shy.
“May…may I come close to you?” she asked hesitantly.
He paused long enough to make her wish that she had never asked that, but when he spoke there was a kind of weight to his words.
“I want you to, and at the same time, I am very afraid,” he said softly. “I know what we have agreed upon, and I know that at this point, it is what is right for both of us. You belong in New York and I belong in Athens. Right or not, however, I have given you a piece of myself.”
She felt as if her heart were a goblet that was full to overflowing. Without thinking, Anastasia stepped closer to him, reaching for him, but he warded her off.
“If you come to me, I will touch you, and I will do my best to make you feel incredible. I'll touch you and be as sweet as I can be when I want you so much. But…Anastasia, I think this has to be the last time. I am not sure if I can bear more of this.”
“I think I know what you mean,” she said, tears brimming in her eyes. “Why did you bring me here?”
He looked surprised, as if she should have guessed. “This is a sacred place. It was for the people who built the goddess, and it has been for me ever since I started coming here. In all the world, nothing feels as…as intimate to me as this place. This is something that I wanted to share with you, no matter what you decide.”
“And the choice is mine?” she asked huskily.
He nodded, dropping his eyes as if he were a supplicant and she a goddess.
“It always has been,” he said, his words hollow.
Her thoughts fluttered in her head like small wild birds. There was too much to take in, too much to think about. One part of her told her to go to him. The other part told her to get as far away as she could while she was at least mostly whole.
Then she saw that his hands, his beautiful dark hands, were shaking with the emotion of what was happening, and she knew that there was only one thing she could do. She came close to him. She leaned down to kiss him, and as she did, he rose and lifted her in his arms. All over again, she was impressed by the power in his body and the way he carried her so easily.
In the shade of some prickly olive trees, there was a marble bench, wide and solid. From the hamper, he drew a tightly wrapped foam pad that expanded to cover it, and over that, he threw a fine weaving of deepest black.
“That's the one you bought for me on Santa Olivine,” she said in surprise.
“It is,” he said. “I still have the other on the Wild Waves . I'll make sure you get it back.”
She started to respond, but it seemed that at that point, he was done talking. With strong sure hands, he pulled her dress from her, and after a moment he seemed to spend admiring the contrast of her black underthings against her pale skin, he removed those too. Instead of dropping them by the wayside, he set them neatly on a broken pillar nearby before turning to her.
There was nothing wild or savage about this seduction, she realized. Instead it was something gorgeously deliberate and planned. He was a man of many resources, and right now, he wanted to offer her the best of them and himself.
With a gentle touch, he pressed her back on the weaving, running his hands down her naked body as if he couldn't get enough of her. Blissfully, she closed her eyes, more aware of the world and her place in it than she had ever been before in her life. She could feel the heat of the day and the cool of the shade. She could hear the thunder of the distant waves. She was perfectly naked in a Mediterranean paradise, and she never wanted to go back to the real world.
When Augustine came in to kiss her, his mouth was soft and sweet. He explored her mouth with deliberate care until sweet waves of pleasure broke against her body. The beauty of what was happening was almost unbearable. She couldn't take how gentle he was, and how kind his hands were. Without thinking of what she was doing, she reached up to fist her hands in his clothes.
“I
“May…may I come close to you?” she asked hesitantly.
He paused long enough to make her wish that she had never asked that, but when he spoke there was a kind of weight to his words.
“I want you to, and at the same time, I am very afraid,” he said softly. “I know what we have agreed upon, and I know that at this point, it is what is right for both of us. You belong in New York and I belong in Athens. Right or not, however, I have given you a piece of myself.”
She felt as if her heart were a goblet that was full to overflowing. Without thinking, Anastasia stepped closer to him, reaching for him, but he warded her off.
“If you come to me, I will touch you, and I will do my best to make you feel incredible. I'll touch you and be as sweet as I can be when I want you so much. But…Anastasia, I think this has to be the last time. I am not sure if I can bear more of this.”
“I think I know what you mean,” she said, tears brimming in her eyes. “Why did you bring me here?”
He looked surprised, as if she should have guessed. “This is a sacred place. It was for the people who built the goddess, and it has been for me ever since I started coming here. In all the world, nothing feels as…as intimate to me as this place. This is something that I wanted to share with you, no matter what you decide.”
“And the choice is mine?” she asked huskily.
He nodded, dropping his eyes as if he were a supplicant and she a goddess.
“It always has been,” he said, his words hollow.
Her thoughts fluttered in her head like small wild birds. There was too much to take in, too much to think about. One part of her told her to go to him. The other part told her to get as far away as she could while she was at least mostly whole.
Then she saw that his hands, his beautiful dark hands, were shaking with the emotion of what was happening, and she knew that there was only one thing she could do. She came close to him. She leaned down to kiss him, and as she did, he rose and lifted her in his arms. All over again, she was impressed by the power in his body and the way he carried her so easily.
In the shade of some prickly olive trees, there was a marble bench, wide and solid. From the hamper, he drew a tightly wrapped foam pad that expanded to cover it, and over that, he threw a fine weaving of deepest black.
“That's the one you bought for me on Santa Olivine,” she said in surprise.
“It is,” he said. “I still have the other on the Wild Waves . I'll make sure you get it back.”
She started to respond, but it seemed that at that point, he was done talking. With strong sure hands, he pulled her dress from her, and after a moment he seemed to spend admiring the contrast of her black underthings against her pale skin, he removed those too. Instead of dropping them by the wayside, he set them neatly on a broken pillar nearby before turning to her.
There was nothing wild or savage about this seduction, she realized. Instead it was something gorgeously deliberate and planned. He was a man of many resources, and right now, he wanted to offer her the best of them and himself.
With a gentle touch, he pressed her back on the weaving, running his hands down her naked body as if he couldn't get enough of her. Blissfully, she closed her eyes, more aware of the world and her place in it than she had ever been before in her life. She could feel the heat of the day and the cool of the shade. She could hear the thunder of the distant waves. She was perfectly naked in a Mediterranean paradise, and she never wanted to go back to the real world.
When Augustine came in to kiss her, his mouth was soft and sweet. He explored her mouth with deliberate care until sweet waves of pleasure broke against her body. The beauty of what was happening was almost unbearable. She couldn't take how gentle he was, and how kind his hands were. Without thinking of what she was doing, she reached up to fist her hands in his clothes.
“I
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