She followed her husband to the master suite. When they entered the large, antique-filled room, the centerpiece being the huge four-poster bed, memories of what they did together in that bed, on that bed, flooded her.
His grip tightened on her hand and she became very much aware that they were alone in Dante’s bedroom, and he was looking at her with those long-lashed eyes that hypnotized.
“Relax, Abby. I’m not about to pounce and ravish you on the bed.” He gave her a devastating smile. “I can wait until tonight.”
“You agreed to give me time.” Hiswe’ll seeraised eyebrow only made her pulse reach supersonic speeds.
“Come, the family is waiting.” He noted her apprehension. “They won’t bite. They know how difficult I can be. If I’m happy with this arrangement, so will they be too.”
“You haven’t told them about our deal, have you?”
“Of course not. We’ll simply tell them you came to your senses and couldn’t live without me.”
“Don’t joke, Dante. They’ll never believe that.”
He moved closer. “They will if you arrive downstairs with a blush on your face as if I’ve just thoroughly ravished you.” Before she could protest, his lips founds hers and he pulled her hard against his body, his tongue sailing lightly across her tense lips, asking her to part for him.
When she didn’t respond, he continued with gentle nibbles and nips, coaxing her mouth to open. When she obliged, his tongue slipped into her mouth and stoked the fire of need that lay dormant inside her.
His scent, like smoky sandalwood, covered her. Barely breathing, she slid her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He took her mouth fully, a deep, gentle mating of tongues. At the same time, he moved his hands up her rib cage, gently cupping her breasts, filling his hands while he softly kneaded. In response, she arched against the length of him. She was trembling, but the tremors running through her had nothing to do with dread. It was as if the reins of desire she’d held tight for the past three years had snapped. Her dreams of him had come to life.
When at last he drew back, she was actually disappointed.
“There, now we could convince anyone that we’re in love.”
She shook her head. “No. Not love. Never use that word for what this arrangement is. Lust I’ll allow, but not love.”
With that she strode from the room.
As it was,the reunion with the rest of his family was a nonevent. Katarina had taken her daughters into Florence for the day and they would be spending the night in the Lombardi apartment. So they had a brief lunch on the terrace and then spent a few hours ensconced in Dante’s study making all the arrangements for her grandmother’s surgery.
Dante arranged for the best cardio surgeon in the world to operate on her grandmother in the private hospital here in Florence. Then her grandmother would convalesce with them at the villa.
She Skyped with her grandmother, and the look on her face told Abby how relieved she was to be having the surgery. Abby didn’t mention the past or anything about Dante. Her grandmother wisely didn’t ask why Dante was helping them. After her operation she had a lot of explaining to do. Why had Nana not told her about Dante’s phone calls? The guilty look on her grandmother’s face spoke volumes. There would be time for recriminations later—she hoped. For now, all Abby wanted was for her grandmother to stay well and survive until after her surgery. When she’d disconnected the call, she wandered out to the pool and found Dante swimming. He halted his laps when he spied her arrival. She sat on the edge of the pool and dangled her bare feet in the water.
“Thank you for all you did this afternoon.”
“I didn’t do much. I simply made a few phone calls.”
“For which I am eternally grateful.”
He swam toward her. “How grateful?”
She noted the gleam in his eyes. “Don’t you dare pull me in fully clothed! I haven’t got enough clothes with me.”
“Great. You’ll have to walk around naked.”
She felt a tug on her foot, and before she could take a breath, she was under the water.
She came up spluttering and sent her palm skidding over the water, sending a harsh spray over Dante. “I can’t believe you did that. What am I going to wear to meet your family tomorrow? This skirt can only be dry-cleaned!”
He laughed. “Relax, all your clothes are still hanging in our wardrobe. They might be several seasons old but they should fit.” He molded his hands to her breasts. “Although, you’ve filled out a bit over the last few years.”
“Is that your way of informing me I’m fat?” She slapped at his hands while trying to push down the skirt floating around her waist.
“What? No. I like them fuller.” His hands moved from her wet T-shirt to her waist, holding her in the water, keeping her afloat. Pietro arrived.
“There’s an urgent phone call for you, sir.”
