A Spanish Seduction (14 page)

Was she right? Was he scared of loving and being left devastated?

He shifted her off his lap and onto the couch before he stood. Thoughts whirled through his brain. Indecision and doubt attacked. He needed space to think this through. ‘I meant what I said to you,’ he told her as he put some distance between them. ‘I’m prepared to wait until you’re ready to come to my bed, but you have to understand —I’ll never tell you I love you.’

Her next words stopped him in his tracks. ‘I’ve made my decision.’

Uncharacteristically, he felt his nerves stretch as he waited.

‘I want to be your lover.’ She stood, back straight and chin angled in determination. ‘I accept responsibility for my own emotions. I’m ready to take the risk and embrace what’s between us for as long as it lasts. No more waiting, Ricardo. I’m ready.’

His feet were stuck to the floor and refused to move as she took a step toward him. ‘You told me you couldn’t give me your body without giving me your heart.’

‘Like it or not, that’s still true.’

‘But —’

She shrugged and quoted, ‘
Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
?’

Mierda!
‘Why now?’ He hoped to hell this wasn’t because of what he’d told her about his parents. He didn’t want her in his bed out of pity.

She smiled. ‘I’m ready to grow up, move forward and be my own person.’

He hesitated. As much as he wanted Jessica, he was at a crucial point. Now
he
was the one who needed time to untangle all the possibilities she’d thrown at him.

‘Golly, you’re not having cold feet now, are you?’ she demanded. Her hands moved in little jerks of exasperation.

‘No,’ he denied. ‘But —’

‘Wonderful! It’s time you made good on your original offer because I’m ready to have my first screaming orgasm,’ she said boldly, ‘and you did offer to share one with me!’

‘Woman, you have a sadistic streak.’ He groaned as he closed the distance between them. ‘You tell me this after a sleepless night and when I’m due in at the office shortly on my first day as CEO?’

‘I figure it’s as good a time as any,’ she told him cheekily.

‘Wrong,
querida
. We’ve waited this long and our first experience of lovemaking is not something I want to rush. You,’ he tapped the end of her nose, ‘are just going to have to exercise patience now and wait until tonight.’

‘Ah, Ricardo. There’s a big part of me that’s really pleased you said that.’

He smiled at her in understanding. ‘That would be the part wanting it to be perfect between us and not just about a quick slaking of desire.’

‘Yes.’

Taking her hand, he kissed each finger tip individually. ‘I’m sensitive to your needs. I want to get this right for both of us. You’re happiness is more important to me than I ever would’ve thought possible.’

Somehow he would be the lover she wanted, the lover she needed, without breaking her heart.

Chapter Eleven

A day had never passed more slowly. Ricardo had numerous meetings and many tasks to oversee as he assumed his new role in the company. Every hour, he called the member of the security team he’d assigned to shadow Jessica and keep her safe. The man told him she’d walked into the old city, visited the Picasso Gallery and stopped at virtually every tourist shop along Las Ramblas. Ricardo instructed the bodyguard to phone him the second Jessica was on her way home.

   It was four o’clock when she returned to the apartment. Ricardo walked in ten minutes later with only one question on his mind. ‘Have you changed your mind about tonight?’

‘No.’ Her eyes were clear, her conviction sincere as she answered.

He exhaled a pent up breath. ‘I don’t want to wait any longer.’

‘Nor do I,’ she said simply. Her smile warmed right through to his heart before she grew serious. ‘I’m nervous about this, though. I’m not very experienced and I don’t want you to be disappointed.’

Ricardo frowned. The daughter of a prostitute, had Jessica grown up thinking of sex as an act where a woman had to impress a man — had to perform ‘tricks’ in bed for the man’s sexual gratification? She’d said she had hang-ups about sex, but he got the impression he was discovering the tip of the iceberg.

The bastard she’d been married to evidently hadn’t helped matters either.

‘Come.’ He held out his hand and she placed hers in it, giving him her trust. There was no point in reassuring her with words. It would be far better to show her she was the lover he needed. He led her into his bedroom and through to his bathroom.

Her face lit up. ‘Oh, wow!’

‘I phoned ahead,’ he explained.

A quick call to his housekeeper before he’d left the office had ensured candles were lit all over the bathroom, exotic bath oil filled the sunken marble bathtub, and most importantly, that they were quite alone.

‘This is wonderful!’ She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. ‘You make me feel so special.’

‘You are special, and this is no less than you deserve.’

‘Nobody has ever done anything so thoughtful for me before.’

His gut clenched and he vowed he’d spend every day they were together ensuring she knew just how special she was.

‘So, here we are.’ Her words were hesitant.

Ricardo drew her close to him, raised his hands and trailed his fingertips over the soft skin of her cheeks.

‘I’m nervous.’ The edge of panic in her voice sliced through him.

‘Just relax.’ He slid his hands down and lifted the silky curtain of her hair. He kissed the graceful column of her neck and her head fell back to allow him greater access. ‘There’s no right nor wrong, Jessica. There’s just you and me and what’s important between us.’

Slowly
. He had to take this slowly. One kiss, one caress at a time until she was mindless with need.

She moaned his name as his tongue traced the indentation at the base of her neck. One arm was around her back to support her, while his other hand began the task of unbuttoning her blouse. All the while, his lips ravished up and down her neck and explored the sensitive area behind her ear.

Her pulse hammered quickly near the base of her throat.

The light scent of her floral perfume mingled with the musky scent of her arousal and made a heady aphrodisiac.

Finally, her blouse was unbuttoned, and he straightened away from her flesh. Her eyes seemed a little unfocussed. Ensuring she was steady on her feet, he used both hands to slide her blouse off her shoulders and down her arms. She shivered when the fabric fell onto the marble tiles.

‘Are you cold?’

‘No.’ Her laugh was self-conscious. ‘These are shivers of anticipation.’

Her nervous honesty reminded him she possessed none of the sophisticated artifice of the women he usually took to his bed.

‘Jessica. You are
very special
to me.’ His voice was husky.

His fingers pressed up her spine and released the clasp of her bra. This woman was not just another female form offering herself to him for a brief session of mutual sexual satisfaction. He knew Jessica was giving him more than her body tonight. She was handing him her trust. The weight of the responsibility daunted him, for he couldn’t remember another time when a person had handed him something so precious.

In a show of courage, it was she who reached up and slid the straps of her bra down her arms.

As the lacy cups of her bra fell away, Ricardo’s mouth dried. The act of touching her was unstoppable. He cupped her breasts and marvelled at how each one filled his hands.

Jessica swallowed hard and her tongue tip darted out to moisten her bottom lip.

Mierda
, he was so turned on, he had to get out of the constriction of his trousers. But, Jessica’s needs would come first.

Each dusky pink aureole beckoned him to taste and to tease. When she moved her shoulders, her breasts thrust more firmly against his palms. He was unable to resist any longer. He drew one tight nipple into his mouth and began to lap at it with his tongue tip. When he suckled on her whole aureole, his name emerged from her as a strained plea.

His hands outlined her ribcage and slid down the indentation of her waist.

Her skirt had to go.

A few seconds later, that item of clothing joined the growing pile on the floor.

Reluctance to leave the sweet flesh of her breasts, warred with his need to explore the rest of her body. Hooking his fingers under the elastic of her knickers, he sank to his haunches, pulling the fabric down over her hips and thighs as he did so. When he let gravity deal with the fabric, Jessica moved from one foot to another, to step out of them.

Ricardo smoothed his hands down over her hips and rested his head against the flatness of her stomach. For a few seconds, he closed his eyes and breathed in the erotic scent of her. He wanted badly to taste her there, but sensed this intimacy was so new that he’d need to introduce her slowly to every joy. Instead, he got to his feet, put a little distance between them and revelled in her nakedness. ‘You’re perfect.’

‘I’m sure I’ll think the same about you when you finally get around to removing your clothes!’ Her tone held just a hint of complaint.

Ricardo laughed and set about answering her subtle request. ‘I assure you I’ll be much more comfortable without the constriction of underwear.’

‘Oh my! I can see why!’ she exclaimed when he stood naked before her. Her eyes were glued to his erection and she had such an expression of awed wonder on her face he wasn’t sure whether to laugh, or to beat his chest.

Refraining from reacting either way, he merely took her hand and led her down the steps into the warm, fragrant bathwater. She went into his arms willingly, and they stood in the waist-deep water, clinging to each other.

As he kissed her, Ricardo registered he’d never felt such a profound connection. To his satisfaction, Jessica’s kisses grew more fervent. Her hands ran across his shoulders and down the indentation of his spine. Each touch grew more confident and more demanding.

‘You have the best body I’ve ever seen,’ she told him breathlessly. ‘The best body I’ve ever touched.’

‘That would be high praise coming from a woman who’s massaged some of the top athletes in Britain?’

‘Very high praise,’ she said before she dipped her head to his chest and began tormenting his small nipples in the same way he’d teased hers earlier.

The gentle suckling grew more intense, making his erection jerk in response.

‘Is that as good for you as it is when you do it for me?’ she asked.

‘It’s good,’ he told her hoarsely.

She left his nipple and licked her way down the muscles of his abdomen. He thought he’d explode when she took his hard length in one hand and began stroking and kneading up and down. He’d never known a lover’s touch so firm and he groaned in pleasure.

‘Is that okay?’ she asked as she began to cup and massage his scrotum in a gentle, circular action.

It was far better than okay. ‘Yes,’ he rasped. Where the hell had she learnt to do this?

‘Tell me if I hurt you. I’ve never applied my massage techniques to this part of the anatomy before.’

‘
Madre de Dios
! I should hope not!’ Much more and he’d come in her hands. ‘Enough.’

She looked bewildered.

‘It’s my turn to explore you.’ Her bewilderment turned to relief, as if she was glad to learn she hadn’t done anything wrong. ‘Come.’

He guided her to the steps of the bath, sat down and urged her onto his lap, her back against his chest. ‘Spread your legs a little,’ he murmured against her ear. He watched her expression in the strip of mirror that stretched from floor to ceiling on the wall opposite the sunken bath. She hesitated, biting her lips before she complied. ‘Look ahead into the mirror. Keep looking at me. I want to watch you as I touch you. I want to know you love everything I do.’

‘But, shouldn’t I be the one...?’

‘No. We’re equal partners. This time it’s my turn to treat you to the screaming orgasm you crave.’

His left arm wrapped around her, he allowed his right hand free access to the nest of curls at the top of her thighs. His fingers combed through them, tugging gently as her breathing quickened. With sweeping movements, he came closer and closer to his intended destination as Jessica squirmed in his lap.

‘You feel wonderful, Jessica. Relax. Savour this.’

Her skin was flushed.

At last, he allowed the flat nail of his finger to graze over the swollen nub of flesh he’d been working toward.

Her body trembled and his touch drew a low cry of torment from her.

The arm around her waist, held her firm.

Every shudder of her body increased his urgency for her one hundred fold.

Enough teasing. She was highly sensitised to his touch, responsive to each press and rub of his fingers as he worked on her clitoris. He felt her body tighten against his with the tide he stirred within her. Her body bucked when he slid one finger between her flesh to separate her and to allow his fingers to dip into the feminine heart of her.

Her eyelids had been growing heavier. Now, they flew open as his fingers invaded that space, but he saw no discomfort in her expression, only growing need for completion.
Fierce need
.

‘Ricardo, I want —’

‘Trust me.’

Her body grew more rigid as she strained for completion. He kept a steady rhythm, shifting his head so that his breath fanned against her neck. Then her pelvis pushed up, pressing harder against his hand. Seconds later, her internal muscles convulsed around his fingers. Her body shuddered against his and she let out a desperate cry as she reached her climax.

Ricardo kissed her neck, and hugged her tight.

In the mirror, he saw the glistening of tears on her cheeks as she bit down on her lip. Her features filled with unbridled emotion.

Shifting position, he urged her to turn her body around so she faced him.

Her awed expression made his heart lose a beat.

‘That was...’ She shook her head. ‘It was indescribably awesome, like I fragmented into a million pieces of acute pleasure. Thank you.’

And in all the years he’d been sexually active, he’d never known such satisfaction. It had to be emotional satisfaction because he still had a raging hard on!

‘I want more,’ she ventured.

Need coursed through him like quicksilver.

It would be all too easy to lift her hips and ease her down on his erection. He’d had sex plenty of times before in the water, but this first time with Jessica, he wanted her spread out on his bed when he drove into her and claimed her body as his own.

‘So do I,’ he said as he stood. He took her with him, her arms still clinging around his neck and her legs wrapped around his hips.

‘Yes!’ The hoarse agreement was a cry of desperation torn from her throat.

Dios
! He could carry her to the vanity and sit her there while he thrust into her, or he could just walk to the closest wall and take her there right up against it. The possibilities were endless, and over time he’d explore them all with her. But this first time, he thought he could pleasure her more thoroughly in his bed.

He only stopped to grab one of the fluffy white bath sheets and to drape it around her shoulders. Seconds later, he’d carried her through to the bedroom and placed her onto the softness of his mattress.

Slowly, he began his explorative foreplay all over again.

Jessica was such a responsive lover, he was certain she needed no further arousal. Still, he wanted to ensure their lovemaking delivered an orgasm that was even wilder than the last.

Ignoring the throbbing and now painful engorgement of his penis, he used his fingertips, hands, and lips and worked his way down her neck, toyed with her breasts, over her abdomen and all the way to her inner thighs.