"Okay."
He thrusts the plate at me and I take it. There's a chunk of bread, thinly sliced salami and some pieces of mozzarella on it.
"My housekeeper's taking a couple of days off. This is the best I could do."
He sounds angry. Does he think I'm turning my nose up at the food?
"No, this is great. It's been a long time since I had good salami."
I expect him to leave when he heads for the door but instead he leans against the wall next to it. He watches as I try the salami. It has a nice spice to it.
"Oh, my god, that's so good."
"It's from a butcher in the village. He..." Adriano stops dead as if he didn't mean to share that information with me.
I devour the food with unseemly haste. It's all so good, the flavors pulling me back to my childhood when my mother would make simple platters of food for my brother and I to share as we sat in the garden. When I finish, I set the plate on top of the nightstand and open the bottle of water. I take a few sips and put it down next to the plate.
Adriano's still staring intently at me. It's unsettling in ways I don't want to examine too closely right now.
"You know, most women in your situation would have tried to seduce their way out of this," he says. "Why haven't you?"
His question takes me by surprise. It honestly never crossed my mind to play that card.
"Would it work?"
He tilts his head slightly. The corners of his mouth lift but it's not quite a smile. I have no idea what he's thinking. If he's amused there's something grim underlying it. A part of me hopes he'll shut this down, that he'll tell me he wouldn't be so easily manipulated. Another wants a hint that he returns the attraction I wish I didn't feel for him.
"Give it a try."
The air in the room changes. I know I should ignore whatever game he's playing. I don't do well unless I know the rules. But, for some reason, I find myself pushing to my feet and walking across the room toward him. I watch his face the entire time, looking for some clue about what he hopes to achieve.
He doesn't move. Unnervingly still, he does nothing as I approach. When I stop in front of him I see for the first time the truly incredible blue of his eyes. There's tension in his jaw that tells me he's not as unmoved by my closeness as he pretends.
For a moment I stand there, unsure what my next move should be. I could drop to my knees and unfasten his pants but I'm not that brazen.
While I'm still trying to decide what to do, Adriano reaches out and grabs my shoulders. He spins me around and pulls me back against him. My clit throbs as he bands an arm around my chest. His hand slides down my front to pop open the button on my pants. I don't breathe. I can't.
He cups my mound and caresses me over the plain white cotton of my underwear. An involuntary moan escapes me as he drags them to the side.
"Bare," he murmurs. "Who's that for,cara?"
"No-one." I exhale sharply as he slides a finger through my wetness. "It's habit."
When I dated Gabriele I kept myself bare in case that was what he preferred. I never found out because we didn't have sex. Not once. He told me it was because he intended to marry me one day. In some respects he was old-fashioned. I never quite believed him.
"You're drenched." Adriano's breath is warm against my ear. "Is that for no-one too?"
"No." I moan as he pushes a finger inside me. "That's just for you."
"Hmm." Adriano withdraws his hand. He spins me around and leans closer. I think he's going to kiss me. I part my lips in anticipation as he curves a hand around my cheek. He stares into my eyes for a moment, then straightens. "Oh,cara, you'll have to do better than that."
He turns, walks out of the room and closes the door. Once more he locks it behind him. I stare at it for the longest time. No man has touched me that intimately for years. I wish I could say I hated it, but I didn't. Despite the humiliation, I find myself wanting more. I don't consider what that says about me.
FOUR
Adriano
When I arrive at Gabriele's house I find him alone on the terrace. Sitting with a pile of paperwork on the table in front of him, he looks better than he has in years. Marriage suits him, or more to the point, Katya does.
