‘What are you doing out of bed?’ she asked.
‘Letting you get some sleep, amante.’
Slowly she sagged back against the pillows. Her hair parted, revealing the full allure of her breasts. In a slow, seductive sweep designed to drive him insane, her gaze left his and caressed its way down his nude body.
His heart hammered as she boldly stared at his erection. When she moistened her lips, a rough tremor coursed through him.
‘I’m wide awake now,’ she stated in a husky murmur.
Heat rushed through him, propelling him forward before he could form a single thought. When he reached the side of the bed, he paused. ‘I don’t want to make you sore.’ She’d been tight when they’d made love. There’d been no one else. The thought sent a powerful surge of primitive possession through him. If he got his way, and he would once he dedicated enough strategic thinking to the issue, his wife would know no other man but him.
‘It wasn’t that bad.’
Unable to help himself, he traced his finger along the warm colour that crept up her neck into her cheeks. ‘Are we rating my performance or your soreness? My delicate ego seeks clarification.’
Her gaze dropped to his engorged male flesh, one brow raised as her sinful mouth curved. ‘There’s nothing delicate about you, caro.’
His breath fractured. Somewhere inside it registered that this was the first genuine smile he’d witnessed from her in a long time.
The thought that he’d missed it without realising his loss hit him squarely in the chest. Before he could assess his actions, he lifted the sheet and slid in next to her.
‘On the contrary, I’m as delicate as a baby when you look at me like that.’
‘Like what?’
‘Like I’m the sole focus of your world.’
Her smile slowly faded. ‘You were my only focus, Cesare. For a very long time. Then you took yourself away.’ Her voice caught and his heart caught with it.
Leaning down, he kissed her, his chest tightening with the need to offer reassurance he had no right to give.
‘I’m here now,’ he offered instead.
It was inadequate, and her darkening eyes told him so. But he had no solution. Not yet. So he did the next best thing. He deepened the kiss, infusing her with his crazy desire for her, savouring her immediate and complete response. Pleasure, hot and fervid, rose inside when her hands moved around his back and held him tight.
Ava’s thigh slid between his, creating mind-altering sensations that washed away his troubled thoughts.
When her hand closed over him, a groan erupted from his very soul. Feeling himself slide closer to the edge, he quickly reached for another condom.
‘Not yet,’ she rasped in between planting hot open-mouthed kisses on his chest. With a firm hand, she propelled him onto his back and rose onto her knees. Her nails scraped along his torso. His dark curse brought another smile.
‘You’re enjoying your power?’
‘I’m enjoying...something.’ Her eyes danced with delight, then she leaned down and boldly tongued his nipple.
His heartfelt groan earned him another flick of her tongue. He clenched his fingers in her silky Titian hair, holding her close as he lost himself in the pleasure that filled his every cell. With every breath, every inch lower she went, he skated closer to the edge of madness. She sank her teeth into the skin below his navel and his heart stopped.
‘Ava...’ He wasn’t sure whether he warned or pleaded.
In response, she closed both hands on him, caressed him up and down.
‘Dio mio. Again.’ A definite plea this time.
She complied, her gaze rising to snag his as she moved her firm grip over him. She maintained eye contact as she caressed him, a boldness in her actions he’d never witnessed before. The look, coupled with the mind-bending effect of her hands, scattered his thoughts. She leaned in closer, parted her lips and took him in her mouth and it was in that moment Cesare knew the true meaning of insanity.
He barely remembered passing her the condom when she demanded it. He was so consumed with her, he couldn’t see straight. He welcomed her when she positioned herself over him, her beautiful body poised to take him inside her heat.
Her gasp of pleasure triggered his own, and just like before they found their own unique rhythm, the sheer bliss of their coming together so mind-blowing he was at the point of no return before he knew it.
Cesare forced himself to hang on despite the teeth-grinding need to let go. The effort it took was monumental, especially in the moment when Ava slammed down onto him one final time before losing herself in her blistering orgasm.
‘Oh God,’ she rasped as she collapsed onto him, her spasms causing him to see stars as he waited...waited... ‘God, Cesare, I’ve missed you so much.’
The heartbreak in her voice made his gut tighten painfully.
‘I’ve missed you too,’ he responded gruffly. Her spasms gentled. He gripped her hips and pushed his hard length inside her, finally permitting himself to take his own pleasure. It didn’t take long. With one final thrust, he pulled out of her. Ava jerked in surprise. He kissed her and she melted into him. He groaned in pleasure, unwilling to entertain the tinge of regret permeating his pleasure as he lost himself in his climax.
Several minutes later, their breaths calmed. Against his chest, Ava murmured sleepily. As he caressed his fingers through her hair, Cesare knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would fight Fate herself for a solution if he had to.
* * *
Ava walked into the large sunlit kitchen and immediately saw the note pinned to the fridge door. She’d woken to an empty bed, an empty apartment and troubled thoughts.
Her intention last night had been to find a definitive solution to the state of her marriage. Instead she’d fallen under her husband’s spell. Again. Pulling her robe around her, she padded further into the kitchen. Plucking the note from the magnet, she read Cesare’s sprawled, bold writing.
Gone to get breakfast. Present for you on coffee table. C.
She studied the complicated-looking coffee machine for several minutes before pressing the least harmful-looking button. Crossing her fingers that it wouldn’t end in disaster, she trod on cool wooden floors to the all-white, stunningly decorated living room that boasted floor-to-ceiling windows.
Her heart skipped a beat as she eyed the large, exquisitely packaged box. Raising the lid, she gasped at its contents.
The camera was one she’d coveted for a long time but had never thought she’d own because of its astronomical price. State-of-the-art, with a zoom lens and sharpness beyond anything she’d ever seen, it was the crème-de-la-crème of cameras.
Her fingers tingled as she lifted its heavy but comfortable weight. It had already been assembled and a gleeful smile curved her lips when she turned it on.
Rushing out onto the terrace, she focused and snapped a series of panoramic pictures, making sure to catch the iconic St Peter’s Dome in the frame. She took a few closer still—Campo de Fiori a few hundred metres away, the ever-present fountains that could be found all over the city, and the awe-inspiring statues that Rome was famous for.
Leaning over, she focused her camera on the street below. Several residents enjoyed breakfast at outside cafés that shot off from the square. She zoomed in with her finger poised to click, only to pause when a familiar figure swung into view.
Ava lowered the camera and stared.
In