Carpathian 00 - The Scarletti Curse

unbound hair, Nicoletta felt excruciatingly vulnerable.
    "No, Nicoletta, she did not die the way the story was told. She would not have been cleaning the walkway in the rain." He gestured toward the window with the deluge pouring against it. "Would anyone do such a thing? No, she was thrown over the ramparts, murdered." He said the word deliberately, his eyes glittering menace, directed at her. "That will not happen to you. I will not have it. Dio! I still remember her broken body. I will not ever see you that way. You will not ask questions or attempt in any way to find out more about her death. If I could not do so, and those investigating could not do so, then accept that you cannot, either."
    "You really do not know who killed her?" She wanted to believe him, was desperate to believe him. He was her husband, and she was expected to be intimate with him. He seemed so intense and sincere. Her eyes searched his for the truth.
    "If I knew who killed her, Nicoletta, they would be dead themselves right now, not lurking in the shadows, a threat to my bride." His thumb began to feather back and forth across her soft skin as if he could not quite help himself.
    "You fear for me," she stated, when she wanted only to melt under the heat of his hungry gaze. "There is no need."
    His head was lowering slowly toward hers. "There is every need, piccola." He whispered the words like a magic incantation against her lips. "You are of utmost importance to me. I cannot do without you."

    Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    His mouth settled onto hers. Gently. Coaxing. His hand framed her face, then slid to the nape of her neck, urging her body more fully against his. Nicoletta found herself trembling, a shiver starting in her center to slowly encompass her. The ground seemed to be moving under her feet, and the world spun away to leave her clinging to this man, her husband, so solid and real. His mouth, hot with need, became more urgent, more demanding.
    Nicoletta felt the curious melting of her bones that made her fit into his body, warm and pliant, pressing scandalously against him. His body hardened even more, hot and thick, suddenly aggressive. His hands moved over her skin, a gentle exploration that sent a ripple of erotic pleasure pulsing through her. His mouth teased hers into answering, coaxed hers into dueling. She wanted the moist heat and the excitement of his demands. She wanted his hands cupping the weight of her breasts.
    As his mouth left hers, she let her head fall back, exposing the line of her throat to him. He blazed a fiery trail of kisses along her soft skin, over the creamy upper swell of her breasts until she ached for more.
    Needed more. There was only Giovanni in that moment, with his hard body and perfect mouth and the fire he was creating in her.
    He murmured something in a husky voice, an aching sound of hunger. Nicoletta cradled his head in her arms as he lowered his mouth to her breast, right through the thin material of her shift. It felt sinful, scandalous, and more erotic than anything she had ever imagined. His mouth was hot and moist, pulling strongly at her creamy flesh, his tongue dancing over the hard peak of her nipple, his teeth scraping gently until she cried out with the sheer pleasure of it.
    Giovanni pushed her shift down, exposing the perfection of her full breasts to his hungry gaze. The unexpected coolness of the air after the assault of his hot mouth only added to the erotic sensation. His hand cupped one breast possessively, his thumb teasing her sensitized nipple until her body screamed for more. "I want to see you," he whispered softly against her satin skin. "I need to look at you." He pushed her shift lower so that it fell in flowing folds to pool around her ankles.
    Nicoletta gasped as she stood before him, her body completely exposed to the raging hunger in his black eyes. She had never felt so wanton in all her life. Firelight danced over her skin so that it seemed to take on a golden glow, the shadows lovingly limning secret places, calling attention to her small waist and rounded hips. She ducked her head so that long waves of black tresses brushed over her body like a silken cloak. She stared steadily at the middle of his chest, unable to think or move.
    Cara mia. He breathed it into her mind. Intimately. Tenderly. "You cannot fear this night with me," he said aloud. Want me the way I want you.
    She watched his hands remove his inner