He was giving her the opportunity to leave but Molly knew she wasn’t going to take it—because when did things like this ever happen to people like her? She wasn’t like most women her age. She’d never had sex. Never come even close, despite her few forays onto a dating website, which had all ended in disaster. Yet now a man she barely knew was proposing seduction and suddenly she was up for it, and she didn’t care if it was bad. Hadn’t she spent her whole life trying to be good? And where had it got her?
Her heart was crashing against her ribcage as she stared up into his rugged features and greedily drank them in. ‘I don’t care if it’s a bad idea,’ she whispered. ‘Maybe I want it as much as you do.’
Her response made him tense. She saw his eyes narrow and heard him utter something which sounded more like despair than joy before pulling her almost roughly into his arms. He smoothed the hair away from her cheeks and lowered his head and the moment their lips met, she knew there would be no turning back.
At first his kiss was slow. As if he was exploring her mouth by touch alone. And just when she was starting to get used to the sheer dreaminess of it, it became hard. Urgent. It fuelled the hunger which was building inside her. He levered her up against him, so that her breasts were thrusting eagerly against his torso and she could feel the rock-hard cradle of his pelvis. She should have been daunted by the unmistakable bulk of his erection but she wasn’t, because her hungry senses were controlling her now and she didn’t feel like good, rule-following Molly any more. She felt like wanton Molly—a victim of her own desire.
And it felt good.
More than good.
His laugh was unsteady as he splayed his fingers over one of her breasts, the nipple instantly hardening against his palm. ‘You are very passionate,’ he murmured.
Molly gave a small gurgle of pleasure as he found the side zip of her dress because suddenly she felt passionate. As if she had been waiting all her life to feel this way. ‘Am I?’
‘I don’t think you need any reassurance on that score, bedda mia.’
He was wrong, of course—but he wasn’t to know that and Molly certainly wasn’t going to tell him. She felt breathless as he peeled the plain black dress away from her body and let it fall to the ground before stepping back to survey her. And wasn’t it funny how a look of admiration in a man’s eyes could be powerful enough to dispel all a woman’s instinctive insecurities? Because for once Molly wasn’t thinking that her tummy was too plump or her breasts unfashionably massive. Or even that her bra didn’t match her rather functional pants. Instead she was revelling in the look of naked hunger which made his eyes resemble black fire as they blazed over her.
And then he picked her up. Picked her up! She could hardly believe it. He was carrying chunky Molly Miller towards the bed as if she weighed no more than a balloon at a child’s birthday party, before whipping back the brand-new duvet she’d purchased that very morning and depositing her beneath it. It was the most delicious sensation in the world, sinking into the mattress and lying beneath the warmth of the bedding, her body sizzling with a growing excitement—while Salvio De Gennaro began to undress. She swallowed, completely hypnotised as she watched him. The shoes and socks were first to go and then he unbuttoned his shirt, baring his magnificent chest before turning his attention to the zip of his trousers. But when he hooked his thumb inside the waistband of his boxers, Molly squeezed her eyes tightly closed.
‘No. Not like that. Open your eyes. Look at me,’ he instructed softly and she was too much in thrall to disobey him.
Molly swallowed. She couldn’t deny that it was slightly daunting to see just how aroused he was and as she bit her lip, he smiled.
‘Me fai asci pazzo,’ he said, as if that explained everything.
‘Wh-what does that mean?’
‘It means you make me crazy.’
‘I love it when you talk Italian to me,’ she said shyly.
‘Not Italian,’ he said sternly as he slipped into bed beside her. ‘Neapolitan.’
She blinked. ‘It’s different?’
‘It’s dialect,’ he said and she noticed he was placing several foil packets on the antique chest of drawers beside the bed. ‘And yes, it’s very different.’
The appearance of condoms somehow punctured some of the romance, but by then he was naked beside her and Molly was discovering that the sensation of skin touching skin was like nothing she’d ever known. It was heaven. Better than chocolate cake. Better than...well, anything really.
‘Salvio,’ she breathed, trying out his name for the first time.
‘Sì, bedda mia? Want me to kiss you again?’
‘Yes, please,’ she said fervently, and he laughed.
His kisses were deep. It felt as if he were drugging her with them, making her body receptive to the caress of his fingers. And, oh, those fingers—what magic they worked as he tiptoed them over her shivering flesh. He massaged her peaking nipples until she was writhing with pleasure, and when he slid his hand between her thighs and discovered how wet she was, he had to silence her instinctive gasp with another kiss.
And because she didn’t want to be passive, Molly stroked him back. At first she was cautious—concentrating on his chest and ribcage, before daring to explore a belly which was far flatter than her own. But when she plucked up the courage to touch the unfamiliar hardness which kept brushing against her quivering thigh, he stopped her with a stern look. ‘No.’
She didn’t ask him why. She didn’t dare. She was afraid of doing anything which would shatter the mood or show how inexperienced she really was. Which might make Salvio De Gennaro bolt upright in bed and incredulously question what the hell he was doing, being intimate with a humble housekeeper. But he didn’t. In fact, he seemed just as in tune with her body as she was with his. Like greedy animals, they rolled uninhibitedly around on the bed, biting and nipping and stroking and moaning and there was only the briefest hiatus when Salvio reached for one of the foil packets.
‘Want to put this on for me?’ he questioned provocatively. ‘Since my hands are shaking so much I’m beginning to wonder if I can manage to do it myself.’
Some of Molly’s composure left her. Should she say something?
Salvio, I’ve only ever seen a condom in a biology class at school. I’ve never actually used one for real.
Mightn’t learning that send him hurtling out of bed in horror? Yes, he might be as aroused as she imagined any man could be, but even so...mightn’t it be a bit heavy if she burdened him with a piece of knowledge which wasn’t really relevant? After all, it wasn’t as if she was expecting this...interlude to actually go anywhere.
And maybe he read her thoughts because he brought his face up close to hers and surveyed her with smoky eyes. ‘You know that I—’
‘Yes, I know. You’re leaving in the morning,’ she said. ‘And that’s okay.’
‘You’re sure?’
‘Quite sure. I just want...’
‘What do you want, Molly?’ he questioned, almost gently.
‘I just want tonight,’ she breathed. ‘That’s all.’
Salvio frowned as he stroked on a condom. Was she for real, or just too good to be true? He kissed her again, wanting to explode with hunger but forcing himself to move as slowly as possible as he pushed inside her molten heat, because he was big. He’d been told that often enough in the past but he had never felt bigger than he did tonight.
But size had nothing to do with her next reaction. The tensing