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I tease and taunt, kissing and licking my way up and down his hard length. When I at last take him in my mouth, his hips bow up off the bed as he utters my name in a guttural growl thatmakes me feel powerful and seductive. As I make love to him with my mouth, my other hand caresses his thighs, his abs.

His hands grab my shoulders.

“I need to be inside you.”

I flow up his body, straddling him as I kiss him. I start to grab him to guide him inside, but his hands clamp down on my hips.

“May I?”

Confused and burning with need, I stare down at him.

“But…”

He slowly eases me off of him, guides me onto my side on the bed. He lies down behind me. The heat from his body sears my skin as I press back against his hardness. I feel him against my core. And then, slowly, he eases inside me.

“Michail…”

One hand grasps my breast, his fingers a tease against my nipple as he moves inside me.

“You feel so good.”

His breath feathers across my neck. I lean my head back, moan again as his lips blaze a trail down my neck. His thrusts grow harder, pleasure and pressure building in equal measure. As we move, his hand slides from my breast to cup my stomach.

I freeze. The intimacy of his touch, the feeling of his hand where mine so often rests, is a shock.

Michail stops. He utters a curse and starts to pull his hand away.

“I—”

“No.” I grab his hand, guide it back and lay mine on top. “Please don’t stop.”

I turn my head to look at him. Michail is watching me with emotion burning in his eyes. He kisses me, hard and deep.

And then he starts to move again, each thrust of his hips filling my body with unspeakable pleasure.

I reach my peak, cry out as he fills me. He follows a moment later, his moan vibrating through my body.

I don’t how long we lie there with his arm across my waist and his head pressed to my hair. I only know that I don’t want to move. I don’t want this moment to ever end.

The moment I finally accept that I’m falling in love with my husband.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Alessandra

I look downat the picturesque town spread out before us like a patchwork quilt. Crystal Falls, the small town Sarah moved to after she retired from teaching, is just an hour north of New York City tucked along the banks of the Hudson River. There’s a town square surrounded by local shops and restaurants. Several parks scattered throughout the neighborhoods of cozy homes. On the perimeter, farmhouses with rolling hills and sweeping pastures, several wineries, a horse stable and bed and breakfasts. A mix of small-town America and country escapism.

“Are you ready?”

I smile up at Michail as the plane descends toward the lone airstrip just outside of town.

“I am.”

The last week has been one of the happiest of my life. We would wake up whenever we wanted to in the morning, making love by the glow of the sunrise. Sometimes we fell back asleep in each other’s arms. Other times we would get up and wander the streets before the tourists descended. Lunch would often be taken in whatever random cafe we happened upon. Some afternoons we sneaked into shops and picked up trinkets for his brothers, Tessa and Juliette, his mother. Several days we drifted back to the villa, lounged on the terrace or took a dip in the pool.Nights were spent in bed, exploring each other’s bodies as the sun gave way to the moon.

I never imagined when our plane took off from New York City a week ago that I could find such happiness. But it’s here. It’s here and it’s real. Each day that passes comes with Michail and I growing more and more comfortable in each other’s company.

There’s still so much for us to decide, to talk about. I may have accepted that I’m falling in love with Michail, but I’m not ready to share it. Not yet. There are still parts of himself that he’s holding back, too.