reach inside the lace cup of her bra, brushing enticingly close to where her nipple was so hard it ached. He pulled it down and Serena felt her breast pop free of the confinement. Luca’s gaze was so hot she could feel it on her bare skin.
He breathed out. ‘Perfeito...’
His head came down, and with exquisite finesse he flicked his tongue against that tip, making Serena’s breath catch and her hips move of their own volition. He flicked it again, and then slowly expored the hard flesh, before placing his whole mouth around it and suckling roughly.
Serena cried out. Her hands were on his head, in his hair. She’d never felt anything like this in her life. Sex had been something to block out, to endure, an ineffective form of escape...not something to revel in like this.
His hand was on her trousers now, undoing her button, lowering the zip. There was no hesitation. She wanted this with an all-consuming need she’d never experienced before. His hand delved under her panties as his mouth still tortured her breast.
When his fingers found the evidence of her desire he tore his mouth away. She could see his eyes glitter almost feverishly as he stroked her intimately, releasing her damp heat. Serena whimpered softly, almost mindless, her hips jerking with reaction.
‘You want me.’
His words sliced through the fever in her brain.
Serena bit her lip. She was afraid to speak, afraid of what might spill out. Luca was a master torturer. With his hand he forced her legs apart as much as they could go, and then he thrust a finger deep inside, where she was slick and hot. She gasped.
‘Say it, Serena.’
He sounded fierce now, his finger moving intimately against her. Oh, God... She was going to come. Like this. In a tent in the middle of nowhere. Just from this man touching her...
Feeling vulnerable far too late, Serena tried to bring her legs together—but Luca wouldn’t let her. She could see the determination on his face. The lines stark with desire and hunger. One finger became two, stretching her, filling her. She gasped, her hands going to his shoulders.
The heel of his hand put exquisite pressure on her clitoris. She was unable to stop her hips from moving, rolling, seeking to assuage the incredible ache that was building. And then his fingers moved faster, deeper, making Serena’s muscles tighten against him.
‘Admit you want me...dammit. You’re almost coming. Say it.’