The House by the Cypress Trees

by Elena Mikalsen

  “I finally have you all to myself,” he said, holding her close.

  “You do. No more curious crowds, no more Dad and sister making you nervous.”

  “I love your father and your sister. They didn’t make me nervous at all.”

  “That’s because they’re Italians. They would’ve egged you on if they’d spent any more time in our company.” She laughed, her dimple driving him crazy.

  “I don’t doubt it. Come with me.” He got up and pulled her up with him.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I’m covered in sweat and sand. I must shower, but I shall not let you out of my sight.”

  “I get to watch you shower. Nice.” She bit her lower lip.

  “That’s not what I had in mind,” Daniel said, beginning to remove her clothing and kissing every exposed inch of her skin.

  By the time he’d undressed her and the water warmed up, he was shaking with desire. She took the bottle of body wash and rubbed her breasts slowly with her hand full of soapy water, then moved out of the way to give him room. He took the body wash out of her hands and poured it onto her shoulders, rubbing, massaging in circles, going down to her breasts, then her stomach, then between her legs.

  “Daniel,” she begged, “don’t stop.”

  He didn’t and held her tight, continuing to stroke as Julia came, clinging to him and pressing her hips against his erection. He claimed her mouth then, pressing hard with his lips, exploring with his tongue. She pulled away suddenly, taking hold of the body wash.

  He watched, his heart ready to explode, as she poured palmfuls and started on his shoulders, slowly moved to his chest, stomach, and then lower, squeezing just the way he liked.

  “Julia, oh, God!” He grabbed her chin as she stroked him, and kissed her gently this time, enjoying the taste of her, the faint flavor of pasta and wine still in her mouth. She tasted sweet and delicious, and he had missed her so much. He had never imagined he’d feel like that for anyone.

  He came quickly, leaning his head on the tile wall of the shower, moaning her name, holding on to her breast, stroking her gently. He washed himself off, then got hold of shampoo and washed her beautiful silky hair as she washed his.

  “I love you,” he said. “I love everything about you.”

  “I love you right back.” She giggled. “I think I’m going to like showers much better from now on.”

  He dried her off and tucked her into bed, then ordered a bottle of Champagne.

  “What are we celebrating?” she asked.

  “Us. You finding your family. You having a body that drives me insane. I don’t know. You decide.”

  “Do we need a reason to drink Champagne?”

  “Not at all.”

  When the Champagne arrived, he threw on a robe to allow room service to deliver the bucket, then returned to bed. He opened the bottle and poured two glasses. She toasted him, “To us.”

  “To us.” He clinked the glasses and drank a few sips. Then he set their glasses on the nightstand, removed his robe, and slowly rolled back the blanket she was tucked under.

  “Now, where were we?” His fingers traced the outline of her body until she was covered in goosebumps.

  “Again?” She licked her lips.

  “That was just a preview, Texas. Now you get the real deal. I’ve been dying to make love to you for days.” He finished unrolling her blanket, leaned in, and moved his lips in a trail of kisses down her one leg and then the other before settling between them, teasing her with his tongue in little circles. She began to squirm and writhe as he pressed harder, more insistently, and then suddenly withdrew, wanting to tease her a bit, feeling mischievous.

  “I do love nothing in the world so well as you—is not that strange?” Daniel quoted.

  “I never believed Shakespeare could be so hot before. Don’t stop,” Julia gasped.

  “Don’t stop reciting Shakespeare? All right, I think I can do almost the entire Romeo and Juliet.” He laughed.

  “Tease! You won’t.” She pulled up on her elbows, her mouth half open, her face flushed with near orgasm. “Come here.” She pulled him up by his arm toward her face. “Come inside me. Now.”

  “Aren’t we getting a little bossy? I said I loved you. I didn’t say I was going to be your sex toy.”

  “A sex toy? I love the idea.” She pressed her lips against his and demanded from him in another way, wrapping her legs around him, pressing her hips against him, making it impossible for him to reject her.

  “Why can’t I ever say no to you?” he asked.

  “It’s advantageous to you to do whatever I say, Shakespeare.”

  He got back between her legs until she begged for mercy. Then he flipped on his back and let her straddle him, let her be in charge, until he felt her pulling on him, wanting him to be on top this time. He obliged, rolling over and taking her hard, her legs on his shoulders, until she couldn’t scream or talk anymore and neither could he.

  Some time later, he snuggled her still blazing body, her head on his shoulder. He was spent, in love, grateful.

  “This is so different,” she whispered, stroking his chest.

  “What?”

  “It feels so different making love versus having sex. Now that you love me, you are making love to me, not just having sex with me. You look at me differently. You listen to my signals. It’s not just having a quick satisfaction, but you want it to last forever, I can tell.”

  “I never just had sex with you, Texas,” he said, lifting up and looking at her tenderly. “I was in love with you the moment you popped out in front of my car.”

  “Oh, don’t remind me. I miss Lizzy.”

  “You’ll see her soon. We can stay here a little longer, but we should probably head home before too long. Mandy is dying to see us, and so are Francesca and Gian.”

  “Home? You mean to La Casa delle Nuvole? It’s strange to hear you call it home.” She sat up, grabbed her glass of Champagne, and took a sip.

  “I do own half the place. But I haven’t had a chance to tell you—my firm has offered me work in the Milan office.” He sat up as well, nervous at how she would take the news but hopeful she would see this as an opportunity for them.

  “How did that happen?”

  “When I went to Rome the other day, I used your suggestions and my presentation to the board went really well. Apparently, so well that I was recommended as an architect to another museum in Milan. My boss and mate, Roger, suggested I consider staying here in Italy so I can continue with the company rather than stop being in architecture altogether.”

  She passed his glass of Champagne to him and clinked their glasses. “But that’s fantastic. Congratulations. Let’s toast to this.”

  “What do you think, then?” He tried to read her face. Did she realize what it meant for them?

  “I told you it’s fantastic.”

  “I mean, of staying here. In Italy. Being with me. Coming back with me to Tuscany.”

  “Daniel, I have to go home, eventually.” She set her glass down, got out of bed, and put on her robe. “This isn’t my home.”

  “You have family here now.”

  “I know, and it’s wonderful. I mean I really want to spend more time here to get to know my sister and my father. Maybe a few weeks. But I haven’t really thought of living here. I’m an American. I have a job back home. I guess I haven’t had a reason to think that I could live here.” She paced around the room, rubbing her forehead.

  Daniel got up, came closer, and hugged her tightly. “You said yourself that you love Italy now. And you love me. And I happen to be staying here. Perhaps you now have enough reasons to stay and not enough reasons to go?”

  “You alone would be enough reason to stay, but I need some time to think about it. There’s been too much going on in my life. Too much loss and too many changes,” she said, placing her head on his shoulder.

  “And too many new people to get used to and to love,” he whispered. He kissed the
top of her head, worried she still felt she didn’t belong. He needed to come up with a way to convince her. Some way to let her know that Italy was her home now. He’d sleep, and then he would come up with something in the morning. He was sure it would come to him.

  Chapter 37

  Julia woke to sunlight streaming through the thick flower-covered shades and to the sensation of utmost happiness in her heart. What was it? Oh, yes. Daniel loved her back. She opened her eyes and saw him working on his iPad at the small desk by the window, drinking coffee. He was fully dressed in a pair of shorts and a shirt with lemons. She stifled a laugh. He must have bought the shirt at the gift shop downstairs.

  She sat up, wrapping the blanket around her. “What time is it, honey? How long have you been up?”

  “Around eleven. Sorry if I woke you. I tried to be quiet, but I had work emails to catch up on.”

  “Why didn’t you wake me earlier?”

  He smiled. “I enjoyed watching you sleep. You smile when you dream.” He got up. “Breakfast in bed?” He took a tray off the desk, a tray with a small white box and a glass of orange juice, and placed it on the nightstand next to her.

  “What’s this?” She clapped her hands. No one had ever brought her breakfast in bed.

  Julia opened the white paper box. It was filled with pastries oozing cream and fruit, but in the corner sat a small blue box with a white ribbon. Her heart skipped a beat as she carefully pulled it out and showed it to Daniel, her eyebrows raised.

  He shrugged and tried to keep a neutral face, but a smile danced in his eyes. She untied the ribbon, her fingers trembling, and opened the box. Inside, on a navy pillow, lay a platinum ring with a sapphire in the center, surrounded by diamonds shaped as flower petals.

  Daniel kneeled by the bed and took her hand. “Marry me, Julia.”

  Julia climbed out of the blankets and pulled him up to the bed with her. “What, no grand gestures, no candles on the beach this time?”

  He laughed and rolled on top of her, looking into her eyes. “I couldn’t wait. I sat here this morning watching you sleep, and all I thought about was how I’d like to wake up every morning next to you and watch you sleep. I mean it—marry me. Spend the rest of your life with me. I can’t imagine what life would be like without you.”

  She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. He tasted of the sea and coffee and fruit and flowers, and she couldn’t imagine ever kissing anyone else for the rest of her life.

  “Is that your answer?” he asked, pulling away and lifting up on his arms.

  She smiled. “I can’t imagine life without you either. Yes, my love. A million times, yes. Sei la mia anima gemella. You are my soulmate.”

  He sat up, took the ring out of the box, and gently slid it onto her finger. “Do you like it?”

  “I love it.”

  “I picked out the sapphire to match your blue eyes.”

  She pulled him back on top of her and kissed him until she was gratified to feel his arousal.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said, running his hands over her face as she removed his shirt and unbuckled his shorts. “Isn’t your father expecting us this morning?”

  “He can wait a little more. We can be quick. We must celebrate.”

  “You wish for a quickie after you just got engaged?”

  “I want to feel you inside me after we just got engaged,” she said and pushed him over and climbed on top of him.

  Julia couldn’t understand what was happening to her. She had never been overly fond of sex. She’d thought maybe she was too old for it. But with Daniel, sex was all she thought about. It was a constant need, to feel him inside, to have her skin tingling as he touched her, to feel the waves of pleasure pulsing through her. Perhaps it was the way he looked at her as the sexiest, most desirable person in the world that turned her on. She had never been looked at as anything more than a boring teacher.

  She came twice this time, Daniel holding her close as the orgasm built inside her. Then she held him as he came, squeezing her tightly. She had never been this close to another human being before. And she never wanted to be apart from him again.

  Which left the problem of her living in America right in front of her. Yesterday Daniel had asked if she would move to Italy. And she had said she wasn’t sure. Did he propose just to force her to move here?

  Worrying about this gave Julia a headache as they drove to Sorrento to have lunch with Nico and Alessandra. She didn’t bring this up at lunch with her father and sister and tried to enjoy their first congratulations on the engagement despite her worries. But she was never a patient person. She pulled Daniel over to the balcony as Alessandra went to help Nico with the dishes.

  “Did you only propose so that I would stay in Italy?”

  “What? That’s ridiculous.”

  “Then why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why did you propose to me?”

  “Because I love you and want us to be together forever. Because, from the moment I met you, my life has changed. I have become a better person. All I want is to make you happy. Make us happy. Life is not all about me anymore. And, yes, I want you to stay here. Because I can’t imagine moving to Texas. It would mean leaving my family and my job, and it would be incredibly hard. But, you know, if you wanted me to—I would do it for you.”

  “But I don’t want you to leave your family and your job,” Julia protested. “I love your family. I want to make you happy too.”

  “Then why don’t you want to stay in Italy? Why are you questioning my motives? What are you still worried about?” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m so used to being worried about things. It’s just natural for me to question when someone is nice to me. We don’t even know very much about each other. We only met a few days ago.”

  “Look,” he said, planting a brief kiss on her lips. “I love you. You will believe it one day. My family loves you. You already believe that, I think. I do need to introduce you to my mother, as awful as that may sound. But if we’re to be married, you shall be forced to interact with her at some point, and I’m terribly sorry about that.”

  “Oh, no, your mother! I haven’t met Lady Margaret.” Julia’s eyes opened wide.

  “Wait a minute. Don’t panic,” he said.

  “Let’s go—it’s a long way to Toscana,” Alessandra called out.

  “Come on, you can panic in the car,” Daniel said.

  “Oh, I will. Do I have to call her Lady Margaret?”

  “Not at all. Oh, and once you marry me, you’ll have loads of money.”

  “What?” Julia stopped and pulled away from him. “See, this is the kind of stuff that’s a problem for me. What do you mean ‘loads of money’?”

  “I told you my mother is a lady and we are distant relatives of the Queen. I am a nobody, but what this all means is that we have some money.”

  “How much money, exactly? Besides your apartment in London,” Julia asked as they settled into Alessandra’s Audi.

  “I’ll make an appointment with my solicitor, and he can walk you through it. I have no idea. I was never all that interested, frankly. I have a job, remember.”

  “Well, I’m not all that interested either. You can get me one of those pre-nups,” Julia huffed as the car started.

  “No, you do not sign a pre-nup.” Alessandra waved her finger in the mirror.

  “Absolutely not,” Daniel said. “And there is not that much money. It’s all invested in various estates, anyway. We’ll just use the money wisely and continue to invest it. But, I assure you, we will not be poor.”

  “I’m going to be sick,” Julia said, placing her head in her hands.

  “Is it my driving?” Alessandra asked.

  “No, it’s our future she is anxious about,” Daniel replied. “Well, I’m glad we have a nice long trip for you, darling, to get used to the idea of being married to me. You already did say yes.” He
pointed to her ring.

  ****

  “We’re home,” Daniel said. “Time to wake up and be worshipped by my family as the future Mrs. Stafford.”

  They were all waiting on the terrace, Mia’s little face smiling cheek to cheek as she ran toward the car, Lizzy jumping out of her arms. Daniel picked up his niece and held her tight. “Are you all better, then?”

  “Much better. Lizzy made me all better, Uncle.”

  Mia did look so much healthier now, her hair wild around her face, her cheeks pink and glowing, her body full of energy.

  “I’m so happy to hear that. Lizzy is a magic dog.”

  “She is.”

  Mandy hugged Julia warmly. “I heard your news. We have our grandmother’s ring, but Daniel didn’t want to use it, for some reason.”

  “Julia needed something new, not from our family. I bought one that matched her eyes.”

  “Let me see.” Mandy took her hand. “Oh, that’s lovely.”

  Julia hugged the two aunts and showed her ring all around. She was overjoyed to see the estate again, the familiar house with the statues, the vineyard, the olive grove, the apricot trees, but best of all the faces that smiled at her now, filled with good wishes and hugs for her. The smell of olive oil and fresh baking hung in the air, and her mouth filled with saliva.

  “Where is Mother?” Daniel searched.

  “I’m right here, Daniel.” His mother appeared at the door. She was tall like Daniel, but her hair was lighter and her eyes held no kindness or humor.

  “Am I supposed to curtsy or something?” Julia whispered.

  “She is not the Queen.” Mandy smirked. “Although she likes to think she is.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Margaret.” Julia stretched out her hand.

  “No formalities. You can call me Margaret.” She shook Julia’s hand. “I’m sorry about the misunderstanding. When you are a mother, you will understand, I’m sure. There’s nothing more important than one’s children. I’ve been protecting him for over thirty years.”

  “Mum, please.” Daniel rolled his eyes.