Gambler's Folly (Bookstrand Publishing Romance) (7 page)

“Sure, Damiano, I will,” she said, as her body screamed at her to go to him. Pacing the floor after he left, she finally felt calm enough to slip between the cream silk sheets and try to sleep. Her dreams were erotic, to say the least.

It was entirely too early when Damiano woke her the next morning. Karianna had no idea when she’d finally gone to sleep, but she didn’t feel rested.

“Come on, Kari,” she heard him say, “If you want coffee before your workout, you should get out of bed.”

Not Carl, not today, she thought. She had one man who was overwhelmingly attentive to her, and one who was a fiend in the gym. Between the two of them, she was going to go mad.

“Some honeymoon,” she murmured to herself.

“We can relax and have fun later,” she heard right next to her. Opening her eyes, she saw Damiano, in black silk pajama pants and no shirt, stretched out on her bed. Head propped up on his hand, he had an amused smile, as he watched the succession of expressions on her face. “When you decide what to do, cara, let me know,” he said. “But if you choose coffee and Carl, you should get up soon.”

“What are my other choices?” she asked grumpily.

“You have two choices, mia amore. Your husband or Carl.”

“And if I choose my husband?” she asked.

“Well, then we can stay in bed for a while and see what happens. Like this.” He reached over lazily and slowly drew the sheets from her body. “Nice, cara. So lovely on you,” he commented on the wisp of sheer lace she’d worn to bed. The only lingerie she had was ideal for newlyweds, and very sensual even then.

His eyes slowly moved down her body, taking in the sight. While she tried to sort out her feelings, his hand found the slit in the side of the gown, caressed her thigh, and then swept up and over her behind. Moving closer, he cushioned her head on his arm and slowly kissed her.

Now thoroughly awake with her body at full alert, she knew exactly what she wanted. She wasn’t sure if it was what she should do, though. Part of her was shocked that she would even consider sleeping with this man. Of course, it was difficult to reason with a strong, warm hand taking a tour of her body, having now reached her breast. They were married, after all, she thought, and Trae was gone. It wouldn’t be cheating. Besides, she was stuck with him for two years and he was attractive, to say the least. She might as well get something out of the arrangement.

Damiano decided to help her make up her mind by tracing her ear with his tongue, nibbling her ear lobe and leaving a trail of tiny kisses down her throat. His hand massaged her stomach and abdomen, then pressed in deeply, to massage just below her navel. The explosion of white-hot energy sent her right over the edge.

As her arms reached up to pull him to her, her mouth sought his hungrily, like someone who’d been starved nearly to death invited to a banquet.

“Slowly, cara. We have all morning,” he said, gently taking her in hand, while teasing her even more. Pinning her wrists to the bed and positioning himself between her thighs, but not entering her, his mouth teased her throat and shoulders as she became more and more aroused, aroused beyond anything she had ever imagined.

When he had reached the top of her gown, Damiano shook his head. “Cara, why do you have on so many clothes?” As if see-through black lace actually covered anything.

First the straps came off her shoulders, and then the bodice was smoothed down to her waist, the elastic stretching enough not to be a hindrance.

Continuing where he’d left off, her breasts received his full attention, until she thought she would burst. “Damiano, please, I need you. For heaven’s sake, take me.”

As if he’d not heard a word, his lips continued their caresses down her body, occasionally nipping her skin lightly with his perfect teeth. Letting go of her hands, his fingers stroked her body, squeezed her breasts gently, and nearly drove her mad with desire. Clutching the sheets in clenched fists, her body performed an exotic dance, directed by the caresses of her new lover.

“And here we are again with the clothes,” he said. “This will not do, cara.” Pulling the gown down past her hips and off onto the floor, he shook his head again. “What is this, cara mia?” he asked, his finger beneath the top of the panties matching the gown, teasing her sensitive skin. “No, these we will never see again. Not in my bed.” One quick movement tore the lace from her body and pitched the panties into a corner of the room. “Much better. Now where was I?”

By the time he’d sampled her entire torso, Karianna was beyond begging. With each new sensation, she gasped or whimpered in anguished bliss, each touch of his lips or hands sending her body into a higher and higher state of need and desire.

“So, cara, are you nearly ready for your husband?” he asked, finally.

“Dear god, Damiano, don’t make me wait any longer. Please…”

Pressing outward with his knees, his body over hers, kissing her mouth deeply, he spread her legs wide. And then slowly, ever so slowly, he brought his member close enough to touch her, just touch, for what seemed an eternity, before slowly, deliberately, lowering himself into his wife for the first time.

Karianna was grateful for soundproof walls.

Sometime well after her workout would have finished, they lay together on her bed in satisfied exhaustion. Karianna had read about this kind of lovemaking, but hadn’t really believed it existed. She was lying with her head on his arm, back snuggled against him, and his fingers still traced the lines of her body, sending ripples of pleasure in all directions.

“Dam, you have to stop,” she protested feebly, struggling to keep her libido in check. “No, really.”

“Why?” he asked. “Do you have plans for the afternoon?”

“Afternoon? What time is it?” she demanded.

“I don’t know, but my belly tells me we’ve missed breakfast and it’s time for lunch, unless you’re hungry again, cara.”

“Damiano! Stop that!” she exclaimed, as his hands and mouth began to tease again. His mouth muffled the rest of her protest and reignited her passion.

“So demanding a lover, cara,” he told her. “Have you never been seduced before?”

“No, I haven’t. What I’ve had before was barely sex, never seduction.”

Early in the afternoon, after their very late brunch, Damiano watched her over his coffee, a very satisfied smile on his face.

“What does that look mean, Dam?” she asked him.

“What look? I’m just content.”

“I think maybe you are an incubus. No mere man could possibly bring that much desire and arousal to a woman, let alone satisfaction.”

“Cara, cara, I thank you for the compliment.”

“And I’ll thank you to keep your distance,” she tried to say without laughing.

With a hearty chuckle, Damiano shook his head. “So, Karianna mia, should I have your things moved into the master suite? Or should I keep it to myself, as a refuge from your ardor?”

“My ardor? I was fine until I found you in my bed, hands roaming all over my body. And you talk about my ardor?”

“No, I think you should move. Running up and down the hallway every time you need me could be tiring,” he said, eyes smoldering.

“For whom?” she asked.

“Why, for you, cara. I refuse to chase up and down the hall for a woman. If you want me, you’ll have to come to me.”

“Who came to whom this morning?”

“That was to help you decide if you wanted to be my wife,” he told her. “I like your choice.”

“No, I’m not coming over there, Damiano. Enough already,” she replied to the looks she was getting.

“Then we need to find another way to amuse ourselves,” he shrugged. “Why don’t you show me your new clothes?”

“Okay, let’s go look at them,” she replied.

“Cara mia. I can look at them anytime. I want to see them on you,” he said. “I know. I’ll go pick out the ones I like best, and you can model them for me.”

“I’m no model, Dam.”

“It’s alright. I won’t be looking at the clothes.”

He was incorrigible.

* * * *

He chose a handful of outfits, which she modeled for him, and then went back for more. By the time he was finished, they had gone through them all, with him making notes on what he wanted changed, or items he wanted for later. Karianna was tired of changing clothes.

“Kari, where are your other shoes?” he asked. “We really should have thought to try the dresses with the shoes that go with them.”

“What shoes?” she asked.

“The shoes for the evening wear, cara.”

“Dam, I have no other shoes. Just the one pair.”

A confused look on his face, he asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Damiano. Unless they were left in the other guest room.”

He made a call and soon Paolo came to the suite. “Could you take this key,” he said, “and check to see if Kari left some shoes in the special guest room? When her things were moved, they should have been brought with them.”

The man left and was gone for nearly twenty minutes. “Mr. Leone, there are no shoes in the room,” he said when he came back. “I’ve looked everywhere and there are none.”

“Grazie,” he said, frowning.

“Are you sure you had no new shoes, cara?”

“I’m sure, Dam. No shoes.”

“That will have to change,” he said, reaching for the phone. After a brief exchange in Italian, he hung up the phone. Moments later, Marco came in.

“Yes, Mr. Leone, how can I help you?” he asked.

“Marco, as you know, we’re supposed to be out of town on our honeymoon. I’ve just found out that Karianna has only one pair of shoes. Now, if I call to order some for her, word will get out, capisce? And I don’t want that. Can you take a message from me to Lea’s shop?”

“Yes, Mr. Leone.”

“Good. Tell her that Karianna needs shoes to go with the new evening wear she made for her. If she needs the size, you can come and get this pair for her. Since we won’t be going out, I think she can do without them for a little while.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll see to it right away. She’ll need them when you return from your honeymoon, correct? And you’re having a great time.”

“Exactly, Marco. Ciao.”

Damiano insisted she had to keep her workout schedule with Carl. Rolling over in bed the next morning, she asked, “Well, we exercised in my bed yesterday. We should try yours.”

“We tried it last night, cara, and it was wonderful,” Damiano answered. “Now give me a kiss and get up or you won’t have time for coffee.” She turned onto her side to kiss her new husband and then rolled onto her stomach, trying to marshal enough energy to get started.

“Come on, cara, out of bed.” The swat on the bottom woke her straight up.

“Ouch! That hurt!” she complained.

“It was meant to, Karianna,” he replied. “You must get out of bed now. Carl will be waiting before long, and you are going to keep your appointment with him.”

She should never have taken a break, she thought, as she dragged her body to the shower. Hopefully, she would get used to it soon. Never having had a problem with her weight, she exercised when she felt like, usually just taking a walk. Once in a while there was something interesting on the viewer, but she rarely kept it up for more than a week at a time.

Yes, she knew muscle tone was important, but always put it off. She hated going to the gym and didn’t have weights at home. Tomorrow always seemed good enough.

About halfway through the week, just as she’d finished her workout, Damiano met her outside the showers.

“So, you don’t seem quite so tired today,” he said. “That is good. It means you’re doing well.”

“I suppose. I’m just not used to exercising every day.”

“You will be, cara. You will.” He smiled at her. “Do you like to swim?”

“Sure, when I have someplace to do it. I always had to drive to the pool, and then swim, shower, get changed, go home. It took all day.”

“Why don’t you shower quickly and then we’ll swim for a while. It should feel nice after your workout.”

Damiano followed her into the shower and after a bit of fun, they wrapped in towels and walked through the gym and out the other side. Turning right, they continued down a short corridor and through the door at the end.

“Wow! It’s lovely, Damiano,” she said, looking at the pool. Underwater scenes, picked out in tiles on the wall, complemented the pool, which was about half the size of a regulation pool. With the sides of the pool a midnight blue and a celestial pattern on the bottom, it was as if the heavens were reflected in the water.

“Shall we?” he asked her.

“I don’t have a bathing suit, Dam.”

“Why do you need one, cara? There is no one here but the two of us. Have you never swum nude before?” Eyes twinkling, he had already shed his towel. After a moment, Karianna joined him in the water. “Now, isn’t this better, cara? No bathing suit to get in the way.”

“You are insufferable, Damiano Leone,” she said, eluding his grasp and swimming away.

“So, you think to escape, cara?” Pushing off from the wall, he chased her around the pool, his powerful arms making him impossible to evade. Catching her in a lifesaving grasp, he towed her into the nearest corner. “Now, cara, you pay for inconveniencing me.”

“Oh really?” she asked. “What did you have in mind?”

What he had in mind was soon obvious. Hands on top of her hips, his initial thrust was fast and deep, making her gasp at the sudden sensations. Seizing a handful of her dark, wet hair, his mouth was forceful, matching the intensity of his lovemaking.

Pulling his face back from hers for a moment, his eyes dark and sensual, he said, “Caught like a fish on a spear, squirming and struggling to escape the inevitable. Or in other words, cara, you’re screwed.” With a sudden ferociousness, he finished, leaving her completely drained, but sated.

They relaxed in the water for a while until they found the energy to shower and walk back to the living quarters of the spacious suite. Sitting across from her in the living room, he shook his head. “You’re very hard on a man, cara. By the time the week is finished, I’ll need a vacation from my vacation.”