Chapter 8
IT WAS, QUITE POSSIBLY, ONE of the longest weeks of his entire life, and given that he’d served two tours in the Middle East and lost one of his best friends, that was saying something.
But Allegra had clearly set her intention to torment Luca, and she was a very effective tormenter indeed.
She sunbathed every day, but first, came to his office in a skimpy bikini and asked for lotion to be rubbed over her body.
It had become a form of foreplay, there was no getting away from that.
What had started, on the first day, as a reasonably professional interaction—for Luca—had devolved into something else entirely.
He no longer cared that his hands roamed her body.
In fact, he couldn’t not. He touched as though his life depended on it.
The more she reacted, the more he felt, his hands glancing over her hips, stomach, back, occasionally flicking lower to curve her bottom, half drawing her against him, when he was not strong enough to resist.
He never went to the pool, though. Not knowing what he might find—her, topless, begging him to take her.
He was so close to snapping. His will power, which he had once thought unassailable, was now threadbare, so he alternated between spending the bare minimum time with her, and staring at her like some hormonally charged adolescent.
He had to get a grip, but with Allegra under his roof, that felt impossible.
The only saving grace was that with Valentino gone, they no longer had to share a room.
Though his bed smelled of her, which made any meaningful sleep impossible—yet he didn’t have the sheets changed.
He couldn’t bring himself to. Not when he could inhale her fragrance night by night.
He was fighting a losing battle, and somewhere along the way, he admitted that to himself. It no longer felt like a question of ‘if’, so much as ‘when’. And then, for Luca, the issue became around certainty.
She didn’t seem to think sex was a big deal, nor that her first time mattered, but Luca knew better. He knew his own personal viewpoint on sex was rare. Most people ascribed an emotional element to the act—and that was what he needed to safeguard.
But this was not the time to surrender to desire.
After the party—and Allegra’s presentation to his family and the world at large—he would stop fighting so hard, and think about the parameters for the new deal she wanted to strike.
Until then, he had to use this week to focus on making sure they were well prepared for the event.
A weekend spent at his grandfather’s private island was hardly onerous, but having to play the part of a happily married pair the whole time was going to stretch his willpower more than it already was.
Heaven help him.
Allegra could have cried. Frustration was an actual gnawing ache in her gut.
She had never known a need quite like this.
It was a physical pain, a persistent, clawing sense of want.
An awareness of Luca was with her always.
She knew where he was, if he was looking at her.
Her body was constantly almost vibrating with a sharp sense of want.
She had thrown everything she could at seducing him. She had taunted him, and he’d felt it, but he had been impervious. Either his willpower was that strong, or his desire was nowhere near a match for hers.
Either way, as the speedboat cut through the pristine water, with the afternoon sun on her back, Allegra let the wind whip her face with relief, because it was better than feeling what she had been for days.
How on earth could she get through this weekend though? Every time they touched, she felt as though she were going to jump out of her skin, and now they had two full nights of pretending to his family and friends that they were besotted newlyweds.
That would involve touching. And kissing. And she didn’t know how she would cope if he kissed her and stopped—which he would, because he clearly didn’t want anything to do with her or her virginity.
She dropped her head and her blonde hair flew wildly about her face.
She reached for her wrist, grabbing the hair elastic at the same time a pair of strong hands caught her hair and held it back, subduing it for her, his body right behind hers.
Strong and powerful, so all she wanted to do was lean back and feel him against her.
The island was in view; was he doing this for their benefit? In case someone—Valentino, most likely—had a telescope trained on them?
The boat sped towards a jetty and then slowed down, the driver expertly navigating it into position, where two staff members were waiting to grab the ropes one of the speedboat operators threw at them.
They hooked it over a metal shape, steadying the boat, close enough that she could easily step onto the timber structure.
And even though that were true, they were back in ‘showtime’ mode, meaning Luca held out his hand to guide her.
When she glanced up at his face, frowning a little, he gave her an encouraging smile. A smile that seemed to say, ‘remember, this is what you’re here for’. And she knew that to be the case. She just wished, with all her heart, that there was more to it.
The only thing he could think of when he looked at Allegra in the white, strapless dress was her tan. Her flawless, golden tan she’d been working on by the pool all week, a tan that he suspected would include her breasts.
“Please, Luca,” she said, catching his reflection in the mirror of his bedroom suite here, at his grandfather’s villa. “Don’t look at me like that.”
He dared to move closer, striding across the room, but kept his hands firmly in his pockets. “Like what?”
“Like you want to strip this thing off me.”
Temptation hummed. “And what if I do?”
Her eyes flared wide. “You’re the one who’s said that’s not possible.”
A muscle jerked in his jaw. “Yes, I have said that.”
He stood at her back, staring intently, seeing her and knowing that they could not fight this much longer. Not if they stayed living together.
The alternative? To run away to Rome. To put some necessary space between them, except when they had to fool the world.
He’d thought of that, but the problem was in his staff. Before he’d bought the villa, it had been his grandfather’s and many of the housekeepers remained. He knew their loyalty was split with the old man. If he disappeared for weeks at a time, it would become known.
The deal would be off.
So they were stuck together, with this heat blaring between them.
He lifted a hand, as if to touch her, then dropped it away again. He couldn’t. Not yet. Not here.
“Do you feel ready?”
Her expression shifted. “For what?”
“Tonight,” he clarified. “My family.”
“Oh.” She pressed her teeth into her lower lip. “I suppose so.”
“It won’t be that bad.”
She looked uncertain.
“Stay close to me, cara. I’ll look after you.”
Her lips parted and ached to kiss her. He turned away instead.
The party was already in full swing by the time they arrived.
Valentino had turned the entire lawn into a venue, to capture the remarkable sunset views over the ocean.
The island was a decent size, with its own golf course and racetrack, two of Valentino’s favourite hobbies.
It featured a large villa, guest houses, and this expansive lawn that had been Luca’s grandmother’s favourite place to spend time.
At the end of her life, she’d sat here with a blanket on her knees—she’d always been cold—and had simply stared out at the world, as though it brought her endless comfort.
Luca knew that was why Valentino was hosting the party here; to make Liliana close to them all.
“I hear congratulations are in order.” Allegra glanced first at Luca, as if to give her strength. He saw the way she was fidgeting with the enormous ring and reached down to steady her hand in his. His brother’s approach was as expected as it was unwelcome.
“This is Paolo,” he said, having run Allegra through his family make up in the preceding week.
“Your brother,” she said, confirming her understanding with a tight nod before turning with him to meet the man who was only six-months younger than Luca.
Six-months younger, and full of the hatred he’d been raised by his mother to feel for Luca, the bastard child who’d been the beginning of the end for his parents’ marriage. Allegra squeezed Luca’s hand more tightly and he held her right by his side, staying close to her, just as he’d promised.
Paolo was in many ways a carbon copy of Luca.
An inch or so shorter, but with the same devastating good looks, broad shoulders and toned physique, eyes that glittered like black diamonds and a face that might as well have been carved by a renaissance sculptor.
And yet she looked at him and felt nothing.
Nada. Niente. He was devastatingly handsome, undoubtedly sexy, and yet one glance left her completely unaffected.
The only hammering in her veins, quickening of her heart and twisting of her stomach had to do with the hold Luca had on her hand, the way his thumb was padding softly against the soft flesh of her inner wrist.
“And so this is your bride?” Paolo asked, tone clearly unimpressed.
Ally forced a smile. “Allegra,” she said, holding out her other hand to shake.
At first, he didn’t move, but the slightest shift from Luca had Paolo finally extending his own hand to reciprocate the gesture. “Welcome to our family.” The words were steeped in distaste. Allegra’s hackles were raised immediately.
“Thank you,” she said, staying pressed into Luca.
“It’s certainly been a whirlwind affair.” Cynicism permeated the words. “Our grandfather was not clear on how you two met.”
“Where is he?” Luca asked, not responding to the implied question.
“Holding court near the bar.” Paolo turned his attention to Ally. “And so? I can’t imagine you move in the same social circles.”
There was that sneer again. The judgement.