“Normal people don’t ride shadows.” Ricco pointed out the obvious. “They drive. Guess what that makes you, brother.”
“Don’t say it,” Giovanni said, and gave his brother the finger.
Vittorio waited until his family left and then he went to find Grace. She was sitting in her favorite spot in the garden, looking out over the lake. She looked up when his shadow fell over her and then entwined with her shadow. The physical jolt of sexual awareness hit him hard, just as it did her.
She tipped her head back and smiled at him. Just that—she smiled, and his heart started tripping. Their joined shadows had already sent hot blood rushing through his veins. He had thought to hold a part of himself back until she made up her mind. Getting his heart broken wasn’t on his list of things he wanted to experience. But the effect of her welcoming smile told him it was too late. He’d already fallen.
“I think that was the longest I’ve been away from you in over four weeks,” she greeted. “It’s weird because I’ve spent a lifetime alone, but I found myself waiting for you. I even thought about going to look for you. Isn’t that strange?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t much like being away from you, either.” He crouched down beside her chair and framed her face with both hands. “I miss you when we’re not connected.”
Then he was kissing her. Her lips were soft, her mouth a hot spark igniting a stick of dynamite that seemed to explode, so the fire inside him raged out of control when everything else about him was always controlled. She took him to another realm where there was only pure feeling. Electricity snapped and crackled between them, sparking on his skin, while inside his body, blood turned to a molten stream, burning with need. His heartbeat pounded through his cock, until he was so thick and full he doubted anything could contain him if he continued.
He pressed his forehead to hers. “We have to stop.”
“I don’t especially want to.”
He smiled in spite of his body making painful, urgent demands. “Neither do I, but nevertheless. Doc hasn’t given permission for you to be doing anything but recovering.”
Her eyes went wide, and she drew away. “You asked him? Discussed with him whether or not we could have sex?”
“Naturally. Oral sex, physical sex, rough, games, toys, positions, every kind of sex. I don’t want you hurt.”
“I can never look at him again.” Her declaration was accompanied by that delicate rose color that swept up her neck to heighten the color in her cheeks.
He laughed softly, noticing she didn’t protest that he thought they would be having sex—and as soon as possible. “He’s a doctor, gattina. He knows men and women have sex.”
She let her breath out. “What did he say?”
He couldn’t help kissing her again, although it was dangerous to his fragmenting control. His woman was becoming a terrible temptress. She was learning fast, and every stroke of her tongue sent lightning strikes through his veins straight to his groin. Still, his role was to guard her health first, before his pleasure. He would have seen to her pleasure had the surgeon given the okay, but even that was forbidden for another week. Even after that, he would have to be careful.
“Is he still saying no?” she asked when he lifted his head. There was a note of teasing along with the deliberate seduction.
“I can see I’m going to have my hands full with you.” He loved that she was willing to try seduction even though he couldn’t allow her to succeed. It was becoming difficult to be with her and not think about sex.
He stood up to give himself a little reprieve, then instantly realized what a bad idea that was. His cock was at her eye level and her gaze went straight to the thick bulge. Her hand followed, fingertips sliding over the material covering his heavy erection.
“I could . . .”
“No, you couldn’t,” he said decisively. But he didn’t move. The way she stroked him felt electrifying.
Her tongue touched her top lip and then moistened her bottom one so that her lips glistened invitingly. He suppressed a groan.
“I’ve never actually had my mouth on a man’s . . .”
“Cock,” he supplied. “Never?”
“There was always Haydon to worry about. I never had the chance to see if I wanted to be that intimate with a man.”
Her fingers kept stroking. Once she stopped to toy with the tab