“Was he angry?”
Giving Luciano a blowjob popped into her thoughts. “Angry? No. More like charming, but I denied watching him. I couldn’t tell him.”
Simone draped the dresses over her arm.
“Of course.” Slash opened the bedroom door.
As they walked down the hall, Slash asked, “Are you thinking of coming back to ALPHA?”
“Maybe. I miss it… a lot.”
“I miss working with you.”
Back in the kitchen, as Simone hung the gowns in the garment bag, she spotted Luciano on the porch alone, staring into the darkness.
“Dinner,” Elsa said as she pulled plates from the cupboard.
“I’ll let Luciano know.” Simone walked onto the screened porch.
Luciano turned. Their connection was immediate and intense. She felt pulled to him, like a magnet. She couldn’t have stopped herself even if she’d wanted.
Only she didn’t want.
Halting inches away, she peered into his eyes. “Dinner.”
“Are you hungry?” he murmured, his deep voice rumbling through her.
“I am,” she replied, passion igniting her insides. “You?”
“I’m starving.” The gritty need in his voice halted her breath. “Wait until you taste Elsa’s skillet chicken. “Deliziosa.” Then, he cupped her cheek, stepped so close his warm breath heated her skin. “Like you.”
“Ohgod.” She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t look away. In that moment Luciano Santini became her entire universe.
“Kiss me,” he whispered.
That made her smile… until she realized she’d wrapped her arms around his back, and was clinging to him like a vine. She started to untangle herself when he kissed her.
Powerful, yet gentle, and overflowing with sinful promise. A moan floated into the air.
Her moan.
Her body and her brain had separated.
“Bene, no?” he asked.
He could speak Italian to her all day, every day. It didn’t matter whether she understood. His gravelly, commanding timbre rumbled through her, captivating her completely.
“Your turn,” he said. “Kiss me.”
She pressed her lips to his, only this time, she lingered. The air crackled around them while heat flowed through her like lava.
“You shouldn’t have left me the other night,” he whispered. “Don’t make that mistake again.”
She’d defied him, something no one did.Ever. But she didn’t give a damn how the world kowtowed to the magnificent Mr. Santini. She would never fall in line.
“I left because it was the smart thing to do,” she pushed back.
“You left because you’re afraid of getting hurt. Maybe you thought I was using you.”
