Chapter Fourteen #2
I head upstairs and find her on the bed, tapping on her phone. Something about the sight irritates me. It’s irrational, and maybe territorial, but I force myself to ignore it.
She glances at me when I enter, her expression blank. No smile. Nothing. She rolls onto her side, putting her back to me.
I swallow the urge to demand to know who she’s messaging. Instead, I pull swim shorts from my case like everything’s fine.
“The pool looks inviting,” I say lightly. “Wanna join me?”
“No.”
I find a swimsuit folded neatly on top of her things. A full swimsuit. Plain. Simple. Modest. Something that won’t have me gouging out Anthony’s eyes if he so much as glances her way.
Perfect.
I place it at the end of the bed. “I’ll leave that here for when you change your mind,” I say firmly, slipping out of my clothes and into my swim shorts.
She doesn’t answer, so I head downstairs and dive into the pool, forcing my mind onto something simple, like breathing, strokes and rhythm. Anything other than Leoni’s cold shoulder or the storm waiting on that mountain later.
I’m halfway through my sixth length when movement catches my eye.
I turn and inhale an entire lungful of water. I surface choking, spluttering violently as I wipe water from my face, and blink again, because there’s no way she’s wearing what I think she’s wearing.
She didn’t choose the full swimsuit. Not even close.
Instead, she’s standing by the edge of the pool in a bikini so white it should be illegal.
A bikini I know will turn see-through the moment it gets wet.The top is a simple band across her chest, no straps, nothing to secure it if she so much as breathes wrong.
Her breasts look as though they’re one deep inhale away from spilling out. But the bottoms—Christ.
The tiny triangle at the front is a lie. A distraction. Because when she turns, I see the truth. It’s a thong. A scrap of white fabric and arrogance, the string not covering anything, because both arse cheeks are on full display like she picked the damn thing specifically to punish me.
Heat punches straight through my spine. She knows exactly what she’s doing.
She stands there, pretending to adjust the strap at her hip, the sun catching her skin, her hair falling over one shoulder, and her smug attitude playing out across her expression.
Anthony steps out onto the terrace, eyes lifting from his laptop, then he freezes, his eyes on her, wide with shock.
“No.” The word tears out of me, sharp, immediate. I haul myself out of the pool, water streaming down my body.
Leoni glances over her shoulder, all wide-eyed innocence. “Did you want something?” she asks him, actually fluttering her lashes.
Anthony looks like he’s staring into the sun, his eyes going wider and unblinking.
“Go inside,” I bark.
He doesn’t hesitate. He spins on his heel and disappears into the villa.
“Close the damn doors,” I call after him. “And the blinds. Do not disturb us.”
Leoni’s lips curl with restrained amusement as I storm toward her, water dripping off me in slow, heavy rivulets. She doesn’t move, just watches me with that sly, knowing look.
I scoop her up without warning, her laugh breathless as she wraps her legs around my waist. I grab a fistful of her hair and crush my lips to hers, kissing her hard.
Her head falls back with a soft gasp when I trail urgent kisses down her throat, across the tops of her breasts. I tug her hair again, exposing more of her skin to my mouth.
“You wore the wrong bathing suit,” I pant against her warm skin.
She giggles, her arms loose around my neck. “I think I wore the right one.”
I slip my fingers beneath the ties at her hips and pull slowly, deliberately, until the tiny bottoms fall away completely.
“You’ll get Anthony killed,” I growl, pressing my erection at her entrance. Her breath stutters.
I thrust into her, burying myself in one smooth, claiming movement. She cries out, her forehead dropping against mine, and her nails digging lightly into my shoulders.
“I like this side of you,” she whispers, her voice trembling with pleasure.
I pin her to the warm stone wall, gripping her hips hard enough that she’ll feel it later. My mouth brushes hers as I move inside her, deep and possessive.
“One day,” I murmur against her lips, “you’ll use it against me to leave.”
Something flickers across her face. Surprise? But I don’t let her speak. I kiss her again, hard enough to chase the thought away.
I lay on the bed watching as Leoni applies minimal makeup. I’d never imagined tender moments like this could mean so much, but being here whilst she does everyday tasks, somehow feels special. Like I’m sitting in her private moment.
“I feel nervous,” she announces, pressing her lips together whilst she looks at me through the reflection.
“It’s just dinner. They’ll probably all be chatting in Italian anyway, you’ll be bored.”
“Another reason I should stay here.”
“This is business,” I say. “And Toni knows you’re my secretary. If I don’t take you, he’ll think it’s weird.”
She twists to face me. “So, tonight is strictly professional?”
I nod, hating the disappointment in her eyes. “Just for tonight.”
“I can do that,” she says, turning back to the mirror and dabbing something into her skin.