In the Argentine's Bed / Secret Baby, Public Affair: In the Argentine's Bed

The stairway’s curved wood banister gleamed in the distant firelight. They exchanged a cautious smile.

Well, hers was cautious, his was encouraging.

Come into my chamber, said the spider to the fly.

But she was a willing fly, so why not?

Amado’s personal bedchamber was large, with velvet floor-length draperies covering the windows. A four-poster bed carved from dark wood dominated the space. The fluffy white duvet covered the high mattress like a low-hanging cloud, inviting Susannah to sink into its softness.

Amado rested his hand on her hip. He kissed her with exquisite gentleness, taking his time, savoring her.

She let her fingers roam over his shirt, enjoying the shape of him beneath the fabric. His body was hard and athletic, capable of speed and force. But his movements were tender, almost unbearably so, as he licked her lips, brushed them with his mouth, and nuzzled his cheek gently against hers.

His suntanned skin wasn’t exactly soft, but it wasn’t rough either. Everything about Amado seemed smooth and mellow, like a fine wine.

He pulled back slightly. “Let me make you at home in my bed.”

Her insides shimmered at the prospect. Amado’s dark eyes shone with simple desire that echoed her own. His forearms brushed the sides of her breasts, stirring delicious tremors of sensation, as he unhooked and unzipped the back of her dress.

He lowered the fabric over her shoulders to reveal her bra. She’d worn a pretty one today. Had she somehow known?

His big hands cupped the silver-gray satin and lace, and rubbed her nipples gently through the fabric. Susannah couldn’t help wriggling as arousal tingled over her skin. She reached for his shirt and pulled the buttons out through the soft fabric.

Amado’s chest was thickly muscled, with a narrow trail of hair descending from his belly button into the low-slung waist of his pants. A sturdy leather belt held the latter firmly closed, and she struggled with the stiff hide while Amado layered hot, breathy kisses over her neck.

His erection jutted beneath the buckle. She enjoyed a naughty sense of satisfaction at this proof that he was every bit as turned on and wound up as she was.

At last, she pulled the leather loose and tackled the fly of his pants. As she pushed the khaki fabric down over his hard thighs, her fingers trembled with excitement.

Amado eased her dress down, and squeezed her backside. His eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted. He had a wide mouth with a bold, sensual cut. High cheekbones and a strong nose. The kind of looks that made women sigh and nudge each other.

Susannah was usually intimidated by extravagant good looks in a man. She didn’t want to deal with the oversize ego that came with them.

But with Amado, his proud features seemed a natural extension of everything she admired and liked about him: his passion and dedication, the confidence born of hardwon success.

Why shouldn’t you be arrogant, if you’d earned the right?

He unhooked the clasp on the front of her bra, and lifted the cups from her breasts. Tight with arousal, her nipples stung in the night air drifting through the open windows.

He eased the straps down over her arms, and placed her bra carefully on a chair, on top of her neatly folded dress.

With the same careful deliberation he lowered his head and licked her left nipple. The rough texture of his tongue on the supersensitive flesh made her gasp. At the same moment, he slid his fingers into her panties. She could feel herself slick against them.

Should she be embarrassed that her arousal was so obvious? She didn’t know what to think. Couldn’t think, as pleasure stole over her body.

Amado’s delight in her was palpable. She could sense his heart beating beneath his ribs, hear his deepening breaths as he sucked her nipples to peaks of pleasurable tension.

He eased her panties down over her thighs and placed them on the chair, then removed his underwear and stood facing her. They watched each other. Both naked, aroused, expectant.

His sturdy male body and the raw strength it implied appealed to her in a way she couldn’t begin to articulate or even understand.

But why should she? She didn’t need to analyze everything and understand it. She didn’t need to figure out how it all fit together.

“You see the world differently than other people.”

Amado’s low voice crept into her ear.

She blinked. “How?” Could he read her thoughts?

She felt naked. She was naked.

He stroked her chin. “You don’t see only the surface of things. You see inside them, too.”

“I’m not so sure. I don’t see inside you.”

His dark eyes fixed on hers.

“Yes, you do.”

She frowned. What did he think she was thinking? Should she ask? Her heart beat faster.

But she didn’t get a chance to ask because Amado’s bold mouth covered hers in a swift and forceful kiss.

At the same time, he swept her into his arms as if she weighed nothing and laid her on the duvet.

She sank into the thick, soft surface and Amado climbed over her. For a second, she wondered if he’d part her legs and enter her, and her belly tightened with a mix of fear and anticipation.

But he didn’t. He stretched himself out alongside her, skin to skin, his flat stomach against her hip, his long, hard thighs against hers, his muscled arm holding her close.

“Welcome home.” He nuzzled her ear and kissed her neck.

Susannah’s eyes widened as a powerful and deeply strange sensation flooded her.

Welcome home? What a weird thing to say. Still, no reason to get all worked up. It was probably his shtick for the tourists. It wasn’t like he actually meant it.

“Your brain is so busy,” he whispered. “Sometimes you just have to be.”

“To be what?” Her brain raced faster.

“You.”

“And who’s that?”

He kissed her ear, his warm breath sending shivers of heat dancing through her. “Just you.”

His gaze shone black in the scant silver moonlight creeping in around the draperies. “Your mouth.” He licked her lips, left them cool and humming.

“Your neck.” He bit it gently, a careful vampire.