Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
T he wind whipped through Rebecca’s ponytail as they drove along in Felipe’s sleek BMW cabriolet towards Lisbon.
She threw back her head, imagining she had the starring role in some Hollywood epic, enjoying every minute of it.
There was also the small matter of anticipation, a nub of which had been building and building from the minute Felipe had properly invited her to Lisbon, away from the prying eyes and ears of Maria and Ana.
Since then, her imagination had been in overdrive, and at inconvenient times she’d look at Felipe and imagine his mouth on hers without any distractions and quite simply lose the power of speech.
‘How was your class this morning?’
‘It was good,’ she said, wondering if he was feeling any of the pent-up tension that was surely humming from her. ‘I had a couple of guests.’
‘That’s good.’
‘Mmm,’ said Rebecca, trying to keep her frustration out of her voice.
‘Mmm?’ asked Felipe. He was no fool.
‘It’s great when people turn up and I love it when they really enjoy the class but there’s no consistency.
Some days I only have a couple of people.
I’d love to have more regulars so I can work with people to build up their strength and improve their core over time.
Or work with people intensively for a whole week, like a Pilates retreat.
‘My dream would be to run different weekly classes for beginners, intermediates and advanced pupils. If I could do it here, that would be amazing. I’d like to think there might a demand among local people.’
‘That sounds like a great idea. You should suggest it to Inês.’
‘Ha! I don’t think so. Inês doesn’t seem that keen on the classes at the best of times. I can’t see her going for a full-on Pilates retreat.’
‘Why don’t you ask her? She might surprise you.
It takes her a while to come round to anything new, especially if it’s not her idea.
If it’s any consolation, she’s like that with everyone.
Grumpy is her middle name. Whereas my other sister, whom you’ve yet to meet, Sara, is the sunshine queen. She’s always happy.’
Grateful for the change in direction of the conversation, Rebecca ran with it. She always felt a bit uncomfortable complaining about Inês to Felipe. She was his sister after all.
‘Where does Sara live?’
‘She and her husband live up in the foothills about twenty kilometres away. They run our sister farm, which my uncle originally ran. They supply all our vegetables and some of our meat, as well as our lavender honey and more of our fruit. We have a production facility up there where we make jam, piri piri sauce, vinegar and flavour our own olive oil. Sara and Diogo have three children, all girls.’
‘More girls?’
‘I know,’ he said with a mournful smile that had her laughing and nudging his arm.
‘Oh, you’re so hard done by. Do you even have to pick up your own socks?’ she asked with a teasing tilt of her head.
‘Certainly not,’ he said with one of his blasé, charming grins.
‘Life must be tough.’
‘You don’t know the half of it,’ he teased, changing gear smoothly as they slipped off the motorway.
‘How much longer?’
‘Another twenty minutes. Lisbon is easy to drive around apart from the hills, which in this car are not fun.’
He drove with speed and confidence, unlike her boy racer brothers who turned into speed demons the minute they got behind a wheel.
She clenched her fist on her knee thinking about them.
What would her life have been like if she’d had sisters?
She looked down at her pale pink nails. Being around Ana, Katerina and Cristina was turning out to be so much fun.
Dinner times were always entertaining, especially as the two younger girls’ teasing was far kinder– funny and irreverent and much less personal– than that of her brothers.
They always managed to comment on any part of her body she was less confident about– her boobs, her weight, her nose.
Anything they could pick on, they did, commenting on her make-up, her clothes, her appearance.
After a while, she’d stopped making any effort because it was easier not to bother and draw attention to herself.
In contrast, Felipe seemed so much nicer to his cousins, though he was outnumbered, so maybe that made a difference.
Although he was clearly a spoiled prince, like her brothers, his manners and attitude were impeccable, not to mention he was hot.
Her skin flushed as she wondered if and how to make the first move. There’d been plenty of kissing and drinks and dinner but to date it had stopped at the end of the night.
‘So what are your plans?’ she asked, wondering if that might be an opening.
What she really wanted to ask was, When are you taking me to bed?
Instead, she said, ‘I’m quite happy doing my own thing, so you don’t need to babysit me.
’ Which was a total lie. ‘You can give me all the hot tips.’ She glanced across at him, unable to help her eyes dancing with mischief.
He smiled back as if he could read her mind, which often he seemed to be able to do. ‘I’ve got plenty of hot tips,’ he said with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.
She giggled. ‘I bet you say that to all the girls.’
‘Absolutely. But don’t worry, most of my plans in Lisbon involve getting a bit of privacy away from my cousins, who take far too much interest in my non-existent love life.’
‘Er, hello. Look at yourself and this car. Don’t try and tell me there’s no one interested in you.’
‘I didn’t say that. Just that I haven’t made time recently. But that might change.’
He glanced over at her and a frisson of excitement fired up her spine.
‘Might it?’ she asked, her voice husky without even trying because her insides were suddenly turning themselves inside out.
‘I think we both deserve a little fun in Lisbon. Don’t you?’
This is it , she thought. He was asking. She loved that he didn’t assume or push.
She put a hand on his thigh, pleased when he laid his hand on top of hers.
‘I think fun in Lisbon is definitely on the itinerary for this weekend.’
He glanced at her, his face serious. ‘Sure?’
In answer, she turned her hand palm up and gave his hand a squeeze.
‘Wow,’ said Rebecca, looking at the bright blue facade of the house with its big, solid double doors. She’d been admiring all the different ornate designs of the wooden doors as they’d walked up the very steep street to reach his apartment block.
Her senses hummed. Felipe took her hand in his and tugged her up the little flight of stairs to the front door.
‘Welcome. We’re up on the first floor and there’s no lift.’
‘A small workout, then,’ said Rebecca, hefting up her suitcase, glad she’d packed light– although, to be fair, she usually did. Felipe had even asked when he put it in the boot of the car, ‘Is that it?’
‘That’s Lisbon for you. All hills and stairs. Exploring is not for the faint-hearted. I should have reminded you to bring sturdy shoes.’
Rebecca laughed and looked down at her trainers. ‘Hello, have you met me?’
He paused, tilted her face up with his fingers and kissed her on the mouth, hard and fast, his hand sliding around the back of her head, his thumb stroking down the back of her neck. When he pulled away, he murmured, ‘I have, and I like you very much.’
‘Oh,’ she said, gazing up at him, her lips tingling in the aftermath of that possessive kiss.
He opened the door and urged her through before leading the way again and climbing the stairs. She followed, her breath suddenly tight in her chest, an ache at the apex of her jelly legs.
At the apartment entrance, he put his key into the lock, looked over his shoulder at her with a wicked smile and pushed open the door.
With a thud, his bag was dropped, hers was taken from her, tossed aside, and he pushed her up against the wall, his hands cradling her head.
‘If I don’t kiss you now, Rebecca, I’m going to have to go for a very long, very cold shower,’ he said.
‘Kiss me, then,’ she said, the long, hard length of his body flush against hers.
His mouth met hers and in her head she could have sworn she heard a sizzle, but then she gave herself up to the delicious feel of his lips coaxing hers.
She began undoing the buttons of his shirt and he laughed, laying a hand over hers.
‘Impatient, much?’
‘I’ve seen it all before,’ she said, peeling back the fabric and pressing her lips to his smooth, firm chest, giving in to the fantasy she’d had for a couple of weeks now.
His hands edged underneath her T-shirt and she squirmed with pleasure as the gentle touch sent electric tingles spiralling across her body. Inching the soft fabric up, his fingers danced in tiny rhythmic circles, drawing her in, making her crave more.
She pushed his shirt from his shoulders and helped him shuck out of it, reaching up to take his mouth once more before he wrestled her T-shirt over her head, trying to minimise the loss of skin contact.
His hands grazed down her arms, and he lowered his head to kiss the swell of her breasts.
His lips teased her, as his hands now stroked her waist and slid to her hips, holding her fast. She took in a deep, shuddery breath as he pushed aside her bra and his hot, wet mouth closed over her nipple, his tongue swirling the sensitive nub.
She clutched at him, her hands sinking into his hair as he sucked on her tender flesh, tiny needles of desire digging their way into her.
A murmur of desperation escaped from her.
Then a louder groan when his hand slipped between her legs, stroking the seam of her denim shorts.
The quick shock of lust made her grind down into his hand, and she felt the heat burning between her legs.
He lifted his head and kissed her again, open-mouthed and leisurely, as if he had all the time in the world.
She ground against his hand again, and he pulled back, his eyes full of unholy glee. ‘Where’s the fire?’
Impatient and determined, she kissed him to shut him up and with quick, determined fingers, opened his jeans and slid her hand inside the zip to caress the length of him, encased in jersey boxers.
‘Mmm,’ he groaned and pushed his hips towards her. She stroked him a few times, feeling him harden. His grip on her tightened and his tongue tangled with hers. Her breasts ached and her core burned.
‘The fire’s right here,’ she murmured, tugging at his jeans and sliding them down his long lean thighs.
Suddenly, he pushed her away and yanked his jeans back up. She gasped and was momentarily taken aback and confused before he gave her a cheeky wink, stepped toward her again, tossed her over his shoulder and carried her down the hall to one of the open doors that led to a bedroom.
He paused before the bed and then, completely defying her expectation, slowly slid her down his body, capturing her mouth again before he gently slid the zip of her shorts down, and then eased the denim down her legs.
She was uncertain for a minute as he helped her step out of her shorts and then gently pushed her down on the bed.
She looked up at him, taking in the broad, tanned chest and the narrow hips. His eyes met hers and she watched as he took his jeans off, never losing eye contact.
It was hot, hotter than anything she’d ever seen before.
He was totally uninhibited and his gaze was fixed on her, as if he couldn’t tear his eyes from her.
It was sexy, empowering and such a turn on.
He knelt on the bed and still with his eyes on her he hooked either side of her panties with his hands and eased them down, caressing her thighs, her calves and shins as he did.
She held her breath, catching her lip between her teeth as he began to kiss his way back up, inch by inch, light stubble grazing her skin, gently opening her thighs.
She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer, although she had no idea to whom.
The silence in the room was electric and then he paused and she almost cried out with disappointment.
He waited and waited. She opened her eyes. And he grinned up at her. ‘That’s better.’
Looking up at her, like the devil he was, he lowered his mouth onto her skin and she felt the heat of his breath, the pressure of his tongue as it found her clit.
She lifted her hips towards him and let out a long, breathy moan.
Then he gripped her hips with both hands, holding her firm while his mouth plundered her, sucking, nibbling and soothing.
It was only when her ragged cries turned to incoherent murmurs of his name that he stopped and pulled away. She looked at him, pleadingly.
Then, with the wickedest of smiles, he leaned down and whispered in her ear. ‘Is that all you can take?’
Much as every fibre in her wanted to tell him she could take whatever he could give, her body was desperate for fulfilment.
‘I want you. Now,’ she said, clutching his shoulders and trying to haul him up.
‘I could make you beg,’ he said, one hand finding its way through her wet folds with another spine-tingling touch.
‘You could, but you’d live to regret it,’ she said through gritted teeth.
‘Next time,’ he said and dropped a kiss on her breast, taking another long, lazy tug at her nipple. She squirmed and gasped as he gave her a nip.
Then he took a condom from the bedside table and sheathed himself with matter-of-fact efficiency, for which she was very grateful because now all she wanted was to feel him inside her.
Felipe lifted her hips and eased his cock into her, then looked into her eyes, his pupils darkening, and pushed, hard and firm, until he was at the very core of her and she met him thrust for thrust. Then they were racing, matching each other.
Hot, hard and fast, their breaths rasping in the warm air.
He came first with a loud groan, holding fast as she pulsed around him, turned inside out by the burst of emotion and pleasure that rocketed through her like an explosion.
He collapsed on top of her and then scooped her into his arms and rolled them onto their sides so that they were face to face, while he ensured she came too, kissing her neck as her moans escaped her.
Her heart took a while to calm and even longer for the euphoria to dissipate.
‘Well, that was…’
‘That was…’ he said, his hand tracing her jawline. ‘Welcome to Lisbon.’
She burst into laughter and he tucked her closer and she nuzzled into his chest, her leg slipping naturally between his. She’d never felt so comfortable with her own nudity or with a man. It felt like they’d been doing this forever.