the jut of his shoulder. Oh, she was a passionate creature, and wanted him here and now, despite his faults. He couldn’t resist the selfish urge to respond. His hand slid up her creamy white thighs to where his fingers found her slick and ready for him. At the touch of honeyed warmth, a desperate growl welled up in his throat. There was no holding back.
With trembling hands, he rolled her over and spread her legs. A nudge pushed his ruddy cock closer, closer.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Marco thrust himself inside her with a shuddering groan. No more thoughts. No more regrets. Just this moment.
Her hands played over his back, tracing the contours, skimming over his ribs. “No man should be so perfect,” she murmured, nipping at his earlobe. “A beautiful bronzed Roman god.”
“Matched with a hellion angel.”
She arched up to meet his thrust, clenching her knees around his hips. “Oh Lud, what a pair we make.”
He laughed, feeling the rumble vibrate against her salty skin. “What a pair,” he whispered, driving himself deeper. The slick, smooth warmth of her sheath held him tight. Two as one.
Rocking together, their bodies glistened in the candlelight, their rhythm mounting to a crescendo.
“Ti amo,” she whispered, and came undone in his arms.
Ti amo—I love you.
The words made him want to weep.
Heart thudding wildly against his ribs, Marco felt a fierce joy pulse through him. A hot rush of happiness that he had thought was long gone from his life.
Muffling a shout in her sweet-scented hair, he convulsed in a surge of liquid silver rain.
For a long, languid interlude they lay still and silent, entwined in each other. Marco couldn’t remember passion ever leaving him with such a profound feeling of peace. Overhead, the ancient beams groaned, and outside a gust rattled the leaded-glass windowpanes. But for the moment, the world seemed very distant. Nothing could intrude on their togetherness.
But all too soon, Kate stirred and gave a drowsy sigh.
“I’m sorry…” she began.
Sorry? His insides clenched.
“For what I said,” she added slowly. “I am well aware that love was not part of our bargain, Marco. I’m not a naïve schoolgirl. I don’t expect any ardent declarations of the heart in return.”
“If I had a heart, it would be yours, Kate. But there is nothing worthwhile of it to give.”
She nestled her cheek against his chest. “Why?”
A simple question, but how to answer? He spun a lock of her hair between his fingers, watching the glints of gold spark in the dying light. “Has Alessandra said nothing to you about my past?”
“I told you, your cousin does not engage in idle gossip,” replied Kate.
“Unlike most women,” he said wryly. “But then, it’s no surprise that the ‘Sinners’ have a special code of honor.”
“You are changing the subject,” she murmured.
“I am good at evading things,” he replied.
“Why do you wish to avoid telling me?” she asked.
“Because it makes me vulnerable,” he blurted out.
“Ah.” She skimmed her palm in a slow, soft circle just beneath his breastbone. “I suppose it does. But sharing a sordid secret can also make the burden easier to bear.”
Marco hesitated, unsure of just how close he dared to let her come to his innermost self.
Her hand stilled, and she started to pull away.
Catching her wrist, he kept her warmth pressed to his skin. “I’ve always been free-spirited, even as a boy. My older brother was of a more scholarly nature, yet we were the best of friends.” Marco forced himself to go on, despite the tightness in his throat. “Daniello always followed my lead, saying he admired my sense of daring. One adventure—I had a notion to free a neighbor’s old horse slated for the slaughterhouse—required climbing down a steep cliff.”
He paused as the casement rattled in the gloom. “Daniello stopped halfway down. He wasn’t as agile as I was, and wanted to back off. I jeered at him. Called him a coward. Questioned his manhood.” Drawing in a ragged breath, he went on in a rush. “I imagine you can guess what happened. He fell to his death, and I became the heir to the Como title and fortune.”
Kate moved her hand to his cheek and forced his gaze to meet hers. “And so you mean to spend your life punishing yourself for a youthful accident?”
“Put that way, you make it sound childish.”
“We all make mistakes. We all have done things we wish we had not,” she said.
“You did not kill someone you loved.” Marco closed his eyes. “It pierced my