Tara Pammi - Italian Mavericks - Carrying The Italian's Heir - Married for the Italian's Heir / The Last Heir of Monterrato / The Surprise Conti Child

‘So...’ His brows rose suggestively and he placed the palm of one hand on the wall, leaning over her so that his face was so close she only needed to lift her chin and her lips would find his. ‘The challenge still stands, no?’

‘No...’ She dragged the hoarse whisper out, hoping for resolve but knowing she sounded more as if she’d dissolved.

‘And if I kiss you will it do nothing to you?’

‘Of course it won’t. There is nothing between us.’ Thankfully that declaration had sounded more convincing.

‘Are you quite sure, cara?’

His palm spread across her face, the pad of his thumb caressing the line of her lips, and she hated the way her eyes closed and the sound of her breath was ragged and uneven before a soft sigh slipped from her.

Why should she fight it? Whatever it was that had exploded between them in London was still there. She wanted to experience it again, to lose herself in the moment of oblivion. She wanted him—and didn’t having what you shouldn’t want get things out of your system?

* * *

Dante braced his arm against the wall as he looked down at Piper. His thumb tingled from sliding it over the lips he ached to kiss. He hadn’t slept with a woman since that night in London, telling himself he was too busy, but now he knew it was because he’d still wanted Piper. Somehow she’d crossed over the usually impenetrable barriers around his emotions and now, after spending a week with her, he had to accept the truth. He still yearned for her and there was only one way to deal with such needs. Sate them.

He looked down at her. Expectancy was in those luscious green eyes. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. The hot, sultry passion which swirled in her eyes matched that which spiralled deep within him. Pure carnal lust. Just as it had been the night they’d come together so explosively in London. A night which had changed his life in more ways than he’d anticipated since she’d dropped her bombshell news that morning in his office.

‘You are so beautiful.’ His thoughts became words—not out of a need to charm, as was his usual seduction routine, but because he wanted her to know what he truly felt. ‘And all I want to do right now is kiss you.’

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pushed his body against her, pinning her to the wall, delving his fingers in the mass of soft red curls which framed her face. His eyes met hers briefly as their faces almost touched, and it satisfied him to see insatiable desire spark higher than ever, setting off a wild reaction within him.

She was his. This woman was his. And tonight he would reclaim her in the most basic way. He lowered his head, intending to brush his lips over hers and tease her into wanting him, but drew in a sharp breath as her lips met his, the need in them undeniable as she took control of the kiss, demanding almost too much from him.

He cursed in Italian against her mouth, tasting her as he did so, tasting her hunger and the desire which matched his, spark for spark. He pressed her harder against the wall, feeling her breasts against his chest and her hips moving wantonly, making him harder than he’d ever been.

He pulled back, briefly stunned by the ferocity of the desire which had leapt like flames around them. The fire of lust threatened to claim them, and right now it was all he wanted.

Piper plunged her fingers into his hair, pulling him back to her. ‘Kiss me,’ she demanded, and he smiled as he recognised the woman he’d made love to in London.

The hot temptress who’d pushed him further than any woman had ever done was back, and this time she wouldn’t be slipping away. Not until he was ready to let her go.

‘I intend to do more than kiss you.’ The guttural growl which left him sounded positively feral, and his whole body pulsed with desire, demanding immediate satisfaction.

Before he could say anything else she pressed her lips against his once more, the kiss demanding and erotic. She gasped into his mouth as his tongue met hers, sending his heart rate soaring. Only once before had he experienced such wild passion, such fierce desire, and that had been with this woman. The one who’d given her virginity to him and now carried his child. She was truly his. No matter what happened that would never change.

He slid his palm down her throat, pausing as her kiss deepened, became more demanding. Then he moved his hand over her breast, her nipple a tight bud beneath the fabric of her dress, and he had an uncontrollable urge to rip the fabric from her, to expose the delicious breasts so he could taste them and nip at them with his teeth until she cried out with pleasure as she had done that last time.

‘Dante...’ She groaned his name softly against his lips and pressed her hips tighter against him.

An explosion of hot need was rushing through him. There wouldn’t be any stopping now. This fiery desire had to meet its conclusion, and fast.

While he kissed her, teasing her tongue with his, he slid his hand down to her waist then on to her hips, grasping the fabric of the dress and rucking it up until he could move his hand inside it and feel the soft, warm skin of her thigh. She stopped kissing him and he looked at her as desire throbbed relentlessly in every part of him, demanding satisfaction.

The look in those green eyes still dared him, still goaded him to take her. Her breath was fast and hard, her lips bruised, but still it wasn’t enough. He began to stroke her gently with his fingers, and watched as she held her breath when he touched her through her panties. She was as hot for him as he was for her.

‘Do you still dare me?’ he said hoarsely as he ceased his exploration, moving instead back to her hips and the thin strip of lace which was all that stopped him from claiming her as his once more.

Anger sparked in her eyes, making fireworks of passion and fury explode in them.

‘Yes,’ she whispered raggedly as her fingers entwined in the hair at the nape of his neck, sending shivers of pleasure he’d never known before down his back. ‘I still dare you.’

He held her gaze as he hitched his fingers around the lace and gently pulled. She continued to glare at him, and that mix of anger and fiery passion was almost his undoing. She raised her brow, its slender arch lifting higher in the most alluring way.

‘Are you sure, cara?’

‘I dare you,’ she whispered fiercely, in a sexy and husky way, doing untold things to him.

In one swift tug he’d pulled her tiny lace panties apart at the seam.

‘Dante!’ She gasped in surprise, but made no move to prevent anything else he might do.

‘And do you still insist there is nothing between us?’

‘Yes.’ Her green eyes widened as he moved his hand, trailing his fingers through the curls which shielded her hot, feminine warmth. ‘Nothing at all.’

‘Yet you want my touch, don’t you, cara?’

She closed her eyes as he slid his fingers between her thighs. Hot need pulsed through him as he felt how much she wanted him, but he had to remain in control. He had to be the one to lead this frenzied and unexpected dance of desire.

‘Dante, we can’t... Please don’t...’ She gasped as his touch teased her, pushing her closer and closer to the brink.

‘We can and we will.’

He continued to touch and explore her, increasing his need to thrust deep into her—but first he wanted to push her to a climax, to prove how much she wanted him. She writhed against him and clung to him as that climax shook over her body. She was so responsive, so hot. He wanted her right there, against the wall. He couldn’t stop now.

* * *

Piper opened her eyes, hardly able to believe what had just happened. She felt weak, but still wanted more, and that heady need drove any last remnants of sense from her mind as her shaking hands moved downward to unfasten his trousers. She had to feel him. She had to touch him in the same mind-blowing way he’d touched her. And more importantly she had to take back the control he’d stolen from her with such alarming ease.