Miranda saw the concern in his dark-as-night gaze. What was he worried about? That she would get all clingy and suddenly want more than he was prepared to give? She knew the rules. He had made them perfectly clear. She was okay with it. Totally okay. More than okay. ‘I’m a big girl, Leandro. I can take responsibility for my decisions and actions.’
He brushed a strand of hair back off her face, his expression cast in serious lines. ‘I want you to know I didn’t ask you here to have an affair with me. The thought didn’t cross my mind.’
Miranda raised one of her brows. ‘Not even once?’
His mouth took on a rueful angle. ‘Well, maybe once or twice.’ His arms came around her to draw her close. ‘I’ve always kept my distance because I didn’t want to compromise my relationship with your family. It gets messy when things don’t work out. Look at Jake and Jasmine.’
Miranda traced his mouth with her fingertip again. ‘Did Jake ever tell you what happened that night?’
‘No,’ he said, kissing the tip of her finger. ‘What’s Jasmine’s version of events?’
‘She refuses to discuss it,’ Miranda said, suppressing a shiver as Leandro’s tongue curled around her finger as he drew it into his mouth. The sucking motion of his mouth made her inner core pull tight with lust.
‘Someone needs to lock them in a room together until they thrash it out,’ he said as he began to scorch a pathway of kisses up her neck. She shuddered as his tongue outlined the cartilage of her ear, longing coursing through her body in sweeping waves. ‘Speaking of being locked in a room together...’
He gathered her up in his arms and carried her inside his room. The lamp was already on, giving the room a muted glow. He set her on her feet but not before sliding her down the length of his body, leaving her in no doubt of his need. The feel of his erection against her made her desire for him escalate to a level she had never experienced before. A restless ache pulsed deep in her body, a hollow sensation that yearned to be filled. Her breasts became sensitive where they were pressed against the hard plane of his chest. She could feel the tight buds of her nipples abraded by the lace cups of her bra. She wanted to feel his hands on her naked flesh, his mouth, his lips and his masterful tongue.
Miranda sucked in a breath as he slid his hands up under her top, the warmth of his palms against her skin sending her senses reeling. His hand came to the sensitive underside of her breast, stilling there as if to give her time to prepare for a more intimate touch. She moved against him, silently urging him to touch her.
‘You’re so beautiful,’ he said.
Miranda had always felt a little on the small side, especially since her mother was so well-endowed. But Leandro’s touch made her feel as if she was the most gorgeously proportioned woman he had ever touched.
He brought his mouth down to her right breast in a gentle caress that made her spine tingle from top to bottom. He circled her tight nipple with his tongue before he swept it over the underside of her breast where every nerve fizzed and leapt in response.
He came back to take her nipple in his mouth, drawing on her with just the right amount of suction. A frisson of excitement shot down between her legs, pooling in the warm, moist heart of her body. She had never felt desire like it. Her body had developed cravings and capabilities she’d had no idea it possessed. Never had she felt such intense ripples of delight go through her flesh.
He switched his attention to her other breast, leaving no part of it unexplored by his lips and tongue. The electric sensations ricocheted through her body, making her utter little gasping cries as he came back to cover her mouth.
His kiss was purposeful, passionate, consuming. His tongue came in search of hers, stroking, caressing and conquering, delighting her senses, stirring her passion to an even higher level.
Miranda threaded her fingers through his hair, stroking the back of his neck, going lower to his shoulders and back. She brought her hands around to the front of his shirt, undoing his buttons with more haste than efficiency. He shrugged himself out of it before helping her with her pyjama top. She watched as his eyes feasted on her naked form but, instead of feeling shy and inadequate, she felt feminine and beautiful.
He brought his mouth down to each of her breasts, subjecting them to another passionate exploration that made her insides shudder with longing. She made breathless little sounds of approval, her lower body on fire as it sought the intimate invasion of his.
Her hands glided down his chest, exploring the sculpted perfection of his toned body. She came to the waistband of his jeans, shyly skating her hand over the potent bulge below. He reached down and unfastened his jeans so her hand could go lower. Miranda took up the invitation with new-found boldness, delighting in the feel of his tautly stretched skin, thrilled by the way his body responded to her with every glide and stroke of her fingers. Moisture oozed from him as her thumb moved over the head of his penis, that most primal signal of the readiness to mate. She could feel her own moisture gathering between her legs, the deep, low ache of need throbbing with relentless urgency.