Page 62 of Duty and Desire

That gave me pause. “Most of my life, I’ve been living on autopilot, going through the motions. I fooled everyone. They saw my emotions and believed them to be real. And although I was surrounded by people, I felt so alone.”

“And now?”

I pushed the hair back from Gio’s forehead. “I’mfeeling, for the first time. And that’s because of you.”

Something flickered across Gio’s face, and he kissed my brow. “You’re not alone.”

The air grew dense, as if a storm was approaching. Our slow,measured breaths became uneven, and warmth flushed through me. Our mouths met, and I moaned into Gio’s deep kiss when he trailed his fingers down my torso. His lips teased my earlobes, my nipples, before he kissed me again, his teeth playfully dragging at my lower lip.

“Please,” I begged. “I want you.”

A whisper of cotton later, I lay exposed to his view, and I spread for him, a silent demand. Warmth became heat when he slid two fingers into my mouth, and I shivered when he removed them.

I shuddered when they found their way home.

I couldn’t stay still, tossed between boneless bliss and erotic tension, and Gio played me like an instrument, coaxing low cries of pleasure from my lips. I arched my back, his body pressed to my side, the relentless motion of his talented fingers sending me hurtling toward oblivion.

Only to have him back off, leaving me desperate, calling his name, begging him to finish this, finishme. And when he did, electricity spiked through me and I trembled at his touch, every trace of his fingertips over my skin sending a multitude of shivers crashing into me, the heightened sensitivity more than I could bear.

Gio’s breath stirred the hairs on my neck. “You have no idea how amazing you look when you become unraveled,” he whispered. “I could spend all day doing this.” He kissed my damp brow.

I gazed into his eyes. “And you’d end up getting nothing else done,” I said with a smile. “Not to mention the fact that you might kill me in the process.”

He chuckled. “But what a way to go.”

I tugged him to me, welcoming his weight as he pinned me to the mattress, aware of heat and hardness. He rocked, a sensual undulation leaving me in no doubt where he wanted to be.

I wanted him there too, but I could wait.

I wasn’t sure why I hesitated to take this step. Maybe it was my father’s expectation that I’d marry and produce children. Taking that step—giving myself completely to Gio, and him to me—would breakthe chain that bound me to duty, and as much as I wanted to break it, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Or was it that I still clung to the naïve notion that such an act should only be shared with the man I loved?

It isn’t naïveif it’s how I feel.

That was reason enough to tell me the time would come when I wouldn’t hold back.

Because I was already falling in love with Gio.

Chapter Twenty-One

May 18

Gio

Iloved waking to find that although we’d fallen asleep separated, Nick was in my arms, as though he’d sought me in sleep. I closed my eyes, relishing the feel of his warm skin pressed to mine, his tousled fragrant hair occasionally tickling my nose, the smell of him filling my senses.

A moment later, it hit me.

Giovanni Francesco Colonna,youare happy.

There was no getting away from it, not that I wanted to.

Nick stirred, moving against me. And then of course something else stirred, the way it always did every morning. He rolled over to face me, his lips on my neck, and I shivered.

“Good morning. Is it time for breakfast yet?” he murmured.

I chuckled. “Still too early for that.”

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