She must have slept. The shadows were now long. A golden glow filled the room. She rolled over in bed and saw him. A tall, dark shape in the doorway. She held out her hand. He walked in and took it, kissing her fingertips, the bed dipping as he sat on its edge.
‘Did Raul find anything?’
‘He’ll search the lost antiquities registers. It’ll take time.’
Christo brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. She closed her eyes and relished the stroke of his fingertips, her body liquefying at his touch. He was so solid. She felt no fear when he was close. Only a calm, dreamlike stillness. Like a drug to balm her anxious soul.
His finger ran along the edge of the collar of her robe, following it to where it plunged between her breasts. ‘Promise me something, Thea.’
His face was dark and serious. So beautiful. As she’d always imagined the embodiment of a god. Tall. Pure. Perfectly etched lines.
Her breath hitched as the gentle stroke of his fingers started through her hair. ‘What?’
‘Never take a risk for me again. It’s not worth it.’
She touched her hand to the side of his face. It was what he hadn’t said that spoke volumes. Christo had never been shown love as a child. He couldn’t understand. He was worth it.
‘Then don’t leave me again,’ she said.
He smiled, but only with his mouth. His eyes looked soft and sad. Her heart cracked. He continued stroking her. Gentle caresses that drove her to the edge of insanity. Her skin heated and prickled under the robe. An ache throbbed between her thighs. If only his hand would drift lower...trail burning fingertips down her abdomen to stoke the heat between her legs till they both caught fire and burned.
‘I’ve taken enough. I won’t have you trading your safety as well.’
She had a kernel of a thought—bright and bold. ‘Are you saying you’re indebted to me?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then I want—’
‘Anything.’
‘Make love to me.’
He stopped, and that was the cruellest torture of all. She’d combust right here if he didn’t keep touching her. How could he have such control? Every nerve sang for him. Tight, shimmering and alive with his closeness.
‘You said anything, Christo.’
The ghost of a smile played on his lips. ‘I did.’
He leaned forward, placing his forearms on either side of her head. His nose touched hers, his breath caressing her cheek. He brushed his lips along the shell of her ear. Trailed kisses down her neck. She arched her back, a shiver of anticipation running through her. Her breath was coming in soft pants. Her hands worked at the tie of her robe.
‘Patience,’ he whispered. ‘Lie still.’
She did as he asked. Waited.
The slow slide of his lips on her skin traced her jaw in languid kisses till he reached her mouth. His lips hovered above hers. She moaned. His mouth captured the sound, his tongue plundering as it joined hers in an erotic dance.
She wrapped her arms around his muscular torso, his back flexing and tense. His left hand moved to the tie of her robe and undid the knot in one swift pull, easing the fabric open so cool air washed over her. He cupped the underside of her left breast. Traced his fingers to the nipple which he rolled with exquisite care between his fingers.
An arrow of heat tore through her body, shocking between her legs. He skimmed a hand down her side and her thighs relaxed, moved apart. Inviting him.
‘My beautiful wife...’ he murmured.
She lay almost naked. He was fully clothed. The brush of his cotton shirt against her sensitive skin. The crisp smell of starch, the soft, smooth wool of his trousers. Her every nerve stood on end in anticipation. She squirmed and gasped and moaned at the suck and swipe of his tongue as he teased each nipple in turn.
‘You want something? Hmm?’
The only sound she could utter was one of frustration. It had been over a week since his hands had been on her body. She was plump, ripe, desperate to be devoured.
Christo’s tongue traced down her abdomen. He blew on the moist trail. Goose bumps bloomed on her overheated skin. He circled her navel and moved lower, then lower.
Thea held her breath. Waiting. He dipped between her legs, teasing softly. She gasped, almost leaping from the bed. He held her hips still.
‘It’s all for you.’
He slid his hands under her backside, cupping it, bringing her body to his mouth. His tongue explored with maddening precision. She raked her hands through his hair before gripping tight. Tried to hold him in place whilst the rest of her fought to escape the blinding sensation hitting her like lightning.
It was too much. The insistent stroke of his tongue. The crisp cotton where her legs touched his shirt. The stubble of his chin scratching the soft skin of her inner thigh as he feasted. Her world became the swirl of his tongue. The sparks of bright light flickering and shimmering behind her closed eyes. The noises she made. Breathy sounds, pleading for release as he taunted her with pleasure, taking her higher and higher till she was ready to soar, afraid to leap because it would ruin her.
He stopped for a second. She groaned in protest as a wicked smile played on his decadent lips.
‘If I have to spend all night...’ his breath toyed between her legs ‘...you’ll come for me.’
She whimpered as a sheen of perspiration misted her skin. Her body trembled in fever and need till he dropped his head.
With one sharp, hard flick of his tongue she flew, screaming his name to the heavens.
‘Christo!’
Only Christo.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THEA WASN’T SURE how to seduce a man. Particularly when said man was her husband. But
