Yes. Yes, I am.
She took a deep breath as she unbraided her hair. She’d noticed that Ezio liked her hair loose. So that was being seductive, right? Why couldn’t he just come into the bathroom and start kissing her? That would be so much easier than her having to come out and go hunt for him throughout the house.
The only smart thing she’d done was snagging one of his T-shirts to wear. Might as well end as they’d started. He sure seemed to be turned on when she’d worn it before. Sam looked at herself in the bathroom mirror.
Hair? As good as it’s going to get.
Boobs? She had on the padded bra from poker night.
Legs? Shaved.
Make-up? Mascara and peach lip gloss.
Confidence? Nope, not there.
And I’m not going to ask for help from Granddad for this one.
Samantha let out a laugh.
When she saw the smile in the mirror, she felt better. Okay, she could do this. Who the hell was she kidding? She was halfway into love with the guy, could it get any better than that? Yeah, he could have just come into the bathroom and kissed her. But that so wasn’t his style. He wouldn’t want to intrude on her. Honorable, the man was so danged honorable.
She opened the bathroom door, peeked across the hall to her bedroom, and didn’t see any sign of him. Then she felt a tingle at the back of her neck so she turned her head and looked down the hall toward his bedroom.
There he was, leaning against the doorjamb of his room, arms crossed against the most mouthwatering bare chest she had ever seen, well, since last Sunday. He was wearing low-slung jeans. Oh God, the top button wasn’t buttoned!
Holy heck.
Samantha swallowed, her throat was suddenly dry. The man wasn’t honorable, he was intense. And she was going to go up in flames.
“Come here, Samantha.” His smoky voice reverberated through every nerve-ending in her body, and they all sparked to life. She was not going to be tentative.
She was not.
She walked down the hall and saw the way his eyes widened and then narrowed. Yeah, Ezio was as turned-on as she was.
Wasn’t that a turn-on?
“You’re beautiful, you know that, right?” His voice curled around her like a tendril of fire.
“Maybe in a red dress and garters.”
He held out his hand for her, and she took it.
“No, you’re beautiful right now. In my eyes, your smile, your heart, your soul, make you the most beautiful woman in the world.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Nobody had ever said anything close to that to her, and with such conviction. “Ezio, how do you do this to me? How do you make me feel so much more than I ever have before? I’ve never felt this connected to anybody before.”
He pulled her into his arms. Her nose touched his collarbone, and she turned so her cheek rested on it, so she could nuzzle his neck and breathe in his scent. He smelled of soap, grass, and Ezio—it was a heady combination. She needed to find out if he tasted as good as he smelled. Her tongue touched his skin and she felt the jolt that went through him, and she smiled. Good, she wasn’t the only one who was affected by this out-of-control attraction.
“Are you playing rough, Miss Brooks?” Ezio’s voice was a husky whisper.
“I’m too needy to play,” she admitted.
One of his arms tightened around her waist, the other speared through her hair, and he tilted her head back. His green eyes were dark as they stared into hers. “Needy is good. I can work with needy.”
In an instant, he changed positions and had her high up in the air, nestled against his chest and he carried her into his bedroom. He’d just left one bedside lamp on.
“You made your bed,” she laughed out in surprise.
“It’s a special occasion.” He settled her softly on top of the navy-blue bedspread.
“I’ve dreamed about your hair flowing across my bed.”
“You have?”
“Oh yeah. I’ve had lots of fantasies.”
“Want to share?” she asked.
He cocked his head. It was as if he could hear the slight bit of nerves in her voice. Ezio smiled easily and moved so that he was resting on his elbow at her side, so he could look down at her. He brushed back a strand of her hair covering her face. “I’ve fantasized about you smiling up at me, like you’re doing right now.”
Her smile brightened. She wanted to hear more.
Ezio moved his free hand and rested it on her stomach. His palm felt hot over his cotton shirt. “I’ve dreamed of touching and tasting your breasts again, but only after I kissed your lips, and I watched your eyes turn a deep blue.”
“My eyes are light blue,” she protested weakly.
“Not when you’re aroused, then your eyes turn almost navy blue.”
She reached up and slid her fingers through his lush hair and tugged. She needed that kiss he’d described. He smiled as he lifted up and over her so that she was surrounded by his warmth.
“Ezio, please,” she begged.
His eyes turned dark and he swooped down, his lips melding with hers in a cataclysm of fire. He stormed her defenses, his tongue soon tangling with hers and her head spun with desire. She tasted his want, his passion, and
