“Let me,” he protested. “I want to fuss over you.”
“It’s just a coat, Gabriel. No worries.”
“Yes, I know it’s a coat. But it’s an opportunity for me to behave like a gentleman and honor you. Please don’t deprive me, Julianne.”
She flushed in embarrassment and nodded slowly. She wasn’t used to such attention, of course, except from Gabriel. She wanted to be gracious and let him attend her, but it was far more than she ever expected or thought that she deserved. She reached up to kiss him and whispered her thanks against his lips. He took her arm and led her downstairs and toward the restaurant.
Julia and Gabriel walked slowly through the cobblestoned streets from the Palazzo Vecchio, over to the Palazzo dell’Arte dei Giudici e Notai, laughing and reminiscing about previous visits to Florence. They had to walk slowly, for navigating Florence in stilettos was more than a little challenging. Thankfully, Gabriel had taken Julia’s arm to escort her properly, thus enabling her to walk upright and also to avoid much of the wolf whistles and catcalls of Florentine youths. The city had not changed that much since the days of Dante.
The restaurant Gabriel had chosen was called Alle Murate. It was located in a fourteenth-century guild hall a short walk from the Duomo, and it boasted incredible period frescoes, including a portrait of Dante himself. Julia was overwhelmed by the beauty of the artwork and found herself wandering slightly as the maître d’ escorted them to their table.
Gabriel had reserved a quiet space on the loft floor overlooking the main room, just under the vaulted ceiling. It was the best table in the house, for it afforded the finest and closest views of the medieval illustrations. Four angels frozen in frescoes floated above them as Julia took Gabriel’s hand and squeezed it. She was ecstatic.
“It’s beautiful. Thank you. I had no idea these frescoes were here.”
He smiled at her enthusiasm. “Tomorrow night will be even better. Massimo tells me that my lecture is scheduled after the museum closes and there will be a reception with local dignitaries and academics. Later on, there will be a banquet inside the Gallery. It will be a semi-formal affair, and we will be the guests of honor.”
Julia smiled narrowly. “I didn’t bring anything fancy enough for a semi-formal.”
“I’m sure anything you brought would look beautiful. But I can understand not wanting to wear the same dress twice. So I will just have to take you shopping.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather I left you to it? The banquet is a celebration of your lecture, so you’ll be very busy. Maybe you’d be more comfortable if you could—mingle freely.”
He reached over to push a curl away from her face. “Julianne, your presence is not only encouraged, it’s required. I dislike going to social events alone. I always have. Having you at my side is the only pleasure the evening will afford, I assure you. Don’t you want to join me?” His face took on a worried expression.
“I always enjoy your company. But people will ask me who I am and what I do…won’t that be awkward for you?”
His features immediately darkened. “Of course not! I’ve been waiting for the end of the semester so I could enjoy your company in public and introduce you as my girlfriend. And there’s nothing shameful about being a graduate student. Half the people at the banquet will have been graduate students at one time. You’re a grown woman, you’re intelligent and beautiful…”
He grinned wickedly. “I will have to stay close to you in order to keep my rivals at bay. They’ll be circling around you like Etruscan wolves, vying for the attention of the prettiest woman at the party.”
Julia smiled her gratitude and leaned over to kiss him. “Then I would be delighted to accompany you.”
In answer, he pressed his lips to her hand, her palm, and her wrist, moving his lips gently to the sleeve of her dress. He pushed it up her forearm to expose her bare skin to his mouth. Julia’s eyelids fluttered as he began kissing the delicate skin of her arm with wet, unhurried kisses. He dragged his lips to the sensitive space at the inside of her elbow and sucked lightly. For Gabriel knew, as Julia did not, that the inside of a woman’s elbow was a particularly erogenous zone.
The sound of the waiter clearing his throat behind him merely slowed Gabriel’s attentions. Julia blushed a brilliant red at being caught, which prompted him to release her arm reluctantly.
Over a bottle of Tuscan wine and a few antipasti, Gabriel asked about her study-abroad program, where she lived and what she did. When she spoke of how she would visit the Uffizi on an almost daily basis to gaze at Botticelli’s masterpieces, he wondered if there really was such a thing as destiny. And he wondered how he’d ever been fortunate enough to find her not once, but twice.
After they’d finished their main courses and were sitting quietly gazing into one another’s eyes and exchanging chaste kisses, Gabriel released her hand and rummaged in his suit pocket.
“I have something for you.”
“Gabriel, the trip is a gift in itself, and now you want to buy me a dress. I can’t.”
He shook his head. “This is different. Before I give it to you, I want you to promise that you won’t refuse it.”
Julia looked over into serious blue eyes. He wasn’t joking. In fact, he was quite grave. She wondered what was hidden in the palm of his right hand.
“I can’t promise something without knowing more about it.”
He made a face. “Promise that you’ll keep an open mind?”
“Of course.”
“Hold out your hand.”
Julia did as she was bidden, and Gabriel placed a small, black velvet box in her palm. She inhaled sharply.
“It isn’t a ring. So you can start breathing again.” His face was smiling, but his eyes were tense.
She opened the box and was stunned by what she saw. Nestled amongst black silk were two large, round, and perfect diamond solitaire earrings of about a carat each.
“Gabriel, I…” She searched for more words, but couldn’t find any.
“Before you refuse them, I need to tell you their story. Will you listen? For me?”
She nodded, mesmerized by the glittering stones.
“They were Grace’s. Richard gave them to her the first time he told her that he loved her. They weren’t together very long before he fell for her completely. Legend has it that he sold his car to buy those earrings.”
Julia’s mouth hung open. Now she recognized them. Grace wore them almost constantly.
“I want you to have them.”
She shook her head and gently, reverently closed the box. She held it out to him. “I can’t. They were your mother’s. You should keep them.”
“No.”
“Gabriel, please. They should go to Rachel or Scott.”
“Rachel and Scott have other things. Richard gave these to me.” As Gabriel began to panic, all he could do was focus on the small patch of velvet surrounded by her porcelain skin. His eyes narrowed a little. “If you refuse them, you will injure me.” His words were barely above a whisper, but they hit Julia as if he had screamed.
She swallowed and took a minute to gather her thoughts. “I’m so sorry. They’re lovely. And I can’t express how wonderful I feel that you want me to have them, but this is wrong.”
Julia saw that his mood was shifting from hurt to upset, and so she looked down at the tablecloth in front of her, hiding her eyes.
“You misunderstand me, Julianne. I’m not giving them to you because I think you should have something of Grace’s. They aren’t the equivalent of a scarf or a string of pearls.”
She chewed at the inside of her mouth as she waited for him to continue.
He leaned across the table and pressed his palm against her cheek. “I am giving you these to commemorate the fact that I have already given you my heart.” He swallowed thickly as his eyes searched hers. “This is my way of saying that you, Julianne, are the love of my life, and I want something of mine with you always. Don’t you see? These diamo
nds represent my heart. You can’t refuse them.”
Julia saw in his eyes that he was absolutely serious. She knew that if he’d given her an engagement ring, she would have been shocked, but she would have accepted it. There was no other person in the world for her, just him. So why was she hesitating?
On the one hand, there was her pride, and on the other, there was the thought, the painful unacceptable thought, that she would hurt him by rejecting his gift. She didn’t want to hurt him. She loved him, which meant that her decision had already been made.
“They’re beautiful. The most beautiful gift I’ve ever received, next to your love. Thank you.”
He kissed her fingers in gratitude. “Grace would be happy that we found one another. I believe that, Julianne. I believe that she’s looking down on us and offering us her blessing. And she would be overjoyed that I was able to give her earrings to the woman I love.”
He smiled, extending his hand and pulling her into a passionate embrace. “Thank you,” he whispered.
After he’d kissed her, he took the box from her hand and helped her place the earrings in her ears. And he pressed a tender kiss to each earlobe. “Meravigliosa. Marvelous.”
Julia laughed nervously. “Everyone downstairs is staring at us.”
“Not everyone. The waiter is in the kitchen.” He smirked at her, and they both laughed.
He caught her eye and leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “Behold, thou art fair, my beloved.”
Julia flushed deeply at Gabriel’s erotic Hebrew poetry and murmured her reply against his neck, “By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him.”
Gabriel responded with a slow, surprised smile and kissed her until the waiter returned.
When Julia declined dessert and the wine bottle was empty, the blissful couple floated in the direction of their hotel.
“How are your feet?” Gabriel gazed down wistfully at her beautiful high-heeled shoes.
She squeezed his hand. “I can’t feel my feet. I can’t feel anything at this moment except happiness.”
He smiled at her tenderly. “My sweet girl.”
He chose a single lock of hair and wound it gently around his finger before releasing it. “Can you tolerate a detour? The Duomo is beautiful by night, and I’ve never kissed you in its shadow.”
She nodded, and he led her to the church so they could admire Brunelleschi’s dome. It was an incredible feat of renaissance architecture, a great egg shaped dome with a tiled roof soaring above a beautiful church. They walked to the front of the structure, near the Baptistery opposite, gazing at the façade and up at the roof. It was breathtaking, even at night.
Gabriel pulled her to his chest and kissed her lovingly, winding his fingers around the loose tendrils of her hair.
She half-moaned as he dragged his lips to her earlobe, drawing it into his mouth gently.
“You have no idea how it feels knowing that I gave you these.” He nuzzled her earring with his nose. “Knowing that you wear my love for everyone to see.”
Julia responded by kissing him eagerly.
With fingers entwined, they found themselves drawn to the Ponte Santa Trinita, the bridge where Dante saw Beatrice. Standing on the bridge, they looked down at the Arno, illuminated as it was at night by the lights of the buildings on the riverbanks.
“Julianne,” he murmured, holding her in his arms as they watched the river flow.
“Gabriel.” She smiled up at him and angled her face for a kiss.
He kissed her softly at first, but their kisses grew more and more intense. He pulled away, well aware of the fact that they were becoming a spectacle for the foot traffic across the bridge.
“I’m so glad I found you again. I’ve never been this happy.” He stroked her cheek lazily and pressed his lips to her forehead.
Impulsively, she reached out and grabbed his silk tie, pulling him so that their faces were mere inches apart. “I want you,” she breathed. And with that, Julia pulled him even closer and kissed him.
And what a kiss it was. Here was the tiger emerging from behind the façade of the kitten. Julia’s passion, ignited by Gabriel’s affection, poured into his mouth as she endeavored to show him how much she felt for him. Her hands, which had normally rested on either his shoulders or in his hair, left his tie to explore his chest and his back, feeling his muscles through his clothes, pressing him tightly against her.
Her aggression delighted him. He reciprocated within reason, well aware of the edge of the bridge at his back and the clusters of impertinent youths who continued to walk by.
When they were both panting for air, she brought her lips to his ear, “Make me yours. Now.”
“Are you sure?” he rasped out, caressing her hips and her backside.
“With all my heart.”
He brushed his thumb against her now swollen lower lip. “Only if you’re ready.”
“I’ve wanted you forever, Gabriel. Please don’t make me wait any longer.”
He chuckled softly. “Then we should get off this bridge.”
He kissed her once more and excused himself to make a brief phone call. It was a quick exchange in Italian that sounded like Gabriel was confirming something with the concierge, but Julia couldn’t hear everything. He turned his back on her deliberately and spoke in hushed tones.
When she asked him about it he grinned. “You’ll see.”
It took them a little longer than it should have to arrive at the hotel, for every few steps one of them would pull the other into a passionate kiss. There was laughter and gentle caresses; there were tender embraces and murmured words of seduction, and a tango or two against the wall of a darkened alley.
But really, the seduction was complete. For it had occurred in an old orchard years ago.
By the time Gabriel led Julia into the penthouse and out onto the terrazza, they were vibrating with shared electricity and very, very needy. Which meant that it took Julia a moment to notice the transformation. Pillar candles had been scattered around the space and contributed a warm, flickering luminosity to the starlight from above. The air was perfumed with jasmine. Pillows and a cashmere blanket beckoned them to recline on the futon banquette.
A bottle of champagne sat chilling in an ice bucket, and nearby, Julia saw a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries and what looked like tiramisu. And lastly, she noticed the music of Diana Krall.
Gabriel came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her left ear with his nose. “Does this please you?”
“It’s beautiful.”
“I have plans for you this evening, my love. I’m afraid those plans don’t include sleep until much, much later.”
Julia shivered at the tone of his voice, low and sensual.
He held her more tightly. “Am I making you nervous?”
She shook her head.
He began to kiss her neck softly, floating his lips across her skin. “A declaration of desire,” he murmured. “But tonight I will make good on my declaration when I take you to bed and make you my lover.”
She trembled once again, and this time he crooked his arm across her collarbone, hugging her close. “Relax, darling. Tonight is all about pleasure. Your pleasure. And I intend to please you all evening.”
He kissed her cheek, then spun her around slowly. “Foreplay is essential. And since this is new to both of us, there are a few things I’d like to do first.” He searched her eyes for her reaction.
“I’m yours, Gabriel.”
He smiled and embraced her softly. “I want to explore your senses—sound, taste, sight, touch. I want to take my time arousing and exciting you.” He lowered his voice. “But most of all, I want to teach your body to recognize the man who worships you, just by my touch.”
“I already recognize you, Gabriel. There’s no one else.”
He kissed her intensely an
d paused as Besame Mucho sounded in the air. “Will you dance with me?”
“Of course.” As if I’d ever refuse the chance to hold you in my arms…
He pulled her close, and she pressed grateful lips to his jaw.
“Is this our song?” She stroked his lower lip with one of her fingers.
“It should be. I remember everything about that night. Your hair, your dress. You were a vision. And I was such a brute. The things I said.” He shook his head. “How did you ever forgive me?”
Julia rebuked him with her eyes. “Gabriel, you’re giving me the fairy tale I never thought I’d have. Please don’t spoil it.”
He kissed her lips repentantly and held her more tightly, running his hand across her ribs. For Gabriel knew, as Julia did not, that the ribs of a woman were another erogenous zone.
As they swayed to the music, he softly sang to her, pouring his soul into the Spanish words but changing them slightly so that she would know he would never let her go. He would give her nothing less than forever and hell itself could not prevent him from keeping his vow. He just hadn’t spoken the words aloud.
Yet.
She lifted her head and stared at his mouth, memorizing its fullness and its curves, the way his bottom lip curled downward. She tugged it into her mouth unhurriedly, winding her fingers in his hair. He was sweetness and wet warmth, hunger and passionate need, love and devotion. And his kiss pressed itself to her very soul, so that even the tips of her toes felt his adoration and desire.
Two bodies pressed tightly together in a lover’s dance, eager with anticipation.
Chapter 34
Julia reclined on her back on the terrace’s banquette, staring up blissfully into Gabriel’s sparkling eyes. He’d divested himself of his suit jacket and loosened his tie, but refused to remove it, remembering how arousing it had been when Julia tugged on it at the Ponte Santa Trinita.
She was captivated by him—his nose, his cheekbones, his angular jaw, his magnificent blue eyes under dark brows, and the chest hair that peeked out over the top of his white T-shirt beneath his open collar.