Page 43 of Sasha’s Secret

“Turn over—let me see.”

The quickest way to get this over with was to comply. This time he did lift his arm to release her, then rolled onto his side with his back to her. He braced himself for her touch.

At first it was almost clinical, but then the contact changed, became softer, slower, and when her lips joined her fingers, his body’s response was predictable. “Sasha.”

The low growl of warning didn’t deter her.

“I overreacted today,” she said quietly. “That’s not like me.”

“I told you—you were let down—”

“No.” Movement behind him had him imagining her shaking her head. “Even if that’s true, I’ve been—”

Sasha broke off suddenly. Rocco would have bet his left nut she’d been about to say something about having been trained to deal with the unexpected. Joint ops with US special forces had given him some idea of the training CIA agents underwent. “Sasha?”

“It doesn’t matter. But I am sorry for ruining our plans for this evening.”

He couldn’t keep his back to her a moment longer—the strain in her voice was too obvious for him to ignore. Seeing it in the sadness of her expression was even worse. He drew her back into his arms, where she belonged. “It wasn’t that much of a hardship. Skinny-dipping with a beautiful woman versus hours of crazy sex with her? I’ll take the latter any day.”

A playful punch landed on his biceps. “You are such a man.”

He grinned, more out of relief at hearing some of the tension ease out of her voice. “Glad you noticed.” He paused. “There’s something I need to ask you.”

“Go on.”

“Would you like me to stay with you tonight, or would you prefer me to go?”

Because this was her territory, tomorrow was Saturday, and people’s routines were less predictable. Anyone could catch him leaving here in the morning—and trash her reputation—but tonight, there’d be hardly anyone around.

“Stay—please. I… need you.”

The naked honesty in her expression pierced him through. He wondered how she’d react if he told her he needed her, too.

“Then I’ll stay.”

Because just for tonight, it really was as simple as that.

Chapter 10

Sasha opened her eyes. He was still there. Then again, he’d promised.

He was still asleep, too. Lying on his side with his back to the terrace doors and the subtle lights illuminating the gardens beyond, his face was in shadow, but she didn’t need to see his features to know he hadn’t roused when she stirred. His breathing was shallow and even, telling her he was likely resting peacefully.

She could feast on Rocco Equizi for hours, lie there doing nothing more than looking at him, taking in every perfect detail of the man. The glow from the lights highlighted the muscular curve of his shoulder and the dip where the deltoid ended, but her memory revealed what the shadows concealed. The sculpted perfection of a body honed by hard work. Her body warmed with the reminder of the perfect fit of his hips between her thighs as he drove into her, hard and deep, until the universe exploded in a million orgasmic stars.

She was poised on the cusp of falling in love with him—if it wasn’t already too late. In spite of her best efforts to deny them, the fantasies she’d woven around him were gaining strength and becoming more difficult to dismiss. Like it or not, she’d become emotionally involved, and there was every chance her heart would break because of it.

Her eyes stung for a moment. She lifted her hand to wipe the tears away before they could betray her, only for it to be enclosed in a strong, gentle grip.

“Hey, what’s this for?”

Caught out, Sasha rolled her eyes. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Haven’t been asleep for the last ten minutes—I was watching you.”

Thank God for the darkness hiding the heat rushing to her cheeks. Wait—she was blushing? It was half a lifetime since she’d last been capable of doing that. “You know how that sounds, right?”

He chuckled. “As if I’m stalking you?”