Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

In the last few years, snuggles had been absent from my life. I wasn’t
allowed to have a boyfriend, who might have given them to me, and I was too
old to seek that kind of closeness with my father. My mother had never been the
type to show her affection on a physical level to begin with.
I’d hoped that marriage would open the door to affection that went beyond
sex. I wanted to be held and cuddled. Maybe I had been foolish to think Cassio
was someone who would be up for that.
Cassio twisted his head to me, but remained on his back. “What is it? You
don’t have to be scared of me seeking you out again. We fulfilled our duty.”
Duty.
Honor. Duty. I’d lost count of the number of times I’d heard those two words
in my life.
“That’s not it,” I whispered. “I just… I…”
Cassio’s dark brows drew together. “I’m not a mind reader, Giulia, and I
don’t have the patience to guess your thoughts.”
His voice was rough.
Tears stung in my eyes at his rebuff.
He let out a small sigh, pushed up on his elbow, and peered down at me.
“Are you in pain? Did I hurt you more than I thought?”
Of course, he’d think it had to be something physical bothering me.
“Giulia?” His strong hand touched my bare shoulder, and I shuddered under
the gentle touch. Misunderstanding my reaction, he pulled his hand away, but I
grasped it.
“Can we—” I couldn’t ask a man like Cassio to snuggle. Instead, I moved
closer until I could sense his warmth, my fingers still clutching his hand. “Be
close like this for a little while?”
For a moment, he didn’t react, only regarded me with those ocean-blue eyes.
Then, without a word, he lowered himself to his back, but this time he raised his
arm, opening up a spot for me. I slid even closer until I was pressed up to him,
my face on his strong chest, one of my legs thrown over his muscled thigh. He
smelled good, so good. Strong, warm, and manly. I held my hands awkwardly
pressed against my breasts, unsure where to put them. Cassio curled his arm
around my body, loosely at first, but then more tightly when I let out a small
sigh. Gathering my courage, I rested one hand on his chest. Soon my fingers
grew restless—curious.
Until this day I hadn’t been allowed to touch a man, to discover his body. I
idly traced the smattering of hair on his pecs, realizing that I liked the feel of it.
In the media I’d only ever seen guys with smooth chests and tried to imagine
how they would feel. Cassio was all man, strong and with body hair. Not that he
was overly hairy… he wasn’t. My fingers glided lower, over the ridges of his
stomach, following the trail of hair until I bumped against his waistband.
Cassio gripped my hand. “Giulia.” It was low, dark and almost pained. He
pulled back, dipped his head at the same time as I tipped mine up. He scanned
my face.