A Tuscan Proposal

Chapter 3

Gabe lifted her into his arms and carried her down the hall to his bedroom. She'd always prided herself on being strong and independent, but his actions didn't take any of that away from her. His strength didn't make her feel weak but cherished.

"If I'd known you were hiding so many muscles under those lawyer clothes, I might have wanted to get you out of them sooner," she teased.

He set her on her feet beside the bed and whisked her top over her head, revealing the simple white bra she'd put on that morning when she didn't think anyone else was going to see it.

"Why don't we just concentrate on now?" he suggested, his fingertips skimming the edge of the lacy cups, along the tops of her breasts, making her nipples tighten and press against the fabric.

"Sounds good to me," she agreed, fumbling with the buttons on his shirt.

She parted the material and pushed it over his shoulders, exposing his torso to her eyes and her touch. As her hands stroked over his unyielding delts, mouthwatering pecs and rippling abs, everything inside of her quivered.

For more than two years, she'd been fighting her attraction to this man. Aside from his almost daily visits to the café, she'd occasionally crossed paths with him around town—at the grocery store, at Valentino's, and once at the movie theater. Sometimes he'd been with other women, and once or twice she'd been with another man, but there was always an undercurrent of something in the air between them.

She'd told him that she didn't date lawyers, but that didn't stop him from asking. And truthfully, every time he asked, she was flattered—and tempted to break her own rule. He didn't seem like any other lawyer she'd ever known. Certainly he wasn't anything like Kyle Lancaster, whom she'd dated for almost two years. Kyle would never have skipped work for an hour never mind a whole day, and Kyle had never made her feel the way she felt when she was with Gabe.

And right now, she felt not just desire but desired. The way he looked at her and touched her, she knew that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. And she did want him. It wasn't rational or smart, but it was undeniable.

He unhooked her bra and tugged the straps down her arms. His lips trailed across her collarbone, and she felt goose bumps rise on her skin even as her blood heated in her veins. His hand cupped her breast and her nipple immediately pebbled, aching for more of his touch. His thumb brushed over the turgid peak and a soft moan escaped her lips.

Then his mouth replaced his hand. He suckled her boldly, deeply, sending shockwaves from her nipple to her core, making her gasp and writhe. She didn't even realize he'd unfastened her shorts until they dropped to the floor at her feet. Her panties quickly followed.

"This is my fantasy," he told her. "You. Here. Naked."

She reached for the button of his trousers. "My fantasy requires you to be naked, too."

When the last of his clothes joined hers on the floor, he eased her back down onto the mattress, lowering himself over her. His mouth covered hers in a kiss that was hot and hungry and churned up wants and needs too long denied. Or maybe that was the effect of his hands, which were stroking over her, lingering here and there in all the right.

She reached between them, eager to touch him as he was touching her. She wrapped her fingers around him, stroked the hard, velvety shaft until he moaned. He caught her wrist, pulled her hand away and pressed a small square packet into her palm. Her hands were trembling as she tore open the wrapper and positioned the condom, slowly, carefully rolling it down the length of him.

Then he took her hands again and raised them up over her head. Now, she thought, digging her heels into the mattress and lifting her hips, silently pleading for what they both wanted. But Gabe continued to drive her to distraction with his kisses and caresses, exploring her body with his hands and his lips and—oh...wow...the things he could do with his tongue.

The first orgasm slammed into her like a brick wall—fast and hard and brutal. It stole the breath from her lungs, all thought from her mind and control from her body. Then, when her body was still shuddering, his lips softened, his hands slowed, and his kisses and caresses drove her up again, ever higher.

Finally, when she was nearing the top of yet another peak of pleasure, he positioned himself between her thighs and drove into her. She wrapped her legs around him, taking him deep, deeper, as her inner muscles quivered and clenched in response to his welcome invasion. She didn't even really know this man, but as their bodies merged and moved together, she realized that everything she did know about him confirmed he was the type of man she could seriously fall for, if she let herself.

But she wasn't going to think about those kind of possibilities now. Right now, she wasn't capable of thinking about anything but the way she was feeling. Even as he drove into her in seemingly mindless pursuit of his own pleasure, he kept his arms braced against the mattress so that his full weight wasn't on her. Even when she knew he was nearing the precipice, he held on, waiting until she was right there with him again, so that they could soar over the edge together.

And when they did, he captured the sigh of his name on her lips with his own.

*

Francesca's body was sated, but her mind was spinning, desperately trying to understand what this meant—or if it meant anything at all.

Gabe was beside her, sprawled on his front, one arm flung across her body and his face buried in a pillow. She was tempted to lift a hand, to run her fingers through his hair, trail them down his back. Instead, she curled her hand into a fist, clenching it so hard that her nails dug into her palm.

She started to ease away, but his hand tightened on her hip, holding her in place. "Uh uh."

She couldn't help but smile at his sleepily mumbled protest. "While your courtroom eloquence is undoubtedly persuasive, Lawyer Gabe, I need to get home."

"Why?" He pulled her closer to his body, and her own began to stir.

"Because I'm sure you have an early day and don't need to start it with me in your way."

"I'm thinking about playing hooky again tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Mmm hmm." He kissed her softly, slowly, deeply, and she melted against him. "With you."

"I guess I don't need to go anywhere right now," she admitted.

"Glad to hear it," he said.

Then he made love to her again, and made her grateful she hadn't managed to slip away from him while he was sleeping.

Afterward, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "Stay," he said.

She let herself settle into the warm comfort of his embrace. Beneath her cheek, she could feel the beating of his heart, its rhythm matching her own. "I'm not going anywhere."

*

Gabe fell asleep with a smile on his face, hope in his heart and Francesca in his arms.

When he woke up, she was gone.