Chapter 33 Charlotte
Charlotte
“That’s it. It’s official.” Cole stopped in the middle of a small piazza and peered at his phone. “We’re lost.”
No surprises. We’d always got lost when Dad took us to tour historical sights. I sipped a hot cappuccino from a takeout cup and perched on the low wall surrounding a tinkling marble fountain. I kept my tone teasing. “I thought you prided yourself on your expert sense of direction?”
“That’s really not a helpful comment. What do you think?” He gestured to the crumbling stone steps that led up to a church. “Is this the same church from back there or different?”
A line of nuns streamed past him, like a black and white river around an island. The nuns headed to the church, which looked identical to at least a dozen we’d passed. “I have no idea.”
The hum of distant mopeds filled the air.
Cole brushed an imaginary speck of dirt from his tailored chinos.
It was so rare to see him without a sharp suit on, but even hotshot CEOs had to bow to the heat in Rome.
God. He looked sexy. Anyone could pick me out as a tourist with my sunburnt nose and backpack, but in his designer sunglasses and chic linen shirt rolled at the cuffs, Cole blended in like a stylish local.
“It doesn’t matter.” I held my arms out and tipped my head up to the sun. “Soak it in. I want the authentic Rome experience.”
“But we could be missing the important stuff.”
“Are you kidding me? This is the important stuff. Renata has had me marching around to all these different sights. I want a spontaneous day.”
I set off walking again, and Cole fell in step alongside me. Church bells rang out somewhere. The warm breeze carried the sweet pastry smell of a bakery. We passed through one cobbled street after another until we found ourselves on a wider road, thrumming with small cars and mopeds.
Cole shot me a sidelong glance. “You know the Italians only drink cappuccino in the morning.”
I laughed as I pitched my empty cup into a bin. “So what? I’m a tourist.”
“I thought you wanted the authentic Rome experience?”
“I do, but I’ll drink my hot frothy milk whenever I choose, thank you very much.”
A small single-decker bus slowed as it rattled down the road next to us. The sign above the front window read Villa Adriana. It hissed to a halt at the stop.
A reckless impulse grabbed me. “Come on. We should get on that.”
“A bus?” Cole’s eyebrow quirked as though I’d suggested chartering the bus to the moon.
“Yes, quick.”
He folded his arms and shook his head. “No. Absolutely no way.”
I grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the bus stop. “Yes. Absolutely yes way.”
He wrinkled his nose. “I have a driver on call.”
“It will be fun to get out of the city. I read about this place in the guidebook. We’re being spontaneous.”
An older nun elbowed Cole out of the way. “Look how many people are getting on this.” He pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the driver.”
I poked him in the side. “Stop moaning. Normal people ride on the peasant wagon. Wait. Have you ever caught a bus before?”
He fiddled with the cuff of his pristine shirt. “Not that I recall.”
“You can’t go your whole life having never ridden a bus. That’s just weird.”
He smirked. “I’m sure I can live with it.”
“Come on. I thought we’d have fun today?”
He raised a wry eyebrow. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on here, Charlotte. You’re wresting control of my tour. I’m supposed to be the guide.”
I tilted my head and gave him a knowing smile. “I’m sorry. It must be difficult for you. I know how you love to be in control.”
His brow furrowed. “To honor and obey. That’s what you signed up for. I take it you have no plans to fall in line any time soon?”
I laughed. “Not a chance.”
“I bet they don’t even have air conditioning on this thing.” He flattened his lips and scowled up at the bus.
“You’re so adorable when you get all frowny,” I said.
He rolled his eyes, but his lip twitched. “I’m not frowny.”
“You’re so frowny. Please. We have to be quick, or it’s going to go without us. I really want this. Would it kill you to do one spontaneous thing in your life?” I put my hands together in prayer and gave him puppy-dog eyes. “Pretty please.”
His steady gaze met mine and softened. “You don’t have to beg me, Charlotte. I’m never going to say no to anything you ask of me. Haven’t you learned that yet?”
I blinked. He hadn’t spoken to me with such softness since he’d delivered his vows, and he’d only been doing that for the benefit of the audience. Maybe I’d misheard.
His eyes sparked with mischief. “But if I do this, then I have a request of you.”
“Go on.”
He leaned close, forcing me to inhale his delicious cologne. His voice was a seductive whisper. “Sean wants to fuck Natalia in the wedding dress.”
Heat flushed through my body. Not a good idea.
Last night was supposed to be a one-off.
Except I’d let him go down on me this morning.
That hadn’t even been role-play. I’d been moaning his name.
No one else’s. It wasn’t as though I didn’t want it.
Nothing felt as good as Cole’s mouth between my thighs.
I stood on tiptoes and whispered back. “I don’t think that dress is going to fit him.”
His lip curved. “Hilarious. You’re in the dress. And I want the whole package. The veil, the stockings, the heels . . .”
“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Ackroyd. Some of us didn’t go to fancy business school. I don’t stand a chance in these negotiations.”
“I wouldn’t worry. No class could prepare me for you. The trouble is, one smile and you hold all the cards. I’m just a helpless idiot desperate to get what I want.”
“What do you want?”
He leaned in close again, his voice rough and unsteady. “The same thing I’ve always wanted.”
I raised a questioning eyebrow, but he didn’t say a word.
What was that supposed to mean? My heart pounded at his nearness, and for a moment the crowd jostling around us fell away and it was just him.
Last night, there had been no boundaries between us.
He’d stripped away all of my inhibitions.
I’d let him see and touch me in ways no man had before.
But that was a game. Now I had to be sensible.
I took a step back to defuse the tension between us.
The last passenger stepped onto the bus. The doors hissed as they were about to close.
“Quick.” Grabbing his hand, I pulled him up the steps. “Don’t worry. I’ll look after you. If you’re a good boy, I might even let you have the window seat.”