Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 101247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
I open the door and listen for a few seconds. There is the faint sound of an air-conditioner humming somewhere, but otherwise, the house is still. Everyone is gone. In fact, the whole house is so quiet it feels wrong to disturb the peace. I take my sandals off and, holding them in my hands, walk along the corridor and down the stairs towards the glass double doors.
I slide open the doors and see no one.
Suddenly, I feel like a child on an escapade. With a low laugh of pure joy, I run on my bare feet across the cool grass. Only to freeze when I reach the pool. Valentino is sitting at the edge of the pool, his pants rolled up to the middle of his calves and his feet dipped into the water. He’s smoking a cigarette, and beside him is an open bottle of vodka. He’s the embodiment of danger, and… I can’t help it. I feel unbelievably drawn to him.
Self-preservation tells me to turn away, but my body remains rooted to the spot, silently hoping he would look up and see me. Seconds later, he takes a long drag of his cigarette and looks up to blow a ring of smoke in the air. Our gazes meet. His eyes gleam in the warm soft yellow glow of the gas lamps. Smoke exhales out of him, and the air is suddenly filled with a strange tension.
Chapter Twelve
FRANCESCA
“Francesca.”
I’m quickly learning that he only calls me Francesca when he is upset with me, and it’s been days since he even let me upset him.
“Valentino.”
“Did you come down in that fucking towel? All the way from your room to the pool?” His voice is calm but full of potent poison.
Confronting him takes my blood pressure up several notches and my heart pumps with energy. A part of me that doesn’t get much action throbs at the huskiness and power in his voice. His cigarette is suspended between his long fingers, and I suddenly want to take a drag of it. I’ve been considering this ever since I saw him on the balcony smoking, but the idea is laughable because I’ve never smoked or wanted to smoke before.
“When I ask you a question, you answer me.”
“Yes, I did. Why?” I hold the towel tightly against my body.
He shakes his head as if he can’t believe how stupid I am. “Why? What if the house wasn’t empty?”
There is madness in the air. Citrus scents fill my senses and my blood throbs in my veins. A primitive part of me I didn’t know about takes over. I drop the towel.
“At least I didn’t come down in this?” I say huskily.
I swear I hear him suck in a breath, and that simple action gives me a healthy dose of courage. I stroll up the steps, my hips shamelessly undulating, aware of his gray eyes on my nearly naked body. The rest of the world drops away. There is only him and me in this magic place. He’s staring at me with hunger, and my heart beats wildly underneath his gaze.
I sit at the edge of the pool, dipping my legs into the water. He returns the cigarette to his mouth again and the end of it burns brightly as he inhales deeply. I meet his gaze, and his mouth quirks before he deliberately runs his gaze down my body. There’s lust in his eyes, and it makes my sex burn with a need for something I’ve never wanted or had before.
To assuage the heat between my legs, I slip into the water, letting the cold shock my body, hoping it will bring me back to my senses. However, when I pop my head out of the water moments later, my gaze goes straight to Valentino. I catch him still staring hard. His gaze drops, and I look down to see the hard peaks of my nipples pushing against the soft fabric of my bikini top.
At any other time, my instinctive reaction would have been to melt with embarrassment and hurry out of the water. But tonight, underneath Valentino’s gaze, I feel fully alive and sexually potent.
“Stop staring at me.”
He cocks his head and his voice is indulgent. “Why not? You’re my wife.”
My heart slams into my ribcage, and I dip into the water again. This time, I swim towards him, coming out between his legs with my head on the same level as his crotch. There’s a massive tent in his pants, only an arm’s length away. I’m afraid, but I’m even more excited.
Valentino stares down at me, his gray eyes shining with need. He wants me, and the only thing I know is that I want him, too. Maybe even more than he wants me.
I pluck the cigarette from his hand and put it to my lips. He holds my gaze as I take the first drag. My throat burns, and I cough at the searing heat in my chest. Why do people smoke? There’s no fun in this at all. Still, I put the cigarette to my lips again and take another drag. It is no better this time either.