Anna Cleary - At The Boss’s Beck And Call

He took her in his arms, and she linked hers around his neck in captivating compliance while he backed her towards the bed with a kiss.

‘Now,’ he said, gently removing her pashmina.

On the edge of a heavenly suspense, Lara surrendered to the electric pleasure of his touch as he stroked her hair back from her forehead, and traced the line of her cheekbones with his finger.

‘You are just as I remember you that very first time.’ Desire darkened his eyes, his voice. ‘Still so beautiful.’

‘Not quite, I’m afraid.’ She made a wry little grimace.

His dark eyes filled with ardent tenderness. ‘More so, tesoro,’ he said fiercely, his voice thickening. ‘Even more.’

He drew her to the bed, and she sat beside him while he yanked off his shoes and socks. Then he reached under her hair for the zip on her dress and drew it down. She felt cool air on her bare back, and felt his supple fingers trace the ridge of her spine all the way to her nape, then pause to linger at one point, before reversing to trace the scar where it slewed across her shoulder.

She tensed and would have jerked away, but he murmured, ‘No, don’t flinch.’

She sat very still, forcing herself not to react. Not to shy away from his sure touch, although her insides were clenched in a knot.

The scar was smooth after all this time, but it had a different smoothness from the surrounding skin, almost a slippery, satin feel. Trembling, she felt his fingers trace the shape of it, all the way up her nape and into her hair. He pushed the hair aside.

He must have been able to see the puckered skin quite clearly, yet he didn’t shudder away, or show disgust. She sat bolt upright, her breath coming in tiny shallow gasps as she stared at the carpet and tried to dissociate. A tremor rocked her when, to her absolute shock, she felt him bend and press his lips to the damaged tissue. He continued, kissing the entire length of the scar, up into her hair and back again. After the first paralysed moments, she closed her eyes, willing herself not to shudder and flinch, and gradually allowed the knot inside her to dissolve.

She could sense no diminishment in his desire, rather it felt like the reverse. The simmering heat emanating from him escalated as his lips traversed her shoulder. Then with passionate hunger he turned her to him and kissed her throat, and her face.

The dress slipped off her shoulders, and he bent his lips to her breasts and unfastened her bra.

After that, there was no place for anxiety. There were only Alessandro’s hands and lips, the rough skin of his jaw and cheek on her smooth, naked breasts, the passion storming her veins.

He undressed her with hot, urgent hands, then stripped off his own clothes, pushing her before him onto the bed with a deep, possessive kiss.

She lay beside him, thrilling while he explored her nude body with his tongue and clever fingers, passion smouldering in his dark eyes.

He lit trails of fire in her skin, softly tickled the sensitive petals beneath the blonde triangle he found so beautiful, first with his fingers, then his tongue, fanning the flames of her desire until she moaned and panted in a wanton frenzy of restless need.

He moved over her, positioning himself between her thighs. He gazed down at her, his eyes serious and intense. His voice was as dark as if it came from the depths of him. ‘Do you know how I felt when you weren’t there? I had-nowhere in the world I wanted to be. I felt-such a terrible emptiness. It was like they say. Your heart breaks.’

There was a hoarseness in his voice that moved her to the core of her being. His dark eyes were sincere, his lean, strong face working with emotion.

Remorse and love swelled in her heart. She put her arms around him and held him close to her, his heart beating against hers.

She kissed him, and his response was so fierce, so passionate, the pure clear flame of lust rose in her. She arched under him, opening her legs and inviting him in for the slow, sensual ride to rapture. She rocked him in her arms while he thrust his hard shaft into her moist sheath, stroking her inside walls until the pleasure roared to a giddy pinnacle and spasmed in waves of ecstasy.

Later on, she rode him, relishing the sexy slide of his velvet hardness inside her slick channel, enjoying the ripple of muscle under his bronzed skin, loving the contrast of her smooth softness with his lean angularity. She thrilled when he flipped her over onto her back, and with athletic thoroughness, brought her to another fantastic climax.

Towards dawn, sated, supple and replete, Alessandro gathered her into the curve of his body, her firm, warm buttocks pressed deliciously against his groin, and fell deeply asleep. His dreams were a heavenly bliss of languorous blue eyes, enticing him to love. Shapely limbs and silken skin, sliding against his. Smooth, pale breasts with nipples taut enough to make his tongue water, their peach-hued areola a miracle of delicate beauty.

Something roused him from his dream state. He opened his eyes. Feeling a coldness, he dragged himself up on his elbow. The pale light of dawn was streaming through the windows. He blinked. Why weren’t the drapes drawn? After a second his eyes focused on Lara, fully dressed, tiptoeing to the door.

‘Per carità,’ he growled. ‘What now? Where are you going?’

She arrested in her tracks and turned with a rueful grin. ‘I’m sorry, darling, I have to go. I really have to. Vivi will be awake any minute now. I have to be there. This is how it is when you’re a parent. Sorry.’

She blew him a kiss.

The door clicked shut, and she was gone.

SATURDAY dawned fine and clear, with a snappy little breeze scurrying dead leaves along the Newtown pavements. Lara had left it until the morning of the day to tell Vivi they were meeting Alessandro, in case Vivi worried about it.

Lara was nervous enough for the both of them. Unsure she was up to the emotions of such a significant event, she could hardly settle to one thing.

Greta had gone on one of her weekend jaunts with her amateur orchestra, so Lara and Vivi had the entire house to themselves. Lara made the low-key announcement to Vivi during breakfast, not wanting to make it sound like the most momentous occasion of the past five years.

She wasn’t sure how well she succeeded. Vivi gazed back at her over her porridge, her dark eyes wide and curious, and perhaps a bit wary.

‘Is he your husband?’ she asked after a long suspenseful minute.

‘No, no,’ Lara said. ‘He’s-a friend. You’ll see. A very nice friend.’

Alessandro took a long early morning run around the foreshore in the bracing air, blind to the sights and scents of the harbour traffic, his breath coming in foggy puffs. White horses tossed on the waves, the wintry sun lending them a chill sparkle, though he barely noticed.

What did a man say to a small girl? He should have checked with Lara, had something suitable prepared.

He’d bought Vivi a heart-shaped pendant locket, with delicate filigree and a tiny inset ruby, on an incredibly fine gold chain. Too much? he wondered. Should he have checked with Lara about that?

Showering after the run, he took extra care shaving. He didn’t want to scare his daughter into thinking he was some big, rough, hairy creature. For a second he paused in scraping away foam to grin, reflecting that her mother didn’t seem to object to those aspects of him.

Dressed casually in blue jeans, a polo shirt and loafers, he embarked on his room-service breakfast, then pushed it aside. Coffee was enough.

The meeting was set for eleven to give Vivi just enough time to get used to the idea, but not too much.

He located the park ahead of the appointed time, drawing the car up under the boughs of a massive Moreton Bay fig. Conscious of his quickened pulse, he got out, then strolled in under the trees, choosing what looked like a promising walk to take him through to the duck pond. Other people were about, parents, children, but he hardly absorbed their presence. How absurd, that one small girl could make a man’s heart tremble.