Italian Mavericks: Carrying The Italian's Heir. Tara Pammi

       PROLOGUE

      Two months ago

      PIPER LOST ALL sense of reason as his kiss seared her skin and his accomplished touch brought her body to life in a way she’d never known. The pain and grief that this day held for her were blotted out as he whispered words of Italian that sounded romantic, but she had no hope of understanding them.

      She gloried in his embrace, for the first time in many months feeling treasured, wanted and needed. What would come after this moment she couldn’t think about now. She didn’t want to face the emptiness. All she wanted was to abandon herself to this man and his passion, to yield to his kisses and give herself utterly and completely to the moment—and to him.

      She gasped in frustration as he stopped kissing her. He pulled away and looked down at her, his sinfully dark caramel eyes full of desire—for her. Empowered by this, she smiled at him, unable to hide the longing that was tearing through her faster than lightning. She’d never been desired by any man, and had certainly never been kissed the way he had just kissed her. But, more than that, it was the way she wanted him to kiss her again and again.

      This man was a skilled lover, and the way he was looking at her now, with raw lust that vibrated through the semi-darkness of the hotel room, she knew there was no turning back—not that she wanted to. The attraction between them had been too fierce, too strong, even before he’d suggested they leave the party.

      Tonight she would give herself to this man. But she was well aware there wouldn’t be a tomorrow. She might be an innocent woman discovering the pleasure of a man’s touch, but she knew not to expect more. She’d worked as a waitress at many society parties in Sydney and in London and she had recognised him as a playboy—a man who wanted one uncommitted night of passion, who loved and left women. Tonight she didn’t care about her dream to settle down with the right man. Tonight she wanted the wrong man.

      She wanted to drown her sorrow in the passion even she couldn’t deny, which had ignited between them from the very first moment their eyes had met as he’d arrived at the party. It had arced between them as if they were meant to be here together, caught up in a moment of passion which would surely change her...change her life. How, she didn’t know. She just knew that this moment was one she had to explore.

      He touched her face, tracing the pad of his thumb down her cheek, and she closed her eyes as her knees threatened to give way. He pulled her closer, holding her tightly with one arm, keeping her body pressed against the hardness of his, making her virginal body pulse so wildly with unquenched desire it was as if the conclusion of the kiss was already sealed. As was her fate.

      ‘Before we go any further, do we need protection?’

      His husky and heavily accented voice shimmered over her, and her senses were so confused by the desire which burned through her Piper couldn’t think straight.

      ‘Protection?’ The whispered word sounded so seductive she could hardly believe it was her voice. How had the sensible and shy woman she usually was become such a seductress?

      ‘I intend to make love to you, cara.’

      He slipped off his suit jacket in a purposeful way which made her heart race as much as his words did. All sensible thought vanished from her as she watched him turn and toss it onto a nearby chair. His white shirt was bright in the partial darkness of the room.

      She quivered with anticipation as he stepped back to her, excited and terrified about what would happen next. With deliberate slowness he took her in his arms again and kissed her. Then his hand moved down her neck and along her shoulder, slipping under the strap of her dress, sliding it away. As his lips followed the blazing trail of his hand she let her head fall back and gave herself up to the abandonment of the moment.

      ‘Sorted...’ She gasped the word as his kisses moved down her neck, hardly able to think straight because of the fire each kiss ignited within her.

      ‘Then there is nothing to stop us.’

      With unnerving ease he pulled the zip at the side of her dress and the black silk slithered down her body. The heat of embarrassment rushed over her, and she watched his face as he touched her breast, his fingers concentrating on the hardened peak of her nipple, making her gasp with pleasure. Then he lowered his head and teased the other nipple with his tongue until she thought she might explode with pleasure.

      ‘That is so...’ She closed her eyes as heat seared within her, unable to say anything else.

      ‘Do you want me, cara?’

      His warm breath increased the sensation of delirium as his tongue teased her nipple.

      ‘I want you...’ She struggled to say the words as he continued to work his magic. She entwined her fingers in his thick hair, not wanting him ever to stop. ‘To make love to me.’

      He laughed softly against her breast, the sensation making her writhe against him.

      ‘I can think of nothing better, you little tease.’

      His accent thrilled her as much as his words, intensifying this new and exciting need inside her, pushing the real Piper further away.

      ‘Now.’ She pulled him close against her, wanting to feel his body, to taste his skin. ‘I want you now.’

      A soft, sexy laugh escaped him and he let go of her briefly, putting her at arm’s length. The black silk of her dress slithered to the floor in a pool around her feet, leaving her in skimpy black panties and strappy sandals.

      His dark gaze roved over her near nakedness and the air between them sparked with desire. A flash of her usual shyness threatened, but she pushed it back, refusing to allow it into this moment, and reached for him. Her need to see more of him and touch him made her pull so hard at his shirt buttons they popped off.

      His feral growl of pleasure pushed her on, making her want him, want this even more. She couldn’t stop now—couldn’t be her usual cautious self and spend the rest of her life wondering What if? Tonight she would experience ‘What if?’ She couldn’t let this moment go by without responding to it.

      In a movement so swift, so decisive, he pushed her back onto the bed, pulling off his white shirt and exposing his muscled torso, dusted in dark hair. Then, with a wicked gleam in those devil-may-care eyes, he removed every last scrap of clothing from his glorious body.

      She watched, entranced and excited, as he stepped towards her, towering over her. She trembled in anticipation as she lay there, his gaze never leaving hers. Her heart pounded so hard she was sure the whole of London could hear it, and a sigh of pleasure escaped her as he lowered himself over her, the hardness of his arousal almost