Not Juliet (6 page)

He wasn’t being
fair, and he knew it. Riella was not sober, not by a long way, and
while he hated using his charm to make her even dizzier, he needed
her to relax and provide some answers, preferably the truth, before
she became too alert and dodged his questions. How else was he
going to make her talk? They didn’t have forever. The sooner she
owned up, the sooner he could help her. Or step away from her
lethal magnetism.

That was the
explanation of which he was trying to convince himself. The other –
and much more pressing – reason for this unusual flare of passion
he was feeling was simply that he was in love with her. He had
fallen head over heels the minute he’d stepped into her personal
space in Signoria Square and she met his eyes.

How could he
not? The woman was the sheer embodiment of sexy, lounging there
with her beautiful caramel loose curls spilling all over the sofa
cushions and her lace and satin half-cup bra which must have been
designed to drive men to insanity. Her lips were rosy and full, her
face flushed and filled with desire, her dark eyes beckoning and
full of promise.

Forcing himself
to maintain a slow, erotic pace, Luca drew in a harsh breath and
grabbed the champagne bottle. A small sip, then he latched onto one
nipple, allowing the tiny bubbles to come in contact with the flesh
showing through the lace. Riella squirmed, and Luca placed a
restraining hand on her stomach, and began to move his lips and
tongue just enough to put pressure on her sensitive flesh.

He swallowed
the champagne that hadn’t soaked into the thin material and
increased the pressure, drawing back his lips to expose his teeth.
A small cry passed her lips, more of a keening sound, and Luca
smiled. His gaze flickered up to her face and back to the job in
hand. One quick flick and the bra clip popped open. He was certain
she hadn’t even noticed that it had gone to join her t-shirt on the
floor.

Grinning
mischievously, Luca sipped another mouthful of champagne and
latched onto her other nipple, his fingers working the first
tortured nub just enough to keep the sensation going and her
attention scattered. He followed the same ritual with the second
hostage, until Riella’s squirming was almost impossible to restrain
and she was panting.

“You,” he
whispered in a hoarse voice, “are the most responsive woman I have
ever met, Riella. You’ve bewitched me. What is your magic power?
Tell me.”

His hands moved
to her waist and he began placing small kisses to her breasts, all
the way around but studiously avoiding her nipples. A sound of
discontent issued from her parted lips.

“Why did you
come here? Why did you step into my path? To break my peace and
drive me crazy with lust?”

More kisses
landed on her stomach, and he moved his hands to her panty line.
Riella moaned, her fingers grabbing loosely at the scattered
cushions around her.

“What are you
searching for, Riella? And why?”

Luca hooked his
fingers around the side trim of her panties and, with a sharp tug,
he snapped the lace. Riella squeaked. A quick look at her face
confirmed her excitement which, damn it, only heightened his own.
Her eyes were glazed with craving for his touch, her cheeks
flushed, lips parted. She was an angel, or a she-devil – Luca found
it hard to tell which, with the whirlpool of emotion twisting in
his gut.

He skimmed the
soft skin of her stomach with the tip of his nose in a swirling
pattern, and stopped when he reached the top of her ripped panties.
Gently, he clamped his teeth on the lace and, grinning and holding
her gaze within his, he inhaled, then pulled slowly, gradually
loosening the fabric until he had the scrap dangling from his
lips.

Riella’s face
registered alarm, then she gulped audibly. “Luca…” she said.

Luca went back
to placing butterfly kisses on her stomach. “Talk to me, Riella,”
he whispered against her skin, while his hands closed over her
breasts again.

She closed her
eyes and drew in a jagged breath. “Luca, I…”

“Hmm?”

His breath
tickled her skin like a soft fluttering of wings. “Please… Luca… I…
I can’t…”

Time to stoke
up that fire, not that she wasn’t hot enough already. He slid his
hands around her calves, then suddenly tugged her forward. “Do you
trust me?”

He lifted her
legs, placing kisses on the insides of her thighs now.

“Yes,” she
squeaked, out of breath.

“Good. Then
you’ll let me help you.” Luca leaned forward, nudging her knees
farther apart with the broadness of his shoulders. Fascinated, he
gazed at the glistening perfection of her, her dusky pink lips
opened up to show her hot center, ready for him.

Vague thoughts
bounced around the walls of Luca’s brain, but his concentration was
now a thing of the past. This may have started as a
cross-examination, but it backfired. All thoughts of grilling her
were swept away by the tidal wave of passion he felt for this girl.
He simply had to have her. He was all male, an alpha, and he had
needs which he wasn’t in the habit of suppressing for long.

With a groan,
he dipped his head and drew his tongue up from her entrance and all
the way to her nub. Riella jerked half-off the couch and her eyes
flew open.

“What are you
doing?” she asked, an amusing look of shock reddening her pretty
face.

Luca grinned
mischievously and licked her again.

“Stop! Just
stop!” Her words contradicted the wild need he could see on her
face. Her hand shot out and tangled in his hair, but when he
ignored her and continued to lick her and suck her lips, he felt
her fingers twist in his hair and pull him closer into her.

He latched onto
her clitoris and sucked sharply, which elicited a gasp from Riella,
but no more pleas to stop his sweet torture came forth. So he went
on, taking as much pleasure from pleasuring her as he was giving.
He slipped his hands around her buttocks and lifted her closer to
his face, feasting on her with a hunger he had never felt before,
and when he finally brought his hand around to slide a finger
inside her, Riella threw her head back and shattered in violent
waves of ecstasy.

It was at that
point, in between licking her clean of her juices and admiring her
flushed, engorged appearance, that he noticed what he had suspected
all along: Riella was still a virgin. His love for her doubled just
as he realized what a cad he had been. A woman like Riella deserved
better. What he’d done, or rather what he’d planned to do, was the
worst kind of deceit. And he’d had the audacity to accuse her of
being dishonest!

Ashamed and
humbled, Luca sat on the couch and pulled Riella onto his lap and
close into his body. Her limbs were limp, her head floppy, resting
on his chest, her face glowing, yet smiling, the picture of
innocence lost. The object of his obsession had been pure and
loving, mere minutes ago. She trusted him, and he’d taken advantage
of her trust. He couldn’t believe how close he’d come, through his
actions, to throwing it all away.

Looking at her
now, he knew there was no way he would risk losing her. She was
stuck with him, and the sooner she got used to the idea, the
better, because he was determined to help her, whether she thought
she needed his help or not.

And there was
one more thing he should have done, hours ago. One thing that would
cement their relationship and put his mind at ease. Hers too, if
what she’d said was true. Luca kissed her hair softly, then
whispered, caressing her hair, “Marry me, Riella. Please.”

Luca spoke and kissed
her hair. Riella’s head swam and from where she was existing,
floating in a sea of comfort, she found it hard to focus on words.
His voice was deep, his arms tight around her, and she was happy –
that much she knew.

“Did you hear
me?”

He shook her
gently and she moaned and scowled at the disturbance. His chest
rumbled beneath her cheek. With the last traces of energy she could
muster, she pushed herself upright and lifted her eyelids to stare
at his face.

“Are you
laughing at me?”

He laughed
again – she was certain he was laughing now – and kissed her brow.
His lips formed words, and she concentrated on deciphering them,
frowning.

“Time to take
you home.”

She nodded and
slid off his lap. He held her to him as he bent to retrieve
something off the floor, then asked her to put her arms through a
t-shirt. Was that her t-shirt? Why was she not in her t-shirt
already?

Luca kept his
arm around her middle as he straightened her skirt and retrieved
her backpack. Then he helped her walk on wobbly legs to a car. A
car? That didn’t make much sense. Luca was riding a red Ducati.

Her world moved
in and out of focus for a while and Riella just went along with it.
At some point her stomach revolted and she retched, barely holding
onto a bathroom sink. A horrible smell invaded her nostrils and she
retched again and again. Luca mumbled something in the background
and laughed his rumbling laugh. It sounded like ‘Hmm, I preferred
Grom’s gelato on my t-shirt, but I guess you’ll feel better now you
got it out’ – the man wasn’t making much sense – and then she felt
a cool washcloth wipe over her face, and neck, and shoulders,
making her feel a whole lot better. She was mostly asleep when Luca
shook her awake again and forced her to drink a massive glass of
water, and then peace took over and she knew no more.

The sharp
brightness of the morning sun pierced Riella’s eyes and all the way
through to the back of her head. She groaned and hid under her
cover. Before long, a musical chime sounded from the table by the
TV. It went on and on for a couple of minutes. Just as she resigned
herself to getting up, it stopped.

She let herself
drop back onto the bed, on top of the covers, and closed her eyes
again. There was a tight band around her head, and she was doing
her best to keep it from becoming a headache.

Luca’s voice
spoke and she jumped off the bed and to her feet in one leap.

“Good morning,
beautiful.”

With her pulse
hammering in her ears, Riella scanned the room. Empty. Luca’s
enticing citrus scent lingered in the air, but she was the only
living, breathing soul around. Spooked, she swallowed loudly, then
her eyes landed on a bright patch of colored light. She approached
with caution, then burst into giggles.

“How did you
sleep? Feeling better?”

Luca’s face
smiled at her from the screen of a smart phone laying beside a tray
laden with pastries and fresh coffee in an insulated jug. She gazed
at his smiling face. His winning smile and bright eyes looked like
he was trying to smolder right through her.

Hmm…
Overconfident much? She shook her head, but didn’t stop the
recording.

“I’m sorry I
can’t be there when you wake up. I’ve had to take care of some
business. But I’d love it if you could join me for the day. I have
a lot of beautiful places to show you.” There was a short pause.
“Actually, I plan to kiss you in pretty much every square mile in
Italy. No, make that every square inch. That’s a lot of kissing, so
I thought we’d better get started early.”

Riella giggled
at his self-assurance, but she couldn’t deny the happy feeling
fluttering inside her chest. Luca, her personal Romeo, hadn’t been
a dream, as she had feared, but very much alive and certainly very
determined. And he still wanted to kiss her, even after the fiasco
of the previous night, when she got way more drunk than she’d
intended and ended up almost naked on Orazio’s sofa…

Her hands flew
to her mouth to stifle a gasp and her eyes grew wide as a swell of
memories flooded her mind all at once. No! She’d done more than
strip on Orazio’s sofa. The heat rose to her cheeks and she
involuntarily searched for somewhere to hide in shame.

She remembered
Luca’s hands on her waist, on her breasts, and… and… down there.
And not only his hands! What had happened after? Her memories
stopped abruptly at that point, only fractured sections permeating
through, like a bad recording of an amateur film director before he
learned to coordinate movement with sound.

Luca chuckled
softly from the screen of the phone. “I’m guessing you’re probably
thinking back to last night. It’s okay. Nothing you should be
ashamed of happened. I’ve had a wonderful time, and I’m guessing so
did you… until we got back to the hotel.”

Riella could
have cried with embarrassment. He was trying to make her feel
better, but she remembered more now. She remembered Luca helping
her put her t-shirt back on, in Orazio’s private quarters. What
must he have thought of her? She remember throwing up on him in the
bathroom, and she remembered Luca cleaning her up and putting her
to bed.

A pained
grimace twisted her features and a low yet insistent pounding began
to pick up pace in her head. If only she could turn back time! What
was she thinking, letting Luca make love to her in a stranger’s
house? What if someone had opened the door to catch them in the
act? She never would have acted like that, mere hours after having
met someone. What had gotten into her?

“By the way,
how’s your head?” Luca’s voice said. “I’ve left a glass of water
and a couple of headache pills on the bedside table, in case you
need them.” Riella turned to check. Yes, he had. “But the champagne
was the good stuff; you shouldn’t feel more than a slight thickness
to your brain – cobwebs that will blow away as soon as you get some
fresh air.”

She could hear
the smile in his voice, even when he wasn’t laughing outright.

“So, anyway…”
he continued. “Help yourself to a cup of coffee. Those are Orazio’s
pastries, on the platter. He insisted you should get the chance to
appreciate the finer Italian cuisine, no matter how thick your head
feels today. In fact, you see the one shaped like a windmill, with
the golden centre?”