“Whatever youwant.”
In a move that made me gasp, he brought me hard against him, so I could feel how hard he was.
“Later,” I said, eyes closing at the touch of his lips on my neck, the warm wetness skimming along my skin, his teeth nibbling, making me cling to him.
“Now,” he said in Italian, his voice strong. “You smell…”
An hour later, I was ten minutes late for my meeting with Luca.
Ever the gentlemen, he’d come to the villa to pick me up, Maggie Beautiful in tow. Both of them eyed me suspiciously as I walked toward them, more than a bit unsteady. Unusual for me to tremble in heels, but my legs felt watery as my heart still hammered away.
My face flushed. I wondered how long Luca and Maggie Beautiful had been waiting at our villa, and what they had heard.
I was ten minutes late, but knowing Luca, he was probably five minutes early.
Luca turned the look on Brando, quickly putting two and two together. His nostrils flared when I greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. The strong emotion that dimmed his eyes into dark pools made me feel anxious. He didn’t mind waiting on a woman, but for only one reason—so she could get ready forhim.
He knew he had to wait for me because his son decided he wanted to exercise his right to enjoy the pleasures of marriage.
Maggie Beautiful laughed, kissing the top of Luca’s head. This softened him up a bit, but not by much.
“We have something for you, doll,” she said, pulling out a silver-wrapped packaged from her purse. She handed it to me.
It was square, not extremely heavy, but solid enough. Brando eyed it with the same suspicion his father had had in his eyes—but his were watching it like he could hear it ticking.
“This is a gift,” his father said in Italian, the hardness in his eyes matching his tone. “Your brother’s wives received a gift as well. For all of the hard work done for the party.”
I thanked him in Italian, Maggie Beautiful too, and opened the gift, not wanting to offend. No matter how Brando felt, the gesture was appreciated.
My eyes widened in surprise. “I can’t—” I started to say, my voice soft. I looked at the watch for a moment, staring at it. It was from a well-known designer, it was full of diamonds, and it had one of the most uniquely shaped faces I’d ever seen.
The entire watch seemed to be created with diamonds and white gold. The hands on the watch itself were black, as were the numbers in roman numerals.
“This is too much,” I said when I could find my voice. “What I did—I did because I wanted the night to be special.”
“How do you feel about it, Rose?”Luca said in Italian, but I could tell my response pleased him.
“It’s breathtaking.”
“Then—” He removed the watch from the box, then took my empty wrist and secured the watch to it.
Leaning forward, I placed a soft kiss on his cheek—that spicy, male aroma that clung to him made me close my eyes. It reminded me of Brando, but more concentrated. As if his age had made him smell even better, as a fine wine or an especially well-aged barrel of whiskey.
“Grazie,” I whispered. Then I turned to Maggie Beautiful and kissed her too. “I will cherish this, just as much as I cherish my time with the two of you.”
Maggie Beautiful took my hand and squeezed. “Grab her coat, Luca,” she said. “We’re going to head toward the villa.”
Brando mentioned the walk to his father, but I didn’t hear his response. Maggie Beautiful had started dragging me toward the door and out of it.
Appreciating the fact that I’d slipped my glasses over my head instead of in my purse, since it was left behind, I slid them over my eyes, the sun out in full force. The oncoming winter showed signs in the air, though, when the wind blew.
“What’s going on?” I asked her after we were out of earshot of the house.
Three men walked behind us, giving us privacy, though armed men were all around. Some even sitting in trees.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to you lately.” She bit her lip, then let it go with a pop. “Luca has been preoccupied lately. He doesn’t allow me out of his sight. Then with Ettore…”
She didn’t have to explain. Ettore’s death had brought a black cloud to hover over the estate.
