A truce. Teddy found out Leo wasn’t kidding when he said they would celebrate. On their way back to the Riviera Hotel, he called and arranged for room service to deliver a chilled bottle of Perrier-Jouët Champagne, 2004 Belle Epoque Rosé to the Presidential Suite.
Reclining on the plush bed with two pillows fluffed behind her head and her bare feet crossed at the ankles, Teddy watched him lift the elegantly ornate bottle and pour champagne into two long-stemmed crystal flutes.
“I thought you might like this. It has notes of pomegranate and blood orange.” Leo crossed the room and handed her a flute.
Teddy smiled. “It also has strawberry. I know my champagnes.” She took a sip and sighed as the crisp, cool drink slid down her throat. “Ahh, lovely. How did you know I adore champagne?”
“It wasn’t hard to figure out,” Leo said dryly.
Teddy flushed, remembering he knew what she’d spent on the recent party for Michi and Crispin’s engagement. Nice choice for our ceasefire, she thought. The last thing she wanted was for him to recall the fire that had destroyed Palazzo San Marco. She nervously downed several sips in succession and nearly choked on the bubbles tickling her esophagus.
Leo’s dark eyes watched her, his expression enigmatic. “Go slowly, querida. We have all evening.”
Teddy swallowed and closed her eyes briefly, trying to calm her racing heart. All evening. Did Leo plan on keeping her there for the entire night? Not that she was complaining...
The hunger darkening his gaze sent shivers coursing through her like electromagnetic sparks. He looked like he wanted to pull her to him, bury himself inside her and make her moan uncontrollably. Her body heated instantly, but a tiny voice of reason told her to slow things down.
Gazing into his eyes, she longed to know more about the man who made her melt inside, whose passionate kisses and caresses made her feel incredibly cherished. It was no secret they had combustible chemistry. Leo had the innate ability to unleash her wild side with ease, but she didn’t want their fledgling connection to be based solely on sex. Now that she’d had glimpses of his decency and depth of character, Teddy wanted something meaningful. Something lasting, she dared to admit.
In the week they’d worked together in close quarters and sparred almost daily as she adjusted to having him as her boss, Teddy’s initial dislike and resentment morphed into respect and fascination as she discovered that Leo was a humane and a natural born leader. His generous offer to speak to Daddy about Lola’s infidelity had touched her profoundly. She smiled remembering his kind words.
Let me tell him, Teddy. I’ve gotten close to your father this past year, and I respect him very much.
But she was painfully aware of their borrowed time. Leo was only in Miami temporarily, as long as this project required. Soon he’d be off on another adventure. The harsh reality of it prompted her to ask, “What are you planning to do after you finish with here? Are you going to some exotic destination for your next venture?”
He looked startled by her direct question as his brows drew together and his body stiffened slightly. After a pause he said, “No exotic destination this time. I’m looking into a project in Fisher Island.”
“You’re planning on staying here?” She couldn’t be more pleased…or more surprised. From what she’d learned about Leo, he was a man with a Midas touch whose wanderlust had taken him everywhere. Local, stunning Fisher Island was a splendid choice for a new venture. It was a mere fifteen minute drive from the Riviera Hotel and a short ferry ride from the mainland.
Leo’s eyes turned thoughtful. “It’s a possibility. A lot depends on the Riviera’s success…and some other factors,” he said cryptically.
What did he mean by “other factors”? Teddy wished she could ask him, but it would be too much prying, too soon. Instead, she said, “I understand.”
“Do you?” He searched her face.
“Of course. I’ve heard Daddy say many times that in business you’re only as good as your latest success.” Even if Leo had amassed huge wealth on past hotel renovations, keeping his stellar reputation in the hotel industry would depend on the current project’s success. That’s what people always seemed to remember.
“He’s right.” Leo said thoughtfully. “What are your plans once the re-opening is over?”
“I’m living day to day,” she said honestly. “I can’t worry about tomorrow. There’s too much going on now that needs my immediate attention. I won’t be able to resume my duties with the Behr Foundation until I know that Daddy’s going to be OK, physically and emotionally.”
Leo nodded and kept silent.
“Now that a divorce will probably be forthcoming, he needs me.” She smiled and continued, vividly aware of Leo’s watchful eyes on her. “The Riviera needs me too, so I’ll be here for a while. And I haven’t forgotten that I’m your indentured servant,” she joked, her hand forming a fist and punching his shoulder lightly.
With an amused snort, he captured her fist with one big hand and tweaked the tip of her raised nose with the other. “No more talk about business…or your indentured state, though I like that idea in my bed,” he teased with a devilish gleam in his eyes.
“Ha,” she said, his words making her pulse leap.
“We’re here to celebrate our truce, remember?”
“I do.” Teddy held her breath as he took the glass from her hand and put it beside his on the nightstand.
“Do you know what I was thinking the whole way over?” he said, not taking his eyes off her mouth.
Teddy’s shoulders lifted in a questioning shrug, though she guessed his thoughts were sensual. His molten eyes held her mesmerized as he drew a heavy breath.
“I was thinking about how sweet your kisses are and how you make me smile.” He nuzzled her neck and inhaled her skin. “How incredible you smell.” His hands slid up and down her bare arms leaving a trail of gooseflesh as his warm lips kissed the hollow of her throat. “And how I want to feel your soft skin against mine and…”
“And?” she prompted throatily.
He pulled her into his arms and brushed his lips over hers. “I want to make love to you,” he whispered, his breath against her ear sending quivers down her spine.
Barely breathing, Teddy closed her eyes as his hand slid around her nape. He tasted her lips with deliberate thoroughness, kneading and stroking her curves until she ached to rip her dress off and feel his skin against hers. Her heart pounded in her throat as she gave herself up to his drugging kisses, allowing his tongue to savor her mouth.
He lowered her dress to her waist and freed her breasts from her lacy bra. “Beautiful,” he whispered.
He trailed kisses down her throat, eliciting delighted moans until his mouth closed over her nipples and her moans became urgent. His tongue flicked mercilessly over the pebbled tips as his hand slid under her dress and delved into her panties.
She writhed against him as he pulled her panties down and off. Starting at her ankles, he caressed her legs with languorous, firm strokes. “Your legs drive me wild. So long and gorgeous.” He kissed and nipped her rounded calves and taut thighs. “Relax,” he said gruffly, but she couldn’t relax, could barely breathe under his intimate, sensual caresses. Unhurried and deliberate, his skilled hands stoked a wet fire in her as a whimper of raw need rose from her throat.
With trembling fingers, she unbuttoned his shirt and tore it off his back, baring his bronzed torso and arms. She unzipped his pants and laid her hand over him.
Leo ground his teeth and shut his eyes, as he pressed against her hand. “Soon, querida,” he said, his voice strained. He reached in the nightstand and pulled on a condom.
“Now, Leo. Please,” she urged raggedly. Her body shook with uncontrolled desire as she grasped the bunched muscles in his arms and arched upward. Leo held himself above her, his face dark with passion, his breathing harsh as he took possession. Arching, she opened for him and gasped as he sank into her soft flesh one inch at a time. The veins stood out in his taut neck as buried inside her with slow thrusts, fiercely holding back his release and prolonging the exquisite pleasure until a harsh cry tore from deep within her, and she peaked, her eyes filling with blinding tears as her body pulsated with acute pleasure.
Leo’s control burst in a raging climax shortly afterward, his powerful form shuddering as he continued to thrust, milking the last tremors of pleasure from Teddy’s passion-ravished body. Entwined, they rocked together, bound in body and spirit.
When Teddy careened back to earth, Leo held her close to his thundering heart and whispered Spanish endearments, captivating her with his tenderness. Soon, they dozed off and fell into a deep sleep.
Still wrapped in his arms, Teddy woke up a little later in the darkened room. She tilted her head back and caught Leo watching her, his black eyes glittering in the moonlight that filtered through the window. Sighing at the sweet and spicy remembrance of their recent lovemaking, she traced a finger over the smooth, muscled ridges of his torso.
“Leo…did you say I’d be here all evening?” she asked innocently. Leo’s chest rumbled. She lifted her head and saw his white teeth flash in the dark with sexy merriment. “What’s so funny?”
His amusement died down as one big hand caressed the plump underside of her breast. “Querida, you won’t be leaving this bed until morning,” he said, his voice deepening with passion.
He lifted her on top of him and his hands began a sensual caress across her shoulders, down her back, sweeping the indentation of her small waist and spreading over the curve of her hips, squeezing and kneading her flesh until her skin was on fire and her breathing labored.
“Hand me a condom from the drawer,” he urged roughly.
Teddy complied and waited until he put it on before scrambling on top of him to straddle his thighs. He framed her face with his hands and captured her lips in a devouring kiss, plundering her mouth with his tongue.
“Ohhh, feels so good,” she moaned helplessly as lust erupted in her veins like brushfire.
He lifted her and impaled her slick feminine core. “I’m going to make love to you all night,” he panted.
Her muscles clenched around him and delicious spasms rocked her as he entered her with measured strokes. “Yes,” she urged, riding him feverishly. “Don’t stop.”
He buried his face in her breasts, the scruff on his lean cheeks grazing her delicate skin. Teddy threw her head back and arched as a wild orgasm overtook her. Leo laid her on her back and drove into her until he peaked calling her name out gutturally.
“You have bewitched me,” he groaned. Turning them on their sides, he spooned her and held her close.
Teddy didn’t fall asleep until much later, shaken and vulnerable from the emotional hold Leo had on her. She had never felt so mastered…or exquisitely treasured by a man.
A tight hitch in her chest made her eyes well up at the startling realization that this gorgeous, enthralling man had the power to break her heart—a power no man had ever had.