Page 189 of Modern Romance January 2025 5-8

‘Why do you think you have to get undressed?’

‘To turn you on?’

‘That’s not an issue,’ Dante said, and his hand closed over her own.

Together they stroked his thick length, and then back to her came the deep pull of desire, and there was no reason to resist it.

‘I love that you’ve never done this,’ he said in a gravelly voice.

But perhaps her tentative mouth knew what to do, because when she took him in, he made a breathless sound that she knew from when they were in bed.

She tasted him, and his hands guided her as she took her time, taking him in, then a little deeper...

Dante had more control than most.

Not to impress his lovers—more because he held back, even in bed.

Sex was usually necessary and frequent.

In contrast, this was ponderous and tender.

There was an internal fight building in him. At first he thought it was frustration, at her untutored mouth taking him too gently, or her hand gripping too lightly. But then he realised the fight was with himself. The temptation he was fighting wasn’t to place his hand over hers and show her how to move more roughly, nor to move her head lower and tell her she would not hurt him.

No, it was none of that.

He was fighting not to stroke her hair, not to smooth it back so he could see her, not to touch her cheek.

And so he told her how good she felt, how good he felt.

But he held back on telling her of the light and the joy she had brought to him.

‘Non ti fermare!’he told her. ‘I want to see you,’ he added, smoothing her hair back, seeing the reddened cheeks that had been so pale before.

She was lost. But she was no longer shy or unsure, just loving the taste of him, and the feel of his hands smoothing back her hair, over and over, then cupping her cheeks tenderly.

And his thrusts didn’t daunt her. She was hot between her legs, her breasts heavy beneath her dress. She was aching below and deeply turned on.

There was a slight flurry of panic as she felt him swell, and rush, and then it was the sexiest moment... Because she heard him shout, as if his own climax had caught him unawares, and she tasted him, on the edge of her own orgasm as she lifted her head.

His eyes were closed, but he pulled her up to join him, both standing breathless, their only regret that there was no bed to sink into.

‘Come on,’ he said.

His bed was made and it was bliss to be stripped before she got into it. He even took her boots off.

‘What’s this?’ he asked of her silver underwear.

‘I bought it today.’

They lay together and she adored just lying there, talking, half asleep and yet awake.

‘You were in a relationship for...?’ he asked.

‘Two years.’

‘And yet...’ He let out a reluctant laugh. ‘I don’t want to think about it, but...’ he was clearly curious ‘...you’ve never...?’

‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘I told you: we were very boring in that way.’