Love in the City, an erotic romance novel (35 page)

“No,” she said, placing her hand over his and gently squeezing it. “I know that.”

“Well,” he said, as he leaned forward and swirled his Cognac around in his snifter, “when I was a bit younger, I made the mistake of not getting to know people well enough before…you know.”

“Having sex with them,” she blurted out.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I ended up paying for that mistake a couple of times.” He took
a long sip of the amber spirit and looked at the fireplace, feeling momentarily lost in the flames that were burning away.

Anabelle just waited for him to continue.

He ran his fingers through his hair and then rubbed the stubble on his chin. “For example, years ago, I met this woman at a charity function. She was quite a bit older than me, but we ended up having a few things in common. She had traveled to Greece and knew a lot about it, she liked cooking, she was involved in a few charities, that kind of thing. We had a good time just shooting the breeze at the function. She was also pretty flirtatious, very touchy-feely throughout the night.”

Anabelle took a sip of her Cognac. It’s warm, smooth bite was just what she needed right now.

He continued, “At the end of the night I offered to walk her to her car. When we got there, she was all over me. I was a bit surprised, I mean I had kind of thought we’d be kissing goodnight, maybe make plans to go out together sometime. I didn’t expect to get jumped in the parking lot.” He cleared his throat.

“And?”

“And, I was kind of young and stupid, not really thinking and half-wasted. She had a lot to drink, too. So, she said that she wasn’t really in any shape to drive. I agreed. I should have thought of that before walking her to her car. Again, young and stupid.”

Anabelle nodded
for him to continue.

“She said she should get a taxi and
asked would I come with her while she hailed one. I said sure. On the way there, she said she thought she should stay at a hotel, to be closer by to pick up her car in the morning. That she lived quite far from the event.”

“What was her name?”

“Vicki,” he said. “She was about fourteen years older than me. I think I was 26, so she would’ve been around 40.”

“Hmm. So then what happened?”

“She convinced me to go with her, to make sure she got there safely. I didn’t really have anywhere to be but home by myself, so I said sure.” He took another sip of the Cognac. His eyes had a faraway look to them. “She was all over me in the taxi, too and asked me to walk her to her hotel room. Anyhow, as I said, I was young, not too bright, and pretty liquored up. She invited me into her room and well…”

“I get it,” Anabelle said, not wanting to hear the details.

“I woke up the next morning and she was gone. I had a pretty bad hangover. She left a note saying she had a wonderful time and that she’d call me soon so we could get together again.”

Anabelle thought back to when she had also left him in a hotel room. She was feeling bad about it again, but she didn’t want to bring it up.

Giorgio continued. “I thought I’d be at least some kind of a gentleman and call the next day and invite her to brunch. So you know, she didn’t think I was just a one-night stand kind of guy. I realized I didn’t have her number, so I looked her up via the charity. I called her at home. She was frosty to say the least and basically told me not to call her, that she’d call me and hung up.”

“Wow, rude,” Anabelle said.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I was pretty confused. I wondered if I had said or done something to offend her, I had been rather wasted after all. I decided to learn more about her, so I Googled her. I found out she had given me a fake name. Or rather, her maiden name. The one she went by for her charity work.”

“What do
you mean? She was divorced?”

“Nope,” he said.

“She was married?”

“Yup.”

“Separated?” she asked hopefully.

He shook his head. “No.”

Anabelle looked at him, not saying anything. She was getting worried as to where this story was going. She gripped her glass.

He read her expression. “I see those wheels turning. No, I’m not the kind of guy to sleep with another man’s wife…at least knowingly.”

“Okay,” she said, feeling a bit tense.

“And I wouldn’t cheat on my wife either, if I had one, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

She turned red. “I wasn’t,” she lied, then had some Cognac to hide her face with the glass.

“Mmmhmm,” he said, “well
, hopefully you believe me now.”

“I do,” she said.

“Anyway, what could I do? I left it alone. I was furious and humiliated. She hadn’t been wearing a wedding ring and not one person at that event came up to me to tell me who she was, warn me that she was married. I figured out later that affairs are a rather common hobby amongst that lot.”

“Really? Did you ever hear back from her?”

He nodded and took a long sip of Cognac. “About a week later. She called to ask if I could meet her again at that same hotel mid-afternoon. Said she had a couple of free hours. Not one word about how she had spoken to me on the phone the last time.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, I sure as heck wasn’t going to be meeting her. I asked her what was up with her husband. She had the audacity to ask me what I meant.” He shook his head at the memory. “I said, you’re married, why did you sleep with me? She just laughed and asked me if I was kidding. I told her no, and asked what was going on. She told me I was ‘too much’ as she kept laughing.”

“Laughing? Brutal,” Anabelle remarked, frowning.

“Exactly. I was getting mad,” he said, thrusting his hand out for emphasis. “She said I was naïve and to grow up. She said she saw me at the event, thought I was attractive, wanted to get me into bed, and that was that. It was just a little extra entertainment at the end of her night. She said her husband traveled a lot on business and he wouldn’t know and that he was probably doing the same thing. I said you don’t care about any of this? She said that of course she did, she enjoyed having sex with me, and wanted to keep doing it on the side.”

“Wow, what
did you say to that?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“I hung up on her. That was the last I ever heard from her.”

“Geez,” Anabelle said. “That’s quite the experience. I can’t say that I’ve ever been with a married man.”

“Good, I’d hope not,” he said, as he downed the rest of his Cognac. He leaned back on the sofa. “It’s a lousy thing to do.”

“But you didn’t know.”

He shook his head. “No, but still. I felt like crap about it.” He took a deep breath and looked over at her. “Now it’s your turn to tell me some of your dating horror stories.”

She
glanced down at the floor. “Other than Aaron leaving me after two years together for one of our fellow students, which I’ll admit hit me pretty hard and took a long time to get over, I don’t really have anything too crazy to report.”

Giorgio nodded. “That experience probably made you a little cautious
regarding men and about getting intimate with me.”

“A little?” she said. “
Oh yeah, it did. Something like that leaves a mark.”

He
saw her reaction. He could tell she was still damaged by the experience. He took her hand. “I’m sorry you were hurt like that.” His voice was soft, comforting. “It kind of makes sense why you’ve worried about me doing something to betray you.”

She gave him a sad smile. “Yeah, I guess
I can be pretty skittish and quick to panic sometimes.” She sipped her spirit.

“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way,” he said, tilting his head
to the side, “but I’m glad that relationship didn’t work out. Not the way it ended of course. But it gave us a chance to be together.”

Her face brightened. “I hadn’t thought of it lik
e that.” She squeezed his hand.

He kissed her. “
Do you want to talk about it?”

She didn’t, but
he had been open with her thus far, so she felt she should do the same. She proceeded to fill him on the relationship, how it began, what the two years together were like and the events of his betrayal and the aftermath.

Giorgio listened with compassion. He held her afterwards
and whispered in her ear, “You don’t ever have to worry about something like that with me, I promise.”

She squeezed him tight
. She actually felt relieved to have gotten that off her chest. After a few moments, she figured she’d just get the rest of her rather unremarkable dating history out. She sighed. “After that there’s not a lot to tell. I’ve had a couple of dates with guys who never called back, some dates where I just wasn’t feeling it. Nothing that lasted too long. After Aaron, my longest relationship was about three months. His name was Brad. He ended up getting a job in Dubai. I had no intention of moving. But it wasn’t that big of a deal, we weren’t really that serious.” She looked over at the fireplace, then down at her glass. “The last guy I dated, we went out for maybe three weeks, split as soon as we’d slept together. That was not quite a year and a half ago.” She looked over at Giorgio. “Not the best track record, hey?”

“
It helps me understand you better,” he said gently. “Why I might’ve made you nervous.”

Anabelle
felt her face flush. “Well that, and just the fact that I’m so attracted to you physically, it’s next to impossible for me to keep my hands off of you, or resist you. It’s kind of worried me sometimes.”

“Worried you? Isn’t that a good thing?”

She gave him a coy smile, then polished off her drink, feeling its effects kicking in. Her insides were feeling very warm now. She looked him up and down. Her hand went to his thigh, her thumb stroking it. “Maybe, but you’re just too sexy for my own good. My common sense goes right out the window around you. You really need to come with a warning label.”

He blushed, then smiled as he looked down at his empty glass, then at her hand. “
So then, that’s the main draw with me?”

“Well
it’s a lot, plus you’re a good cook. And my cat likes you,” she teased.

He let out a
pretend heavy sigh. “So to keep you around, I have to play with Jasper, make you dinner and put out for you however and whenever you want me to?”

“Pretty much.” S
he grinned mischievously. She took his glass from his hand and set it on the table. She leaned over, with her hand now back on his thigh and kissed him.

He leaned his head back against the sofa as she kissed him. He felt her hand stroking his leg, moving to his inner thigh and inching higher. As she kissed him with increasing passion, he
responded by opening his legs more to her, letting her know his body was hers to do with what she wanted.

“Mmmm…,” she moaned as she felt his legs part. “See, it’s like you just ooze sexuality. You can’t help it. Your body begs to be explored.” She looked brazenly at his crotch. “You’re irresistible.”

He just looked at her, his eyes thoughtful, his lips parted just slightly.

She looked back up at him. “What’s on your mind?” she asked, finding his silence unusual.

“Just that I’m glad you find me attractive, otherwise I’d be here all alone.”

“Ha,” she laughed. “I don’t think so. I think some eagle-eyed woman would be here in my place, running her hands all over you, too.”

“I’m not that easy, you know,” he said.

“Oh really?” she replied, her eyebrows raised. “Mr. Frisky-pants you are. Our relationship has been super-heated from the get-go. I think you probably do that with all the ladies you date.”

“Ouch,” he said. “I don’t think I deserve that.” He was wondering if she was just joking or if she really thought that about him. “Though with you, as I said, I was just instantly attracted to you. You drew me in.”

“Sure,” she said as she swatted him playfully.
But behind the façade a burning curiosity still lingered. “You’re the one who told me you slept with women too fast. I’m sure Vicki wasn’t the only one.”

He shook his head. “No.”

“So, tell me about another one. And how many were there anyway?” Her tone was now a bit more serious.

“Not that many, maybe a small handful,” he replied.

“Give me another example.”

“Are you sure?
” he asked. “I don’t want to scare you off. I mean it, there weren’t really that many. Work keeps me pretty busy. I haven’t had a lot of free time.”

“I’m sure,” she said, movin
g her hand back to her own lap.

He took note of her sudden change of mood. Women could be hard to keep up with sometimes. He’d just have to go with it.
“Okay, well, if you insist,” he said, sitting forward again and thinking about it for a minute. “The other one that really stood out was a girl I met at the gym. We made eye contact with one another over a few days, then one day she came up to me and introduced herself. She was actually a wealthy heiress, close to my age, maybe a couple of years younger.”