His head lifted, and he glanced toward the doorway with his flawed and captivating irises, stilling with his hand on the cuff of his sleeve when he caught sight of me standing in the doorway. “What?”
My breasts tingled, and my whole body ached to be touched by him again. Only this time, I promised myself I wouldn’t be blind to what was so very obvious to me now. “What do you mean, what?”
“You’re looking at me.”
“I know. I like looking at you.” I crossed toward him, took the cufflink he was struggling with, and turned his arm over. “Here. Let me.”
A shiver rushed down my spine as I worked the cuff link through the buttonhole. His eyes were locked on my face while I fixed his sleeve, then pulled the two halves of his shirt together, working the buttons from the top down for him.
That warmth inside me grew hotter. I liked when he watched me as he was doing now. As if he couldn’t take his eyes off me. And I’d missed it, more than I’d let myself realize until this very moment.
I slid the buttons into each hole, taking my time, skimming my fingers over his broad chest as much as I could. It was one of my favorite parts of his body. Strong, lean, perfect to press my cheek against when he held me like he had last night.
I’d never told him that. There was a lot I hadn’t told him. So many things we’d yet to share even though we were technically married.
“There.”
I left the top button undone, knowing he wouldn’t wear a tie, and smoothed my hands down his chest, unable to resist. He hated ties. When we’d been in Rome, meeting with fashion designers during that week I’d been his assistant, I’d watched him rip his tie off more times than I could count.
He was insanely handsome in whatever he wore, but I had to admit, I liked my Luc more casual. I liked to see him relaxed and at ease. I told myself I was going to work hard not to add unnecessary stress to his life from now on.
I let my hands slip from his body and drift to my sides, knowing I didn’t have a reason to keep touching him. But I didn’t move back as he tucked his shirttails into his slacks. I stayed close and focused on the buttons of his shirt, feeling his warmth and inhaling the sweet scent of his cologne. Savoring it and him. “How long will you be gone?”
“I’m not sure. Hopefully only a couple of hours.”
I nodded, wishing he’d tell me more, knowing he wouldn’t.
“I was thinking that when I got back, maybe we could spend the afternoon together.”
“You were?”
“Maybe a picnic?” His hands made quick work of his belt and buckle. “We shouldn’t leave the property, but this estate is big. There are plenty of places we can go to get away from everyone. And I...” A nervous look filled his eyes as they darted away, then came back to focus on me. “There are things we need to talk about. Things I want you to understand.”
I swallowed hard, part of me afraid to hear all about those things he suddenly wanted to tell me. It was crazy. Information was what I craved, yet at the same time, information was the thing that had sent me running from Luc when things between us had been nearly perfect.
“But more than that”—he stepped close and wrapped his large, warm fingers around my smaller and much colder ones—“I just want to be alone with you, Natalie. Without any distractions or anyone watching. Just you and me.”
The honesty I saw in his eyes made me absolutely weak. “You do?” I whispered.
“Disperatamente.” He lifted his hands to my face, and moved into me, closing the distance between us until he was so close, I realized if I wasn’t careful, I could drown in him. Just as I had before. “I’m wild for you, angioletto. Don’t you know that by now? I’ll never have enough of you. Everything I’ve done, everything I’m doing...it’s all for you. For us.”
That word—us—brought tears to my eyes.
He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine, and as I sucked in a breath and opened to him, he didn’t just kiss me. He claimed me. Dominating not just my mouth, but my body and soul as well.
Just as he’d said he’d do on our first night together in Rome. Precisely as I’d secretly wanted him to do from the moment I’d awoken on his island. Exactly as my friend Elena’s mystery man had done when he’d ruined her life.
That realization circled in my head as Luc drew back. Breathless and light-headed, I wobbled on my feet, but Luc’s arms were right there to pull me close and hold me tight against him.
My brain said to fight the hold, to push back, to be the independent woman Elena hadn’t been, but my heart—the heart Luc had touched the last time we’d been in Italy—faltered, and as his familiar scent surrounded me, all I could do was press my cheek to that perfect spot on his chest and listen to his heartbeat while he played with my hair. To savor a moment I craved and didn’t want to let go of.
Long minutes later, he sighed, and against my ear, I heard the low rumble of his voice when he said, “I have to go.”
“I know.”
But he didn’t release me. And I reveled in that knowledge and held him closer.
Finally, he drew back, but I recognized the mischievous spark in his eyes when he looked down at me.
My stomach tightened. “What?”
He slid his hand down my arm, his fingers leaving a trail of heat in their wake. “Come here, and I’ll show you.”
He drew me into the bathroom and tugged me to a stop in front of him.
The bathtub was full and steaming and filled with bubbles. Candles illuminated the room, making the whole place smell of lavender, and three different paperback books, along with a small stack of fashion magazines, were positioned on the small table to the right of the bathtub. On the counter, I spotted a bottle of fancy French champagne in a silver ice bucket, and orange juice topped with a strawberry in a cut-crystal wineglass.
“What’s all this?” I asked.
Luc massaged my shoulders with his big hands. “How you’re going to relax while I’m gone. I stole the books from Fee’s library.”
He leaned close and breathed hot over the sensitive skin behind my ear. “And I remember how much you like your baths.”
My cheeks heated when I realized what he was referring to. The bath I’d taken in the middle of the night at his parents’ estate because I hadn’t been able to sleep without him. The one I’d fantasized about him taking with me. The one he’d caught me touching myself in as I’d been thinking about him and all the amazing ways he made me feel.
Desire roared through my blood. A desire so strong, I couldn’t fight it a moment longer.
I didn’t care if it made me weak. I turned into him, pushed to my toes, and pressed my mouth to his, trembling with an overpowering need only he could sate.
He groaned and opened to my kiss, stroking his tongue with mine as he pushed me back against the counter so he could take control of my mouth and my body and every one of my wants and desires. And I let him. I willingly gave it all up to him because this was the Luc I’d been missing for so long. The one who could awe me with a single act of kindness and melt my body with one forceful touch.
“Ah, angioletto,” he breathed against my lips, holding me so close, I could feel his straining erection against my belly. “If you keep that up, I’ll never get out of here.”