When Christakos Meets His Match

CHAPTER FOUR


ALEXIO CAUGHT A movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up from where he was pouring some wine into two glasses. His heart stopped in his chest.

Sidonie stood at the bottom of the stairs, her hands clasped together. She was in black figure-hugging denims and pointy shoes. She wore a grey T-shirt with something that sparkled on its shoulders. She hadn’t put her hair up—because she knew he’d just take it down?—and it tumbled over her shoulders, glowing with an inner fire that flared under certain lights.

Despite the obvious cheapness of her clothes, once again he was struck by her natural beauty, and he wondered how on earth he’d ever dismissed her. The jeans he’d put on felt restrictive, and he gritted his jaw against his newly rampant libido. He had been mourning its dysfunction only twenty-four hours ago. The irony was not lost on him.

He put down the wine bottle and walked over. He saw her cheeks flush as he got nearer. His blood leapt in response. It was as if they were linked. Attuned to exactly the same rhythms. Making love with this woman... Alexio knew instinctively that one night would not be enough, but he pushed that revelation down rather than deal with the skin-prickling awareness of something dangerous that accompanied it.

She looked nervous and gestured to her clothes, clearly self-conscious, making Alexio feel as if he wanted to reassure her in a way that no other woman of his acquaintance ever needed.

‘I didn’t come prepared for a fancy dinner. You’ll have to excuse me.’


Alexio took her hand. His voice was gruff. ‘I want you to be comfortable. I didn’t make much effort either.’

He saw her eyes drop to take in his plain white shirt and faded jeans. Bare feet. She looked back up again and her eyes had grown wider, their pupils dilated. Her cheeks were more flushed. She wanted him.

She obviously heard movement in the kitchen and said, ‘Was I longer than twenty minutes?’

He smiled. ‘About forty...but I allowed for that. It seems a safe bet where a woman is concerned.’

He immediately saw the aquamarine fire in her eyes, the way her small chin tipped up, and expected a tart reply. But he wouldn’t let her hand go when she tried to pull away. He had to keep touching her. It was like a compulsive need.

‘You’ve known a lot of women, then, to make this empiricial study of their time-keeping on a general level?’

Alexio’s smile faded. He could see past the bluster to where there was a hint of genuine insecurity. He touched her jaw and saw her mouth firm, as if warding off his effect on her.

‘I’m no monk, glikia mou. But neither am I half as promiscuous as the press would like to paint me. When I take lovers I’m always up front. I don’t offer anything more than mutual satisfaction. I’m not into relationships right now.’

Sidonie looked at him with that incredibly direct gaze that seemed to sear straight through him.

‘Okay...’ she said, and smiled, showing that gap between her teeth.

Alexio wanted to throw her over his shoulder so that he could take her upstairs right now and to hell with dinner.

She grinned then in earnest, and bent down to do something. Alexio saw her shoes being kicked off on the floor and her height dropped by an inch.

‘Well, seeing as you’re not making an effort to wear shoes,’ she clarified, ‘I don’t see why I have to go through the pain.’

Before he did something to inadvertently demonstrate how off-centre she made him feel, Alexio tugged her towards the dining area, where a table had been laid for two, complete with lit candles. It was by the window, with a view of London lit up by night beyond the river and the bridge.

The chef’s assistant was setting out their starters and Alexio said, ‘Thanks, Jonathan. I think we can take it from here. Say thank you to Michel for me.’

The young man exited swiftly.

Alexio had done this many times before—for business meals in his apartment as well as for women—but tonight it felt different. Sidonie was looking at everything with such wide eyes.

‘I presumed you were joking earlier about being a vegetarian.’

Alexio lifted the platter’s lid to reveal confit duck dumplings and saw Sidonie’s eyes gleam with anticipation. It had a direct effect on his body, and he wondered if she would have that same hungry look when they made love.

She had the grace to glance at him sheepishly. ‘I had you figured for a chest-beating carnivore who would be horrified at the thought of watching me chew a lettuce leaf for half an hour.’

Alexio held Sidonie’s chair out for her so she could sit down, and said in a low, throaty voice as she did so, ‘I had a vegetarian option lined up just in case...but don’t you know by now that nothing you could have said would have put me off?’

He was rewarded by pink cheeks when he took his own seat opposite her. He raised his glass of white wine and she took hers. ‘Yiamas.’

Sidonie repeated the Greek phrase. They both took a sip of their drinks and Alexio dished out the starter.

* * *

‘Don’t you know by now that nothing you could have said would have put me off?’ Alexio’s softly delivered words still echoed in Sidonie’s head. The steel behind them...

He had just taken their dessert plates into the kitchen and Sidonie was standing on the small terrace which hugged the side of the building, leaning on the railing, with the Thames moving beneath her feet somewhere in the dark.

In all honesty she couldn’t have recalled, if asked, what they’d just eaten except to know that it had been exquisite. She’d been too mesmerised by her charismatic dinner companion and how easily the conversation had flowed. Like on the plane, once they’d started they hadn’t stopped. Every now and then a tiny jolt of electric shock had run through her at the realisation of where she was and with whom... She’d met him only hours before... She should be back in Dublin, reorganising her life...

She still wanted to cringe when she thought of the way Alexio had looked her up and down when she’d arrived downstairs in her jeans and T-shirt, acutely conscious of how tatty she must look. The fact that he was equally dressed down had been little comfort, because she’d almost melted on the spot at seeing him in the faded hip-hugging jeans and white shirt. He epitomised cool, laid-back elegance.

To give him credit, he hadn’t made her feel uncomfortable. Just hot and bothered...

She heard a noise in the kitchen and turned round to see Alexio putting plates in a dishwasher. She shook her head wryly. Who would have believed it?

She walked back in to help. He stood up tall.

‘Coffee? An after-dinner liqueur?’

Sidonie put the last plate in the dishwasher and closed the door. She’d made a decision during dinner—a momentous one. It had been helped by the direct way he’d informed her earlier that he wasn’t ‘into relationships’. Well, neither was she. Not when she faced such a huge upheaval in her life, and not when she had responsibilities. And certainly not when the man was Alexio Christakos and so far out of her league it wasn’t funny.

During dinner Sidonie had recalled the name of a favourite perfume of her mother’s: Ce Soir ou Jamais. Tonight or never. This evening felt all too ephemeral. She wanted to seize the moment, live it fully. She wanted this man with a hunger she knew was rare. Once in a lifetime.

She turned and put her hands behind her against the counter and looked up. Was she really going to do this? Her sex spasmed in response. Yes. She wanted one night with this man, just one night of decadent escapism, and then she would walk away knowing what it was like to be truly made love to.

Having no idea how to go about letting a man like Alexio know what she wanted, without declaring baldly that she wanted to have sex with him, Sidonie seized on an idea. ‘I’d like a liqueur, please...and did I mention that I’m a mean pool-player?’

Alexio went still and shook his head. ‘No, you did not. I believe we touched on many subjects over dinner, including favourite films and music, and you tried to trick me into telling you the secrets of my success, but there was no mention of your pool abilities.’

Sidonie bit back a grin. And a sigh. This man should come with a warning label: Approach with caution! You are liable to get burnt if you stand too close. It was too late for her. She would burn for ever in the tormenting hell of regret if she didn’t allow herself to indulge in this fantasy.

‘Well, I happened to be something of a local champion in college. And I would like to challenge you to a game, Mr Christakos.’

Alexio leant back against the opposite counter and crossed his arms. ‘Interesting, Miss Fitzgerald. Tell me...are there terms for this challenge?’

Sidonie crossed her arms too and tried to look mock serious—not as far out of her depth as she felt. ‘Of course. My terms are simple: whoever wins gets to decide what we do for the rest of the night.’

Sidonie’s heart was beating so hard now she felt light-headed. Alexio looked serious, but his eyes had darkened.

‘I take it that if you win your choice will be...?’

Sidonie affected an air of piety. ‘To go to bed with a good book, of course.’

His eyes flashed. ‘And if I win...and I ask you nicely to come to bed with me...?’

Sidonie shrugged minutely. ‘Then I guess I’ll have to suffer the consequences.’ She straightened up and dropped her arms. ‘But you won’t win, so maybe I should just leave now...’

She made to walk off and like lightning Alexio grabbed her hand and hauled her into him. Sidonie gasped. His body was hard all over, pressed against hers. Her legs promptly turned to jelly.

‘Not so fast.’ His voice was low, seductive. ‘I believe you challenged me to a game, and in light of the fact that I’m doomed to failure I’d like to raise the stakes a little... For every shot lost, we also lose a piece of clothing.’

Sidonie’s blood rushed to her every erogenous zone at the thought of seeing Alexio bared. ‘There’s no such game,’ she said breathlessly as Alexio pulled her in the direction of the bar and games room.

‘There is now, sweetheart.’

Alexio let Sidonie go when they got into the darkened room. After he had poured them both drinks—a liqueur for her and a whisky for him—he took out two cues and handed her one. Sidonie made a big show of chalking it up while Alexio put out the balls.

When they were laid out he flourished an arm. ‘Please, ladies first.’

Sidonie moved around the table, deliciously aware of Alexio’s eyes on her, and yet still a little terrified. She wasn’t sure what demon had made her come up with this idea—as if she thought she could make it look as if her decision wasn’t fuelled with the desperate need she really felt. As if she played these kinds of games with men all the time.


Eventually she settled on a point to start and positioned herself, drawing back the cue. She was on the opposite side of the room to Alexio and he sat with his hip was hitched against a stool, his legs long, thighs powerful underneath the denim. Distracting her already.

‘Take as long as you like,’ he said, in a patronising tone which enflamed Sidonie enough for her to scatter the balls masterfully, potting her first one.

She stood up and smiled. ‘You were saying...?’

Alexio scowled. ‘Beginner’s luck.’

Sidonie walked around the table again, aware of the tension in the small room thickening. As she took her next shot she realised too late that her palms were sweaty and the cue slipped slightly, throwing her off and making her lose her aim. She missed.

Alexio tsked and stood up. Sidonie’s heart thumped hard. For every shot lost, we also lose a piece of clothing. Alexio smiled and it was the smile of the devil.

‘I don’t mind what goes, but I’d suggest your T-shirt or your trousers.’

Now Sidonie scowled. She’d thought she’d have a little more time. She’d also thought she’d have him almost naked before her, giving her time to get used to it. Then she thought of something and smiled sweetly, executing a nimble move so that she undid her bra, pulled its strap down one arm and then pulled it out neatly from the armhole of her T-shirt. An old boarding school trick.

Alexio’s face darkened ominously. ‘That’s cheating.’

Sidonie grinned. ‘Not at all. I took your suggestion on board and ignored it.’

She tossed her bright pink bra onto the seat beside her and saw Alexio’s eyes follow the movement and then come back to linger on her braless chest. Her breasts felt tight and heavy, their tips pushing against the cotton of her top. Alexio’s cheeks flushed and it had a direct effect on the pulse in her groin.

Slowly he put down his drink and stood up. Sidonie crossed her arms and then quickly thought better of it when Alexio’s eyes widened and she realised she was only making things worse.

He took his eyes off her with visible effort. Despite all their play, Sidonie’s blood was infused with a heady feminine energy at having this man look at her with such naked desire. But she got distracted when he came close and bent over the pool table right in front of her, and her eye was drawn helplessly to his taut, muscular buttocks.

She couldn’t see exactly what he was doing, but he’d hit the ball and nothing was pocketed.

He turned around and said, ‘Whoops...’ and started undoing his shirt.

Sidonie’s mouth went dry at seeing his torso revealed bit by bit. And when he shrugged the shirt off completely she went weak at the knees.

He was stunning. Beautifully muscled. Not an ounce of fat. Broad and powerful. Very masculine whorls of hair dusted his chest, leading down to that tantalising line which disappeared into his jeans. They clung precariously to his hips and Sidonie had to clench her hands to fists to stop herself reaching out to undo that top button. She gulped when she saw the bulge pushing insistently against the denim.

His rough voice cut through the heat in her brain. ‘Your turn, I think.’

He turned to walk away and Sidonie felt as if someone had just hit her. His back was as beautiful as his front. Wide and smooth. He turned around at the bar and leant on it nonchalantly, arched a brow.

Sidonie forced herself to move and looked at the table. She couldn’t seem to compute what to do any more. She hadn’t been boasting—she knew she could play and quite possibly beat Alexio on a good day. But right now...she was useless. Eventually she saw the shot she needed to take. But she couldn’t get that torso out of her mind, those muscles rippling under silken flesh. Hard.

Predictably, Sidonie missed the shot—because just as she moved so did Alexio. She stood up and glared across at him, feeling hot. ‘Now, that’s cheating.’

He arched a brow, all innocence wrapped up in the devil—again. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about...’

And then his look changed to one so carnal her toes curled.

‘Shirt or trousers, Sidonie—unless you’ve got some very cute way to take off your panties from under your jeans without removing them.’

Of course she didn’t. Sidonie huffed. She only had one choice, really. She wasn’t about to bare herself completely to the sexiest man she’d ever met. So off came the jeans. She wriggled out of them, deliberately avoiding his gaze, self-conscious in her very plain white panties decorated with flowers.

* * *

Alexio watched with a heavy-lidded gaze as Sidonie carefully folded her jeans and put them to the side, near the bright pink splash of her bra. The same pink bra that had been tantalising him all day. The way she folded her jeans made him feel weak inside. There was something curiously vulnerable about it.

Now she looked at him, and her chin was up. Brave. She wasn’t half as confident as she was letting on. Alexio hid the way that made him feel by focusing on her gently swaying breasts beneath her T-shirt. They were beautifully rounded and pert. Their tips hard. His mouth watered. His erection got harder. He had to shift on the stool.

Her hips were slim, but womanly. Her panties looked positively virginal with their cute flowers. Yet the way she was looking at him now as he caught her gaze again was anything but virginal. Good. Because when they came together Alexio knew he wouldn’t have the patience to go slowly.

Aware that he couldn’t actually stand up without revealing how turned on he was, Alexio said, ‘I’m feeling generous. You can have another shot.’

Sidonie looked determined this time. ‘That’s the last piece of clothing I’ll be removing.’

She picked up the cue and moved around the table again, clad only in her T-shirt and panties. The soft white cotton hugged her bottom, revealed in all its lushness now.

Alexio had to admit that his jaded palate was well and truly unjaded now. He’d never been so turned on in his life. He’d never been brought so close to the edge without even touching a woman before.

And then Sidonie stopped right in front of him, her back to him. He saw a sliver of pale skin, the gentle curve of her lower back just over the band of her panties. He saw the two dimples of Venus above her buttocks and nearly groaned out loud.

When she bent over the table and widened her legs to get a better aim the tiny thread holding his control together snapped completely. With a feral sound Alexio wrapped an arm around her bare midriff and deftly scooped Sidonie back against him, ignoring her soft squeal of surprise. He took the cue out of her hands, throwing it to one side.

She was breathing heavily. ‘That’s not fair. That’s blatantly against the rules. Obstruction.’

‘Damn the rules,’ Alexio growled, turning Sidonie around to face him. Her eyes were dark blue now, the pupils huge.

‘You win. I forfeit the game,’ he said.

Sidonie couldn’t hide the crestfallen expression on her face as she obviously considered for a second that she had been hoist by her own petard. Alexio wanted to howl in triumph, but he played it out.

‘So I guess this means you’re going to bed with a book then?’

Sidonie looked sheepish. ‘I don’t have one with me apart from my textbook.’

Alexio made a face. ‘Too bad...maybe I can change your mind?’

‘How are you going to do that?’

Sidonie’s breath was getting choppier. Her breasts under their thin cotton covering were teasing his bare skin now, making him harder.

‘Like this...’

Alexio picked her up and sat her on the edge of the pool table, then came to stand between her spread legs. He cupped her face and her jaw in his hands and did what he’d been aching to do all evening: he covered her mouth with his and sank into dark, sweet, urgent oblivion.

* * *

Sidonie clutched Alexio’s wide shoulders, her fingers digging into smooth hot skin. The question had been asked and answered. He knew she wanted this.

He felt so good between her legs—so big. Instinctively her bare thighs tightened around him, and the friction of her skin against the tough denim was exquisite. Their tongues met and duelled fiercely, stroking, sucking. Between Sidonie’s legs she spasmed and squirmed, seeking more contact with Alexio.

She was barely aware of one of his big hands leaving her face and going to the bottom of her T-shirt, tugging it up, urging her to lift her arms so he could lift it off completely, breaking the contact between their mouths to do so.

She opened her eyes and felt dizzy. Her T-shirt was a blur of grey behind Alexio, hanging precariously on the stool. Now she only wore her panties.

He looked down between their bodies and his hot gaze rested on her bared breasts. Sidonie had been naked in front of a man before...but it had never felt like this. As if she was on fire from the inside out. Her breasts literally throbbed for his touch. Aching...

He cupped them, making her flesh tingle. His thumbs rubbed back and forth across her tight, sensitised nipples and Sidonie dragged in a painful breath. Her heart was beating so loudly she thought it had to be audible.

‘You’re beautiful...’

Sidonie shook her head, about to deny his compliment, but he took the words out of her mouth as he pushed her back slightly and bent to take one straining peak into his mouth, sucking hard. Sidonie gasped. One hand went to his head, fingers tangling in short silky hair, the other moved behind her, balancing.


It was as if a wire of need was linked directly to the pulse between her legs, tightening the tension inside her, making her arch her back towards him. She felt desperate, wanton. When he moved to her other breast his hand cupped her intimately between her legs, and Sidonie moaned as he pressed against her where every nerve seemed to be screaming out for release.

One of Alexio’s fingers slipped behind her underwear and stroked her where she ached most. Sidonie’s breath stopped completely. His mouth was on her breast and that wicked finger was circling, exploring...

She was approaching her peak... She could sense it... The rhythmic pulsations of her body were gathering force—and then Alexio abruptly pulled back and stood up. Sidonie had to put her hands on his hips to stay upright. Everything had turned molten inside her.

‘Not here...’ he said roughly, his breath uneven.

‘Wh—?’

But Sidonie’s question was halted as she was scooped up into Alexio’s arms and he strode through the apartment to the stairs. Her arms had gone around his neck automatically and the friction of his chest against her deeply sensitised breasts was almost excruciating.

She looked at his face and his jaw was tight. He glanced down at her and that sexy mouth tipped up at one corner. Butterflies danced with the lava in her belly.

He said, ‘I refuse to take you on a pool table for the first time. I’ve been fantasising all day about laying you out and tasting every inch of you, and for that we need a bed.’

The heat inside Sidonie shot to boiling point at the thought of him fantasising about this, and at the thought of being spreadeagled, naked, for this man to explore. And that this would be their first time, not their only time.

‘Oh...’ was all she could manage as Alexio shouldered his way into his room, which was dark apart from one low light in the corner and the glittering lights of the city outside.

When he got to the bed he laid Sidonie down and stood back. She was breathless. Her body was still hovering on the edge of fulfilment and she ached for completion. But she sensed that Alexio wasn’t about to allow either of them a quick release.

As if reading her mind, he said throatily, ‘I want you so much that I’m tempted to take you now, hard and fast... I want to...’

She’d never experienced hard and fast. She’d experienced mundane and underwhelming. Feeling unaccountably shy, although she was all but naked and panting for the man, Sidonie said in a small voice, ‘I don’t mind...’

Alexio shook his head and looked grim, his hands going to his jeans, where Sidonie’s eyes dropped to watch with mounting fascination.

‘No, you don’t get off that easily—not after that little sideshow back there.’

Sidonie couldn’t drag her gaze back up. She could only watch, helpless, as Alexio opened his buttons and then pushed his jeans down, taking his underwear with them. Her eyes widened and she went even hotter, if that was possible. He was...magnificent. And big.

A shiver of trepidation ran through her and finally she managed to look at him.

He almost grimaced at her wide eyes. ‘Another reason why this won’t be hard and fast... I need to make sure you’re ready... I don’t want to hurt you.’

His concern made Sidonie’s chest constrict, and even through the heat haze engulfing her she was aware of a little voice: danger...danger...

But then Alexio was bending over her, his big hands making quick work of her underwear, tugging it off her hips and down her legs.

He stood back and looked at her again. Sidonie wanted to turn away and hide herself. Instantly self-conscious. Was he measuring her up against his last lover? Finding her wanting? A disappointment? Did the fact that she wasn’t shaved everywhere turn him off?

She brought her arm over her breasts and turned her head, unable to watch him looking at her so intently. And then the bed dipped and his long, powerful body was beside her, legs touching hers, his erection between them, his arms coming around her.

‘Don’t feel shy...’ His hand tipped her chin towards him so she had to meet his gaze. ‘You’re beautiful...and I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone.’

Sidonie looked into those gorgeous exotic eyes and searched for some hint of insincerity. She couldn’t see it. She could see something, though—something unguarded for a moment, as if he was surprised by what he’d said. She was afraid of the tug of emotion in the pit of her being.

Suddenly Sidonie was aware of thinking too much again, and she put her hand up to touch his jaw, reached up to kiss him. All she knew was that she wanted him too—more than anything she’d ever experienced.

When he drew her into his body so that they were touching length to length a wave of intense desire washed through her, brushing aside any doubts and questions. She wanted Alexio to slide into her right then, couldn’t bear the thought of the drawn-out torture he’d promised to inflict, and as if reading her mind—again—he stopped and pulled back for a moment.

His voice was guttural. ‘I don’t think I can wait—as much as I want to...’

Sidonie moved so that his leg slid between hers. She could feel how wet she was, ready for him, and she moved against his thigh. His eyes flared.

‘I don’t want you to wait... I need you too.’

It was a primal, urgent request. Alexio reached behind him to a small cabinet by the bed and took something out. Sidonie realised what it was when he ripped open the foil packet and stroked the condom onto his thick length.

Pressing her down, Alexio came over her, pushing her legs apart. He reached between them and touched her with his fingers, stroking her, entering her. She bent her knees on either side of him and had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from begging him to stop...to go on.

And then he took his hand away and he was guiding the thickness of his erection to her soft folds, pushing in gently, stretching her. Pushing deeper. He was awe-inspiring as he loomed over her. Shoulders broad and powerful, chest sheened with sweat. He pushed her knees further apart, baring her to him completely. Demanding she open up to him.

Something was happening inside Sidonie—some awakening. She’d had sex before, but this felt different. Infinitely different. Slowly, inch by torturous inch, Alexio slid into her, giving her time to adapt and take him, his eyes never leaving hers. She saw sweat break out on his brow, felt the tension in his big body.

‘Moro mou...you’re so tight...’

Instinctively Sidonie tilted her hips, forcing Alexio to thrust deeper, and the movement made her gasp. He filled her now completely.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked.

Sidonie was speechless. But she nodded. She was okay. More than okay. She felt whole, joined to him like this. She moved her hips again experimentally and Alexio drew out a little. Her body clasped at him as he went, already relishing the moment when he would slide back in again, seeking for that delicious friction.

With slow, deliberate thrusts Alexio moved in and out, and the storm grew again inside Sidonie, increasing in its strength and power. With every move of Alexio’s body within hers something tightened inside her. He thrust a little harder and Sidonie welcomed it, feeling it burn but not noticing because she ached for it too much.

The tempo changed, became more desperate. Sidonie was aware of small sounds coming from her mouth—moans and laboured breathing, incoherent words. Alexio’s body moved faster within hers now, gathering pace. He came closer, hands cupping her face, tangling in her hair, as his mouth met hers and his body thrust powerfully over and over again.

His tongue stabbed deep and she stroked him fiercely, teeth nipping, holding him to her with a desperation as they raced together, hearts thumping in unison.

Sidonie’s arms were around his neck, her breasts pressed flat against his chest. She wrapped her legs around his hips. The crescendo was building, leaving her no control over anything. She was part of something huge, magical. Their mouths clung, their kisses became more desperate, biting, and then, just when she thought her body would break in two with the building tension, it broke apart into a million tiny pieces on a wave of orgasmic pleasure, robbing Sidonie of every rational thought. She was flung high into a place she’d never dreamed existed.

Alexio’s powerful body thrust one more time and he broke free of their kiss and shouted out as his release swept him up too, seconds behind her.

Sidonie realised she was trembling in the aftermath and was horrified. She tried to pull away from Alexio but he only dragged her closer, wrapping his arms around her until the tremors ceased. She felt more than a little overwhelmed. Alexio pulled his head back and looked at her. She was almost afraid to look at him—afraid he might see something she wasn’t ready to expose yet.

‘Sidonie...?’

Reluctantly she looked at him and his eyes were molten, still. It had an instant effect on her body. Already. She felt ashamed. How could she want him again so soon?

He was frowning now, pulling away from her, and she tried not to be acutely aware of her nakedness, of feeling vulnerable.

He rested on one elbow. ‘Did I hurt you? You weren’t innocent?’

Sidonie came up on one elbow too. She shook her head, her hair falling forward. Alexio brushed it back and something about that small gesture heartened her. ‘No,’ she admitted huskily. ‘I’ve been with a couple of guys. In college. But...it was never like that...I didn’t...’


She stopped and went puce, looked down at the sheet. Predictably Alexio tipped her chin up again, not letting her escape.

‘You didn’t...what? Come like that?’

Sidonie shook her head, mortified to be talking about this when she imagined that his usual post-coital repartee must be far more sophisticated. Still, she was stuck now.

‘No,’ she got out. ‘I mean, I’ve...come...before, but not during sex. Not with a guy.’

Alexio’s voice seemed to drop an octave and it sent shivers of sensation right to her core. ‘You mean you’ve experienced it when you’ve...?’

‘Done it to myself. Yes...’

Sidonie glared at him now, beyond embarrassed, and not remotely mollified by the way his eyes had darkened suspiciously. ‘Can we stop talking about this now?’

Sidonie reached for the sheet, trying to tuck it around her, but Alexio swatted her hands away and pulled her into him, making her gasp when tender flesh came into contact with his fast reviving arousal.

‘I’m glad you told me,’ he said gruffly. ‘And those guys were idiots.’

The embarrassment drained away, leaving Sidonie feeling the effects of their lovemaking again. Her body was sensitive all over, but sated in a way that was truly wicked.

With awe-inspiring strength Alexio scooped her up and took her into the bathroom with its black-tiled shower. He put her down, keeping an arm around her, and leaned in to turn on the powerful spray. Then he walked her into the shower, following right behind her.

It was pure bliss to have steaming water pounding her skin and then Alexio’s big hands, soapy, running all over her body. Over her breasts and belly, down between her legs, across her buttocks. His touch wasn’t overtly sexual, but she could see his erection and her body hummed with satisfaction, ready to flare fully back to life if only she wasn’t feeling equally ready to crawl into a small space and sleep.

She could only sag against the wall and look at him, so huge and dark in the hot mist, like some kind of pagan warrior. She was boneless, and as if he could sense the lethargy rolling through her body he turned off the spray and wrapped her in a towel, rubbing her brusquely before scooping up her long hair and wrapping it up turban-style.

Then he picked her up again and Sidonie protested weakly. ‘I can walk, you know.’ But even as she said the words she doubted that she could walk right now.

Alexio pulled back the covers and laid her gently on the bed. Sidonie’s eyes were already closing and she fought to keep them open, aware of the towel on her head.

‘My hair will be frizzy...’ she protested sleepily.

Alexio pulled a cover over her, still naked and damp from the shower himself. Sidonie was very aware of that.

‘Shh, it’ll be fine. You need to rest now. I’ll be back in a minute.’ He pressed his mouth to her forehead.

Sidonie cracked her eyes open enough to see Alexio drag on his jeans, leaving them tantalisingly open, before he walked out of the room. And then it was too much to fight. She slid into sweet oblivion.