"I admit, apart from a horse I ride on occasion with my nieces and brother, animals aren't something that I've noticed." He shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant."
"It's okay." I laughed. "Not everyone is an animal person. I certainly don't think that makes you a bad person."
"Oh?" He took a slow sip of his drink, his eyes growing hooded as his gaze caressed me. "What kind of person do you think I am?"
The air shifted between us, and I felt my cheeks darken with nerves…and something more carnal. His attention wasn't unwanted. We'd been flirting most of the night. At first, it was subtle—like the warmth of a summer sunrise, slowly spreading its heat until it caressed you from your toes up.
Glances lingered, gazes drifted, and smiles grew lazy and knowing. My foot had grazed his leg a few times before I felt brave enough to leave it gently leaning against his calf. I could blame my boldness on the two glasses of wine I'd drunk, but deep down I knew it would be an excuse. Our chemistry was undeniable, and I knew he felt it too.
"You're shrewd. Ruthless in business. Arrogant and a total control freak," I listed. I lifted my wine glass to my red lips and took a slow sip. My foot slid up his calf, and I watched with a sense of feminine satisfaction as his breath caught.
"But you're also generous. Astute. A loyal friend, an attentive uncle, and a loving older brother. Self-sacrificing," I added.
His amused stare slid over me with interest. He didn't appear flattered. A man of his beauty and wealth didn't need flowery words to boost his ego. Alessio knew exactly who and what he was, and he made no apologies for it.
"Do you know what I see when I look at you?"
I took another sip of my wine, my hand shaking slightly.
"Go on," I encouraged, curious what he would say.
"I think you're intelligent. You speak your mind. You're kind. You're a loyal daughter—you've taken a rather unpleasant situation and made the most of it, with barely a complaint. Not many eighteen-year-olds would be so amenable to a situation that was thrust upon them without their choosing."
Pink slanted my cheeks as I preened under his praise.
"Also," he slowly added. "You're bloody gorgeous. Sexy and alluring. It's fortunate that I've ended up married to someone who is so…irresistible."
His voice was thick like layered honey. His seductive words stuck to my traitorous heart, and instead of scraping them off, my body licked up his compliments and savoured the taste.
I've had the attentions of boys before. I'd accepted their kisses and fumbling gropes. I'd had my fair share of crushes and obsessions. But staring at my dark, handsome man of a husband…I realised that I'd never felt such a strong pull. He was just so virile, and although I knew his words were well rehearsed and practised, a little bit of my resolve faltered.
When we got back to the villa, Alessio walked me to my room, his hand on the small of my back. My heart was in my throat, nerves dancing low in my belly. Not the kind of nerves where you were unsure about what you wanted to happen, more an anticipatory excitement. No, I was not going to have sex with him; I'd held onto my virginity for too long to give it away after a first date—even though we were married.
A bubble of amusement danced low in my throat when I thought about what a weird sentence that was.
"Care to share the joke?"
I glanced up at Alessio, and any trace of humour quickly faded when I caught the sultry look in his eyes. I could feel the heat between us, and it had nothing to do with how close his body had moved to mine.
His hand reached out to stroke my face, his fingers gentle against the smooth curve of my cheek.
"You are so beautiful," he murmured before his dark head bent, and his lips touched mine.
Sparks flew behind my closed lids as I opened my mouth to welcome his kiss. I'd never been so thoroughly consumed before. His taste was warm with a hint of the whisky he'd drunk earlier. A hand slid into my hair as he continued to move his mouth more urgently against mine. He groaned, and the sound was met by my small whimper as our tongues moved in a rhythmic dance.
"I want to devour you," he murmured against my lips as his hand slid along my hip.
"Yes," I moaned as I planted small kisses along his jaw.
We stayed that way for a few more minutes, petting and making out like a couple of randy teenagers. Finally, with great reluctance, Alessio pulled back, panting against my mouth.
"We need to stop before I carry you to bed and do everything I’ve dreamed of doing since I saw you tonight."
I was disappointed, but I knew he was right. I wasn't ready to sleep with him. Yet. So we said goodnight, but from that moment on, we were inseparable.
He took me around Sicily on the days he didn't have meetings. We went to Palermo, where we ate exquisite food and visited churches and palaces. He took me to the Messina Cathedral, and we sailed to Lipari, where we hired a scooter. Sitting behind Alessio with my body pressed against his, my arms wrappedaround his lean waist, did things to my nether regions that I'd never experienced.
He started to open up a bit about his life. He didn't have much to do with his mother, who had taken a handsome payout in the divorce and moved to Florida with her second husband; content for Alessio to grow up in a boarding school and be cared for by a slew of nannies. He saw her once every few years, but she was not very maternal. Cesare, while he held onto full custody, was not much better in the paternal stakes. He saw no harm in shipping Alessio off to boarding school in England while he went through a queue of ex-wives.
