“You’re right that I haven’t seen you as a movie star since that very first day we met, but this—” She gestured at the table, the yacht moored off the pier. “—isn’t the kind of magic an ordinary man can pull off. Thank you for a fairytale evening,” she said softly. “It’s not one I’ll ever forget.”

“Me either,” he said, and as his eyes dropped to her mouth for a split second, she thought for a moment that he’d forget his promise not to kiss her. But then, instead of kissing her, he said, “How about dessert?”

Her desperate brain turned the word dessert into a kiss and she nodded with enthusiasm. “Yes, please.”

He reached down for a pink box and Valentina’s hands shook, not with nerves, but with nearly unbridled lust, as she reached for the box top and uncovered dessert.

Desire tangled with joy as she looked down at the two oversized cupcakes on the plate. One of the cupcakes had a frosting picture of Smith behind prison bars, gripping them tight with a cute, but pleading look on his face.

The other had a cartoon version of Valentina made out of frosting, dangling the key to his cell with one finger, a wicked look sparkling in her eyes.

Valentina didn’t ask for a kiss, couldn’t have possibly wasted another second with words, as she reached out, slid her hand around the back of his neck...and kissed him.

Chapter Twelve

Valentina’s kiss made Smith forget to move slowly. He couldn’t think beyond his need for more of her mouth against his, and for the chance to discover the secret sweetness of her curves, always so well hidden beneath her tailored suits. Only knowing Sam and Billy were waiting for them kept him from throwing his coat down on the rocks and making love to her right then and there.

“I want you in my bed,” he told her. “Tonight.”

And when she said, “I want it, too,” Smith knew every good deed he’d ever done had just been rewarded.

Taking her hand firmly in his, he pulled her up from the table so that they could get on his boat and back to his house as soon as was humanly possible, but she tugged back.

“Wait.” She picked up the box with the cupcakes in it. “You promised me dessert.”

Sweet Lord, the sensual look in her eyes when she said dessert made him a greedy bastard as he took her mouth with his again while the cold air whipped up on the Bay and blew over them. He felt her shiver in his arms and forced himself to pull back. Their guide waited for them as they made their way across the rocks and cement to the pier.

“Thank you for the wonderful tour, Mr. Maines,” Valentina said, her smile wide and genuine. “I’ll never forget my visit to Alcatraz.”

“It was my pleasure.” Clearly, Sam was utterly charmed, his ruddy complexion coming not only from the wind but also from the pleasure of being complimented by a beautiful woman.

They shook hands and then Smith helped Valentina climb back onto his yacht. This time, instead of taking her out to the deck, he brought her inside the warm living room. His boat had a master bedroom suite, and Lord, it was tempting to take her there. If he had been the one piloting the boat for the evening, he would have anchored out on the dark water and done just that.

But even though Billy was utterly discreet, Smith didn’t want another man within a half-mile of Valentina when they finally made love. He wanted to possess her wholly, completely, wanted to know he was the only man who would hear the sweet sounds she made when he kissed every inch of her skin from top to bottom, back to front, and then started all over again with her beautiful mouth.

They settled in on the plush leather couch as the engine turned over and the boat started back across the water. Knowing he’d be lost if he started kissing her again, Smith forced himself to have the patience to simply gather Valentina into his arms and hold her.

Of course, she didn’t make it easy for him to keep his hands off her as she nuzzled closer to him, her breath warm on his neck, her lips soft as they roamed lightly over his skin. His fingertips stroked over her face, down her neck, then just into the seam of her shirt so that he could brush against her collarbone. Against his skin, he could feel her gasp of pleasure at his gentle touch.

He’d known from the first time they’d kissed just how responsive she was, but he found himself stunned all over again by the way she reacted to his touch, as if he were the first man who had ever stroked his hands across her beautiful skin.

But even touching her shoulder was making it too hard for him to remember that Billy was only a dozen feet away upstairs at the helm. Smith forced himself to slide his hand from Valentina’s skin and into hers instead.

Only, if he’d thought that would cool the fire raging inside him, he was as wrong as he’d ever been about anything. Because just holding her hand, turning her palm upward so that he could stroke his thumb across her skin, was the hottest foreplay of his life.

She lifted her eyes to meet his and the unmasked desire he saw on her face nearly undid all of his good intentions to wait until they got home. He couldn’t trust himself to kiss her, but he had to brush his other thumb over her lower lip.

Her eyes closed on a soft moan of pleasure, similar to the way she’d appreciated the dinner he’d had brought in, only this time she wasn’t working to hold him at bay anymore.

No, this time she was pure, sensual woman against him.

And when the tip of her tongue slipped out to lick the pad of his thumb, he was the one groaning and pulling her even closer, until she was all but sitting on his lap.

Beneath the blanket he’d draped over both of them, his hands moved lower to cup her hips, and just as he’d known she’d be, Valentina was a perfect fit in his palms. He loved having one of her hands held in his, the other splayed across his chest, over the heart that beat hard and fast for her.

“We’ll be docking soon,” he said to try to remind himself that he could make it. He’d never wanted a boat ride to end so quickly. He felt like he was holding his breath waiting for the moment when they approached the dock.

“Good,” she said in an equally breathless voice. “Until then maybe we should talk.”

He nodded. “Talking’s good.” But his mind was empty of everything but her.

“Tell me about the rest of your family,” she suggested. “I know about Marcus and Nicola. And you’ve told me a little about Sophie and her pregnancy. But I don’t know much about the others yet.”

His siblings’ names and faces all mixed up in his head for several seconds. Finally, he pulled a name out of thin air. “Chase.” Smith forced himself to concentrate. “He’s a photographer. He’s married to Chloe. They have a baby. Emma.”