Page 64 of In Italy for Love

‘I love how you go a little wild when we do this,’ she murmured, her lips moving to his jaw, lower, sending goosebumps up his chest.

Lifting her head back up, he kissed her harder, losing his fingers in her hair. ‘It’s you,’ he groaned. ‘It’s this?—’

Arco gave a sharp bark and jumped at them, hopping and pawing at Jules as though he thought she and Alex were wrestling.

‘Shh, boy,’ she crooned to the dog. ‘It’s okay.’ He barked again and Jules grimaced.

‘How about we put him to bed in here. He’s got a blanket by the fire. Maybe he’ll get the message that he can relax.’

‘And we continue this… in your bed?’

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. ‘I don’t think we’ll fit in yours and I hear it’s cold up there.’

‘I won’t stay the night,’ she said solemnly, and he almost wished he’d never mentioned that worry to her.

He sighed. ‘It’s not that I don’t want you there.’

‘I suggested it. This isn’t quite a one-night stand any more, but I’m still leaving the country soon. “No expectations” still stands. You’re not breaking any rules.’

‘It’s not rules I’m worried about breaking.’ He wished they didn’t have to have this conversation. He wished it could be as easy as falling into bed together like that first night, but there was too much between them now.

Expecting her to pull away, he was surprised when she brought her hand to his cheek and drew close. ‘I’m a big girl,Alex. I survived my relationship with Luca. You don’t have to worry about me.’

Her comment didn’t make him happy. He turned away when she tried to kiss him. ‘You deserve better,’ he said hotly. ‘But it wasn’tyourheart I was talking about anyway.Idon’t particularly want to be left behind again.’

If he’d expected her to be shocked by that statement, he was disappointed. She pressed her forehead to his and smiled, an amused glint in her eyes. ‘You’re so sweet, Alessandro Mattelig,’ she said softly, pressing kisses to his cheek and up to his temple.

‘I’ve been bad-tempered and a terrible host,’ he pointed out, but lifted his chin in invitation.

‘You’ll be all right,’ she said, running her hands through his hair and pressing a kiss to his proffered lips. ‘You haven’t known me long.’

Nudging her back with hands on her hips, he gazed at her until he knew she was paying attention. ‘I am going to miss you when you go.’

That finally brought a solemn expression to her face. ‘I suppose I have to believe you, because I’m going to miss you too.’

‘If that’s clear, then let’s put Arco to bed and… have a second-night stand,’ he said, peering sheepishly up into her eyes.

The dog thankfully settled down when the light was off and they closed the kitchen door behind them. There was no sign of Attila, but with a wall between the two animals, they should be safe from unexpected crashes this time.

Taking her hand, he drew her into his room for only the second time, despite the three weeks they’d been housemates. Maybe it wasn’t fair to either of them to get more involved, but he still wanted to show her what she was worth, how stunning andwonderfulshe was, how she made him feel intensely human –alive, as much as that thought pinched.

She was right, they weren’t breaking any rules being together like this, her skin under his hands and his body fitting to hers. Such a thick haze of gratification settled over him when he opened his mouth on her neck and made her gasp and squirm.

Her smile was familiar when she tugged him onto the bed with her – playful, bright and a little provoking. Stroking his hand along her leg, slowly, thoroughly, from ankle to thigh, he was only more fascinated now he’d seen her every day. Exploring her stubborn jaw with his lips was headier; the way she welcomed him to her was more touching; all the sensations were sharper for the three weeks they’d spent together but not together.

The first time had been so intense it had muddled his thoughts. The second time washed over him with an ache.

In the back of his mind, the better it felt to be close to her, the more he worried he was failing Laura – and Laura’s family and even Jules herself. But it wasn’t enough for him to stop and she held him too tight for his reservations to surface. Her hands roving frantically into his hair, over his shoulders and across his back, she clutched at him, breathed his name and he sank heavily, feeling a little drunk, and then completely overcome.

As Jules struggled to get her breath back, her oversensitive fingers stroked tiny circles on the skin of his shoulder blades, cataloguing the little bumps and indentations. Her mind was soft and sluggish. The world appeared to be in slightly different colours and Alex felt immeasurably precious.

He’d loved his wife with everything in him, struggled to accept the warmth between them now, but that was all part of the miracle of him in her arms. Pressing a kiss to his temple,where he’d dropped his head to her neck, she ran her fingers through his hair, dragging a deep sigh from him.

‘You okay?’ she asked.

‘Yeah,’ he mumbled against her shoulder. ‘At least I think so. I can’t seem to move.’ He managed to flop down next to her, peering at her from beneath half-closed eyelids.

That wasn’t quite what she’d meant with her question, but she hesitated for a moment, wondering if he even wanted to talk about that shadow that came into his eyes sometimes when they were intimate. He probably didn’t want to know that the shadow hadn’t been there the first time. He’d managed to do more than just not mention his wife that night.

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