Norah couldn’t believe how honest she was being. It wasn’t like her to be this blunt, but after everything that happened, her dignity was really a luxury she couldn’t afford anymore. “Yes, Leo, I’m tempted by you… I’m extremely tempted to say yes to your every request, but I’ve never had sex with a man just for… physical release. I wasn’t raised that way. It makes me feel cheap even considering it.”“You’re incredibly insulting when you want to be, aren’t you, Norah? The problem, I think, is that you don’t know how powerful this particular… painkiller will be. Or how effective…” Leone leaned across and set her glass on a small table, in a holder. His was already gone and his hands went to her small waist.“‘V
Dammit! The feisty Norah was back… Their passionate moment was definitely gone! He thought of something taunting to say back to her but Leone decided to let her be, at least for now. He’d already had her… well, a part of her anyway… Energy and excitement roared through him. His senses felt like they’d been cranked into hyperdrive. His cock was still throbbing, but Leone knew better. Having sex with her in the backseat of a limo had been a terrible idea, given the circumstances. Doing it again was beyond terrible. It was reckless. Foolish. Still, Leone wanted Norah with a hunger he’d never experienced. But it was wrong to indulge this lust. His brain knew this was going to end poorly. For the good of everyone who depended on him, the best course of action was to calm down, get to the villa, and get ahold of these wayward thoughts and irrational emotions. Leone gave her a quick glance. She was keeping her distance from him, pro
“‘Ciao, puffo!’ (Hi, you smurf!) How about I throw you into the pool?” Leone asked in Italian. “Do it!” arrived the little boy’s defiant answer, also in Italian. The boy’s laughing eyes brightened with excitement. He splayed out his arms and legs, ready to fly through the air into the still, blue water despite being fully dressed.“Nah, I won’t do it,” Leone told him, hitching the boy’s wiry figure onto his arm so they were eye to eye. “That’s your punishment for trying to push me in, ‘nanerottolo’ (you, little gremlin). No swimming at all. Now, go on and say hello to Miss Wilde,” he said, indicating her with a nod. Norah looked at Leone, absolutely mesmerized seeing him acting so… playfully. She waited for the little boy to talk. After all, she was the stranger in this picture. She didn’t want to scare him.“Norah, this little devil is Marco Gritti, my second cousin. He has all of his mother’s sass and twice his father’s disregard for danger.”“Ciao!” he exclaim
A few minutes later, Norah was moving around Gabrielle’s kitchen, chatting with her with surprising ease. Perhaps Gabrielle wasn’t resting with her feet up as her husband had demanded, but since she wasn’t holding anything heavier than a paring knife, Norah didn’t say anything. Besides, every birth story she’d ever heard was a lengthy process, happening in the midnight hours. Gabrielle wasn’t complaining of a backache or any of those other things women talked about as labor’s signs. She was relaxed, cheery and so, so nice! Feeling as vilified as she did, Norah was deeply relieved to be finally treated like a normal person.“Did you get that top at the boutique on the far end of the lake?” Gabrielle asked. “I bought the black and gold one two
Leone had seen the photos online from today’s shopping trip with Norah and last night’s kiss. The passionate embrace on the stern of the yacht still made his pulse pound just thinking of it. His mind went to the car, the wet heat clenching his fingers, her sweet nectar on his tongue as she shuddered and cried out while orgasming. There were a million reasons why he should merely act like they were an item, rather than make the affair real, but they would make it real. He knew it for sure. They could put it off, because they both knew in their gut that neither of them would come away unharmed, but their making love was inevitable.“What? No comment?” Yari poked. “Leo… ‘Fratello’ (brother), if you’re right and she’s a victim, she had been hurt more than enough for a lifetime. Don’t make h
“Oh, dear God… This was such an amazing experience,” Norah said fifty minutes later, as the ambulance carried off a grumbling Gabrielle and a newborn baby boy. The youngest of the Gritti family had made his voice heard for a brief moment, then once he was placed on his mother’s chest, fell asleep, unusually cool, calm, and collected for a baby that tiny.“This is an absolute waste of time. The doctor is just going to tell me that everything is perfectly fine and that I’m free to go home if this is what I want. I wish you hadn’t called them,” Gabrielle scolded Leone on her way out the door.“Nonetheless, amore mio, humor us all, please,” Yari said with odd composure. “Especially me.” He joined his wife while buttoning his clean shirt with hands that might have shaken a little, but he’d barely broken a sweat while carrying Gabrielle to their bed and helping their youngest son come into the world minutes later.“‘Va bene, tesoro’ (Very well, sweetheart),” Gabrielle sa
Norah looked back at him and let Leone see her smug joy in getting him as angry as a bull.“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said in a tone of fake regret. “You’re right. It’s not cheap… This is becoming quite expensive for you, isn’t it? Because if you won’t allow me to get a real job, you’ll have to cover the lease on my apartment and also, pay all my bills.” It was a childish shot and as expected, it fell flat.“Already done, Norah.” His words wiped off her satisfied grin.“What did you just say?!” Leone smiled at having drawn the wind from her sails.“You’re not my first mistress, piccola,” Leone added calmly. Those words hit Norah right in her gut. She tried to say something but he went on.“But you’re the first one who is moving in with me. It’s not an ideal situation but we have to send the right message to the world: we are lovers living together. So, I’ve assigned you a private assistant. She’ll send you our schedule shortly.” ‘M
He picked up her hand and pressed it to his own chest, where his heart punched against her palm.“You felt it on the backseat of my limo, when you fell apart and simply exploded in my mouth. So, why is this coming as a surprise for you? How could you not understand it’s the same for me, Norah?” Emotion pressed at the backs of her eyes and thickened her throat. He watched her struggle to swallow and cupped his hand under her jaw, palm against her neck, thumb caressing the hollow below her ear.“Tell me you don’t want this and I’ll back off right now,” he whispered. Leone’s mouth was so close that Norah could feel his warm breath against her lips, against her cheek.“Tell me you don’t think about us going a second round… or a third…” He rested his forehead against Norah’s. “Piccola, your eyes are saying yes…” Leone traced her bottom lip with his finger, then nipped at it with his lips.“Your hands are saying yes.” He covered