Rather than waste time surfing for plane tickets she called her travel agent.
“Rachel, when’s the next flight to Rome?” she asked without preliminaries.
Rachel Hurst worked all hours and wouldn’t mind a late call.
“Uh, hang on,” was the muffled reply.
Knowing the woman, she probably had a cigarette dangling from her mouth and her laptop at the ready.
“Tomorrow at 2:05 PM, Gatwick to Fiumicino,” she replied after about five seconds. “You’re lucky to find anything this time of year. Do you—”
“Get me two tickets please, will you? A week with insurance…” She gave Rachel both her and Dane’s essential details—which she remembered by heart. “You have my credit card information. I’ll pick them up first thing in the morning.”
Her next task was to search for hotels in the area. She found a decent bed and breakfast located on the second floor of a medieval building that was not far from the restaurant, as she had no intention of driving or taking long walks or rides. The online reservation system took care of that.
She booked two rooms, of course. Her intention, though, was to simply make the connection between the two men, then she’d leave them to hash it out. Dane needed to take care of it on his own before including her.
She decided to go for it in both their best interests. Yet even if he resolved his father-son issues, she wouldn’t raise her hopes too high.
Whatever happened, she needed to stay emotionally detached and avoid trouble. If she allowed herself to get involved, it would spell nothing but disaster.
Fool me twice…
She closed the browser and sighed.
Now she had a problem.
What on earth was she going to tell Dane when he woke up? She couldn’t just drag him on a plane bound for Italy without a really good explanation.
Then there was the matter of how she could face him at all after what happened.
Her stomach did a reckless flip, leaving her slightly nauseous. Cold sweat beaded her temples and she got up to stand by the window and look outside. Rubbing her arms, she contemplated the darkening spring sky with mounting dread. The lights from the street lamps threw a weak shadow on the sidewalk.
“What shall I do?” she said out loud.
“Do what?” a voice drawled behind her, making her start and want to bolt.
She didn’t turn around, only dug her fingers into her upper arms to quell the trembling.
“Nothing, just… something came up, out of the blue.”
“Tell me… but hang on first. Do you get pizza delivery here? I’m starving.”
“Sure. Top drawer of the desk, left side. There are a couple of menus.”
“Uh-huh,” he grunted.
She heard the paper shuffling while she gathered her thoughts and turned around.
“I’m leaving.”
He stopped and rose to his full height, a questioning look on his face. It would have been easier if he said something rather than let the darkness show in his eyes.
A muscle twitched in his left jaw. He looked like he wanted to punch the wall until his knuckles bled.
“Say that again?”
She fell more than sat on an armchair, elbows on thighs, hands linked. “It’s my job. They just got a contract to redo an old palazzo in Italy and they’re sending me there to get the specs. The guy that set it up owns a restaurant in the area.”
“Why are they sending you and not a senior partner? You’ve only been there a few months.”
She snorted. “Just like you to belittle my work. You never believed in my skills, that much I know.”
Angry, she shot up and started to march past him but his steely grip on her arm stopped her in her tracks.
“Wait. I didn’t mean that.”
She stared down at his fingers that dug in her flesh, then back at him. “Yes, you did. Now let me go,” she said, unflinching.
She should have known it wouldn’t work.
“I just can’t let you go like this.” His grip didn’t ease.
“Why not? Did you think that by screwing me one more time you’d take the right to hurt me again?” she spat.
“So that’s what you think? That I’m playing some sick game?”
He pursed his lips and swallowed. She followed that motion downward, the tension coiling around them like London fog. When he removed his hand from her arm, the imprint remained.
“Sorry, I… Lissy, I’m coming with you.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “No, you’re not. I can’t mess this up. A lot rides on it,” she faltered.
Agreeing to his proposal straight away would only make him suspicious.
“You must know by now that ‘no’ is not my middle name. Where are you going?”
“You’re bull-headed.”
“Thank you. Where?” His tone warned that he wouldn’t take any crap.
Good. That dogged pride came in handy for once.
Guilt pricked her for this subtle manipulation. One little prick, that’s all.
“Italy. I go tomorrow.”
“Your boss not wasting any time, is he?”
“If you’re coming, you better go pack.” Her heart raced a hundred miles a minute.
“Yeah.”
“Where are you staying?”
“Hilton. At the airport.”
Hurt at the implication of his words—a booking at the airport hotel meant that he hadn’t planned a long stay—she turned away and left him with, “Suit yourself. Call me later and I’ll give you the details.”
Did he still plan on jumping ship after what happened between them?
“What about tickets?”
He was right behind her at the sink.
Don’t turn around.
“I’ll take care of it. I’ll call my agent.” That, at least, wasn’t a lie.
Silence.
But he was still there, breathing down her neck. She busied herself washing the plate and cutlery, lingered on each item while her blood ran hot and cold like the tap water.
“No tricks, Lissy,” he finally said. “If you leave without me, I’ll find you.”
These last words he said to her before she heard his footsteps retreat and the click of the door echoed piercingly in her mind.
She released the deep breath she’d been holding.
Don’t worry, darling. I won’t go anywhere without you. Just don’t make me regret this.
She feared she would.
***
He’d thought the three hour flight was torture but that was nothing compared to being given the cold shoulder. The bus ride wore a gaping hole in his reserve of patience. After barely speaking to him on the plane, Lisbeth refused to wait an hour for the more comfortable train and insisted on taking the bus to their destination. True, choosing the train would have meant going through a couple of stops but that would have been better than sitting in a cramped bus for three and a half hours.
On their first stop for a snack break, he’d taken a good look at her drawn and pale face.
“Wait here. I’m getting you some Dramamine from that store over there.”
He’d ignored her protests—and she said he was the stubborn one—and went inside. The instant relief ones came in gum form. He grabbed a pack, along with a couple of lemon sodas and cheese and tomato tramezzini—triangle-shaped sandwiches with the crust cut off—and watched her through the double-glazed glass doors from the cash station.
She sat on a bench, tapping her foot. He didn’t miss her stealing glances at the store, concern and impatience having it out on her face and behavior.
Her mood seemed not so much directed at him but at something else he couldn’t guess.
Was she afraid of him?
She needed to be. This time around, he was in it to win it.
She had no clue what he was capable of to keep her, and it was best she didn’t. His hold on her was still precarious… that was to be expected.
He missed her.
To his relief, during the second half of the ride, the color returned to her face. The gum worked fast, and the zig zag route via the Laga mountains wasn’t half as bad when your stomach wasn’t trying to eject its latest meal every five seconds.
The line of communication hadn’t improved though. Pensive, she laid her head back on the headrest, the iPod headphones firmly in her ears.
Fine. He’d just enjoy the ride and catch a few winks. After a night of tossing and turning, of burning for her, and about a half dozen showers, he needed all the rest he could get.
His dues were not yet paid.
CHAPTER 4
A city of travertine and towers, Ascoli Piceno preceded ancient Rome. He instantly took a liking to it when they descended from the bus at the central station and took a taxi to the hotel.
The bed and breakfast blended nicely with the surroundings, encased as it was in a palazzo like so many other businesses in the old part of town. Yet, stripped down to the bare bones, if one forgot the beautiful character of the structure on the outside, it was just a clean bed and breakfast in the heart of the city, nothing fancy.
Two rooms. He made a face when she confirmed that reservation with the receptionist. At least they were next to each other.
“Dinner in an hour?” she asked when he walked her to her room. She stood between him and the door, her body a barrier to entry.
“Sure. See ya,” he said with manufactured calm.
A quick shower and clothes change later, he was at her door, knocking.
She peeked out of the doorway wrapped in a short towel. He didn’t miss her bare legs and wet hair gathered in a clip atop her crown.
Damn, she was a looker and he was done for.
“I didn’t—”
“I can wait,” he said, his foot already in the door.
She retreated as he advanced.
“I’m not—”
“But we gotta talk. This is as good a time as any.”
He leaned against the small writing desk and crossed his arms. She didn’t seem to like the way he looked her up and down, taking his time.
She stood as far from him as the room would allow—leaned into the wall by the partially drawn curtains over the window. Their rooms overlooked the street.
As if unsure what to do with her hands, she linked them, palm to knuckles, in front of her; her shoulders hunched, one bare foot on the other’s instep.
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Lie.
“I’m not.” Lie number two.
His eyes held hers. “Then can you please tell me what you’re playing at? Why did you let me come when you barely strung a sentence from Rome to here?”
She bit her bottom lip, wearing the look of trapped prey. Then her expression changed. Undiluted anger stared back at him. He liked that spark. It was preferable to being ignored or seeing fear in her eyes.
“Is it me that’s playing games? I thought that was your specialty, not mine.”
He chewed on a string of profanities. “I came here because I won’t stop at nothing to make things right. You heard me say it last night before you let me inside you. I told you so back home in England. How is that a game?”
“You seem to forget that we’re divorced. What happened last night is natural. Some couples find it hard to make a clean break.”
“Did you get that drivel from one of them psychology magazines?” He uncrossed his hands and stepped toward her. “This is us we’re talking about,” he stressed, pointing to the both of them.
Her gaze darted to the wall and back, but she avoided his face. Now he wanted that look. He wanted her to feel like a cornered deer when he took another step.
He wanted her to hurt because she had not welcomed him with open arms after he showed her his heart.
Warning bells pealed in his head.
He was doing it all wrong but the little devil on his shoulder wouldn’t quit goading him.
“There’s still a chance if we both want it. We don’t have to become strangers.”
His statement brought the anger back. She aimed it at him with fire-tipped arrows.
“You don’t get it, do you? We always were strangers. You never gave yourself, not totally.”
Swallowing the pill of truth can be a hell of a thing. He couldn’t deny what she said so he just stared at her like a calf looking at a new gate. He was confused, and he was sorry.
“There are things… I’d rather not talk about. It’s not that I don’t love you. I just prefer to look forward.” The lump in his throat got larger, more painful.
“And I say it again like I told you before. I think that before you face your demons, we can’t have a future. Period. I’ll go finish getting ready now.”
She made to go to the bathroom but the devil reared his head again so he got in her way.
“No,” he demanded. “This doesn’t end here.”
“Yes, it does,” she said, letting her disappointment in him show.
Show me anything you want but not… that I’m not good enough.
Rage blew through him. He clasped her chin and forced her to look at him. “Tell me straight that last night meant nothing to you. Nothing but a big fat zero.”
She tried to look away but he wouldn’t let her.
“Tell me, dammit. No excuses. You tell me that and I’ll leave right now. I’ll let you go.”
Panic scuttled like a stealthy thief across her face.
“I’m waiting.”
“I—You know I don’t just sleep around.” Then her spirit made a comeback. “But a man who truly wants to make up with his wife doesn’t stay close to the airport. What are you playing at, Dane? How long did you think your trip was going to be?”
So that was the problem.
“I didn’t want to waste time looking for hotels. I just got the closest and fastest accommodation I could find and then rushed to Jeanette like rabid dogs were chasing me so I could get to you ASAP. That satisfy you?”
He felt her emotions subside a little but she pursed her lips and said nothing.
“Better you know this right now, Lissy. I’m not giving you up a second time.”
When she blinked in surprise at his vehemence, he swept down and caught her lips in a searing kiss.
As he coaxed her mouth open to deepen the kiss and her towel slipped to the floor, he prayed with all he had that he would have the decency not to hurt her.
***
She’d lost her grip on the towel and now she was naked. His tall, broad frame stunned her senses as he leaned over her, kissing her.
He reached out to hold the back of her head so she had no means of escape. Not that she wanted to.
The scent of male and musk overpowered her. He slid his hand down to her buttocks and pulled her into him so she could see how much he wanted her. Inwardly smiling at the effects of her power over him, she held on to his shoulders and gave in to the urge to rub against him while curling a leg around his thigh.
He groaned and upped the ante, snatched back control. With his mouth and hands he fed her desire, a heaping spoonful at a time, until there was no space left for more. She was putty. Hooking her hands around his neck, she rose on tip-toe, holding her own, but she was not her own mistress any more.
She could tell just when the rules had changed, when his civilized façade gave way to base animal instinct. He backed her into the wall and pinned her hands to the cool stone above her head. His grip firm on her wrists, he broke the kiss and forged a hot trail down her neck and shoulders. Shifting both her wrists to one hand he ran the other down the side of her, past her breasts, her waist, over her hips.
Her back pasted to the wall as sweat formed down the length of her spine. Again, she lifted her leg and pulled him to her, her tenuous control slipping. That frayed thread of sanity thoroughly snapped when he purposefully slid his hand up the underside of her thigh. He lifted her slightly off the floor and pressed his hardness against her.
Releasing her wris
ts, he carried her to the bed and threw her on the mattress. She fell on it with a thump but never got the chance to regain her breath because he was over her like a prowling predator after tearing off his clothes in a flash.
Sparks of desire fell from him onto her. They relayed a clear message – he was taking it all the way and she better buckle up.
He thrust his hand in her hair at her nape and pulled. When she arched up into him he bent down and caught a nipple in his mouth. He drew hard, set her aflame.
He took that moment to settle between her thighs but she caught him unawares by rolling them both and getting on top of him.
This was her game.
She took him inside her and he groaned, louder this time.
“Ah…”
After catching her head between his hands, he used his thumbs to caress her chin. A lethal wave of happiness surged through her.
It was wrong but she couldn’t help it.
“Lissy, if I could put the best feeling in a bottle, this is what it would be like.”
Don’t cry, Lisbeth. Don’t.
“Dane, I…” His warm breath tickled her lips.
“Shh, don’t think right now.” A pleading note squeezed through in his request.
He gave her a little peck on the nose.
“Hold on to me, babe.”
In a fluid movement, he reversed their positions so he was back on top. Her back sunk into the soft mattress. And his hot, aroused body covered hers while he was still inside her, buried to the hilt, pulsating.
“What matters is holding you like this…”
He kissed her parted lips.
“…showing you how it should be…”
And her right cheek.
“…never letting you go…”
He traced her delicately arched eyebrows. First one…
“…caring for you…”
…then the other.
“…knowing that you’re close. I won’t let you throw this away. Hear me?”
What about showing me the real you? What about ripping off that mask and telling me what makes you the way you are?
He paused to stare at her, and the look on his face told her just how much the horror of losing her had gripped him in its sharp talons.
Everything to Lose (Moonlight Dating Series #2) Page 4
