‘True,’ I said, feeling bold and beautiful when he chuckled again.
The bodyguard untied the guide rope as we settled on the seat together.
Suddenly we were speeding across the bay, the pounding bass beat from the DJ set fading. Vito’s arm stretched casually across the seat behind me, cocooning me from the misty spray with his strong body. I was pressed back into the seat as the powerful boat lifted into the surf and we charged across the dark water towards Naples.
My heartbeat continued to pummel my ribs, my insane bravado making me almost as dizzy as my first speedboat ride.
Conversation was impossible above the noise of the engine and the shallow waves whipping against the boat’s hull. But it seemed to take only seconds to arrive at the private dock where we had boarded the yacht earlier in the evening.
Vito took my hand again to help me out of the boat. He spoke briefly to a couple more bodyguards waiting on the quay, and the guard on the boat handed me back my shoes. I slipped on the high heels. Then Vito grasped my hand again to lead me up the wooden walkway, followed by the security detail.
‘You have a lot of bodyguards,’ I said.
He glanced at me, surprise flickering in his eyes before he replied. ‘It is necessary for our protection.’
Protection from what?I wondered, but the thought got lost when we reached the dock’s main concourse, and I spotted an enormous black helicopter—its blades already rotating.
When Vito headed towards it, my hand still gripped in his, I found myself pulling back. He turned to stare at me inquisitively.
‘Where is your estate?’ I asked, starting to feel overwhelmed.
‘In the hills above the city,’ he said, but then, probably sensing my panic, he lifted my hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across the knuckles. The gallant gesture was belied by the hot look in his eyes. ‘You are afraid to fly?’
‘No… It’s just… I’ve never flown in a helicopter before,’ I said, trying to swallow the lump of overwhelm threatening to cut off my air supply.
He nodded, a sensual smile spreading over his lips and making my pulse accelerate even more. He really was devastatingly handsome when he smiled, even if the joke was on me when he replied. ‘Do not concern yourself,’ he said, having to raise his voice as the noise from the blades increased. ‘You will not have to pilot it.’
I choked out a laugh. ‘Good to know,’ I murmured.
‘And it is the fastest and safest way to travel through the city,’ he added.
‘Fair point,’ I said, starting to babble. ‘I’ve only been in Naples for two days, but I’ve already figured out the only rule drivers observe here is, “He who beeps loudest has right of way.”’
He grinned, the wind whipping his dark hair around his head and making my heart swell alongside my excitement. ‘You see, Mia, you are already a native.’
Exhilaration made my heart punch my ribs as we boarded the chopper together. Even though I knew his approval shouldn’t matter to me so much, somehow it did.
He strapped me in and handed me a pair of headphones before taking the seat beside me. I could hear him talking to the pilot in Italian, the deafening noise muffled by the headphones. Then we lifted into the night sky.
Tears stung my eyes and my heart rose to slam into my throat as I spotted the yacht in the distance, where Evie and her friends would probably be partying until dawn. The helicopter wheeled around to travel across the city, low enough for me to spot the faded neoclassical grandeur and labyrinthine alleyways of the Centro Storico we’d explored while searching for the perfect party outfits, the pavement cafes along the Via Francesco Caracciolo where we’d dined on pasta, and even Bagno Elena nestled between two headlands—the town beach where we had spent the day yesterday making the most of our fifteen-euro loungers.
The reminder of how far removed my world was from Vito’s as the chopper climbed over the hills of the elegant Chiaia neighbourhood had apprehension pressing against my throat again.
I crossed my legs and tried to tug down the hem of my mini-dress. Vito’s large palm settled on my bare knee, and sensation sprinted up my leg to settle in my sex.
‘Calmati, Mia,’ he said, and although I didn’t understand Italian, I realised he was trying to quell my anxiety.
I glanced at him, my heart throbbing.
Stop panicking, Mia, and enjoy this.
What exactly was I getting so anxious about? This was a one-night hookup, something I’d missed out on all through my teens because I’d had so many other responsibilities. And it promised to be a spectacular one at that.
And what was so scary about meeting a man who knew what he wanted—namely, me—and wasn’t afraid to go after it? His confidence and no-nonsense approach to hooking up ought to fill me with confidence, too. Why shouldn’t I be as bold as he was tonight, as badass as I’d always wanted to be? The only thing I had to lose was my vanilla sex life.
I’d spent my whole life denying my own needs to please other people and always do the sensible thing, but I’d made a promise to myself, and Evie, after I’d told Dave to take a hike. I was going to stop being so cautious.
No regrets Mia, not tonight. You’ve already had too many of those.
