Perfect Mistake

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Carlo sat down with a curse. His day had been a total waste of time. He’d missed Simone. He had missed her for four endless years, and spending just hours away from her had awakened his longing. He should have stayed at Seronera with her and should have lured her to bed. That was where his head had been the whole day, and with the rest of the team gone it had been a wasted opportunity. Simone might have protested, but he would have changed her mind. A touch at a time, a kiss at a time.

He’d given up fighting his attraction to her. To him, it was only a matter of time before they’d make love, and right now, the sooner the better. He grunted his own frustration and raked his hands through his hair. He was going to break this impasse between them, whatever it took.

The sun slipped below the horizon and in the soft blue of dusk, he saw the evening star. The drive to the mobile safari camp had been long and tiring, yet the energy of his resolve pulsed through his veins. As night fell, he sat overlooking the savannah, watching as bats swooped in the darkening sky. In the distance, a hyena howled for its mate.

Voices drifted from the path below the chalet. The wooden stairs leading up to the chalet creaked with the sound of her steps, at the rhythm of her gait as she climbed the stairs. He was surprised at the details he could recall. There had never been a breach, except that there had been, and it gaped between them. He breathed quietly as he waited, his heartbeat leaping.

Her footsteps slowed. He’d turned the housekeeping staff away when they’d come to do the room turndown, and he hadn’t switched on the lights. Simone would struggle up the stairs in the dark.

A torch flashed, lighting the steps.

“I’ll find my way,” she said, then continued her cautious ascent to the deck of the chalet. She reached the top of the stairs and the light switch snapped on. Soft artificial light flooded the deck, blinding him for a second.

She didn’t see him immediately, but when she did, she pulled in a sharp breath, her eyes wide. “I’m so sorry, did I get the wrong chalet? I didn’t check—”

He stood up, shoving his fists into his pockets. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

Her face paled and she took a step back. She’d walked too far down the deck and as he strode up to her he blocked her path to the stairs. She was cornered.

Wide-eyed and alert she stepped to the side until she hit the wooden balustrade. “Carlo—” Her voice was barely audible, and the soft-spoken plea made a smile twitch inside him. She would plead much louder than that, and quite soon.

He didn’t move closer but simply gazed at her. She was so beautiful, flustered, her lips parted. “Dio, you’re a goddess, Simone. Irresistible.”

It would take him two steps to close the gap between them, but he wanted to savor this moment, stretch it out and tease her. He let his gaze travel over her face, lower to the column of her neck where her pulse skipped under the creamy, sensitive skin, lower to the slope of her breasts. Her tank top hugged her curves, but the shoulder and the neckline had slipped to reveal a satin strap and a lacy bit of bra above one breast. Hardly a millimeter was visible, but it was enough to burn a heated pulse down his back to where it burst into his groin.

He took a step closer, his hand raised to touch the little lines of temptation. “What are you wearing?” he mused. He’d never seen her in anything but the pure basics and the idea of Simone wearing seductive lingerie made him throb, burning with the need to bury himself inside her. His erection came hard and fast.

“Don’t,” she whimpered, her eyes not leaving his face as he gazed back at her.

“Don’t what?” he asked, as his unhurried finger traced the satin strap, down to the lace, touching her heated skin and the soft slant of her breast, lightly tucking the fabric underneath the tank top.

She trembled and her chest heaved at his touch, her nipples hardening under his gaze.

“There,” he said, his voice heavy, his finger retracing its steps to make sure none of her bra peeked out. How he was going to enjoy taking it off later. His lids had become lazy in his arousal, and when he gazed into her eyes again, she seemed to be fighting for her own resistance by closing her eyes and blocking him out as she bit her lip.

“Don’t what, cara?” he asked again, dropping his fingers to the side of her breast, where his thumb circled a leisurely trail around her nipple, avoiding the hard tip in a measured tease.

“Don’t,” she whispered again, but when she sucked in a slow breath he knew he’d gotten her right where he wanted her.

He closed in, putting his other hand on the railing where hers gripped at the wood, white-knuckled. He tilted his nose down to her temple, drawing in her scent and letting his lips glide down her ear before catching the lobe between his teeth with a gentle tug. She leaned into his hand, as he’d known she would, and the pebbled tip of her breast pressed into his palm. He groaned as he let go of a hungry sigh, his mouth searching for that sensitive spot just below her ear. “I need some specifics here, Simone.”

She gave a soft moan as he kissed her neck, his thumb massaging her nipple, his fingers lightly squeezing.

He ran his other hand up her naked arm and let go of her breast to reach for her face, cupping her cheeks in both hands. “Don’t do this?” he asked softly as he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, letting his fingers softly caress the curls at the base of her neck.

She didn’t answer but had dropped her head back at his touch, her eyes drowsy, as he ran the pad of his thumb over her soft, sensual lips, plump and begging.

Her hands slipped to his sides, her heated palms edging him closer. He grunted at the feeling of her hands on him and at the relief of finally having her touch him. It was tentative, but as he lifted her chin her fingers dug into him, bringing him closer.

“Don’t. Kiss me,” she murmured helplessly.

His lips touched hers and she sighed as he kissed her once, softly. He didn’t pull away, but let his lips moor against hers, then moved them in soft strokes that made her open up for him in a sweet surrender. She leaned into him, her hands edging up his chest. He kissed her deeper and groaned as her tongue intertwined with his in a slow turn that tasted of her soul.

She trembled under his touch and he lifted a leg between hers and pinned her to the railing, taking her more deeply with his mouth. Her mound rested against his upper thigh, and his hands trailed down her back to pull her tight to him in a low rhythmic pressure that would have her begging, feeling exactly what he had in store for her. She was so soft, so delicious.

A saltiness penetrated his mind as they kissed. And then he tasted it. She was crying, her silent tears seeping into the corner of her lips. Her long fingers curled into his shirt, pinching him. He pulled away, soothing the tears with his lips. “Cara…cara…why can’t you forgive me?”

She sobbed. “There’s nothing to forgive. After all this time…there’s nothing to forgive.” She dropped her head, resting her forehead against his chin. “I just want to go home, Carlo.”

“Then let me take you home,” he whispered, for the first time realizing that her home was with him. He’d do anything to have her back. Now that he had her, he was never letting go.

“I meant Dar es Salaam.” She lowered her head to his chest, her sobs more intense despite what he’d said.

He hugged her close, pressing kisses to her hair. “Dio, Mona.” He exhaled deeply. “I didn’t mean for this trip to be too much—”

She met his gaze, shaking her head. “You don’t understand.” She bit her trembling lip, fresh tears swelling and overflowing from her eyes. “I lied to you this morning.”

Dread curled inside him, and at the despair in her eyes, his desire cooled like a sun-baked stone tossed into ice-cold water. He tried to recall their conversation that morning. There had been nothing that could have implicated her…nothing. “Lied about what, cara?”

“About the dependent. In my employee file.” She nearly choked. “It’s not Gabi.”

He frowned, not quite catching her drift. “I don’t understand.”

She scanned his eyes, and for a long moment, she just stared at him as tears brimmed. “I have a child, Carlo.” She sucked in a slow breath. “A little girl. At home. In Dar es Salaam.”

He searched her face, but a cold wariness had crept up from nowhere, settling into the marrow of his bones.

“Why didn’t you say anything before.” It was a statement, not a question. He already knew the answer.

“Because she’s yours.”