CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER THREE
S USIE AWOKE TO the bleep of her phone and ignored it.
Then her flatmate Juliet’s violin practice commenced, so she buried her head under the covers. Especially when Juliet’s bow, or whatever it was called, kept missing certain notes.
The same notes.
Over and over.
She shared the apartment with Juliet, who was English, and Louanna, who was a local.
It was Saturday, and she was determined to have a lie-in. There were no Italian classes at the weekends and nowhere she needed to be until she met Mimi later this morning.
Should she have told Dante that Mimi was giving her daily private Italian lessons so that she could keep an eye on Gio from a distance?
No, because Gio didn’t want his grandsons knowing about his relationship with Mimi.
Dante...
He dropped into her consciousness as she tried to sink back into sleep.
What would he say if he knew that Mimi had walked out on Gio because she was tired of being passed off as his housekeeper?
Surely he already knew?
Those knowing brown eyes wouldn’t miss much.
Susie lay on her side, her own eyes determinedly closed, and yet he refused to exit the stage of her mind. If anything, the spotlight shone brighter upon him, highlighting the scar above one of those knowing eyes.
Gio had shown her a photo of Sev and Rosa’s wedding, so she knew the injury was from then. And Mimi had told her how fractured the brothers’ relationship was now.
She recalled how he’d frowned as he’d pulled back the tea towel on her hand, and his slight smile as he’d realised there was no cut... How her skin had turned into goosebumps and she’d held her breath as he’d attended to her fake wound...
Louanna’s rather loud voice cut into her lovely sleepy recall, as she informed anyone who wanted to know that coffee was ready, then thankfully the violin stopped.
Susie had given up on sleep now and reached for her phone, delighted to see she had a message in the little Sisters Group they shared—a short message with a link attached.
So excited!
Frowning, muzzy from sleep, she was about to click on the link—it looked like an estate agent’s advert—when the message was deleted.
It took her a moment to realise that she’d been sent the message by mistake.
It happened now and then—and it hurt every time. This message perhaps more than most. She’d already guessed from a couple of things her mum had said that the twins were thinking about sharing a flat.
The rapidly deleted message only confirmed it.
She could hear Juliet and Louanna chatting and laughing in the kitchen, and even though they were lovely Susie felt a bit of an outsider.
It wasn’t just the fact that she was a temporary housemate that kept her a little apart from them. Music was her flatmates’ energy and their main topic of conversation.
It reminded her of when she was younger, listening to her sisters chatting in the next room.
Gosh, she’d felt left out.
Every night it had sounded as if there was a little party going on, with her listening as Celia and Cassie chatted and giggled or, in later years, cried about a broken heart or whatever...
She was going to go out for breakfast, Susie decided, and speak Italian all day.
No exceptions!
She pulled on some thick black tights and a black jumper, and then wriggled into a burnt orange corduroy pinafore that added a blaze of colour, determined to cheer up and stop being so mopey.
‘Buongiorno!’ Susie breezed into the kitchen.
‘Good morning,’ Louanna smiled. ‘How was...?’
‘Ah-ah!’ Susie halted her with her hand. ‘Italiano.’
Louanna obliged, telling her that her dress was very colourful and she had a passion for orange. Or something along those lines. Then she asked if she was working tonight.
Susie affirmed that she was, and said that, yes, the restaurant had been busy last night.
‘Do you know Mimi?’ Louanna asked, as if surprised. ‘I saw you with her in a café.’
‘Yes.’ Susie nodded. It wasn’t just her lack of vocabulary that had her holding back from mentioning Gio. She didn’t think Gio would like having his personal life discussed, so she’d never mentioned the home deliveries. ‘She’s helping with my Italian.’
Louanna turned to Juliet. ‘Mimi was once a very famous opera singer.’
‘Wow...’ Juliet said. ‘I love opera.’
And back to talking about music they went...
The rain had dried up, though Susie’s trench coat and scarf were still required as the weather was crisp. Still, the sky was the palest blue, and the clearest it had been since her arrival, and it was wonderful to wander through the laneways.
Unexpectedly, she had fallen in love with Lucca.
She meandered through the ancient cobbled streets, just drinking in her surroundings.
She went past the gorgeous opera house, where Mimi had once performed... She would love to go to the opera. It was something she’d never considered before, but here in the birthplace of Puccini it was everywhere.
All roads seemed to lead to the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, a public square in the heart of Lucca, and she entered it through one of the archways. It was more like a circle, surrounded by tall pastel buildings—an amphitheatre where gladiators had fought. Now, where once the audience had watched on, it was cafés and restaurants, umbrellas and tables.
Wandering around the perimeter, she was soaking it all in while trying to select where to stop for breakfast.
‘Hey...’
Susie stilled, the deep voice causing her to startle, and she looked over to the stunning sight of Dante, seated at a café table, sipping coffee and looking rather too gorgeous for a lazy Saturday. He wore a black jumper that must be cashmere, and even dressed casually he looked groomed and elegant. And he was beckoning for her to go over.
Susie went.
‘We meet again,’ she said, and smiled.
‘Everyone meets here,’ he informed her.
‘How was the sour cherry?’ Susie asked.
‘Like sour cherries,’ he replied, and gestured to his table. ‘Would you like to join me?’
‘So long as you’re not going to interrogate me about Gio,’ she said. But even though he made no promises not to do so, she took a seat.
‘I was just about to order.’ He signalled to the waiter.
‘Is there a menu?’
‘No need. I was just getting pastries, bread...’
Susie frowned. ‘For all you know I might be gluten intolerant.’
‘Then you shouldn’t have had that cone last night,’ Dante said, then conceded, ‘I’ll ask for a menu.’
‘It’s fine.’
Gosh, he was confident. Or perhaps it was just the way things were done here, she mused as he ordered for both of them.
The waiter commented on the gorgeous morning and Dante nodded. Then he attempted to draw Dante into conversation and said how nice it was to see him back...
‘Thank you.’
He was rather terse with the waiter, which Susie thought was a bit of a red flag, so she pursed her lips as he shut down the conversation, but when the waiter had gone she spoke up.
‘He’s just making conversation,’ she said. ‘Believe me, I know how hard that can be.’
‘I went to school with him,’ Dante said. ‘He was nosey even then.’
‘Oh!’ She gave a half laugh. ‘Sorry. I thought you were being rude. I didn’t know there was history.’
‘There is history on every corner. You wait—we shall soon be the talk of the town.’
‘I’d love to be the talk of the town,’ Susie said, and sighed. ‘It’s my ambition.’
He offered a polite smile at her little joke, but then frowned. ‘You’re not joking, are you?’
‘I’m not,’ she agreed. ‘I’m sure I’d soon tire of it, but...’ She smiled at the very gorgeous Dante. ‘Just once.’
‘It’s actually quite easy to achieve here,’ he said. Taking a bread roll, he tore it, then dipped it in honey. ‘Aren’t we supposed to be speaking in Italian?’
‘Not on a Saturday,’ Susie lied, forgetting her earlier vow. She wanted to concentrate on the conversation, not on the language. She didn’t want to be stilted with Dante. ‘It’s nice to have a day off—at least from classes.’
‘Well, I’m glad to have caught you. I did want to thank you.’
‘You already have.’ She shrugged.
‘Susie, I know about Gio and Mimi. At least, I think I do.’
‘What about them?’ she asked.
Dante admired the fact that she remained discreet.
‘I’ve long since guessed she is more than a housekeeper.’
Still Ms Discreet said nothing.
‘Gio doesn’t know I know.’
She met his eyes then, and he saw more than blue. He saw the curiosity that danced in them, and he saw the softness of her lips as they asked an unrelated question.
‘Sev’s the older brother?’
‘The serious one,’ he said, watching her blush as she perhaps recalled her comment last night. ‘What about you?’ he asked, those blue eyes steering him off track and forgetting his intention to be more direct.
‘Me?’ Susie checked.
‘Do you have siblings?’
‘Two sisters. They’re—’ She abruptly halted and Dante couldn’t fathom why.
‘Older or younger?’ he probed.
‘Older.’
‘You’re the baby?’
‘Hardly.’
‘I meant the favourite.’
‘I wouldn’t go that far...’ She rolled her eyes. ‘You’re an attorney?’
He nodded. ‘My speciality is family law. According to Gio, I do the devil’s work.’
‘Oh!’ Her eyes widened in slight surprise. ‘You must hear some tales.’
‘I try not to.’
‘How could you avoid it?’
‘We have a large practice. I deal with the division of assets. Passing the tissues is not my forte.’
She laughed at that, and he found that he smiled as they chatted.
And not about Gio.
He saw now the honey tint to her pale blonde hair and noticed the pretty curl of her fair lashes. She wore the coat she’d had on last night and the same scarf. Because they were seated outside, he did not know how she was dressed beneath.
He recalled her slight figure as she’d removed her coat last night. And he remembered, because he’d held her hand when she’d pretended to cut it, the scent of her hair.
Dante found himself in an unexpected guessing game, wondering not just about the clothes beneath the coat, but also about what colours they might be. She’d been in her uniform last night, and today he found himself searching for clues.
It was something he did at work, of course, and in the courtroom at times—trying to fathom the person he was about to question or challenge.
Only this wasn’t work.
And Susie was nothing like the women he dated—sophisticated women who knew that his black heart remained closed and that the only place Dante Casadio lasted was in the bedroom.
He caught her gaze and, to his own surprise, when she smiled so did he.
He didn’t usually.
Smile.
And if his phone hadn’t beeped he might have studied a little more deeply the shades of blue in her eyes.
‘Damn...’ He glanced at his phone. ‘ Scusi , I have to...’
‘Of course.’
He left the table to take the call and she sat there, looking out to the square. She felt the waiter looking over, so resisted checking her reflection in her phone.
Gosh, this morning felt thrilling.
She had to meet Mimi soon, and usually she loved their hour together, but this morning she was tempted to cancel...just for more moments with Dante...
‘Sorry about that.’
His voice, though it was now familiar, still made her jump.
‘It’s fine.’
‘No, it’s not.’
He let out a low, wry laugh and took a sip of coffee, and then he looked up at her eyes, and then down to the full lips that had stayed closed when he’d pushed for information on his grandfather. Somehow he simply knew she was discreet.
‘I have a client... My last words to him were, “Don’t contact your wife.” Hah!’
‘I’m assuming he didn’t take your advice?’
‘He did not.’
He reached for his coffee, to take another sip, yet even as he lifted the small cup he replaced it.
Was it her patient silence that gave him pause, or was it that she didn’t demand information?
Or was it something about sitting beneath the umbrellas in Piazza dell’Anfiteatro on this gorgeous Saturday with her gentle conversation and beauty that had his guard down a touch.
‘He got drunk last night and wrote a six-page letter admitting his failings, offering to change.’
‘Oh!’ She gave a small giggle.
‘And he mailed it.’ He hissed in annoyance. ‘If he’d sent an email I could at least have read it.’
‘Do you read a lot of love letters?’
‘Only if I’m being paid to,’ he said, and now she really laughed.
The bigger surprise for Dante was that he wanted to tell her more.
Without names or identities, of course...
Perhaps that was it, he pondered.
Susie was from England.
After this weekend he would never see her again.
‘I told him yesterday to stay back,’ he went on. ‘I knew it could only cause trouble. People say and do things they regret when they’re upset.’
‘I don’t.’
Her response caused him to frown, his eyes narrowing, and he leant forward a little in an invitation for her to elaborate.
‘I just go quiet.’
‘In relationships. Or...?’ Dante knew he was fishing.
‘In everything, really. Work, family...’
Fishing did not suit Dante. He moved to being direct.
‘Are you in a relationship?’
‘No.’ She gave a tight shrug. ‘Not any more.’
God, but he wanted her to elaborate. Instead, she asked about him.
‘You?’
‘I don’t do relationships.’
She lifted her eyes to his and he knew now was the time to make his position absolutely clear.
‘I don’t get involved with my dates.’
‘How can you date and not get involved?’
‘Because they are all very short-lived.’
‘So, you’ve never been serious with anyone?’
‘Never,’ he told her. ‘Nor will I ever be.’
‘Wow... I’m sure you’ve broken a lot of hearts.’
‘Oh, no.’ He shook his head. ‘A good time is had by all,’ he said, in a low, silky voice. ‘So long as both parties agree. Dinner...a nice night...’
‘Hey,’ the waiter said, bringing out another coffee, his smile aimed now at Susie. ‘I didn’t catch the name of your English friend...’
‘Susie.’
Dante’s smile was tight. He loathed the implication—but of course there was. Because he’d never sat in this square with a woman. He’d never brought his dates here. Even as a teenager he’d known to keep all that well away from home, where gossip flared and no forbidden deed went unnoticed.
And so he cut the gossip straight off. ‘She has been helping out with Gio.’
‘Ah...’
Susie felt the relegation from casual coffee date to Gio’s housekeeper or nurse.
She’d thought they’d been flirting—just a bit—but it dawned on her then. The real reason Dante had been hoping they’d catch up. He probably wanted to ask her if she’d be Gio’s temporary housekeeper.
No, she did not want to be on Dante’s payroll.
Her heart sank.
Of course someone as suave and utterly gorgeous as Dante wasn’t going to be seeing her in any way other than as an employee.
‘Susie, I was wondering—’
‘Please don’t,’ she broke in. ‘The answer’s no.’
Frowning with curiosity he met her eyes, as if he hadn’t expected Susie to address their situation so boldly.
‘I’m very happy at the restaurant.’
‘Sorry?’
‘You were going to offer to pay me to check in on Gio, or...’
‘No.’ Dante shook his head. ‘That wasn’t my question.’
‘Good.’ She let out a small laugh. ‘I adore him, but...’
‘I get it.’ He took a sip of coffee.
‘No,’ Susie said—because it wasn’t that she didn’t want to help Gio, and frankly she needed any work she could get. ‘I think of Gio as a friend. I like our chats and helping out. I don’t want to get paid for it.’
‘Susie, that wasn’t my question.’
‘What was it, then?’ she asked, certain it would be something about Gio.
‘Would you like to go for dinner tonight?’
‘Dinner?’ Susie frowned. ‘To talk about your grandfather?’
‘Oh, no.’
She swallowed. The café’s heaters must have suddenly been turned up, because she was boiling beneath them. Truly. She wanted to fling off her coat or tip a bucket of ice over her head.
Never had she been so boldly propositioned.
Never had she thought she might be.
And certainly not by this most sexy, gorgeous man, who somehow turned her on with nothing more than a touch.
It startled her how badly she wanted to lift her eyes to his and nod.
For him to take her there.
Wherever ‘there’ was.
She’d almost forgotten to breathe, Susie realised as she dragged in a long breath. And she wished...oh, she wished she was brave enough to say yes. To just get up from this table and be led to his bed.
Only she’d never been brave in that department.
And, in truth, she didn’t really like sex.
At least, she hadn’t to date.
‘I’m actually working tonight,’ she said.
‘That’s okay.’
‘I’d love to, but I do have work, and if I don’t give enough notice...’
‘Susie.’ He smiled, and she wished she could smile so easily when rejected. ‘It’s fine.’
No, it wasn’t fine.
It was Susie who had said no, and yet she was the one fighting not to pout.
‘It’s not that. I...’ What could she say? That she wanted to?
She looked at his eyes, which seemed to draw her to unknown places. She reached for her purse. ‘I ought to get going.’ She wasn’t lying. ‘I have to...’ She paused and went a little bit pink. ‘I’m meeting a friend. Juliet,’ she added needlessly. ‘And I’m running late.’
He waved away her offer to pay half and she felt his eyes on her as she left.
‘Susie!’ Mimi was in an absolute panic. ‘Dante is here.’
Her violet eyeshadow was bright, but her signature eyeliner was absent, and though she still cut a fabulous dash, she was a little dishevelled.
‘Si?’ Susie said, and pointedly switched to Italian, telling Mimi she had met him last night. She didn’t mention she’d just left his table. Oh, and that he’d offered her a night of passionate sex.
‘Avocatto!’
She frowned, thinking of avocados, and then caught herself and laughed at her own mistranslation—Mimi was bemoaning the fact that he was an attorney.
‘He will think I am after Gio’s money and the winery. He and Sev will do all they can to dissuade him...’
‘Mimi!’ Susie slowed down the rather frantic pace. ‘Surely the brothers know you’re not really his housekeeper?’ She looked at probably the most glamorous octogenarian on earth. ‘You were an opera singer...’
‘A lot of artists fall on hard times.’ Mimi sighed. ‘Well, that’s what we told the boys.’
‘Boys?’ Susie giggled at Mimi’s description of Dante and his older brother, but then checked herself. Mimi really was distressed.
‘We told them that when I first moved in,’ she said, then halted, her face suddenly brightening.
Susie quickly found out why.
‘Dante!’ Mimi was suddenly all smiles. ‘Buongiorno!’ She switched to English. ‘Susie is here.’
‘We meet again.’ He looked directly at Susie, making her want to squirm.
‘I am helping with her Italian,’ Mimi told him.
It was Dante who switched to Italian now, asking Mimi if he could speak to her. But of course she was desperate to get away from him and declined, blaming Susie, telling Dante she had paid for an hour-long Italian lesson.
‘Ciao!’ Mimi said, and hurriedly walked off.
Before Susie could follow there was a brief second when she was alone with Dante.
‘Juliet?’ He called her out on her lie.
‘I should have just said...’
‘Did Mimi put you up to helping my grandfather?’
‘I’d rather not say...’ She could hear Mimi calling for her. ‘I’d better go.’
Except she stood, almost as if she was waiting, certainly hoping he might offer dinner again.
He didn’t.
‘Susie!’ Mimi called again.
And she knew she should be relieved that Mimi had dragged her away.
‘I cannot believe my bad luck,’ Mimi moaned. ‘I just hope Gio doesn’t tell him about us. I want that ring on my finger before the grandsons interfere.’
‘Limited bar menu,’ Pedro told the team. ‘We are short in the kitchen again.’
Susie felt her jaw grit—and not just in frustration at waitressing.
She should perhaps have been proud of her own restraint, but instead, in the hours that had passed, her regret at declining Dante’s offer had increased tenfold.
Perhaps it was for the best, Susie mused now as she waited on tables. She had absolutely nothing suitable to wear for dinner with someone as sophisticated as Dante, and certainly nothing daringly unsuitable in the underwear department...
The thought of one night, no strings, might have appalled her once upon a time—but that was before she met Dante...
Right now, she ached for that one night.
There were a lot of shouts and a lot of laughter in the kitchen. It would seem Cucou was in great spirits tonight. She felt like a cat out in the rain, peering in as she collected some orders.
‘Hey, Susie,’ called Nico, one of the pastry chefs. ‘Cucou said you have a twin.’
‘No!’ Cucou laughed. ‘Not Susie.’
Not Susie.
That should be stencilled on her forehead.
Chiselled on her grave.
Not boring, plain old Susie...
And then everything changed. Or rather, life got interesting.
‘Signor Casadio.’
She looked up at Pedro’s effusive greeting—he was clearly thrilled to have Gio back in the restaurant. ‘We have missed you,’ he said to the elderly gentleman, and then he nodded to his stunning companion. ‘Signor.’
‘Pedro.’ Dante nodded, and then his eyes skimmed past Pedro, and somehow, in a room full of people and noise and all things wonderful, he found her.
Thankfully she didn’t have to wait on his table, or the gorgeous pale grey linen shirt he wore might have become the worse for wear.
Instead, she waited on her regular tables, chatting to the guests, trying out her Italian.
She never caught him looking at her, it was absolutely subtle, but she had never felt so aware. She was certain he noted her every move, heard her every word—and then, of course, Gio saw her.
‘Susie!’ He half stood to greet her. ‘It is so good to see you here. So nice to be out.’
‘It’s lovely to see you too, Gio.’ Susie smiled.
‘He wanted to go elsewhere.’ Gio gestured towards Dante. ‘He said I must surely have eaten enough food from Pearla’s.’
‘Oh!’ She smiled, and raised her eyes a fraction. ‘That’s disappointing to hear.’ From the corner of her eye she saw Dante’s wry smile at the riposte, aimed at him, then her words were all for Gio. ‘Well, we’re all thrilled you chose to visit us.’
Should she be disappointed that Dante hadn’t wanted to come here tonight?
It didn’t feel that way—not in the least.
Perhaps his arrogant pride had been a little dented?
She chose to think of it that way, and happily got on with her work.
She was clearing a table of plates, and busy wishing she was doing something else. Shaking a cocktail—or even carrying one. Instead she passed Dante with an armful of crockery.
‘Break, Susie,’ Pedro said, and she nodded.
‘Scusi...’
Dante had put up a hand, and though the table was not her own, she of course had to go over.
‘Signor?’
‘We’ll be getting our coats...’
‘Of course.’
‘Unless...’ he looked to Gio ‘...you want dessert? Some ice cream, maybe?’
‘Please,’ Gio dismissed, ‘since when did you want dessert?’ He looked up to Susie. ‘He doesn’t even like ice cream.’
‘People have been known to change their minds,’ Susie said, and smiled at Gio, though again her words were for Dante.
Oh, she hoped he understood what she was trying to convey. But perhaps he didn’t get it at all, because he stood glancing at his phone as Pedro helped Gio into his coat.
Then he glanced up and his eyes found hers again.
Oh, gosh .
There was a rush of excitement such as she’d never known. And the searing heat of the kitchen was nothing compared to the heat of his look. She ignited inside.
He was dangerous. He made her feel reckless. How, with one look, did he tell her that she knew so little about her own body?
She’d had just one boyfriend and things had been okay.
Sort of...
Okay... What a pale word. What a pale experience her sex life had been. And now she stood, feeling her body tighten, her breasts full beneath her dress. And low, low in her stomach she felt as if she wore some kind of internal corset that had tightened so much that even the tops of her thighs tensed.
Passion.
He promised passion and she had never known it, Susie realised.
At the end of her shift she stepped out, wondering if he’d understood.
And there he was, holding an ice cream.
‘Here,’ he said. ‘Luckily it is a very cold night.’
‘Sour cherry?’
‘Of course.’
It was sharp and sweet and utterly her new favourite.
‘Did you even try it last night?’ she asked.
‘No.’
‘Try it now.’
But he declined, and they walked down from the walls into the street...where the music from the bars blended with the street performers...and she ought to feel shy, but she was too happy for that.
There were gorgeous sounds coming from the music school as they passed, and she listened to the plucking of a cello.
‘My flatmates attend here.’
‘Really?’
She nodded, popping the last of her cone into her mouth. ‘Their practising drives me mad, but it’s so lovely hearing it out here. It makes me want to dance.’
‘Then let’s dance,’ he said, and took her hand.
She hadn’t thought their one night might be romantic, and she’d never thought she could feel glamorous in clumpy black shoes, but as she danced under the dark sky the tiny side street was the most romantic, sensual place in the world.
‘You make me feel light-footed,’ she said, as his face came down to her cheek. ‘I can’t dance. But...’
‘You can,’ he told her. ‘You can do anything.’
‘I haven’t done very much at all,’ Susie said, and she rather thought they weren’t discussing her dancing any more. ‘I’m very, very boring...’ she warned.
‘I don’t think so.’
He lowered his head and she stretched to meet his mouth.
This was no awkward first contact.
It came as a relief.
The weight of his mouth on hers felt perfect, and he was heavenly to kiss and to be kissed by. His lips were like velvet, his chin rough, and his body so warm. Closing her eyes at the bliss of his tongue, she tasted him back, and it was both passionate and so good.
His hand slid under her coat and hooked her waist. And then he either pulled her towards him or maybe she just shaped herself into him, as if a mould had been cast.
‘I stand corrected,’ Dante said. ‘I do like sour cherry ice cream.’
He went back for another taste and she clung to his head, kissing him back. The music was silent now. And truly she didn’t care if the students were all leaning on the windows and looking out as he kissed her against a wall...
Actually, she did.
Her eyes sprang open. ‘I was worried...’ she gasped. ‘That we were being watched...’
‘We’re just kissing.’
‘Really...?’
She couldn’t quite get her breath, and she could feel him hard against her stomach, and she felt swollen herself, just too hot to be out in the cold.
‘Come on,’ he said, and she nodded as he took her hand and they started to walk.
Still holding her hand, he led her to his house.
They reached Coro Garibaldi... ‘How far?’ Susie asked as they walked along the elegant avenue.
‘Nearly there...’
Except they kept stopping for kisses. And even as they climbed the steps to his door she was impatient. It wasn’t just a matter of him taking out his keys, she was almost inside his jacket, trying to find them.
Kissing and laughing, they almost fell inside.
‘I’ll get the lights,’ Dante said.
And that might have been his intention, but first he took off her scarf and hung it over the banister, then he removed her coat and his.
‘Let’s go to bed,’ he suggested.
But she sat on the stairs and removed her horrible shoes and groaned in relief.
‘You ache?’ he asked.
‘I ache,’ she agreed, wincing a little as he picked up one foot. ‘Please don’t.’
She was worried her feet might not be the freshest, but then she stopped caring as he massaged her calf, and then picked up the other foot. And as his fingers dug into her taut calf she found her toes creeping towards his erection.
His hands came to the hem of her dress and slid under it. She lifted her bottom from the stairs and he dealt with her stockings and knickers in one go.
‘Bed,’ he told her, and stood her up, as if he was ready to carry her if he must.
But then they were kissing again, all traces of sour cherry gone.
‘Dante...’
She wanted to explain how unlikely this was, how completely wonderful it was to be too desperate to get to his bed. She was at his belt, feeling him through fabric, and then pulling at his thin jumper. He pulled it over his head and she used her palms to feel his chest. She kissed his flat nipples as he undid her hair.
She liked the semi darkness, but she wanted light to see if his body was as completely magnificent as it felt beneath her hands, or when it was pressed against her. She was almost climbing up him, and he lifted the hem of her dress and gripped his hands onto her bare bottom.
‘Please...’ Susie said, nervous that this intense feeling might fade on the way to his bedroom, desperate not to lose the new freedom she’d found.
And when he lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist.
Dante was not one for frantic sex in the entrance hall—or, really, frantic sex anywhere. He was always in control. But Susie was light and hot and coiled around him, and clearly they weren’t going to make it to bed.
And yet it wasn’t frantic...it was slow and delicious, but with a raw edge.
He held her thighs as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and then he lifted her and lowered her onto him. Her breathing was ragged, and she stared at him as he moved her a little, then moaned as he squeezed inside her.
Susie had never had sex standing, and yet she’d never felt further from falling, held in his arms as he moved inside her.
He was so strong, and he held her so securely, that she focussed on the sheer bliss of his thrusts.
Deep and slow.
He sucked her bottom lip and she looked at him with glinting eyes.
‘Keep looking at me. Keep looking,’ he told her.
And now their eyes were locked, and she felt hot and slick and on the edge of orgasm.
‘Dante...’
She wanted to look but her eyes were closing, her neck arching. He was still thrusting, and she felt herself moving, pushing against him, chasing something that had eluded her for ever.
She closed her eyes and just sank into bliss, too selfish to move, pleased that Dante was taking care of that. He was thrusting in and she caught another glimpse of that elusive thing. She clung tighter, and then his sudden shout had it captured. There was a zip of energy, low in her spine, and she let out a cry of delight as he released himself into her.
She felt tender even as it faded.
Still turned on as it ebbed away.
She looked at Dante and smiled. ‘I’ve never managed that before.’
He stared.
‘I’ve always...’ She stopped.
‘Faked it?’
She nodded.
‘Let’s go upstairs.’