AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He groaned. Changed his angle to thrust even deeper. And that was all it took. She was flung over the precipice, soaring into the void with his name once again screaming from her lips.
CHAPTER NINE
STEFANOSTRODETHROUGHthe castle halls to his room. He’d texted Lucy to meet him there, with instructions to dress for the cold. The weather had cleared, so he’d spent a good part of the afternoon preparing his surprise for her in another of the places here where he’d spent time as a boy.
He didn’t know why it was important to show her but, like the conservatory, he thought she would love this too, and her pleasure had become important to him. Vital, like breathing.
When he arrived at his room she was standing outside dressed in her coat and jeans. There was a black and white knitted cap on her head. Fingerless gloves on her hands.
‘Cows?’ he said, and smiled. ‘Do your socks match?’
‘Of course.’ She held out her hands, showing him that her gloves matched too. ‘It wouldn’t be me if they didn’t.’
‘I hope to see them later.’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Only if you’re very good.’
Stefano moved close, backed her up against the door. He leaned down and murmured into her ear. ‘I was hoping you’d want me to be very...bad.’
He relished the scent of her like a delectable dessert. Lucy gave a pained exhalation. Her hands on his chest, sliding over his shoulders and drawing him close. ‘Stefano...’
All he wanted to do was open the door and tumble her into his bed, stay there with her for hours. His willpower was a threadbare thing, but he mustered it nonetheless and stepped away.
He chuckled at her disappointed pout. ‘You have the capacity to make me forget everything I’m meant to be doing. But I have something to show you and I won’t be swayed.’
‘You’re being enigmatic.’
He’d wanted her trust, and yet he knew that after what she had been through with the betrayal by her ex it would have to be earned.
‘You asked about my favourite places here. I’ve another to show you—somewhere I particularly enjoyed in my early teens. It’s a surprise.’
He began to walk and she followed. Her smile was bright and happy. The look on her face could chase away all the cold in this place.
‘Did you spend much time in the castle when you were younger?’ she asked.
‘Until I was in the equivalent of your high school, yes. We lived here with whichever nanny and specialist tutors my parents had employed, whilst they were in the city during the social season and for work.’
Her eyebrows raised. ‘So you were left alone?’
‘My parents subcontracted their responsibilities. Their main aim was to ensure we didn’t disgrace ourselves, but once the future of the Moretti name was assured by my birth, and then that of my brother, they felt they’d done their duty. Their role was to maintain their status as one of Lasserno’s premier families, which had always been their main interest.’
‘What about you?’
Stefano shrugged. ‘There are many things children can do when the eyes on them aren’t as watchful as they should be. It wasn’t all bad. Given that my role as the future Count of Varno was assured, I had no real concerns. I watched out for my siblings. I was in charge of them in many ways.’
‘That sounds...lonely.’ Lucy frowned. ‘What about friends?’
He shrugged. Sometimes he’d missed the company of children his own age, but occasionally the staff here would bring their children to the castle, for him and his siblings to play with. His parents would have been horrified, so no one had ever told them.
‘Alessio’s was the only friendship that was really encouraged.’
Lucy placed her hand on his arm as they walked. ‘That’s sad. You realise, don’t you?’
Her sympathy, her support, almost stopped him. She could never understand how much it meant against the pain from that time, of almost losing his sister and being forced to accept responsibility too young. Not being encouraged to mix with others like a normal boy. He hadn’t recognised back then how it had shaped his life.
‘Perhaps—if we hadn’t liked each other. Luckily, we did. He became like another brother to me.’
It was as if a hand had plunged into his chest, tearing out his heart at that acknowledgement. The loss of Alessio’s friendship was a wound that would likely never heal. But there was so little he could tell her. He didn’t want this moment ruined by the admission of his failings, but there was so much he wanted to say.
