His shoulders relax a fraction, then he crosses the room to me.He cups my face, thumbs brushing my cheeks, and I lean into his touch before I can stop myself.“I’ll be back soon,” he murmurs.
“You better be,” I say, trying to keep it light, even though my chest is aching.He hands me a cup of coffee and seats me on his lap for breakfast, making me aware how much of a habit it has become for me to be near him.
* * * *
Shortly before noon, he stops the car at my father’s driveway.Another car stops behind ours.My two bodyguards file out and take position on the front porch.Damiano rounds the car to open the passenger door and holds his hand out to me to help me get out.I take his hand and he tugs me toward him so hard I crash against his chest.He grips my hair at the back of my head to angle my face up and sinks his gaze into mine.The air is charged with sexual tension even though we were satiated mere hours ago.
“Be a good girl and behave,” he murmurs against my lips.As if he’s flipped a switch, my throat is dry and my panties wet.God, this man makes my body react like no other.I lick my lips and his gaze snaps down to follow the movement.The growl he utters holds nothing human.
He tugs me against him and buries his face in my neck, keeping me flush against him for several beats..Long enough to make my breath hitch.“I’ll call,” he promises.
“Okay.”
“I’ll miss you.”
I don’t trust myself to speak.I can only nod.And when he kisses me, slow, deep and full of everything he’s not saying, I kiss him back like it’s the last time.He pulls away and stares at me for one long heartbeat.Then he turns and goes into the car to drive away.I watch him go, already counting the days until he comes back.
* * * *
A few hours later, I am sitting with Chiara and Daria in the living room.The sun filters through the tall windows, bathing the pale rose walls in a soft golden glow.The gilded tea table is laid out with delicate porcelain cups, tiny fruit tarts and a crystal dish of clotted cream that looks almost too perfect to touch.Chiara is seated beside me on the loveseat, her arm brushing mine now and then as she laughs at one of her own stories.Across from us, Daria perches like a bird, poised in one of the antique chairs, her spine straight, her hands folded over a linen napkin.She’s smiling.Sweetly.That seems a bit odd, but I’m too relaxed, too happy to care.
“It’s lovely to see you looking so well, Lily,” Daria says, her voice smooth like dripping honey.“Damiano’s clearly been taking very good care of you.”There’s something in the way she says it that could be a barb, but the words are too pleasant, her expression too polished.Still, it makes my skin prickle faintly.I shrug and sip my tea.
“I’m…lucky, I suppose.”
Daria smiles again and reaches to pour another cup for Chiara.“Luck has very little to do with it, darling.Some women just know how to secure a powerful man.”
Chiara makes a face behind her teacup, and I try not to laugh.
“Mama.”She sighs.“Please don’t start.”
Daria waves a hand as if to dismiss her own comment.“I’m simply complimenting her.Honestly, Chiara, you’re always so quick to bristle.”
But Chiara isn’t paying attention anymore.She is watching me now, eyes narrowing slightly.
“Lily?Are you okay?”I blink.My cup trembles a little in my hand.
“Yeah, I just… I suddenly feel…weird.”
Chiara is already shifting closer.“You look pale.”I try to sit up straighter, but my limbs feel oddly heavy, like someone’s slipped weights into my veins.The room tilts slightly.A soft ringing starts in my ears.
“I think…I need to lie down,” I murmur, placing the teacup back onto the saucer with shaking fingers.It clinks too loudly.
“Lily?”Chiara’s voice sharpens.Daria stands but doesn’t move toward me.She merely watches.The ringing in my ears grows louder.Then, like someone’s pulled a curtain over my mind, the edges of the world begin to blur.My muscles give out.I slump sideways into Chiara’s arms as my vision starts to go black.The scent of roses and tea becomes too strong, cloying.
“Lily!Lily!”Chiara’s voice is panicked now, cutting through the dark.Her hands are cupping my face, shaking me gently.
“Lily, stay with me!”
But I can’t.The last thing I hear is her voice breaking on my name before everything goes silent.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Damiano
“You can’t just fucking resign!”Luc bellows over the roar of the jet’s engine.“We are not a goddamned Wall Street company where you can drop in and out as you fucking please.”
I shrug, unfazed by his outburst.
