Fee’s gaze drifted back to the ring. “I’m going to guess at least nine carats. Probably ten or eleven. And definitely custom.”
Natalie still didn’t look my way. But to Fee, she said, “How do you know so much about diamonds?”
Fee grinned. “Personal hobby.”
With his arm slung over the back of Fee’s chair, Marco huffed and reached for his wine. “Personal obsession, more like.”
Fee slanted him a look. “Someday, I’m going to have the most gaudy, expensive diamond on the planet.”
Marco leaned close and kissed her cheek again, and watching made me wish like hell I could kiss Natalie like that. On her cheek, on her neck, on every inch of her fucking luscious body. Since it was pretty clear I was getting the cold shoulder tonight, I downed the rest of my wine instead.
“I’d buy it for you now if you’d let me, vita mia.”
Fee playfully leaned away from Marco’s lips and shook her head, still smiling. “Not now, paramour.” With a conspiratorial glance my way, she added, “But hopefully soon.”
I frowned, knowing just what the hell Fee was insinuating. Just as I knew what she wanted me to do was the very last thing I was even close to ready for.
Fee was unfazed by my reaction. She went back to studying Natalie’s ring, not the least bit intimidated by me—dammit. “The wide band is an interesting choice. Most women don’t wear bands quite so big. Makes a more dramatic statement than a solitaire, though. You did good, Luc.”
The praise was lost on me. The only person I’d wanted to impress with the ring hadn’t said a damn thing about it until now. And considering that now I knew she pretty much hated it, I wished she hadn’t said a word.
Natalie swiped up her wine as soon as Fee let go of her hand. “He had to go with a wide band to cover the slave marking he tattooed on my finger.”
I nearly dropped my glass. Wide-eyed, I glanced toward my wife, tossing back the rest of her wine as if she hadn’t just dropped a bomb right in the middle of dinner.
Fee—equally as shocked by the comment, but for very different reasons—stared at Natalie several moments without blinking. Beside her, Marco’s mouth fell open, but he covered the reaction quickly by fumbling with his own wine and downing what was left in his glass.
A heartbeat later, Felicity burst out laughing. “You almost had me there. That was a good one.”
“Yeah, I’m hilarious like that.” Slapping her glass on the table, Natalie reached for the empty pitcher between us and rose. “I need more water.”
Sonofabitch. Forget the cold shoulder. I was on her permanent shit list, and she had no qualms about letting everyone know.
Marco’s shoulders relaxed as Fee continued to laugh. But I didn’t miss the worried glance he shot my way. I hadn’t given him any specifics about my relationship with Natalie, but I could tell he was quickly cueing in to the fact something wasn’t right.
Still smiling, Fee called, “Use the filtered water in the fridge.” As Natalie disappeared into the villa, Fee looked at me. “Where on earth did you find her, Luc? She’s a spitfire. Makes me look tame in comparison.”
My jaw tightened. Natalie wasn’t a spitfire. She was a hurricane. And I was so caught up in her storm, lately I didn’t know if I was coming or going.
One thing I did know, though, was that she was going to give us away if we weren’t careful. “I didn’t find her. She came looking for me.”
It wasn’t a lie. Just as I knew Natalie was likely regretting the fact she’d come to me at the Covet offices all those weeks ago.
I pushed back from the table. “Think I’ve had enough wine. I’m gonna make some coffee. Anyone else?”
Fee shook her head. “None for me, thanks.”
Marco lifted a finger. “I’ll take one.”
I nodded and moved into the house. Natalie was in the kitchen when I entered, standing at the island, pouring filtered water into the glass pitcher that had been on the table.
My heartbeat kicked up as I passed behind her and flipped on the coffee pot. She tensed but didn’t speak to me or acknowledge my presence, and while that pissed me off and amped me up at the same time, I let her ignore me until after she’d replaced the water filter in the fridge and stepped back to the island to grab the pitcher.
I moved in close behind her and placed my hands on the counter on each side of her body before she could escape, trapping her between the island and my chest. She froze, her hands on the cut-glass pitcher on the counter, but still didn’t speak. And in the silence, as that intoxicating scent of hers filled my senses, I tried not to be aroused by the fact she was flat-out challenging me with her silence just as she had when we’d been in Rome.
Only I failed miserably.
It took every ounce of willpower I possessed not to press my hot, very aroused body against the seductive curve of her backside, but somehow, I managed to keep a little bit of distance between us when I whispered, “What do you think you’re doing?”
She didn’t respond, and for a moment, I didn’t think she was going to. Then she slowly released the pitcher and turned to face me, careful not to graze my arms or my chest, yet pinning me with clear blue eyes as hard as ice chips. “I don’t know, Luc. What do you think I’m doing?”
Holy fuck, she was challenging me. “I think you’re pissed, and you’re making it known.”
“Your power of deduction is staggering.”
She moved to duck under my arm, but I captured her around the waist and spun her around, pulling her back up against my chest.
“Let me go,” she growled, closing both hands over my forearm at her waist as she struggled.
I knew I should, but I needed to get this point across to her. And, dammit, I was tired of being the bad guy.
“This isn’t a game,” I whispered in her hair, loving and hating the way her sweet little ass shifted against my groin. “I told you before there are eyes and ears in this villa. Stop fucking around before you get someone killed.”
“Someone like you?” she snapped, still struggling.
“No.” I tightened my hold. “Someone like Marco and Fee. They’re doing us a favor by letting us stay here. Do you want someone from my House descending on them as soon as they step off the property? Because that’s what will happen. They’ll go after them to get info on us if you don’t knock this shit off. Be pissed at me all you want in private, but stop drawing attention when we’re out of the cottage. It’s the least you can do for these people who put their lives on the line to help us.”
She stilled against me. But she didn’t spout off again. And she didn’t fight me any more either. And though I knew she wasn’t giving in because she liked being pressed up against me, I couldn’t keep from closing my eyes and drawing in a deep whiff of her scent at the same time.
Bloody hell, she was soft in all the places I was hard, and the curve of her body fit against mine as if she were made for me. I wanted her with a blistering need that was making me insane, and she didn’t even care. Everything I was doing was for her, and yet to her, I was just fucking things up worse by the second.
I didn’t have a clue how to fix any of the mess between us. I didn’t know if I should even try anymore. At the moment, I only knew that this was the closest I’d been to her in days, and God, it felt good.
“Fine. Okay,” she hissed. “I get it. You can let me go now.”
Guilt rushed in—more guilt to pile on top of the shitheap I was already trying to dig myself out of—replacing my anger. I released her long before I was ready and moved back a half step. For a heartbeat, she didn’t move, then the sound of a door closing echoed somewhere in the villa, and she glanced to the left with wide eyes.
Not Fee or Marco. They were still outside on the loggia. Had to be the housekeeper. Someone who could have been eavesdropping on our conversation, exactly as I’d said.
Fuck me, I hope it isn’t someone eavesdropping...
With shaky hands, Natalie reached for the pitcher fr
om the counter and turned to face me. Her eyes were still icy-blue shards of glass, but she leaned close and very lightly brushed her lips against my cheek in a way that both surprised and shocked me.
“Oh, Luc,” she said with a chuckle loud enough for whoever was in the other room to hear. “You’re such a tease.” Then loud enough so only I could hear, she whispered, “I know it’s not a game. Just as I know this marriage is nothing but a sham. If the fact you don’t tell me shit about what’s going on isn’t proof of that, then the slave brand on my finger definitely is.”
She turned away from me, and this time, I didn’t try to stop her. That hole inside me reopened, sucking up my voice as I watched her walk away.
We were right back where we’d started. The only difference was, I knew now without a doubt that it wasn’t my House or my father or even my fucking family that was going to destroy me. It was this woman.
This fiery, passionate, challenging woman I’d deceived—who I was still deceiving because I was desperate to protect her—was going to be my undoing.
And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop it from happening.
We faked our way through the rest of the evening.
Thankfully, the rest of the evening was just coffee and desserts, and as soon as Natalie’s mug was empty, I’d been able to feign exhaustion and get us the hell out of there without any other incident.
We didn’t speak on the walk back down to the cottage. I didn’t try to apologize for shutting her out earlier—what was the point when she clearly didn’t want to listen to me?—and she didn’t lay into me over our confrontation in Marco and Fee’s kitchen. When she stalked into the bedroom and slammed the door in her wake, I let her go without a word, telling myself instead of trying to fix things, it was time to just let them be.
Darkness surrounded me as I reclined on the sofa hours later, wishing like hell I could fall asleep. My mind was filled with too many thoughts and images to turn off, though. And I couldn’t stop picturing Natalie in that big bed in the other room, wondering like hell if she was awake or asleep, trying not to think about those nights we’d spent together in Rome and Venice.
Had that been only a few short weeks ago? It felt like a lifetime. We’d spent more time at war with each other since then than we had in each other’s arms. Maybe what we’d shared hadn’t been all that meaningful. Could you really fall in love with someone in such a short amount of time?
The creak of door hinges sounded in the silence, stopping my spinning brain. I held still—hands tucked behind my head on the pillow, one leg stretched out on the cushions, the other bent with my knee resting against the back of the couch—curious as to why Natalie was up, not wanting to do anything to set her off and restart World War Three.
Footsteps echoed on the tile floor, then quieted when she reached the carpet. I still didn’t move, but instead of passing me by for the kitchen as I expected, she slowed near the couch and stilled at my side.
Her curly hair fell down her shoulders. She was dressed in thin cotton sleep shorts and a ribbed tank that molded to her curves and showed off her pert nipples and rounded breasts. She didn’t speak, didn’t move, but I could hear the steady push and pull of her breath. And I could smell her—that exotic and hypnotizing scent of grapefruit and honey I would always associate with her and which had the power to scramble what was left of my brain.
Silence stretched over the room, the only sound my thumping pulse growing louder in my ears. My eyes were open. She had to know I was awake. Since I hadn’t wanted to bother her, I hadn’t changed clothes. I’d only stripped and stretched out on the couch in my boxers. I didn’t even have a blanket—not that I needed one. I was still fired up from our argument earlier...and growing hotter by the second as she stared down at me in the dark.
Blood gathered in my groin with every second that passed. I could feel myself growing hard even though I willed my dick not to respond. Knew in a second she was going to see it for herself. Knew also that when she did, it would do nothing to help our current dilemma. Swallowing hard, I tried to think of something to say before that happened. For a way to distract her so I could figure out why she was out here in the dead of night. Hell, at this point, I’d even settle for her lashing out at me if it would prevent me from fucking up all over ag—
She moved before I realized what she was doing. One second, she was standing beside me, intimidating the fuck out of me with her silence in the dark. The next, she was on top of me, straddling my waist, the insides of her knees pressing against my hipbones, her hands closing around my wrists on both sides of my head, her lithe body pushing mine deeper into the couch cushions, and her—holy fuck—tempting breasts mere inches from my mouth.
My pulse jackknifed, and I lost any ability to control my arousal. My dick turned to a rod of steel, one I knew she was going to feel if she moved back at all, so I held perfectly still, trying not to draw attention to what she was doing to me.
And, damn, how pathetic was I that I actually liked this—liked her climbing over me and pinning me down, even if it was highly likely she was only here to kick my sorry ass for ruining her life.
She bent toward me. I still couldn’t see her eyes, had no idea what she was doing, then—fuck me—I felt her lips the second they made contact with my throat. Felt her kiss me, once...twice... Felt her fingers tighten around my wrists. And nearly fucking came right there in my shorts when her tongue sneaked out and licked my hypersensitive skin.
All the reasons I’d convinced myself I needed to stay away from her shattered against that couch, right along with my willpower. I easily pulled my wrists from her grip, grasped her face in both of my hands, and pushed up to sitting, forcing her back so her weight dropped onto my lap and my aching cock pressed against the soft heat between her legs.
She reached for my hands and tried to pull them away from her face, but I didn’t let her. I held her still as I leaned forward and pressed my mouth against hers, desperate to taste her and take her and make her mine again.
She jerked back from my lips. For a split second, I caught sight of her eyes, more gray than blue because of the dim light, but hard, determined, and blazing with a fire that was unlike any I’d seen in her before.
Her hands landed on my bare shoulders, and she dug her fingertips into my flesh as she dipped her head and licked one side of my neck with her tantalizing tongue. My eyes slid closed at the wicked sensation, and a groan built in my throat. I still didn’t know why she was here, why she was doing this, but I didn’t fucking care. It felt so damn good. She felt so good. My hands drifted to her hips as she continued to tease and torture me with the soft brush of her lips. Then she sank her teeth into my skin and bit down, and pain shot across my spine. What was left of my gray matter short-circuited, and the only thought I had was to get her naked and under me fast so I could bury myself deep inside her before she changed her mind.
I wrapped my arms around her waist. Rocked my aching cock up against her tempting heat. She sucked a spot on my throat again, distracting me from my goal, and scraped her teeth along my flesh until I shivered. I groaned, angled my head toward hers, desperate to taste her, to kiss her, but she moved out of my reach and twisted around before I could capture her mouth, then pressed her lips to the other side of my neck.
Bloody hell, she was making me hotter with every second. My brain fogged. All I wanted was more. I kissed her cheek, her jaw, her ear, whatever I could reach. Tried to find her mouth, but she angled away from my lips. Her wicked teeth nipped at my flesh, then she licked and kissed the salty skin behind my ear until I was seconds away from melting.
The sensations she was building inside me felt fucking amazing. But something in the back of my head whispered this wasn’t right. Yes, she’d come to me. Yes, she was driving me wild with her mouth. Yes, she was thrusting her sweet little pussy against my cock, exactly as I’d dreamt of her doing for days—no, weeks. But she wasn’t kissing my lips. She wasn’t letting me taste her the way I
craved. She wasn’t looking me in the eye as we reconnected.
A chill spread through the center of my chest, one that cleared the sexual haze from my brain even if it didn’t do a thing to smother my arousal. I twisted my head to kiss her again, to see if I was right, but she moved away from my lips once more, then grasped my head to hold me still and sucked my earlobe between her lips while she ground against my cock.
Holy hell. She wasn’t out here trying to fix things between us. She was here because she wanted a fast, hard fuck, and she’d assumed I’d be up for it. I could be anyone right now, and it probably wouldn’t stop her.
Screw. That.
A fervor built inside me, one fueled by desire and obsession and a raging need to prove her wrong. I swung my legs off the couch, tightened my arms around her waist, and pushed to my feet. She groaned and held on to my shoulders, continuing to lick and nibble at my throat as I carried her into the bedroom. Against my chest, her heart raced with what I assumed was victory, but I wasn’t about to let her win. Not this time. Not when my entire existence hinged on what happened between us.
I knelt on the bed and dropped her on the mattress in front of me. Moonlight slanted through the windows, highlighting the flush to her cheeks and the lust darkening her eyes. My body reacted on instinct, warming and throbbing in all the right places. Seeing my reaction, she quickly reached for the hem of her tank and yanked it over her head, then tossed it aside. Her perfect breasts came into view, plump and already pebbled and begging for my mouth. But before she could tempt me with them, I captured her wrists, shoved her flat to the mattress, and pinned her arms above her head.
She gasped as my chest pressed into hers. Her hard little nipples abraded my pecs, distracting me, but I fought to stay focused, straddled her hips, and locked her lower body between my legs. With both arms up, one on each side of her head, she couldn’t twist her mouth away from me. And I saw the moment that fact dawned on her when her eyes widened, when her body tensed, when a panicked look surrounded her pretty blue irises.