“And then Calista started to dance for me, shedding layer after layer of gauze. My father stood behind me and took off my jacket, my tie, and my belt. When they stepped closer, crowding over me… When she bent to… I pushed Calista hard and ran. She was going to…” he sobbed. “They wanted to…”
“Shhh.” Sophia scattered tiny kisses on his wet face framed tenderly between her hands. “It’s okay. It’s okay. No one is going to hurt you again.”
“I called my grandfather that very night and asked him if I could move in with him. He asked why but I was too shaken to explain the real reasons. But he must have guessed because he cursed Calista with so many foul words… Then, the next morning when I was packing, I heard King, my sheepdog puppy, yelping.”
He whispered so low that Sophia could barely hear his voice. “I looked for him through the house and found him in the back garden. Dead. She left a note beside his body in her childish handwriting. ‘Never reject me again.’”
“Oh, Ethan.” Pity, angst, and anger constricted her throat. “I’m so sorry.”
“I furtively buried King in the garden with the help of the cook and went to Athens, only to return to England for college. I have not set foot in their house since.”
He looked at her, with such sadness in his face that she wanted to cry. “Unfortunately,” he breathed mournfully, “that’s my story, baby.”
Neither one of them had much appetite for the delicious dinner. When it ended, they moved to the Noble Hall on the first floor to watch a series of outstanding performances around the theme of sin. A joyous, sophisticated, and sensual show. When it ended, Ethan took her around the palazzo for a bit, showing her all the beautiful, individually decorated rooms.
“Come.” He held his hand to her, “Let’s dance.”
Sophia eyed Ethan with a wicked gleam in her eyes and undid the clasp that held her mantua closed, letting it glide off her shoulders sensuously.
“Jesus, Sophia.” His azure eyes sparkled with hunger and he bent to kiss her bare shoulder. “Do you want to unman me here?” he whispered in her ear. His hand ran over the strapless bodice that enhanced her breasts and revealed her curves. “Temptress.”
“Behave!” She gripped his hand and dragged him to the dance-floor.
The disco music throbbed as Sophia let herself go with it, the rhythm in her veins. They danced until the small hours of the morning.
When they returned to the hotel, Ethan had a peaceful expression on his face.
Two table lamps were on, softly illuminating the living room.
From the minifridge hidden inside a cabinet in the corner, Sophia took out a bottle of Cristal Louis Roederer. “Another toast.” She handed him the champagne bottle. “Open, please. I’ll be right back.”
He popped the cork.
“Where are the damn glasses?” he muttered, looking around.
“We don’t need glasses,” she whispered in his ear when she came back to the living room and snatched the bottle from his hand, laughing. Swirling away with it, she drank from the bottle, the champagne dribbling down her chin and onto her breasts. The icy liquid spread downward.
“Mmm,” she moaned and shuddered, whispering hoarsely, “it’s cold.” She dragged a hand over her neck, breasts, and flat stomach. The thin black gauze of her wrap clung to the swelling curve of her breasts and her nipples tightened.
Ethan’s mind shut down as he watched Sophia dance away from him, crossing the living room to the windows, the wrap swirling around her legs. The first light of day had started to creep in the sky and outlined her lean body and long legs.
He stalked her slowly and cornered her by the window, caging her with one arm on the wall. He fixed her with his blistering gaze, took the bottle from her hands, and lifted it over her shoulders, letting the champagne wash over her.
She moaned, letting her head fall back. Her mouth curved into a slow, wicked smile, “I’ve never had a chilled champagne shower before,” she licked her lips, “I want more,” she demanded naughtily.
“You little devil,” he breathed as he stepped to the fridge, shedding his coat, waistcoat, and shirt onto a chair.
She followed him, untying her wrap, and shrugging it off. It floated to the ground in a dark cloud. She reached for him to divest him of his breeches as he opened a magnum bottle.
He toed off his shoes as he popped out another cork and handed the bottle to her, ordering, “Drink.”
She lifted the bottle to her mouth, caressing it erotically with her fingers, lips, and tongue, promising with her eyes to do the same to him.
His gaze didn’t waver from the show as he finished taking off his clothes. He picked up the bottle from her and let the golden liquid pour from it slowly in a steady rivulet to soak her more.
“Don’t finish it on me,” she snatched the bottle from him with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
The soft light from the incoming dawn danced on her wet skin and flashed on the diamonds of her headband as she tipped her head to drink and her hand closed over him and traveled the length of his erection.
She reached for him and scattered kisses along his jaw, licking a trail to his earlobe. She took it into her mouth and suckled.
Ethan groaned, “So good.” His head dropped to kiss her shoulder and lapped at her collarbone, “You and Cristal, the perfect combination.” He pulled away her nightgown and he licked his way to her breast and drew the nipple between his lips, sucking hard.
Sophia threw a hand into his hair, holding him in place. “Oh,” she gasped, “Ethan.” With a gentle shove to his shoulders, she backed him onto the sofa. She stood between his legs and slowly ran a hand over her moistened abdomen and stroked his erection in her wet palm.
“Sophia,” he moaned, “please.”
“What do you want?” She glided her hand harder, longer.
“Don’t tease, Sophia,” his hips jerked on the sofa and his breathing quickened.
She tightened her hold and stopped, causing him to moan in distress. “What do you want?”
“I want you,” he groaned, “take me in your mouth.”
“Mmm, let me see what I can do about that,” she murmured, her tongue licking his parted lips leisurely.
He sucked her tongue between his lips, grunting with desire and his hands caressed her rump. Her hand left his arousal for his chest and she handed him the bottle, “Drink.”
Her fingers lightly caressed his hard chest and she bent to kiss one nipple and then another, sucking them both hard.
Ethan grunted in instant appreciation.
Sophia nipped her way down the center of his stomach to his navel, dipping her tongue in his belly button.
His fingers found her curls and he tugged. “Down,” he rasped.
She dropped to her knees, between his thighs, her hand motioning for the bottle. She drank a gulp and smiled sinfully at him. Her hands glided over his thighs to his knees and her nails backed up, scrapping the inside of them.
“Damn, Sophia,” his eyes blazed a darker azure.
She bit at the skin beneath his navel and he drew a long and ragged breath. She drew her cheek along the pulsating length of his hard arousal, moving up from the base to his smooth rounded tip and she lightly blew on him. She drank a gulp of the chilly champagne and took him fully into her cold mouth.
“Sophia,” he shouted. His hands held her shoulders, digging his fingers in her flesh. The muscles of his stomach tightened and flexed as he thrust forward between her lips.
She sucked him into her mouth fiercely and he howled in pleasure as she worked her mouth along him.