Bound By My Scandalous Pregnancy / Redemption Of The Untamed Italian

A secret fear plagued me in the dead of night. One I’d never admitted to anyone. That perhaps my father was right. That unconditional love was an illusion—an obligation fulfilled only up to a point. Or worse, that I hadn’t been worthy of the effort.

The urgent need simply to forget for a little while longer hooked me with mighty talons, refusing to let go.

‘Say what’s on your mind,’ Neo insisted.

The raw demand in his voice. The turbulent look in his eyes. The edgy hunger in his face. All of them echoed the deep clamouring inside me perfectly. Like two halves of a magnificent, earth-shaking whole. And really, in the desolate landscape of my uncertain future, where and when would I get the chance to experience anything close to this?

‘Maybe I’m not…not ready to let go. Just yet.’

For the briefest moment he hesitated, as if he intended to refuse this…refuse me. More than a little panicked at the thought of being thrust back into my dreary life, I clung to his lapel.

Need smashed through his fleeting resistance.

Decadent headiness filled me, swirling in a sense of triumph I knew it was unwise to savour.

Strong fingers delved back into my hair, impatiently freeing the knot. As if he’d uncovered a wondrous sight, his breath caught as he fingered the long strands. ‘Your hair is like a living flame,’ he rasped, watching the thick tendrils glide over his skin.

The next instant he’d tugged open the button holding my jacket closed, pulled it off and had me back against the sofa, angling his powerful body over mine. I clung tighter to him, revelling in the erotic thrill of his kiss.

A moan ripped free from him as he settled his hips between mine and I felt the full power of his arousal. ‘Theos mou, you’re intoxicating.’

And he was far from lacking in the ultimate manhood stakes.

I wanted to return the compliment, but words failed to form beneath the assault of his touch. His tongue boldly stroked mine, coaxed it into a thrilling dance, and all coherent thought evaporated.

We kissed until we grew breathless, only the need for oxygen driving us apart.

Frenzied seconds ticked away as Neo stared down at me. From unkempt hair to parted lips to strained nipples. There was nowhere to hide my attraction to this man—the last man I should’ve been doing this with.

Whether he felt the same or not became a non-issue as he resolutely levered himself away from me to shrug off his jacket. His tie followed, both tossed away with complete disregard for expense or care.

Hot hands slid around my hips once more, moulded them for an exploratory second before gliding downward, past my thighs and calves to my feet.

He removed and tossed away my shoes. Eyes locked on mine, he conducted the most maddening caress of one foot before digging an expert thumb into the arch.

A melting sensation pooled into my belly, a lusty moan leaving my lips.

For one fleeting moment, his lips twitched, as if he’d gleaned something about me that pleased him.

By the time he was done with paying the same attention to the other foot, my back was arching off the sofa, my whole body caught in waves of pleasure so unique I couldn’t catch my breath.

He caught me in his arms, and sensation, earnest and powerful, overwhelmed me. Neo too, if his almost frenzied need to divest me of my clothing, filling the room with decadent sounds that escalated the passion-infused air, was any indication.

In minutes he’d reduced me to my panties and bra, and his hand was exploring every exposed dip and curve.

He lowered his head. At the thought that he was about to put his lips on my skin for the first time, I blindly reached for him, eager to undress him before I lost the ability to perform the function.

The first few buttons of his shirt came undone, giving me a tantalising glimpse of what lay beneath. But when I reached for the next one, Neo tensed, one hand staying mine.

‘No,’ he rasped, his voice tight.

Before I could question his response, he dropped his head and laid an open-mouthed kiss on the pulse racing at my throat, then counterpunched by grazing his teeth over the sensitive flesh.

‘Oh!’

‘You like that?’

‘Yes!’

His satisfied growl set off cascades of shivers, rendering my nerve endings even more sensitive as he intensified his caress. One hand slid behind my knee, parting my legs so he could mould his lower body to mine, accentuating his lean hips and the powerful outline of his erection. I swallowed, momentarily apprehensive of his overwhelming maleness.

Pausing, his gaze bored into mine. ‘Sadie, do you want this?’

The question was grave, and it also held a warning. He was reaching the end of his tether and he wanted to grant me the opportunity of ending this before insanity spun us completely out of control.

I didn’t want it to end. I was on that same edge.

I boldly cupped his bristled jaw. He exhaled harshly, his sensual lips planting a hard kiss in my palm even while his eyes demanded an answer.

‘Yes,’ I replied.

Whatever regrets came later—and I suspected there would be many—I was too far gone, had given too many pieces of myself to heartache, from my father, worry over my mother, despair over life itself, to deny this unexpected slice of heaven. Even if it came in the form of an intense, larger-than-life man who was losing himself in me because of the colossal wrong I’d done him.

‘I want this,’ I confirmed, glad my voice held firm.

The words were barely out of my mouth when, with a deft flick, he released my bra. Eyes locked on mine, he dragged the straps down my arms. For a taut second after he flung it away, his eyes remained on mine. Then his gaze dropped to what he’d uncovered. A breath shuddered out of him.

‘You’re exquisite,’ he breathed.

Pleasure arched my back, the act snatching his next breath. His head dropped, sensual lips wrapping around one peak to pull the tight bud into his mouth. I cried out as pleasure ripped through me, my senses scrambling further when his tongue swirled in erotic caresses. More decadent sounds fell from my lips. My fingers slid beneath the collar of his shirt to track urgently over his shoulders, to grip his back, eager to hold him to his task.

Neo’s caresses grew bolder as he switched his attention to the twin peak. Arrows of need shot between my thighs, dampening and readying me for the ultimate possession. Possession he seemed determined to tease out as he feasted on my breasts for an age, returning over and over to my mouth to demand torrid kisses.

Just when I thought he’d drag the moment out for an eternity he drew down my panties, flinging them away with the same sexy carelessness he’d given my bra.

‘I have to taste you,’ he said, in that deep, raw voice, gripping my thigh to part me to his avid gaze.

His stare was so potent, so ravenous, I lost what little breath I had left in my lungs. ‘Neo…’

‘Shh, no talking, glikia mou. Quite enough words have passed between us.’

Denied that outlet, I grasped another. I touched, I explored, I kissed every covered muscle within reach, delighting in the slivers of heated olive skin he allowed me.

Right until his bold lips delivered the ultimate kiss between my thighs.

I fell back, boneless, onto the sofa, and another cry was wrenched from my throat as he wreaked wicked havoc between my thighs. All the while delivering rough praise in English and Greek.

How had I even contemplated denying myself this soul-stirring experience? Even at this stage, I knew it paled in comparison with my brief sexual foray back at uni.