He chuckled softly. “Then we should get off this bridge.”
He kissed her once more and excused himself to make a brief phone call. It was a quick exchange in Italian that sounded like Gabriel was confirming something with the concierge, but Julia couldn’t hear everything. He turned his back on her deliberately and spoke in hushed tones.
When she asked him about it he grinned. “You’ll see.”
It took them a little longer than it should have to arrive at the hotel, for every few steps one of them would pull the other into a passionate kiss. There was laughter and gentle caresses; there were tender embraces and murmured words of seduction, and a tango or two against the wall of a darkened alley.
But really, the seduction was complete. For it had occurred in an old orchard years ago.
By the time Gabriel led Julia into the penthouse and out onto the terrazza, they were vibrating with shared electricity and very, very needy. Which meant that it took Julia a moment to notice the transformation. Pillar candles had been scattered around the space and contributed a warm, flickering luminosity to the starlight from above. The air was perfumed with jasmine. Pillows and a cashmere blanket beckoned them to recline on the futon banquette.
A bottle of champagne sat chilling in an ice bucket, and nearby, Julia saw a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries and what looked like tiramisu. And lastly, she noticed the music of Diana Krall.
Gabriel came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her left ear with his nose. “Does this please you?”
“It’s beautiful.”
“I have plans for you this evening, my love. I’m afraid those plans don’t include sleep until much, much later.”
Julia shivered at the tone of his voice, low and sensual.
He held her more tightly. “Am I making you nervous?”
She shook her head.
He began to kiss her neck softly, floating his lips across her skin. “A declaration of desire,” he murmured. “But tonight I will make good on my declaration when I take you to bed and make you my lover.”
She trembled once again, and this time he crooked his arm across her collarbone, hugging her close. “Relax, darling. Tonight is all about pleasure. Your pleasure. And I intend to please you all evening.”
He kissed her cheek, then spun her around slowly. “Foreplay is essential. And since this is new to both of us, there are a few things I’d like to do first.” He searched her eyes for her reaction.
“I’m yours, Gabriel.”
He smiled and embraced her softly. “I want to explore your senses—sound, taste, sight, touch. I want to take my time arousing and exciting you.” He lowered his voice. “But most of all, I want to teach your body to recognize the man who worships you, just by my touch.”
“I already recognize you, Gabriel. There’s no one else.”
He kissed her intensely and paused as Besame Mucho sounded in the air. “Will you dance with me?”
“Of course.” As if I’d ever refuse the chance to hold you in my arms…
He pulled her close, and she pressed grateful lips to his jaw.
“Is this our song?” She stroked his lower lip with one of her fingers.
“It should be. I remember everything about that night. Your hair, your dress. You were a vision. And I was such a brute. The things I said.” He shook his head. “How did you ever forgive me?”
Julia rebuked him with her eyes. “Gabriel, you’re giving me the fairy tale I never thought I’d have. Please don’t spoil it.”
He kissed her lips repentantly and held her more tightly, running his hand across her ribs. For Gabriel knew, as Julia did not, that the ribs of a woman were another erogenous zone.
As they swayed to the music, he softly sang to her, pouring his soul into the Spanish words but changing them slightly so that she would know he would never let her go. He would give her nothing less than forever and hell itself could not prevent him from keeping his vow. He just hadn’t spoken the words aloud.
Yet.
She lifted her head and stared at his mouth, memorizing its fullness and its curves, the way his bottom lip curled downward. She tugged it into her mouth unhurriedly, winding her fingers in his hair. He was sweetness and wet warmth, hunger and passionate need, love and devotion. And his kiss pressed itself to her very soul, so that even the tips of her toes felt his adoration and desire.
Two bodies pressed tightly together in a lover’s dance, eager with anticipation.
Chapter 34
Julia reclined on her back on the terrace’s banquette, staring up blissfully into Gabriel’s sparkling eyes. He’d divested himself of his suit jacket and loosened his tie, but refused to remove it, remembering how arousing it had been when Julia tugged on it at the Ponte Santa Trinita.