as his thumbs rolled over her tight nipples.
'Yes,' she said, sucking in a breath as he thrust deeper. 'Oh, yes...'
'You like how I make you feel, don't you, cara?' he asked.
Emma whimpered again as he drove harder. 'You know I do...'
His hands went back to her hips, his fingers splayed possessively. 'Your body fits mine perfectly,' he said. 'I like the feel of you skin on skin. Yours reminds me of silk, so soft and smooth under my fingertips.'
Emma shuddered as his fingers found her feminine cleft, the coaxing motion against her sensitised flesh making her breathless with excitement. She couldn't hold back her response, it hit her in a series of pounding waves, tossing her about like a bit of flotsam, her body so spent she felt limbless.
She felt him shudder his way through his release, the sheer force of it reverberating through her body where it was pressed against his.
After a long quiet moment he moved back and gently turned her in his arms. 'Why don't you go upstairs and have a shower while I make a couple of calls?' he said. 'I will not be long.'
Emma felt her doubts returning and wondered who he intended calling at this time of night. 'I can wait with you while you make the calls,' she offered.
His expression became mask-like, but not before she saw that camera shutter flicker in his eyes. 'No, Emma,' he said, re-zipping his trousers. 'I have some private matters to discuss with a client. It would not be appropriate for me to conduct such a conversation within the hearing of someone else.'
'This is how it's always going to be, isn't it, Rafaele?' she asked bitterly. 'You're content to make love to me, but not to share any other aspect of your life.'
His mouth tightened. 'Watch it, Emma,' he said. 'You are starting to bore me with this jealous wife routine.'
'Why don't you send me away, then, Rafaele?' she said. 'Why not dismiss me from your life like all your other mistresses?'
He stood looking down at her with a nerve ticking at the corner of his mouth. 'I do not need this right now. I have only just walked in the door; I do not want to be drawn into a pointless argument with you.'
She gave him a churlish look. 'You won't give me anything but your body. It's not enough, Rafaele. I want more.'
He let out an impatient sound. 'I am going to the study,' he said. 'I will see you in the morning.'
'So you've finished with me for this evening, have you?' she sniped at him. 'You've slaked your lust and now I'm to go away like a good little whore until you need me to service you again.'
A hard look came into his eyes. 'I have not treated you as a whore and you damn well know it.'
She turned away in distress. 'Sometimes I wish I still hated you. It would be so much easier than this...'
Emma felt him come up behind her, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. 'I do not want you to hate me, Emma,' he said gently. 'That is not what I want at all.'
She turned back to face him. 'But you don't want me to love you either, do you?'
The pads of his thumbs moved in a slow caress of her cheeks as he cupped her face in his hands. 'Love is something I am not so sure of,' he said. 'People say they love each other all the time and the next day they are at each other's throats. How can anyone know if what they feel is genuine?'
Emma looked into his dark eyes. 'I can't speak for other people, but I know what I mean when I say I love you.'
His eyes searched hers for a long moment before he released her. 'Go to bed, cara,' he said softly. 'I will be up shortly.'
Emma turned over in bed early the following morning to find Rafaele propped up on one elbow looking at her. She shoved her tussled hair out of her eyes and gave him a coy smile as she thought of the tumultuous passion they had shared the night before when he had finally come up to bed. She trailed her fingers from his sternum towards his groin as she had done only hours ago.
He captured her hand and held it against his chest. 'There is something we need to discuss,' he said in a tone deep with gravitas.
Emma felt her stomach lurch. She