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“Very much, it’s a Sangiovese from Tuscany. I am guessing from a 1972 harvest?”
“1973, it’s clear you know your wines, and I am impressed for being only twenty-two years old.”
“Thank you, but it goes back to my hiding days. I played hide and seek in the wine cellar and always won, with Lucas never finding me. So, while I was down there, I read labels, and then I would ask many questions of the staff because, other than my brother, I had no one to spend time with. Lucas was off doing God knows what, and I was alone.”
“Like running your family?”
“Yup, something like that. Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, you may ask me anything you wish,”
“It’s obvious my brother knows you were the one who took me. Does he want me back? Or is he happy I am no longer his problem?”
“First of all, you were never a problem for your brother; yes, he wants you back. However, I am unwilling to let you go, and therefore, you will remain here with me until I say otherwise.”
“Why? What am I to you? I am no one special with a dangerous family that will try to kill you once they figure out where I am.”
“No, you are wrong about being no one special, and whoever made you believe in that foolish thought should be beaten down within an inch of their miserable life. You are amazing, Sabina, and I’ve known it from the first moment I saw you.”
“How? You hardly know me, and an hour car ride from the airport and then a plane ride doesn’t add up to knowing the first thing about me.”
“I was not talking about those things, and you know it. Why won’t you allow yourself to remember me? And if you have, then why are you continuing to shut me out? You feel the connection, don’t you?” she trembled but not from fear. I pushed again. “Back on the plane, you could not say the words. Will you tell me now? Please, Sabina,” I moved the trays out of the way and pulled her close to me. “You remember me,” I said as I kissed her gently on her lips.
I waited for her to speak, but her tears fell first, and then she said what I’d been waiting to hear, “I remember you and the first time you called me Principessa.”Finally! My heart beat as fast as she returned heated kisses, giving me exactly what I’d been waiting for. It’s maddening on my part to engage in anything with this woman, knowing our past and what has connected us. I knew ten years ago what I felt, and back then, I really should have known better, but now, it’s different. She’s of age and free to give herself to anyone she wants, and I’ll be damned if it’s anyone but me.
I continued to kiss her, and common sense finally kicked in, and I pulled away from her. It was the last thing I wanted to do,but she was hurt today, and I knew I couldn’t just take her so freely without talking to her first. We had so much to discuss, but my body wanted her, and it hurt not to touch her.
“I want you so much, Principessa, but not tonight and not like this,” I felt the pain to pull away and tell her no.
“I don’t care, please, Bourne, I need you. Please be the first person to stay and not abandon me. Please,” she grabbed my shirt, and her fingers clawed into my skin until I felt the stinging pain from her nails.
“Are you sure?” I hungrily asked.
“Yes, I have never been surer of anything in my life. I want you, and I know you want me.”
CHAPTER TEN
Sabina
“Please make love to me,” I repeatedly asked until he savagely kissed me to the point I saw stars floating above me. My mind was reeling from the moment all the pieces connected on the plane to right now with him. All I had to do was open my eyes, and flashes of memories hit me one after another, and I saw them clearly as if it was yesterday.
“Come and meet my brother; he’s an officer in the British Army,”God! I remember he took my small hand in his large one, and then he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it.“Look out for my sister, okay? Until we meet again, Principessa,”his eyes were as blue as the ocean he threw me in. He was handsome with his tall figure, chiseled jaw, and perfect hair.
He was Marielle’s brother, and he trusted me to take care of her when he couldn’t. So, after all these years, I am begging him to make love to me and be my first lover. Could he tell I was a virgin? It wasn’t like I had any experience with boys. No, weare so beyond that, I mean, men. I have zero experience with men, and asking him to make love to me is just one line from a thousand romance books I’ve read to transport me from my real world to a place where I could lose myself for a while and forget. But this was not one of those times; this was real, and his stares pierced my soul. Is he waiting for me to make the next move? I need to get out of here, but where could I go?
“Sabina, look at me,” he commanded as his hand found the nape of my neck. He pulled me forward, and now we were eye to eye, and there was no way I could turn away from him. “You are overwhelmed and probably thinking now that you have opened Pandora’s Box, what to do now? Don’t worry; I will not pressure you into anything you are not ready for, least of all handing over something as precious as one’s virginity.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“It’s not a bad thing, I promise you. It’s beautiful, and I’m honored that you would want me to be your first, but let’s be clear about one thing, Principessa,” Just the way he says my nickname makes me lose my senses. “I not only intend to be your first but also your last. I know I had no business thinking of you in any other way besides my sister’s best friend, but as soon as I did meet you, I felt something shift, and then I changed. I said goodbye to you, and my life went on. I never believed our paths would ever cross again, but I swore that if they did, I would do what I could not do back then.”
“What did you want to do?”
“This,” and before I could question him again, his lips crushed mine in the most beautiful and sensual kiss I felt down to my toes. “There was something about you that I just could not forget, and believe me, Principessa, our lives have been connected since that very day in more ways than we ever realized.”
I pulled away with his hand still gripping my neck. I looked into his eyes and knew what he was thinking. How could he not? I will never forget that day for as long as I live. I might not have a daily thought about it, but since returning to Italy, I have not only remembered my mother’s murder but Marielle's as well. Two tragedies intersect with each other.
“Let’s talk in the morning,” he said, kissing me on my forehead before walking out of my room. I curled myself into a ball and cried into a pillow to drown out my pain. I knew I would not find peace in my dreams tonight, not with those blue eyes forcing me to remember another pair of eyes that matched his.
