Italian Mavericks: Bound By The Italian's Bargain

CHAPTER NINE

BELLA TOSSED AND TURNED on the bed, jet lag plus a lack of medication making sleep impossible.

Yet she needed to sleep, quite desperately. Needed some peace from the thoughts plaguing her. She still found it hard to believe that she had fallen in lust with Sergio. Okay, so he was an impressive-looking man now, with a truly gorgeous body, a far cry from the lanky, skinny teenager she’d known all those years ago. But he was still Sergio, her one-time big brother, a truly kind man who’d generously let her come and stay here, despite her having turned her back on him and his father after the divorce.

Amazingly, he didn’t seem to hold any grudges against her; his manner over the phone had been quite warm and charming. She’d anticipated on the flight over that they would have a lovely time together, catching up on old times, totally relaxed in each other’s company, Bella looking forward to asking Sergio’s advice over what she should do with the rest of her life. She’d thought of him as sensible Sergio, not sexy Sergio.

She hadn’t for a moment imagined that she would be instantly besieged by a desire for him so strong that it made staying here impossible. Tears threatened, tears of exhaustion and frustration. For she wanted to stay. And she wanted Sergio. What on earth was she going to do?

Have a hot shower for starters, dummy, came that exasperated voice in her head that often piped up when she was frazzled or at her wits’ end. Or a cold one, if you can stand it. Just do something! Don’t just lie there, moaning and groaning like some drama queen.

Gritting her teeth, Bella headed for the bathroom where she stood under some soothingly warm water for ages, uncaring that her hair was getting soaked. When she finally emerged she felt a little better, though she looked a mess. Her long blonde hair was not at its best when wet. It kinked and curled and stuck out everywhere. Sighing, she gave it a brief dry with the hairdrier, then wrapped it up on top of her head before putting her new white silk PJs back on. She’d bought them at Mascot airport whilst waiting for her flight to be called. Bought a bikini as well.

By the time she cleaned her teeth and returned to the bedroom, the sun had sunk very low in the sky, its rays slanting onto the balcony and bathing the bedroom in a soft light. When the curtains ballooned out with a puff of breeze, Bella found herself making her way out onto the balcony, hoping that her still-jumpy nerve-endings would be soothed by the sight of the lake. Water was supposed to have a soothing effect, wasn’t it?

It was so beautiful, the lake, the water a dark blue-green colour, boats of all kind skimming over its near-smooth surface. Sailing boats. Speedboats. Ferries. Bella stood at the stone railing and watched the boats for a while, before lifting her gaze to the other side of the lake, where more magnificent villas dotted the shoreline, some of them half hidden by tall trees. Her eyes lifted to the mountains that stretched high into the clear blue sky, the highest peaks snow-capped despite it being summer. Despite the view her thoughts continued to return to Sergio.

‘I see you can’t sleep either,’ the man himself said as he materialised next to her.

Bella steeled herself as she turned her head to look at him, guessing already that Sergio wasn’t wearing any more clothes than he had earlier. She’d glimpsed bare arms as he’d reached out to grip the railing.

She’d been right. A lot of him was still bare. Bare arms. Bare chest. Bare legs and feet.

The black satin boxer shorts he was wearing weren’t as revealing as his swimming shorts. But it was obvious that he was naked underneath them. Bella’s PJs weren’t much better, made up of shorts and a sleeveless shirt top with a low V neckline.

‘I’ve been having trouble sleeping for some time,’ she told him truthfully enough. She could hardly say that he was the reason. ‘I usually take a sleeping tablet but I forgot to bring mine with me. You wouldn’t have any, by any chance?’ she added, sneaking another glance his way. Oh, Lord, what a masochist she was!

‘Sorry,’ Sergio replied. ‘Don’t believe in them. Not that I usually have a problem with insomnia. I work out quite a bit and swim a lot. On the odd occasion I can’t sleep—like now—I try Mother Nature’s sleeping tablet.’

Bella turned and stared at him, frustration making her voice sharp. ‘Well, I’m sorry, Sergio, but I don’t think a cup of chamomile tea is going to do the trick.’

He laughed, his dark eyes glittering with humour. And something else. Something smokingly hot.

‘I wasn’t suggesting chamomile tea. I was talking about sex. Don’t you find that after an orgasm or two, you drop off to sleep quite easily?’

Bella didn’t know what to say to that. She’d never had one orgasm, let alone two. She’d come close a few times—or thought she had—but had never experienced total satisfaction. Just total frustration.

‘Yes, well, I’m between boyfriends at the moment,’ was all she could think of to say.

He looked at her long and hard, and Bella’s heart beat so fast she was sure he must hear it.

‘You don’t need a boyfriend to have sex, Bella. Just a man. You’re welcome to use me, if you like. As I pointed out earlier, I’m a man,’ he added, a devilish gleam in his eyes.

She just stared at him, her eyes wide with shock. Who would have believed that Sergio could be so...so...?

Bella could not find the right word. Sexy wasn’t strong enough. Wicked was closer to the mark.

An image popped into her head, of how big he’d looked in those very revealing swimming trunks, and of how she’d tried to imagine what it would feel like, having a man of his size inside her. Her mouth dried at the thought, her heartbeat going truly haywire.

‘You can’t be serious!’ she blurted out at last.

‘I’m very serious.’

‘But I...you...we...’

‘Are not related in any way,’ he finished for her. ‘We never were. Look, I’ve always fancied you, Bella. Especially after you grew up and became all famous and gorgeous. If truth be told, most of the male population in the world fancies the beautiful Bella. So it won’t be any hardship to make love to you.’

Bella gulped, shock and temptation having rendered her speechless. Not in her wildest dreams would she have thought Sergio would offer himself to her in such a fashion. She wanted to say yes. She really did. But finding that one little word was so hard.

‘I don’t usually go to bed with a man just to get some sleep,’ she hedged.

He shrugged. ‘There’s always a first time for everything.’

‘I...I don’t know, Sergio,’ she said, trying to find some reason—any reason—to say no, panic a heartbeat away. ‘People say sex has a way of spoiling friendships.’

‘Come now, Bella, it’s not as though we live in each other’s pockets. When this month is over, you’ll wing your way back to New York and we probably won’t see each other again for another decade.’

Bella frowned, not liking that thought one bit.

‘What’s that expression?’ Sergio said with a wry smile, reaching out to take her by the shoulders and pull her towards him. ‘Friends with benefits? That is what we can be, Bella. Friends with benefits.’

Bella made no comment. She couldn’t. Because by then his mouth had covered hers.

CHAPTER TEN

SERGIO TRIED TO keep his head. Tried to take things slowly. But this was Bella he was finally kissing. Bella who was melting against him and moaning in that soft, sexy way women did when they were turned on. Any momentary worry he’d had that she might not respond to him was banished at the sound of that first little moan, his control banished at the same time. His hands shook as they lifted from her shoulders to clasp her cheeks, holding her face captive while he pried those luscious lips apart and sent his tongue deep into her mouth. She welcomed it avidly, her own tongue entwining with his in an erotic dance that had him fully erect in seconds.

His groan was half passion, half pain. With great reluctance he dragged his mouth away from hers, knowing that he needed a breather or he would never last the way he wanted to last. No way could he disappoint her. Not this first time. Not if he wanted Bella to want more than just a one-night stand.

‘Wow, Bella,’ he said lightly as he returned his hands to her shoulders. ‘You are some kisser.’ Of course, she’d had a lot of practice. Not a thought he relished. ‘Unless you want to have sex out here on the balcony,’ he went on drily, ‘I suggest we adjourn to the bedroom.’

She blinked up at him, face flushed, eyes somewhat glazed.

‘Bella?’ he prompted when she said nothing. ‘Your room or mine?’

She still didn’t speak, seeming disoriented. Maybe she hadn’t expected to like kissing him as much as she obviously had. Whatever, Sergio wasn’t about to let her go cold on the idea of having sex with him. So he bent and scooped her up into his arms and carried her swiftly into the master bedroom. She made no protest, though her eyes rounded when he laid her down on the black satin sheets that graced the king-sized bed.

She still didn’t say anything.

‘Look, if you’re one of those women who don’t like to talk during sex, then say so right now,’ he said, deliberately using conversation to dampen the urgency of his own desire.

‘I don’t like to talk,’ she said, her voice low and husky.

He shrugged. ‘Pity, it’s good to know what a woman likes or doesn’t like, especially the first time.’

‘I see,’ she said, her lovely eyes clinging to his in a way that made him want to kiss her again. But he didn’t dare.

‘So is there anything you especially like?’ he asked. ‘Besides kissing, that is. I can see you like that.’

She frowned as though she was at a loss to answer. ‘No...not...not really,’ she said at last.

‘Fine. What about things you don’t like?’

A small smile pulled at her lips. ‘I don’t like to talk.’

He laughed. ‘Right. No more talking.’

He didn’t mind. He’d had his breather, his body back under control. Sort of.

Propping himself up on his left elbow, he reached to undo the top button of her silky top, telling himself all the while not to look at her breasts. Just get her undressed.

If only she hadn’t gasped when he’d peeled the top open. If only she hadn’t closed her eyes and tipped her head back on the pillows, the action lifting her breasts towards him in the most inviting fashion. Impossible not to look after that. Impossible not to touch.

She wasn’t too thin at all. At least, her breasts weren’t. They were perfect, twin globes of pearly flesh with the sweetest, pinkest, pointiest nipples. They demanded to be licked and kissed, then sucked in deeply, all of which he did, uncaring of the danger to his control. She started whimpering, then thrashing her head from side to side on the pillow. Her hands found his head, her fingers winding their way through his hair, not to pull him away but to press him down closer and harder. She cried out when he abandoned her breasts to slide downwards, stripping off her bottom half as he went and tossing it aside. She voiced only the weakest protest when he pushed her legs apart. But there was no further protest once his mouth reached its target. She writhed, then bucked with pleasure, moaning and groaning as his tongue and fingers set up a twin attack on her most erogenous zones.

From that moment her orgasm was assured. As was his.

They came together. Yet not together, any dismay on Sergio’s part put aside once he realised that this was only the beginning. She was his now, he thought as he moved to sit on the side of the bed. Sexually, at least. All he had to do was keep satisfying her and she would come back for more. For that was the nature of the beast.

At last, she opened her eyes and stared into his, her expression full of wonder.

‘I had no idea it could be like that,’ she said, sounding stunned.

‘Like what?’ he said, his still-hungry gaze roving over her delicious nakedness.

She immediately closed her legs, looking more than a little confused. ‘I thought... I thought I had to be in love to...to...you know...’

Sergio was taken aback that a thirty-year-old woman of Bella’s experience could be so naïve.

‘Sometimes, sex without love is better,’ he told her, thinking he wouldn’t really know since he’d never been in love. ‘You can concentrate on the physical rather than the emotional. Emotions complicate things.’

‘You’re probably right,’ she murmured. ‘Have you ever been in love, Sergio?’

‘No,’ he returned abruptly, annoyed that Maria had put silly thoughts of love into his head earlier. He was not in love with Bella. Definitely not. ‘Now I have to go to the bathroom for a sec. Then we’ll get down and dirty and have some real sex.’

CHAPTER ELEVEN

‘DEAR HEAVEN,’ Bella whispered to herself after Sergio closed the bathroom door behind him.

What had happened to the Bella who hated being naked in front of a man? Who hated oral sex? Who never ever came?

Gone, she thought with a dizzying wave of pleasure. Gone. Gone. Gone.

Her hands lifted to touch the still-burning tips of her breasts before drifting down over her suddenly tense stomach, a shiver running down her spine as she opened her legs once more. Not as wide as before, but wide enough for her hand to slide between her thighs.

‘Oh, yes,’ she groaned when her fingers brushed over her still-swollen and very sensitive clitoris. She closed her eyes, her hand moving between the slickened folds of flesh till she found the soaked entrance to her body. Never before had she been as wet as this. Or as excited. She moaned at the thought of how it would feel when Sergio filled her there.

Her hand being abruptly pulled away had her eyes flinging open on a startled gasp.

Sergio loomed over her from the side of the bed, his dark gaze glowering with disapproval.

‘The only person allowed to touch you there this afternoon is me.’

Bella almost died when he lifted her hand to his mouth and started sucking her fingers, one by one. He seemed to relish the taste of her.

It wasn’t till he climbed onto the bed with her again that Bella realised he was now as naked as she was. More naked, actually. She still had her PJ top on, though it was wide open to her waist.

Bella swallowed at the sight of his nakedness. She’d known he was big. She just hadn’t anticipated his being that big. Admittedly, he was erect. Stunningly so, his awesome length already housed within a condom. For which Bella was grateful, given her own brains had gone to mush. She was on the pill but that didn’t protect a woman from all the consequences of unsafe sex.

‘Now where were we?’ Sergio drawled, his eyes hot on her as he eased her legs further apart and slid his own hand down into her.

Bella sucked in sharply, her heart stopping as his fingertips did things to her insides that made her want to weep with pleasure.

Don’t stop, for pity’s sake, she groaned silently.

He stopped, which was perhaps just as well, since she’d forgotten to breathe. Her heartbeat lurched back into life as he rolled between her legs and entered her. Just an inch or two at first, but it brought a ragged gasp to her lips.

‘Wrap your legs up around my back,’ he suggested thickly. ‘I don’t want to hurt you.’

Hurt her? He wasn’t hurting her. He felt fantastic. Already she wanted him in further.

But she did as he asked, and immediately he slid in deeper.

Bella moaned. Oh, God...

Her eyes flung wide when he began to move, her lips falling apart so that she could suck in some much-needed air. But whilst her heart was galloping along at breakneck speed, his rhythm was slow and steady. Too slow for her at that moment. And way too steady. She wanted him to ravage her, not make love to her.

‘Faster,’ she urged him in a voice she barely recognised. ‘Faster.’

‘I thought you didn’t like to talk,’ he growled.

When she swore at him he laughed. ‘Naughty girl.’

She could not believe it when he withdrew entirely.

She might have sworn at him again but she was distracted by his suddenly flipping her over.

‘Let’s get you properly naked,’ he said, and stripped off her top, leaving her lying there with her back to him and her bottom totally exposed.

And did she care? Not in the slightest. In the past, she would have died a thousand deaths of shame and humiliation. Not so any longer. She loved the feel of Sergio’s eyes on her, and his hands on her. And they were.

‘So beautiful,’ he murmured as he caressed her shoulders then stroked up and down her spine, his finger moving on to tease her still-throbbing clitoris with a skill that had her moaning once more.

When he hoisted her up onto her hands and knees Bella was more than ready to have him take her that way. So she was surprised—and strangely touched—when Sergio asked her if that position was okay by her.

Her ‘yes’ came out of her mouth in strangled tones, her heart catching in her throat. It was the weirdest moment. She almost felt like crying. But then he was pushing inside her wildly aroused sex and she forgot everything but the feel of his flesh filling hers once more. This time his rhythm wasn’t at all slow, his body pounding into her with long, powerful surges. By the time his hands reached round to take rough possession of her breasts she was off in another world, a world where lust reigned supreme. She groaned, her hips wriggling in urgent frustration as she pushed her buttocks back against him, desperate for an end to her erotic torment.

Her climax shook her with the force of an earthquake, her cries echoing around the marble-floored room, her satisfaction increased by the sound of Sergio’s own roar of release, his shuddering as ragged as her own. Finally, Bella collapsed onto the bed, taking Sergio with her. And that was how they lay for simply ages, their chests heaving, their bodies still fused. Gradually, Bella’s heartbeat slowed and a languor such as she’d never known before washed through her body, turning all her limbs to liquid. Her last thought before sleep claimed her was that Sergio had been so right. Sex was so much better without the complication of emotion.

CHAPTER TWELVE

SERGIO HEAVED A huge sigh of relief once he realised Bella had fallen fast asleep. For several minutes he just lay there, wallowing in the feel of his sex buried deep inside hers; wallowing in the memory of everything he’d done to her so far. Not nearly enough, of course. He could not wait to have her take him in her mouth. To have her ride him. To make her want him and need him the same way he’d wanted and needed her all these years.

It was a challenging goal, given she was hardly some innocent little virgin who’d never had an orgasm before. How did you enslave a woman with sex when she’d probably already experienced every sexual pleasure and position that existed?

Jeremy had been so wrong when he’d said Bella might not be any good in bed. She’d been great, once she’d got over that silly idea of hers that she had to be in love to enjoy sex. Lord knew where she’d got that idea from, given the kind of mother she had. Darling Dolores hadn’t been in love with his father, but she’d still enjoyed sleeping with him. Or so his father had claimed after the divorce, explaining that was why he was so shocked by her announcement that the marriage was over. Sergio realised in hindsight, however, that maybe Dolores was just a good faker.

There’d been nothing fake about Bella’s orgasm just now, Sergio’s loins leaping anew as he relived the strength of her contractions. The fact that he wanted her again so soon underlined the extent of his desire for her. Though that was hardly a surprise. His desire for Bella had always been obsessive.

Sergio contemplated waking her and having her again. But decided that might not be a good move. Bella was obviously exhausted, not just from the sex. From her busy life and the long flight, plus the ongoing disappointment of men who obviously hadn’t loved her the way she’d loved them.

Sergio scowled at this thought. What had it been about those womanising creeps that she’d fallen in love with? Their looks? Their success? Their charm? Possibly all of those things, as well as their bedroom skills. They must have been good lovers. Maybe even great lovers.

Sergio’s teeth clenched down hard in his jaw, hating the jab of jealousy that accompanied this last thought. Okay, so she’d been with some major players in the past. So what? He wasn’t exactly a novice in bedroom matters. It was crazy to be jealous over Bella’s past lovers. Crazy and counterproductive. He should be exploiting her wealth of experience, not getting in a twist about it.

Get your act together, Sergio, and move on.

Very carefully, he slid his half-erect body out of hers and headed for the bathroom, telling himself that those other lovers of hers couldn’t have been all that great or she’d have married at least one of them. It seemed impossible that none of them had proposed. Sergio would have liked to ask her what had happened, but feared it was poor form to question a woman over past love affairs. On top of that, giving her the third degree on such matters might reveal more of his own past feelings than he would like.

So keep this affair strictly sexual, Sergio. And don’t, you idiot, fall in love with the woman!

* * *

The room was dark when Bella finally surfaced, Sergio lying on his back beside her in the bed.

Asleep, thank heavens, giving her time to gather her thoughts before having to make conversation with him. Bella still could not believe how great lovemaking was when you were actually turned on. She shivered with pleasure at the memory of how incredible Sergio had felt, deep inside her. As for that last mind-blowing orgasm...her head had almost exploded when she’d come.

Bella understood now the seductive power of sex, something that had eluded her all these years. She’d always enjoyed being the object of desire, but she’d never actually experienced real desire herself. Till today.

Today had been an eye-opener in more ways than one. It wasn’t just her own feelings that had surprised her, but Sergio himself, who’d proved to be nothing like the man she’d always imagined him to be. He was still a gentleman at heart—she could see that. But there was a bad-boy side to him that she found wickedly attractive. It came to her as she lay there, thinking, that she’d always been attracted to bad boys, especially tall, dark and handsome ones. She’d just never lusted after one before. Sergio was a first in that regard.

And what a first!

An erotically charged quiver trickled down Bella’s spine as she relived the moment he’d trailed his hand down that same spine, continuing on to where she was happy for him to touch, bringing her quickly back to her earlier level of mindless excitement. Oh, yes, he was a gentleman at heart. Another man might have taken advantage of her at that point; might have pushed her boundaries in a way she was not yet ready for. But not her Sergio.

But he’s not your Sergio, she reminded herself sternly. Not even remotely. He’s just a friend. A friend with benefits. A temporary friend with benefits. The only reason he’d suggested such a thing was because he was between girlfriends at the moment. Don’t start imagining you’re anything special to him.

Bella had no doubt that Sergio had had lots of girlfriends over the years with his dark good looks and impressive body. More than impressive in one department. She glanced over at his nude body, her eyes having adjusted to the darkness by then. She noted that, even at rest, his penis was a full six or seven inches. Erect, he had to be nine at least.

Her mouth dried at the thought of going down on him. But she would manage. Somehow. Because she wanted to. She wanted to very much indeed.

Weird, given she’d always hated doing that. She’d endured it during her earlier relationships. Men did seem to like it a lot. But by the time Andrei had come along, she’d felt confident enough in herself to refuse, saying she simply didn’t like doing that. Andrei had been furious with her, accusing her of not loving him. Which of course she hadn’t, she realised now. She’d just been infatuated with his larger-than-life persona, then flattered by his dogged pursuit of her.

How good it felt to finally see that she hadn’t loved Andrei at all. How liberating. As was her discovery that she could enjoy sex without having to be in love. Though it was a little shocking, in a way. Bella had always been a romantic. Of course, it did make it more acceptable that she liked Sergio. And that he liked her back. She wasn’t being wicked at all by indulging in a holiday fling with him.

Well, maybe a little wicked, she thought, giggling as an image came to mind of herself up on her hands and knees, wriggling her bottom in a decidedly wanton fashion.

‘That sounded seriously naughty,’ Sergio murmured by her side.

‘It did, didn’t it?’ she agreed, resolving not to be coy with him. They were both too adult for coy.

‘Dare I ask what you were thinking at the time?’ he queried as he rolled over to face her.

‘No.’

His dark eyes glittered as his hungry gaze swept over her body, and Bella resisted the momentary urge to cover her nakedness. A bit late to resort to shy. Besides, she liked showing off her body to Sergio; liked the way he looked at it. How amazing was that?

‘I could make you tell me,’ he threatened. ‘I could tickle you till you confess.’

Her eyebrows lifted in a saucy gesture. ‘And there I was, thinking you meant to do something seriously naughty to me.’

Now his eyebrows lifted. ‘You’re into seriously naughty, are you?’

Bella realised at that moment that her new boldness was still somewhat shaky. She didn’t want Sergio thinking she wanted him to do kinky things.

‘Not at all!’ she said, trying not to panic.

‘What, then?’

‘Nothing! I...I was just flirting with you. I didn’t have anything specific in mind.’

‘You mean you don’t want me to tie you to the bedposts and torture you in all sorts of erotic ways till you blurt out all your secret fetishes?’

Bella’s eyes blinked wide when the thought of his doing just that sent a wave of dizzying excitement all through her.

‘No?’ he said, perhaps interpreting her round-eyed gaze as shock. Which was partly true. She was shocked at how much she wanted him to do exactly that. Shocked too that he would suggest such a thing. Clearly, he was even more of a bad boy than she’d realised earlier. Either that, or maybe all men were bad boys when it came to sex. Bella realised she had to take control of the situation—and her own surprisingly lust-filled self—or Sergio might get carried away with what she would allow. She didn’t want him believing she was up for anything during her stay here with him.

‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘For your information, dear Sergio, I don’t have any secret fetishes. Neither am I into seriously naughty. Now I need to go to the bathroom. And then I need some food.’

‘Fair enough,’ he said, his nonchalant tone bringing some welcome relief. ‘I’ll order us a couple of pizzas. You do like pizzas, don’t you?’ he added with a quirk of his mouth.

Her chin lifted as it did whenever she thought someone was making fun of her.

‘I do. If it’s a good pizza.’

‘Sweetheart, this is Italy. Of course it’ll be good pizza.’

Bella flinched at his calling her sweetheart like that. She hated the way men used generic terms for women. She especially hated being called sweetheart and babe. But to take him to task on it seemed petty and premature.

Pursing her lips tightly together, she swung her feet over the side of the bed and was about to stand up when some of her old shyness unexpectedly returned. The thought of walking naked across the room to the bathroom suddenly felt humiliating. She kept picturing him staring at her bare bottom and thinking all sorts of kinky things.

In the end, she squared her shoulders, straightened her spine, stood up and began to slowly cross the marble floor, hotly aware of the way her bottom and hips moved with each step.

His sexy whistle sent a fierce flush to her face. Flustered yet flattered at the same time, she threw what was hopefully a haughty glare over her shoulder at him.

‘I’m beginning to think you’re no gentleman, after all,’ she said.

He just laughed, leaving her no option but to continue on her way whilst valiantly ignoring the memory of the way his eyes were glued to her bottom. And they were, Bella having noted the direction of his gaze when she’d glanced back at him.

But it was no walk of shame in the end. By the time she closed the bathroom door behind her Bella was actually smiling. If felt good to be desired by Sergio. In fact it felt fantastic.

There was a lot to be said for a friends with benefits fling, Bella decided. The month ahead promised to be the best holiday she’d ever had, a wonderful combination of the most beautiful setting, wonderfully warm weather and the best sex she’d ever had.

The last bit made her laugh, since she hardly had a history of even good sex. If she was brutally honest, her lack of libido over the years had troubled Bella for some time. Had made her feel such a failure in that part of her life. Her lack of sexual confidence was why she’d never been a flirt, only the most persistent admirer getting to first base with her. So why had her libido come to life now? she wondered. And why with Sergio?

All she could think was maybe she was a late bloomer in the sexual sense. She had been late into puberty, never being boy mad as a teenager like other girls. Or maybe it had something to do with Sergio himself. Though what, she couldn’t fathom. Yes, he had a great body. And yes, he was also a great lover. But her other boyfriends had all been good-looking men too, as well as very experienced where the ladies were concerned, not to mention way more charming and complimentary in their manner to her. Bella still hadn’t forgotten how Sergio had called her too thin. Though he’d also called her beautiful when he’d been making love to her, hadn’t he?