She felt valued. She felt seen.
She felt loved.
The kisses slowed to a stop, and Leo pulled back. She looked up at him—so solid, tall, those shoulders broad enough to carry the weight of a world. To carry hers. He had a soft, knowing smile on his face. It was on the tip of her tongue, to say three words that might change them both for ever. But now wasn’t the right time—not when everything was so new. Like a butterfly just hatched from its chrysalis, its wings fragile and fresh.
It needed some more time, till those wings became solid and it could take flight. So that’s what she’d give it, since time was what she’d been granted. Because whilst she’d almost died, Leo had shown her a life she wanted to live.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Simone walked intoLeo’s Milan office. They’d returned to work and she joined him a few days a week, working the rest from home. She always enjoyed coming back here. In New York, his office was high in the sky, the view an imposing one. It was as if Leo wanted to look over the city he now ruled, because he’d brought his business to the US and become an overnight sensation, rather like he had when he’d been plucked from the streets here. Yet Milan was different. The ground floor in the more historical part of town, with large plate glass windows overlooking a lush green garden accessible to staff. A lot like his Milan home, she realised. It seemed in this city, Leo was more himself than anywhere else.
Yet today, there was something edgy about him. There had been for a few weeks now, ever since their visit to the Duomo. At night, things hadn’t changed. He still held her. Made love to her. Told her she was worth more than she knew and then showed her with his lips and hands. His whole body. Yet something was off. It made her ache inside, like he seemed to be drawing away when she wanted to hold onto him even tighter. To tell him that this no longer felt like a business deal. It felt real.
‘I have a jet on standby for Rome, if you need it.’
He looked up at her. Distracted. Gave her a tight smile. It could be the Tessitore deal. Things had moved frighteningly fast since that dinner with the family. Long hours worked to put together something everyone was happy with. They’d sent the contract off a week earlier, which Leo had already signed, so confident he’d been that what he’d proposed would win them over. They were still waiting for an official response…
‘Thank you,’ he said, his eyes flicking back to his phone almost like she was an afterthought. Her stomach clenched. She couldn’t help feeling as if something was wrong yet how could it be when the passion between them was undiminished? Like he could never get enough of her. It had to be Tessitore, they were so close but still so far. And yet…
‘Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?’
He’d been cryptic about the possible trip to Rome but then he’d promised that if he needed her, he’d ask and she trusted him to do so. Leo frowned, and shook his head. ‘No. You stay here and wait for the Tessitore contract to come through.’
It made sense on an intellectual level, but her waiting behind wasn’t necessary. Someone else could open the envelope if it arrived and if there was a problem, the Tessitores or their lawyer would call. That could be done anywhere in the world. The thought of him simply going without her…they hadn’t been apart since they’d been married.
Since when had she become so needy? She was a grown woman. She could spend a night away from her husband—
Except nothing was certain, nothing was real. Her desires unvoiced. She looked at the rings on her finger. How they glittered under the lights. Still new, and beautiful. Thoughtful, and personally designed by Leo for her. Their marriage might not have started out being real but it felt that way now. Her suite in Milan, a beautiful testament to his thoughtfulness, now only a place that she kept her clothes, having moved permanently into his bedroom.
‘I just thought…’
He raised an eyebrow, his blue eyes blindingly bright and his expression unfathomable. She didn’t know what she really thought, or how to voice this complex mess of feelings that seemed to overtake her. Admiration, desire, something all-encompassing and endless.
‘I won’t be gone long. If I need to stay it’ll only be a day or two at most.’
She opened her mouth to say something, to argue but she wasn’t sure why. Why this trip didn’t feel normal, but like distance was growing between them. There was a quiet rap at the door. A welcome break from the tension. Simone went to see who it was and one of the staff stood there.
‘A delivery’s just come through.’
The staff member handed over a large envelope. She took it, turned it over. Saw where it had come from, her heart skipping a beat. She held it out to Leo.
‘From the Tessitores. Do you think…?’
Leo stood, his nostrils flaring. Any distance she’d perceived, disappeared. It was replaced by bristling expectation.
‘You open it. The success is as much yours as it is mine.’
Simone carefully opened the envelope. Slid the sheaves of paper from it. A letter she didn’t read being in Italian, which she was trying to learn, and the contract Circolo had returned. She flicked over to the last page.
It was signed.
She carefully placed it on the desk in front of him. This business deal had meant so much to Leo, and it had begun to take on the same importance to her as well. A spike of adrenaline coursed through her. It was done, the reason for their marriage, fulfilled…
Was that why he was pulling away, because her usefulness had ended? It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened to her… No, that’s not what was happening here. This was more. She knew it. Whilst it should be an ending she couldn’t help but think of it as a beginning. She smiled as Leo looked at the page, traced his finger over the Tessitore signature as if he didn’t quite believe it, then looked up at her. The expression on his face, fierce. He stalked out from behind the desk towards her.
‘I couldn’t have done this without you.’
Leo took her into his arms and her body instantly relaxed. All her worries and fears gone as he held her, then his lips crashed on to hers. She kissed him with all the emotion she’d held within herself. Thrusting her hands into his hair, gripping tight, not wanting to let him go. They were a team. Unstoppable. It was like together, anything was possible. He pressed her back against the desk and lifted her up onto it, pushing up the skirt of her dress. Stepping into her, pulling her forwards. His hardness against her core. She burned for him. It was the same as the night of the ball when he’d taken her into a darkened room and their passion had exploded for the first time. This was madness. The office door was unlocked, anyone could walk in, and yet she didn’t care. He eased one hand up, toying with her nipple through her bra and she moaned softly, gripping the front of his shirt, not wanting to let go. He pulled away from the kiss, trailing his lips up her neck to her ear. Whispering words in Italian she couldn’t grasp. Endearments, encouragement, thanks? She couldn’t be sure and she didn’t care. Then he eased his hand to her centre, teasing her body through her panties. Capturing her lips again as she moaned louder this time. So much inside wanting to simply take flight. Things that she never expected to voice again, emotions that she couldn’t deny or hold in any longer as he stroked her and wound her higher and tighter. Then the orgasm simply exploded through her. Searing and hot, rolling on and on like there’d never be an end. Just like she wanted for them. But like all good things, it did end, easing, stuttering, then finally stopping. Leaving her floating in a haze of bliss and what she knew was inescapable.
