eyes.
His heart pounded and the hollow in the pit of his stomach widened to the size of the Grand Canyon. He felt his body tighten and the power in his blood thicken. He started to draw magic to relocate them to his bed then stopped himself. He was losing control and he couldn’t afford to—not now.
Making sure he had a good grip on her, he used a tiny bit of power to loosen the ties on his shoes so he could kick them off. Then he stepped out of his pants and headed for the stairs.
She sighed, a content little purr against his skin. Stella felt boneless in his arms and completely relaxed—completely open to anything he might suggest.
“Tired?” he asked.
“Hmm, no.”
“I don’t want you to leave tonight.”
“I’d like to stay.”
“Will anyone miss you?”
She smiled. He felt it against his skin as he reached the top step and his loft bedroom came into view. “Is that your belated way of asking if I have a significant other?”
“No,” he answered. He knew she didn’t. He’d done his homework. “Just wondering if your uncle’s going to come after me with a shotgun in the morning.”
“That won’t happen. I may live in the same house but I lead my own life.”
Damn. He really wished that were true, but Daniel Bonnini kept a tight leash on the only family member he had left. Cam was sure they hadn’t been followed from the party. She must have told her bodyguard to take the night off, because he hadn’t followed her and Cam had masked the signal from her GPS unit so her car couldn’t be traced.
He hoped they had at least until tomorrow before Bonnini sent out his commandos to find Stella. He didn’t want their time together interrupted—which was a really stupid thing to be thinking.
“Cam?”
“Yeah?”
“Are we going to stand here all night or are you going to finish what you started?”
His arms tightened around her for just a second, wishing this encounter was not a means to an end. Wishing it was the start of a true relationship…
But hell, wishes were for fools. And he was no fool.
Without warning, he tossed her on the bed. She landed in the middle of the king-size mattress with a gasp, bounced once then laughed. The uninhibited sound painfully tightened his balls and he didn’t want to wait one more second to be inside her. He pushed his boxer briefs to the floor, taking his socks along with them. “Take off the dress,” he ordered.
Stella stopped laughing and leaned back on her elbows. Her dress still caught around her waist, she was bare from her shoulders to mid torso and from the tops of her thighs to her feet. She showed no sign of embarrassment, completely at ease in her nudity.
Her lips pulled into a slight smile as her eyes flashed a challenge. “Make me.”
Oh Christ, he loved a challenge. His inner caveman roared to grab her, rip the dress from her body and fuck her until she fainted from satiation.
Hell, she’d nearly passed out downstairs and he hadn’t had more than two fingers inside her. Stepping closer to the bed, he stopped when he felt his knees touch the silk bedspread.
“Take it off, Stella. Now.”
Her head tilted to the side, desire flushing her cheeks a pretty pink and tightening her small perfect nipples into tight buds. He couldn’t see her sex. It was hidden beneath the bunched folds of her dress but he could smell her arousal and knew she was soaking wet.
“What do I get if I do?”
“This.” He wrapped one hand around his erection and stroked himself from root to tip. Stella’s gaze followed his every movement.
Her eyes blinked and her lips parted to draw in an unsteady breath before she rolled to a sitting position. While he continued to work his hand over his shaft, she shimmied the dress down her hips and over her knees, throwing it to the floor. Completely nude, she stared at him.
“Good girl. Now lie back.”
Again, she did exactly what he told her. She eased onto her back, arms at her sides, legs slightly parted.
Massimo Carlotto, Anthony Shugaar