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"I’m vain enough to love that." She gave the man a charming smile. "Please excuse us, there’s a painting I’d like you to purchase, darling. I think it’d look beautiful in that villa you have in Italy."
"Then let's go and see, shall we?" With a curt nod, he turned and led her away.
"They make a beautiful couple." Mark murmured, unaware that the woman standing next to him was broken and trying hard not to show it.
"I’d like to sit down." She said faintly.
"Let's go over there." he pointed to a group of benches and guided her towards one. Taking a sip of champagne, Alessia tried to quiet her trembling heart and pretended to be interested in what was going on around her.
*****
He couldn’t stay. When it came to hiding his emotions, he was a pro, or had been, but this time, he was having a difficult time pretending that seeing her wasn’t rattling him. She looked thin, he thought, with a wrenching sigh. Her small face, with the pointed chin looked even smaller.
Her waist with the cinched-in skirt and gold belt made her look like a waif. He was sure that if a good breeze sprang up, it would blow her to another state. He wanted her in ways he’d never thought possible.
Standing behind her before she realized it was him, had made him want to reach out and pull her back into his arms. He wasn’t allowed to do that though, was he? He thought bitterly. She’d made that impossible for him.
Now, she was with that bastard. Was she sleeping with him? The thought of him touching her was driving him crazy enough to want to shove his fist into his face.
What the hell did she see in him? He wondered angrily.
"I need some air." He told Annie broodingly.
"We’re outdoors." She pointed out.
"I need air that's not polluted with all these people. Besides, I feel the urge to smoke."
"Darling-"
"I’ll be back." He melted into the crowd and made his way through a winding path until he came to a clearing at the end of the park. Spying a bench in the middle of a thick cluster of trees, he sat and reached into his pocket for a cigar. He didn’t really smoke, but when the stress was more than he could stand, he’d light one up.
Dragging smoke into his lungs, he tipped his head back and gazed up at the cluster of stars scattered against the velvety blue of the sky. It was almost summer and he could smell the wild flowers blooming.
A sharp intake of breath had his head snapping back, his eyes piercing the dark to see the familiar red and gold dress.
"I’m sorry, I didn't know anyone was here."
"Or you noticed I’d left and followed me."
"I’ll leave." She turned and gasped when he tugged at her arm from behind.
"I don't think so."
"Let go of me." She said stiffly.
"Why?" He challenged. "You obviously came out here to see me." Pitching the cigar away, he ground it beneath his heel. "What did you come for? Or should I hazard a guess?"
"I’m going back-"
"You followed me for one reason and we both know what it is."
"I didn’t follow you. How egotistical can you get?"
"I’m merely speaking the truth." He drew her to him, inhaling her scent. "You want to feel what only I can give you. Is that it?"
"Your arrogance is astounding. I have to go back to Mark."
"That idiot pup. Does he plunge his tongue down your throat the way I do? Is he capable of making you come, so you’re calling out his name?" His voice had thickened. "His tongue so deep inside you that it feels like it's touching your womb?"
