He impatiently slid her underwear off and sent them floating down to the foyer below. His mouth was caressing her everywhere: her neck, her shoulders, tickling behind her ear. He lifted her, naked, and balanced her on the banister.
She clutched at his shoulders, out of passion and also a twinge of fear. Until now, she would have said that the most daring place she’d ever had sex was on a secluded beach. Danger heightened the intensity of the experience. She unbuttoned the front of his shirt, desperate to feel more of him.
There was something about being held by him, trusting him to protect her, meeting him in this very physical sense, that brought their lovemaking to an entirely new level. She gave herself to him in that moment. Completely. And she knew she would never want or trust another man as much as she did Gio.
With one arm supporting her back, he slid a hand up her thigh. She shuddered in anticipation. He gently caressed the inside of each of her thighs. Teasing her. She wanted to feel his fingers on her, in her. Helpless before him, dripping wet with need, she whimpered.
He raised his head and looked down into her eyes. “Do you know what you do to me?”
She closed her eyes and shook her head, unable to speak.
“It has never been like this with anyone else.”
His hand slid over the outside of her wet folds. One finger slid between them and began to rub her clit with a rhythm that had her writhing against him, no longer caring about the floor far below. All that mattered was his touch and how it made her feel.
“Say you’re mine, Julia. Tell me nothing else matters. It’s just you and me and this.”
He thrust a finger deep inside her and she cried out with pleasure. In that moment, she almost said she loved him, but she knew that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He was taking possession of her body on the most primal level, and he wanted to know she gave it to him willingly.
“I’m yours, Gio.”
He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist. With his hands on her waist, he turned and took a few long strides until she felt a solid wall against her back. He unbuckled his belt and opened the front of his trousers, then braced her against the wall as he deftly opened a foil wrapper and sheathed himself. His tip teased at the opening of her wet center.
He kissed her deeply while he thrust inside her. She gasped into his mouth. This was no controlled lovemaking. His hands bit into her waist as he held her and pounded again and again. There was pleasure and pain—mixing and building within her with this wild mating. She spread her legs wider for him.
As she spiraled toward an orgasm.
Heat spread through her. She was beyond the ability to speak.
He shuddered against her as he came inside her. They held each other, breathing raggedly. Still inside her, he groaned. “I can’t get enough of you.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Julia asked. Because I feel the same.
He slid her slowly to the ground and stepped back. “It is when I know how wrong I am for you.”
They both froze at the sound of the front door opening below. A female voice asked, “Do you think they’re inside?” Maddy.
Julia looked into Gio’s eyes and held back a nervous giggle. He adjusted his pants, picked his shirt off the floor, and offered it to her. She slipped it on, grateful that it hung down almost to her knees.
A male voice answered her. “I doubt it. Gio swore he’d never return here.” Luke.
“People can change. You didn’t think he’d ever accept the invitation.”
“I was wrong. Looks like I’m wrong again. He’s here.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because those are Julia’s clothes.”
Julia covered her mouth to stop the audible gasp that escaped her. She took a step back against the wall.
“Oh,” Maddy said. Then said again, with more emphasis, “Oh.”
Julia covered her face with her hands in mortification. Gio pulled her back into his arms and kissed her forehead.
In a louder voice, Maddy said, “If you two can hear me, I’m really glad you came. We’re going back now, but I was worried when you didn’t come in with the others. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” She laughed. “It looks like you are. So, come on over to the rehearsal dinner when you’re ready.”
Luke said, “Julia, have I mentioned how good you are for my brother? Don’t let him scare you off.”
Julia held her breath until she heard the door close behind them, Then joked, “Well, I’ve hit a new level of embarrassment.”
Gio looked angry again, and Julia was sorry she’d spoken aloud. She laid one of her hands softly on one of his cheeks. “I don’t care what they think of me, Gio.”
Face tight, eyes burning with an emotion she couldn’t decipher, he growled, “I do. You deserve better than this. Better than me.”
She smiled up at him, wishing she knew what to say to remove some of the sadness in his tone. “I don’t know about that, but I do deserve some of the hors d’oeuvres I saw them serving. I’m starving.”
“After everything, you still want to go?”
She searched his eyes for a moment. “I don’t care about the party. Or the wedding. I care about you. We can leave now if you want, or we can go in there and meet every last damn relative you have. What do you want to do?”
He hugged her to him. “What the hell is someone as nice as you doing with a man like me?”
“You’re not nearly as awful as you think you are, Gio.”
He shook his head and took her hand, leading her down the stairs toward her clothing. “You don’t know me.”
She stopped halfway down the stairs. He turned two stairs below her, which brought them eye to eye. “But I want to.”
He nodded and started leading her across the foyer toward the door.
Julia, still clad only in his shirt, pulled him to a stop. “I should probably get my dress first.”
He looked down at her and a lusty smile spread across his face. “And I’ll need my shirt back.”
She laughed up at him. “We’re already late.”
He kissed the line of her jaw and whispered in her ear, “Then it won’t matter, will it?”
Chapter Eighteen
The sun was dipping over the horizon the second time Gio and Julia approached the large glass mansion. This time Gio didn’t hesitate. Holding Julia’s hand, he walked straight across the lawn, up the stairs, and through the large glass doors. An older man crossed to meet them as soon as they entered.
“Gio, it’s good to see you again.”
Gio didn’t return the compliment. He merely nodded and said, “Julia, this is my uncle, Alessandro.”
His uncle smiled warmly and winked at her. “The Andrades have always had good taste in women.” He looked over his shoulder and waved for his wife to join them. “My own wife is as beautiful today as she was the day I met her. Elise, come meet Gio’s date. Imagine the babies these two would make.”
Elise rushed forward and swatted at her husband. “Don’t mind him. Ever since Maddy gave us a grandchild he has baby on the brain.” She gave Julia a kiss of welcome on both cheeks.