Learning to Trust Read Online Free Page B

hyperawareness he could have done without. His lips pressed against hers, hard and demanding, and he felt her melt. Relief swept through him that she accepted him still, that he could make her do this. He slid his hand up her back, feeling for her bra and heard the suit carrier thump as it hit the marble floor. Bliss.
    She felt like nobody else he’d ever kissed. Danger prickled his nerves. When he turned his body into her he made sure she became aware of his erection, pressing hard against the thin fabric of her skirt. She tasted wonderful, and he wanted to meld their bodies together. It made it difficult to breathe, but hey, who needed air? Not when his tongue touched her mouth with a delicacy the rest of his body denied. She opened her mouth. With a groan, he shifted her weight in his arms and drove his tongue between her lips.
    Their tongues met in a touch of need, then he opened his mouth wide and ate at her. His desperation mirrored the way she met him and asked for more. Nobody and nothing meant anything anymore. He pulled at her mouth, increasing the connection between them, before he released her.
    They separated slowly, reluctantly. She stared up at him and he saw his bewilderment reflected in her eyes.
    Realization entered her gaze and she drew away. And it was then the flash happened. Then another. He didn’t know if there’d been any more. Plenty behind his eyes but he assumed that was part of the deal of kissing Lina.
    He shoved her behind him and growled, like a tiger at bay. Actually growled. She tugged his arm. “Hey. Tourists love a good picture.”
    His media sense more alert than hers, he was worried about paparazzi, but it was unlikely any of them would recognize her, or him for that matter. He wasn’t dressed in an unusual way, and she looked nothing like she used to.
    After a reluctant laugh, he turned around to face her. “I’m an idiot. Paranoid. I’m sorry.”
    “Sooo romantic!” someone crooned.
    It would strengthen his argument.
    “Holiday romance,” he suggested and shot the manager a telling glare. “Nothing else.”
    When he walked, she walked with him, towing the suit carrier. He had the sports bag in his free hand. The tourist who’d taken the photo had actually been taking a picture of his family, posed just behind them. Jon paused. “Did you take a photo of us?” He’d pretend to want to see a copy, and ask for it to be deleted.
    But the guy shook his head. “Would you like me to?”
    Jon smiled and shook his head. “No. My—girlfriend is a little camera shy before she puts her makeup on.”
    The man laughed. “Women.”
    “I thought it was beautiful,” his wife, who’d been watching them, said. “And you don’t need makeup, honey. You’re lovely as you are.”
    Lina smiled. “Thanks.”
    He hoped that made her feel better about that bastard manager’s assumption.
    At the entrance Jon stopped and confronted the manager. “Take my bill from the card I registered at check-in. You may also take fifty euros for yourself.”
    Bellini’s face cleared. “It is in the interest of us both to remain discreet.”
    Jon exited, pushing her through the open door before he followed and then he paused, bringing her to a halt. “That could have been a paparazzi, you know.”
    She grimaced. “I know.”
    “I’m not as high profile as some people, but I could be recognized. And I want to keep this visit discreet. If I stay at a top hotel, where paps hang around, I’m courting disaster.” He took her chin in his free hand. “And I don’t want to risk losing you now I’ve found you. I mean you no harm, Lina, and if you insist, I won’t tell anyone where you are or what you’re doing, but I don’t want you leaving. You’re planning to, aren’t you?”
    She let her lids droop over her eyes. “I need to feel safe.”
    “Then here’s the deal. Let me stay at your place, where nobody will find me, and I’ll promise to keep your secret, if you still want me to. If I go