The Millionaire's Virgin

‘I had to save you from yourself,’ Tino explained softly, making a pretence of contrition. ‘I knew how precious the top was to you. How could I let you use it to tie me up?’

Lisa gasped and writhed beneath him as he began teasing her ear lobe with his teeth. ‘I’m guessing you’d buy me another?’ Her words came out in a hectic whisper.

‘And so I will,’ he assured her. ‘I’ll buy you a thousand tops if you want them, but I’ll never let you master me, Lisa Bond.’

‘Is the missionary position all I’m good for, then?’ Her lips curved with amusement as she stared into his eyes.

‘Pleasure is what you’re good for. But pleasure on my terms, not yours.’

Somehow she managed to slip away. ‘Then there can be no pleasure for either of us.’

Reaching out, he caught her back to him. ‘I decide about the levels of pleasure in this relationship.’

‘Oh, you do?’

‘Just answer one question. Do you want me?’

‘Yes, I want you…’ Lisa hesitated, and then admitted softly, ‘I want you more than anything.’

Tino fought the feeling rising in his chest. This had nothing to do with emotion. He just wanted to give her more pleasure than she had ever known, pleasure she would remember for the rest of her life, pleasure that would make every other man fall short in her eyes… He concentrated his attention on the tiny pants she was wearing. He pressed his palm against her stomach and felt her quiver of desire course up his arm. She was trembling with passion and so he slipped his fingers beneath the waistband to tease her.

‘Don’t stop, Tino.’

She writhed beneath him. ‘What are you asking me to do, Lisa? You have to tell me exactly what you want—or how can I possibly know?’

‘You know what I want you to do,’ she told him fiercely.

‘But I have to hear it from your mouth.’ He rubbed the thumb pad of one hand roughly over the full swell of her bottom lip.

‘I want you to…’

‘Yes? You want me to do what to you, Lisa? You have to tell me.’

‘I’m… ‘She hesitated, and then she saw the change in his eyes. He was so intuitive she didn’t have to explain a thing.

‘You’re a virgin?’ He turned suddenly serious.

‘Not exactly. I’ve just never—’ She blushed red.

‘What does ‘‘not exactly’’ mean, Lisa? You either are or you aren’t a virgin. It’s one of life’s few absolutes.’

‘I’ve never had sex with a man.’

‘That’s not so bad, is it?’ Cupping her chin, he turned her to face him so she couldn’t evade his stare.

‘It’s not that simple. I’ve never had time for relationships. But back at my apartment, I have a drawer full of—’

‘Please—I really don’t need to hear the details.’ And now he smiled wickedly. ‘If I do, you may convince me that all the rumours I hear are true.’

‘What rumours are those?’ Lisa was immediately defensive.

‘That women may very soon be able to do without men altogether?’

‘Why don’t I believe you?’ She smiled, relaxing again as he tried for a crestfallen expression.

‘You don’t believe I have insecurities?’

She raised a brow.

‘You’d be surprised.’

‘I certainly would.’

He couldn’t play games any longer. He couldn’t wait any longer. He had never felt like this before. Dragging her to him, he turned her, and had her beneath him in the space of a few seconds. He kissed her until he could feel her arching against him. He brought her on top of him then, so that he could cup her bottom and stroke her the way he was very sure she would like.

She sighed raggedly. ‘You have to stop that.’

‘Why?’

‘Because it feels so good.’

‘Then that’s the only encouragement I need to continue.’

She whimpered with pleasure, helpless beneath his touch, relishing the way he was massaging her buttocks and, in the process, pressing her hard against his rigid erection. ‘That feels so good.’ A shudder of pure lust consumed Lisa’s body as she stared into Tino’s eyes. ‘I’d like to—’

‘Like to what?’

‘Continue.’ She smiled against his mouth.

‘In that case…’ Catching hold of her wrists, he turned her again, pinning her securely beneath him.

She had never done this with anyone. She had never trusted anyone enough. With Tino it was different, because she didn’t feel frightened of him… and that was because when Tino touched her, even when he held her pinned down like this, she knew he would never forget himself, he would never forget how vulnerable she was pitting her strength against his. He knew how firmly to hold her, and when to let go. He could read every nuance in her face, and had mastered his prodigious strength so she could wrestle with him and still feel safe.

The warmth in her heart was threatening to overwhelm her, Lisa realised, feeling her eyes fill with tears. Fire was rushing through her limbs at the thought of making love with him, but there was something even more compelling building inside her… Was it tenderness? Or could it be love? It was something she had never felt before, so it was hard to be sure—and then Tino greedily seized one of her tightly extended nipples and began to suckle, and no more thoughts were possible…

Lisa cried out with delighted surprise, lacing her fingers through his hair to urge him on. Why hadn’t she known pleasure like this existed? Why had she never felt this way before? When Tino stopped briefly to read her face she made an angry sound, and kept on making it until he found the other nipple and suckled on that one too.

‘That’s better,’ she approved throatily. ‘I like that.’

‘Oh, do you?’ He lifted himself on one elbow to stare into her face. ‘And do I exist solely for your pleasure now?’

She considered his question through narrowed eyes. ‘I don’t see why not.’

As she gazed at him he could feel her strength and her certainty. They were worthy combatants. ‘Then don’t you think you should take these off?’

‘Let me,’ she insisted, and he watched as she ripped off the fragile briefs. Her boldness excited him. The fragile briefs were as much a hindrance to her as they were to him. This was a joust between equals; each of them wanted to see how far the other would push. ‘Lie down,’ he murmured, aching to pleasure her. ‘Lie down, and spread your legs.’

She was clearly shocked by his suggestion—but her eyes were brighter than ever, and her cheeks were flushed pink with excitement. He trailed his fingers very lightly between her legs to feel how wet she was. Closing her eyes, she groaned, and then opened them a little wider for him. When he stopped, her eyes flashed open.

‘That’s not fair.’

‘What isn’t fair?’ He pulled back to look at her.

‘You sound so stern.’ She seemed pleased by it. Turning onto her side, she rested her chin on her elbow to stare up at him. ‘You are stern,’ she observed huskily. ‘Mmm, I like that.’

‘Do you?’ His senses roared as he caught her meaning.

‘Yes, I do.’

As she reached for his trousers he caught hold of her wrist, stopping her. ‘You’re a very naughty girl, aren’t you, Lisa?’

‘If I’m naughty, will you punish me?’ she responded teasingly.

His breath caught in his throat as she stared at him. When she looked at him like that he longed to put her over his knee just as he had on the cliff path, but this time he wouldn’t stop… This time he would give her exactly what she wanted. He could see she was remembering what had almost happened there, and that it was exciting her as much as it was exciting him.

He couldn’t believe what she was asking him to do; he couldn’t believe how much he wanted to do it. The thought of attending to those impudent curves made his throat tighten with anticipation. She had an extremely narrow waist that emphasised the fullness of her hips, and from his vantage point her bottom appeared to be a perfect pink globe… palest pink. She was thrusting it towards him now as he stared at her, almost as if she could read his mind… and now she was writhing a little to tempt him still more. ‘Are you asking me to put you over my knee?’

‘Would you?’

She made it sound more like a request, than a question. ‘Do you want me to, you naughty girl?’

‘Maybe—if you can catch me.’

‘What?’

‘You don’t seriously expect me to mildly submit, do you, Tino?’

‘I’m not sure.’ His senses flared. She was inviting him to indulge in a tussle they both knew could only have one conclusion.

‘Naughty girls don’t just roll over and submit.’

‘Don’t they?’ He gave her a firm look.

‘No… they’re rebellious, and cunning, and—’

She shrieked as he caught hold of her, and then they rolled over once, twice… and then they were falling… falling off the bed.

She was laughing, he saw with relief. ‘Are you all right?’

‘I will be soon,’ she promised provocatively. ‘I suppose I should be grateful that you brought me on top of you to cushion my fall… I suppose I should be relieved that your reflexes are so sharp.’

Everything was a tease now. She had moved away from him, and she was on her hands and knees, staring at him like a beautiful pussy-cat, her eyes narrowed to arrow slits of emerald. Her bottom was raised high, displayed to its best advantage. He relished the moment, sure she couldn’t possibly know the effect the sight of it was having on him… but then she undulated, and even raised it a little higher, proving that she knew exactly what she was doing.

‘You are a bad girl,’ he observed huskily.

‘Tino… I want it.’

She gasped as he moved quickly behind her. Kneeling on the floor, he stroked his hands lightly over her naked rump. ‘Down,’ he said softly.

She obeyed him at once, resting her head on her arms so that her bottom was raised as high as it could be. He dealt her several firm strokes, and had the satisfaction of hearing her call throatily for more. The next few ended in a caress that brought her very close and that was his cue to lift her to her feet. Holding her in front of him with their faces almost touching, he very slowly stroked his hands up her arms relishing the sight of the shudders coursing through her. ‘I had no idea this was going to turn out to be quite so energetic, or half so dangerous.’

‘Are you frightened of me, Tino?’ She whispered the words against his mouth.

Even he didn’t know the truth to that. She made him feel things he shouldn’t be feeling… She unsettled him more than any woman he had ever known… She pushed him further than he had ever considered going with a woman before. ‘More to the point,’ he said, ‘are you frightened of me?’ He searched her eyes.

‘I’m in more danger from this.’

‘Oh,’ he murmured softly as she cupped him through his evening trousers.

‘I’m glad you understand me.’

‘Oh, I do,’ he assured her as he reached to undo his zip.

‘Let me,’ Lisa whispered.

He held his hands out to the side.

‘That’s better.’ She held his gaze as she undressed him, and only broke it when she was forced to dip down to remove his trousers completely and toss them away. ‘Now you get your reward.’

But as she reached for him he pulled away.

‘Not before I give you yours.’ He swept her up.

‘If you insist.’

And he did…

CHAPTER SEVEN

LISA shrieked with shock and with excitement as Tino joined her. As he pulled her on top of him she dropped a kiss on his firm mouth. ‘You’re not going to get away from me now.’

‘As I’d hoped,’ he murmured. ‘Shall we begin?’

‘Oh, please,’ she sighed, reaching for him. Now the barriers were down between them his clean male scent was all the aphrodisiac she needed. Yet still he played with her, holding her away from him, refusing her any satisfaction. Cupping her chin, he caressed the sensitive area just below her ear… but when she tried to kiss him on the mouth he made a sound of denial down low in his throat, and held her away again. She wriggled against him, wanting the touch of his hands, needing it desperately. ‘You will send me crazy, teasing me like this,’ she complained breathlessly.

‘Not crazy, just into a deeper state of arousal,’ he observed clinically.

‘You sound so cold.’ She laughed it off, confident that it was a figment of her imagination.

Pulling away, he lavished a look down the whole trembling length of her.

‘Hold me, Tino. Touch me.’

Her words drove him. His passions had never been roused to such a level. But he must keep control… that way he would give her more pleasure than she had ever dreamed of.

‘You’re not making me wait any longer,’ she insisted fiercely.

He caught her wrist as she reached for him, and held both her hands over her head, keeping them secure in one fist on the pillow. She didn’t try to resist him. ‘So, you’ve no more fight left in you?’

‘I didn’t say that—but if you use your strength there’s no contest.’

He released her immediately, and she sprang to the other side of the bed, staring at him, teasing him…

‘I’m a naughty girl, Tino… or had you forgotten?’

‘I have not forgotten anything, Lisa.’ Nor had he. He remembered Bond Steel, and how she had set herself against him. ‘Before I give you what you want, you must welcome my authority.’

Seeing the change in Tino’s eyes, Lisa shivered with desire. ‘Can you master me?’

‘Let me ask you a question, Lisa… Do you want me to pleasure you?’

‘You know I do.’

‘Then you must convince me that you will submit to my command.’

‘Never.’ The single word left her lips on a sigh… a sigh that was laced with all the temptation she could muster, and her expression tempted him on still more.

‘Never?’ he queried softly. ‘Do you want your bottom smacking again, Lisa?’

Lisa could hardly breathe with excitement as she nodded suggestively. Her lips were moist as she gazed at him spellbound with fascination at the thought of what might lie in store for her.

She shrieked as he rolled her over his knees. The sudden impact of Tino’s warm hand on her soft flesh was so good. Lisa shrieked again, and wriggled her buttocks to show her approval. The pressure of his hard thighs against her was electrifying, and he judged the spanking perfectly. She knew he meant to rouse her all the more, and he had succeeded.

His hand lingered, and his skilful fingers, warm and firm, curled around her buttocks until he nearly, so very nearly, touched her where she ached to be touched. Nothing had ever felt this good, but it still wasn’t enough. ‘How can you tease me like this?’

‘Did I give you permission to question my actions, you naughty, naughty girl?’

With each word, Tino’s hand landed firmly on the soft pink swell of Lisa’s bottom until she thought she would pass out from an overdose of pleasure.

‘Have you learned your lesson yet?’ he demanded.

‘No!’ Lisa exclaimed as loud as she could when her face was muffled by the bedclothes and she was teetering on the edge of the biggest climax of her life. ‘I need much more. Oh…’ She sighed with pleasure as he changed his touch into a stroke.

She was moving now, rubbing herself against him, lifting her buttocks towards his hand, inviting more and more of the delicious taps. She was more aroused than she had ever been. She had needed this. It made her trust him, showed her how right it could be with the right man. She had to have him now—all of him. ‘All right, all right—I submit…’

Swinging her round, Tino settled her on the soft bank of pillows. ‘Say it, then.’

‘Say what?’

‘I, Lisa Bond…’

‘I, Lisa Bond,’ Lisa repeated huskily, holding his stare.

‘Submit to whatever you decide will bring me most pleasure.’

‘That’s far too much for me to remember,’ she complained, reaching for him.

‘Submit,’ he growled, dragging her close.

Lisa’s eyes darkened as she looked at him. ‘Not without a fight.’

‘Of course. I would hate to disappoint you.’

And this time when Tino kissed her he denied her nothing. Just the touch of his warm, naked flesh pressing against her body drew whimpers of pleasure from her lips. His arms were strong and firm around her, and he kissed her passionately, tenderly, letting her show him what she wanted, and then responding with more skill than she could ever have imagined a man might be capable of.

‘Oh, Tino, I love—’

He silenced her with another kiss, frightened of what she might say, frightened of the depth of feeling welling inside him. He wasn’t supposed to feel anything outside the need to satisfy them both. He was in a hurry to lose himself in sensation and ease the pain that came with knowing he didn’t deserve anything good…

‘Tino?’

When she saw the expression in his eyes Lisa looked away. The emptiness was too much to bear. Looking into each other’s eyes was like looking into a mirror. They were both so frightened of being hurt again, and they’d had more than enough pain as children to last them a lifetime. ‘Will you make love to me now?’

He smiled slowly. She was the most desirable woman he had ever met, and she was prompting him? ‘I’ve never had to be reminded of my duty before.’

‘Your duty? And I don’t want to hear about before.’

She was right. She was a virgin. It had to be special for her. He would make sure it was. ‘I have to be sure this is what you want.’

‘I am sure—and I don’t think you need much prompting now.’ She wrapped her hands around him.

The breath gusted out of his lungs at her touch. ‘That feels so good.’

He had never taken a woman so carefully, so tenderly, or with such tightly reined in passion. Lisa’s only experience had been at her own hands. He could understand it, it made perfect sense; she was always in control that way. It made him super-aware of her now, super-sensitive to her breathing, and to the look in her eyes, to the set of her mouth, and to the touch of her hands on his body. He wanted it to be perfect for her. He wanted it to be the first time that either of them had ever felt like this.

Lisa drew in a sharp breath as Tino entered her, and then softened when she felt his brief hesitation. She didn’t want him to think he was hurting her and stop. The surprise at his size had been welcome, the panic over almost before it began. She had never imagined it could be like this, that any man could be so tender, that she could feel so cherished, or so safe. ‘Please, Tino… please don’t stop.’

Caressing her with his warm, strong hands, he did as she asked, tipping her up to meet him so that he could inhabit her completely, and then he groaned as she tightened her muscles around him, drawing him deeper still.

‘Are you sure you want this?’ He nuzzled her neck as she bucked beneath him.

‘Yes, but more than anything I want to please you.’

‘You are pleasing me,’ he assured her.

He made his strokes deep and slow, relishing the sight of her passion-dampened face. He gave the greatest pleasure he could as the silken noose of her body sucked on him convulsively. He applied a little more pressure at the end of each long thrust until finally she gazed at him in disbelief.

‘It’s so good,’ she managed breathlessly. ‘Oh, please don’t stop… Don’t ever stop.’

Her fingernails raked across his shoulders. He barely felt the pain as he slowed the pace to keep her teetering above the abyss of intense sensation for as long as he could. But then the tension in her face, the absolute hunger in her eyes, as well as the apprehension he sensed in her as she approached pleasure beyond her understanding, proved too much for him, and with a few firm strokes he pushed her over the edge.

She cried out then, joyously, continuously, as if the powerful spasms would never end. He held her firmly and it took all his strength just to keep her in position without hurting her while he made sure that she didn’t miss a single, satisfying moment of pleasure.

He calmed her afterwards with long, soothing strokes, until she stirred restlessly again. ‘Aren’t you satisfied yet?’

‘I’ll never have enough of you,’ she admitted, knowing she meant that in every way.

‘What else do you have in mind?’

As he teased her she drew back inwardly into her little shell of uncertainty. She wanted one thing, but Tino wanted something else. And she wanted too much. ‘How about I ride you into submission?’ The front she could always put in place to hide uncertainty in any given situation had really come into its own, Lisa realised, tossing her hair back provocatively.

‘To the finish, if you please.’

‘If you insist.’

‘I do insist,’ Tino assured her, swinging her on top of him.

She eased down on him slowly, and rubbed herself rhythmically against him. She was composed entirely of sensation…

‘No,’ he insisted softly, ‘let me do that for you.’

She gasped and slumped inert as his searching fingers found her, and gently, skillfully, began to work. ‘I won’t be able to move a muscle if you don’t stop doing that.’

‘Then I shall have to stop,’ he said, pretending regret, ‘because I’m holding you to your promise.’

When he took his hand away she started to move again, taking him deep inside her. But then she teased him, pulling back, and making him wait—but he was having none of it, and caught her to him again. Lisa’s spirit soared as Tino took control, and as their eyes met in that moment they were one. He touched her delicately, and persuasively, until she could only move convulsively in time to a rhythm of his choice until they climaxed violently together.

Sleeping in Tino’s arms was almost the best part of all, Lisa realised. She had woken in the middle of the night, and now she traced the line of his lips with one finger. She gasped as he captured the tip in his mouth. ‘I thought you were asleep.’

‘Barely.’ He narrowed his eyes to look at her. ‘In fact, I need very little sleep.’

‘That’s good to hear.’

‘Isn’t it?’ he said, moving behind her. He nestled close so that he could touch her while he thrust into her. He played her well, judging her responses so finely that she angled herself shamelessly, moving so that he could see everything he was doing to her in the low light seeping into the room from the lanterns outside.

‘You’re quite a woman,’ he murmured later when they were lying twined around each other.

Lisa could only manage to mumble groggily and snuggle a little closer. She felt so safe, so content it was like returning home after an arduous journey…

‘Do you know how special you are?’ Tino whispered as he stroked Lisa’s hair. Her breathing was so even he knew she was asleep. And it was as well she couldn’t hear him saying words that would have misled them both—dangerous words…

Instinct warned him to pull back while there was still time. There was only one possible ending to this—and it was the same ending he had envisaged the day he’d walked into the Bond Steel boardroom. And she would hate him when he took the company from her…

Moonlight was streaming into the bedroom as Tino started up in bed wide awake. He had fallen asleep so deeply he could hardly believe the old nightmare had returned. Springing out of bed, he paced the floor. Halting by the window, he gazed out, seeing nothing.

How could a man admit to having nightmares? How could a man live with such images in his mind? Why wasn’t his will strong enough to get rid of them?

Hearing Lisa stir, he quietly opened the doors leading onto the balcony and stepped outside. Planting his hands on the stone balustrade, he stared out towards the horizon. Stella was the closest thing he had to a friend, and even Stella Panayotakis didn’t know all the things that had happened to him in the orphanage. It was better she never knew… And yet the past had made him the man he was today—it drove his every move. It had given him a private island, unimaginable wealth, and even worldwide respect— the only thing it could never give him was the capacity to love.

He glanced back inside the room where he could see Lisa’s hair spread out across the pillow like a cloud. Her face, deep in sleep, was pale and trusting like a child’s in the moonlight… His appetite to compete with her, to subdue her in every way, had deserted him utterly. If he had been capable of love, he would have loved Lisa Bond. But learning to love, like learning to feel, was a luxury he could never buy. And more importantly he had embarked upon a journey that no one else could share… a lifelong journey that demanded everything of him, a journey that drove him from deal to deal in the endless quest for money to fund his dream, to sustain his project…