‘You showed me when you first arrived that you’re a woman who can stand up for herself,’ he went on, ‘and I respect that. But if you’re going to try and resist me, Megan, I should warn you that no woman has ever succeeded.’
Meg gazed up at him, unblinking. She could believe it. She waited, and then realised he was waiting, too. It was an invitation for her to try and defy his words. She couldn’t do it. For long, agonising seconds she floated in the dark depths of Gianni’s gaze. They both knew that once the tiny distance between them was breached, there could be no going back.
‘There’s a first time for everything,’ Meg managed eventually. Her voice was nothing more than a breathless whisper.
Gianni lowered his long dark lashes and slowly nodded his head. ‘And forbidden fruits taste sweetest,’ he reminded her.
She looked up sharply. It sounded as though he had guessed her secret, and with it the real meaning behind her words. The wicked smile dancing around his lips suggested that discovery would make her all the more desirable.
‘I want you, Megan,’ he whispered.
His honeyed words trickled through her body like warm water. Her hands gripped his arms. In that instant his mouth clamped over hers. It was firm and possessive, a reassurance that took away all her fears and common sense at the same time. Meg knew this was mad, dangerous and totally wrong, but for once in her life she didn’t care. She simply relaxed into his embrace and let his passion engulf her. It was far too wonderful to resist, but she knew she had to make a token effort.
‘We can’t, Gianni. I can’t.’
Sliding one hand beneath her chin, he lifted her face. First he placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. Then the need to kiss her properly again overwhelmed him. Meg was powerless to stop him, but when he lifted his lips gently from hers a second time he murmured, ‘Of course we can. When I show you how good it can be you’ll never want another man.’
‘I know…oh, how I know…’ Her voice was drifting away with the last of her self-control but there was something he had to know. ‘But, Gianni…I can’t, really. I don’t know how. I’ve only had one serious relationship, and that ended because he tried to come between me and my work. What I’m trying to say is…I don’t know how to love.’ She finished in a rush. Gianni froze, and began to pull away from her. When her hands clenched convulsively on his sleeves, he stopped.
‘Are you saying you’re scared, Megan? That I’m frightening you?’
‘No! Nothing could be further from the truth.’
Gianni took her gently in his arms again. This time he cradled her as though she were crafted from finest porcelain.
‘Then what is to stop us having the very best of times? You have no need to worry about love where I’m concerned. I don’t know what the word means, either. Certainly, I’ve never seen it in action.’
She pressed her face against the crisp white warmth of his shirt, desperate to hide her embarrassment. Kissing him felt so right, but in all the wrong ways. She was a virgin, with nothing to offer an experienced man of the world. She wasn’t qualified for making love with him once, let alone agreeing to be his mistress! ‘This is wonderful, Gianni, but as for taking it any further…I’ve got no experience…’
‘Ah-h-h…’ he murmured, his hands beginning a slow dance over the smooth silk of her dress. ‘So you’re a virgin?’
‘It’s a bit old-fashioned, I know, but s-sex has never happened for me.’ She had difficulty saying the word. ‘I was always too busy…I did have a long-term boyfriend, but every time he threatened to come between me and my studies, I backed off,’ she whispered into the warm confessional of his arms.
‘Then that is what I must do now, mio dolce,’ he said softly.
That was a shock; it hurt desperately to hear his rejection. ‘No! Why?’ She looked up at him in anguish.
‘You mustn’t take a life changing decision in the space of a few seconds,’ he warned, but she was determined.
‘If only you knew, Gianni. I’ve waited so long for this experience, and passed up so many opportunities. My focus was always on something else, but now it’s my turn to make a decision. I want experience. I want to know what it’s like to live as other people do. When I watch you with women, you all seem to be members of some wonderful secret society. I’m sentenced always to be an outsider. I need a taste of real life, Gianni. I’ve spent years concentrating on my work. Now I want you to be the man who shows me what I’ve been missing!’
He was quiet for a moment, while his fingertips danced delicately over her back.
‘Are you sure?’ he said at last.
‘I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, Gianni. Take me,’ she whispered simply.
Outside in the dusk a nightingale poured out its heart in an ecstasy of song. Acting on visceral instinct, Gianni dipped his head and touched his lips to her neck. Meg gasped, revelling in the experience. It was an invitation he couldn’t refuse. He wanted to go on enjoying the anticipation of what was to come, but the temptation was too great. Suddenly he was kissing her with more power and passion than she had experienced in her whole life. His tongue urged into her mouth. She let him explore with a relish that had been building since the moment they first met. This felt so right. For the first time in months—years—she was free to put herself first. She had been waiting for so long. Her needs and desires surged in a tumble of excitement. Her hands went up to his head, clawing at his hair to pull him closer. Hungry for his kisses, she was desperate for his attention. His fingertips felt hot through the thin silk of her dress. They circled over her back, ran up and down over her ribs with the sweet certainty of possession. Meg undulated beneath him until the soft pale skin of her inner thigh was rubbing against his leg. It brought back all the turmoil his caresses had as they danced. Now they could release all that pent up passion in one wild moment. She threw back her head with a gasp.
‘Oh, Gianni…’ she called out, and he was there to answer her cry.
‘Good, isn’t it?’ he purred. The low resonance of his voice was so delicious she could almost taste him.
‘Don’t stop…please, don’t stop…’
‘Don’t worry, mio tesoro, I’m not going to…’ His hands roamed over her willing body. His kisses worked their way up from her cleavage and over her neck.
‘And now…to make sure you really are as eager as you say, undress me.’ The words were growled into her hair. Tentatively, Meg’s hands went to the tiny pearl buttons of his shirt. As it fell open, the warm fragrance of his body tantalised her into diving her hands inside, encircling his waist with her hands. Leaning her head against his chest, she pressed her cheek against the soft fur covering it. For longer than either of them realised they clung together in the dappled darkness. Then Gianni’s hands stroked her dress up until he could reach the hem. From there he peeled it off over her head in one fluid movement. With it went her last inhibition. She stood before him proudly wearing nothing more than a few scraps of silk and lace.
He smiled.
‘You are lovely,’ he breathed.
Meg closed her mind to thoughts of how many other women he had spoken to like this. Tonight, he was hers. None of his yesterdays mattered. She could only focus on this moment, suspended in time among bowers of tropical luxury. She didn’t care about the shadows. For now a thousand tiny coloured lights illuminated her life.
‘This is going to be the best ever…’ Gianni whispered, in his element. ‘You will be totally mine.’
His gaze now went deeper than mere sexual gratification. He had taken plenty of women in his life, but none had given themselves to him so freely and so willingly. He smiled to himself, fuelled by more than a hint of pride. The experiences she shared with him tonight would colour the rest of her life.