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Shame washed over me as I collapsed on top of her. I forced myself to roll off her, then dragged my aching body out of the bed.
‘Renzo, where are you going?’ she asked, confused now as well as concerned.
The last of the afterglow faded as I stumbled naked towards the terrace door.
‘You will sleep better alone,Principessa,’ I managed, my voice harsh even to my own ears. But I could not risk falling asleep in her arms again.
Not until I knew why the nightmares—which had haunted me during my boyhood and returned to torment me after the crash—had become more vivid, more disturbing. And why the only thing which could give me relief now from the searing terror was her...
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jessie
‘MADEMOISELLEJESSIE,il y a quatre femmes pour vous voir.’
I glanced up from the croissant dough I was making for tomorrow’s breakfast to find Eduardo in the doorway.
Four women were here to see me. How odd.
‘Qui sont-elles?’I asked, frowning.
I was almost finished for the day, and was looking forward to dashing up to my room to change into my swimsuit, so I could join Renzo in our cove for a swim... Something he had suggested this morning before heading to his office in the chateau, for another series of meetings with his executives—something which had been keeping him busy as well as his physiotherapy while I worked for the past two weeks.
My face heated at the thought of all the things I had been anticipating doing to Renzo after our swim.
I cleared my throat, trying to contain my insta-blush.
No one cares what you are doing with Renzo after hours. Except you.
And the truth was, even I had become easier with our...agreement. Ever since that first night, when I had poured out all my fears about becoming my mum to Renzo—and he had made me realise, I didn’t need to be afraid of her legacy. Not anymore.
Our sex-capades in the last two weeks had been nothing short of a revelation in that regard. Renzo had been more than happy to help me revel in my pleasure—ourpleasure—until we were both shattered, then he would return to his own room.
I frowned.
Get over that. This is a casual fling, not a love affair. The fact Renzo has no desire to sleep in your bed after the sex is done, isn’t important.
But I couldn’t deny the twinge of disappointment, as I recalled the nightmare which had woken him up in my arms that first night. And the passionate, strangely tumultuous encounter which had followed.
There had been nothing like it since. Renzo’s moves had become more seductive, more sophisticated and more skilled as each night had passed, and he dedicated himself to testing the limits of my pleasure—with patient determination—and brought me to orgasm... Over and over again...
But I couldn’t seem to shake the memory of that nightmare, and the sounds he’d made before he woke—like an animal caught in a trap, terrified and frantic.
Eduardo shrugged.‘Je ne sais pas,’he said, reminding me of my mysterious visitors, whose identity he had no clue about either.‘Mais elles ont apporté beaucoup de vêtements avec eux.’
They had bought loads of clothes with them?Huh?
‘Go, Jessie, I will finish these,’ Matteo said, who’d arrived to do his evening shift half an hour early. The older chef—who had become a firm friend, and mentor, in the past two weeks—sent me a paternal smile and then nudged me aside to take over the croissant dough. ‘You will like this surprise,’ he finished with a bright smile.
‘What surprise?’ I asked. Was that why he had arrived so early? I had heard him and Renzo chatting in Italian yesterday evening when he’d served our meal, but now I was feeling stupidly insecure.
I washed and dried my hands, brushing my palms on my apron.
‘Go... And then you will find out,’ Matteo added, still smiling.
Clearly, he knew who these women were, because Renzo must have told him. Last night. Without telling me.
It was nice of Renzo to bother going to the trouble of surprising me. But even so, I was wary and tense as I headed up to my suite, where Eduardo had told me the women were waiting. I didn’t like surprises, probably because so many of the surprises in my life before now had not been good ones.
