Page 70 of Ice To Meet You

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Did I mean him or the sport?

He chuckled, the sound curling my toes. “Not really. Not if you know what you’re doing.” As he spoke, he drew his fingers lightly along the back of my thigh, travelling a little further across the top of my leg than my burn.

Every nerve in my body jumped to attention, and a tingling pulsed between my legs. I pulled in a shaky breath.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder at him. His gaze met mine, brimming with need. My core pulsed harder. At the upturn of his lips, I didn’t doubt he knew the effect his touch had on me.

“Yes, I’m just …”

He ran his thumb along the underside of my butt cheek again and my words turned into a sigh.

The noise escaped before I could catch it, sounding hollow in the large room. At its high pitch, I swear I could audition for the Paris Opera.

“What?” he asked, his voice husky, delicious, and low.

The room closed in around me and I groped for something to hold on to. I was in peril of turning to mush under Matteo’s fingertips.

I reached behind, placing a hand on his solid shoulder. “Matteo, this is … this …”

His voice broke over the top of mine. “Thisis all I’ve wanted to do since we met on the chairlift.” He brushed his hand down the back of my thigh. “Your skin is just as soft as it looks.”

I blinked, my breath thinning. Damn him for muddying the waters of my sanity. “It is?”

He nodded slowly. “You don’t know how much I want you. And …” he paused, bringing his lips to the skin at the side of my hip. “I hoped you might want me, too. Do you?”

I looked down at him, heat passing between us like lightning rending the air. I bit on my lip and nodded.

The slowest smile spread across Matteo’s lips, and he closeda hand around my bottom, avoiding my burn. I sucked in a breath, my legs melting like candle wax under his touch.

“But we can’t,” I whispered.

“Why not?” His hot breath grazed the skin on my hip, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

“It’s wrong,” I murmured. Why did I sound so unconvincing?

“Not from where I’m kneeling,” he said, his fingers gently circling the back of my thigh.

I dug my fingernails into his shirt, anchoring myself against his hard shoulder. Was it wrong to want a man so much? I never imagined it possible to crave someone so desperately, as if I might forget how to breathe without him.

Matteo’s warm breath bathed my skin, as he gently bit into the underside of my buttock, then kissed the same spot. “I want to taste you,” he breathed. “You know, my name means ‘gift from God’.”

My heart pounded in my chest. “Does it?”

He nodded slowly. “May I show you?”

Under the onslaught of his lips and exemplary manners, I lost the ability to speak. I could only nod and when I opened my mouth, all that came out was a breathy whimper.

Matteo smiled and closed his eyes for a second, as if savouring my silent agreement. “Thank you,” he murmured, his voice thick with intent.

The air between us shifted. With a low growl, he turned me around slowly, moving his tongue over my skin, kissing me, speaking words I didn’t understand.

Each stroke, each press of his lips, sent shivers through me, and as he turned me to face him, it took everything I had not to cry out.

Matteo looked up at me like I was a precious jewel—like I was something he wanted to devour. I couldn’t tell which. I didn’t care which.

He pressed a kiss to my inner thigh, sending a hot bolt of need to my core. I pulled in a breath. How the hell was I still standing?

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