Revenge

by Dana Delamar

  Enrico handled their check-in. Antonio and Ruggero had the rooms flanking theirs. Kate nearly gagged at the cost of taking three ocean-view terrace rooms, then she forced it out of her head. Money was no object here. Fun and pleasure were the order of the day—or night, as it were.

  She followed the men down the hall to the left of the lobby. A short set of stairs took them to their suites, which were spacious and high ceilinged with large marble baths. Kate barely set her purse down before Enrico shut and locked the door behind them. Then he was scooping her up and dropping her onto the king size bed.

  He rolled atop her, his mouth and hands everywhere at once. Kate returned his fire for a few minutes, but when he started to unbutton her blouse, she stopped him. “Wait.”

  He looked up from kissing her neck, eyebrows raised. “Wait?”

  She bit her lower lip teasingly. If she was going to break her vow, she was going to make it count. “We should have dinner first, maybe go for a walk.”

  Laughing, he questioned her. “Are you serious?”

  “We just got here. Let’s enjoy it a bit before we start enjoying each other.”

  Without a word, he pushed her skirt up and slipped a hand between her legs, his fingers shoving aside the thin fabric of her panties so he could touch her. When he encountered the moisture built up inside her, he said, “You seem to be of two minds about the subject.”

  When he starting stroking her, she gasped. Clamping her legs shut on his hand, she trapped it. Then she reached down and pulled his hand away. He wasn’t going to distract her so easily. “Not yet.” She sat up and kissed him. “Waiting will be good. You’ll see.”

  Enrico groaned in frustration. He wanted to push harder. If it wasn’t for Vincenzo, he could have. Damn it. He hated being on eggshells with her. He wanted to be more insistent, more demanding, more in control. But that could wait. He didn’t have to have everything now, as much as his body argued otherwise.

  He tried once more, giving her his best pleading puppy eyes, which she resisted, shaking her head. “Okay,” he said on an exhale, rolling away from her. “Shall we eat here or go exploring?”

  “Exploring.”

  He smiled. “I was hoping you would say that.” He was in no mood for the three-hour plus dinner they’d get at the hotel’s restaurant, as exquisite as the food was. He had only one thing on his mind, and he wanted it as soon as possible, Kate’s wanderlust be damned.

  She zipped into the bathroom, checking her hair and makeup and straightening her clothes as he waited for her on the bed, mulling over ways to short-circuit her plans. Perhaps a quick bite in a café he knew around the corner? Then a brief stroll around the hotel grounds?

  Kate came back with her purse. “I’m ready.”

  Another possibility occurred to him. “The hotel has excellent room service.”

  “No room service today.” She extended her hand to him. “Come on. The longer you pout, the longer it’s going to be before we’re back here.”

  He took her hand, rising with a long-suffering sigh. “True.” He brought her hand up to his lips, brushing her knuckles with his mouth. “It is just that I have been thinking about you all day.”

  “Another hour or two won’t hurt.”

  “For you, perhaps.”

  She skimmed her hand across the crotch of his trousers, making his half-hard cock tingle from her touch. “All good things to those who wait,” she whispered. He chuckled at her audacity. The old Kate was back. Then she turned and tugged on his hand, urging them out of the room.

  “Can we leave Antonio and Ruggero here?” she asked as he closed the door.

  “Yes, it is safe.” He’d told her a small lie earlier; Capri wasn’t safe because of the Camorra; they didn’t have even a toehold in Capri. Capri was safe because it was Don Battista’s domain. Not even Carlo was rash enough to challenge him.

  Enrico thought enviously of the night ahead for his guards. Room service and porn. Then again, he’d be coming back to the real thing. He hoped. He ducked his head in Ruggero’s room and let him know they were going out, then they left the hotel.

  As they walked the stone streets hand in hand, Enrico’s head filled with images of him and Kate, what he wanted to do to her, with her. The sounds of it, the sights. The scent of her mingling with the scent of him. The way she’d feel in his arms, underneath him, above him, pressed between him and the walls of their room. He wanted her in all ways, in every way possible. And he wanted her now. Except they weren’t alone.

  They wandered for a while, Kate undeterred by Enrico’s suggestions of where to eat. Realizing she wasn’t going to be denied, he eventually gave up. He was just going to have to be good and hope she gave him what he wanted sooner rather than later.

  Kate finally settled on a small, crowded café. Enrico slipped the waiter several bills to ensure expedited service. He was watching Kate read the menu, when he felt her hand just above his knee. Madonna, he thought, noting no change in her expression as her hand slid up his leg. It lingered at the juncture of his thighs, but her fingers didn’t move. When he placed his hand over hers, she withdrew. Ah, so it was her way, or no way. Two could play that game.

  He ordered a Caprese salad to start, eating it with his fingers when it arrived. He popped a mozzarella and basil covered tomato in his mouth, licking the sweet balsamic vinegar and olive oil off his fingers and thumb as he looked at Kate.

  She smiled. “Trying to seduce me, are you?”

  He said nothing and wiped a dot of oil from his chin with his index finger, then sucked the oil from his skin. He ran a thumb across his lower lip, then picked up another tomato, offering it to her. “You must try this.”

  She leaned forward and opened her mouth, accepting what he offered. Chewing slowly, she held his gaze, watching as he licked his fingers again. He reached out and wiped up a little vinegar from the corner of her mouth, then used his tongue to clean his finger. “Delicious, no?” he asked.

  She nodded and watched him pick up another tomato, a smile playing with her lips. He was sure he had her thinking about what else his tongue could do.

  Leaning forward, she placed her hand on his thigh again, but didn’t move it. Shifting her weight slightly and giving his quad a squeeze, she brought her lips to his ear. “What if we didn’t go back to the room?”

  His cock twitched at the suggestion. “Do you have somewhere else in mind?”

  “I’m sure we can find some quiet, secluded nook somewhere.” Her hand slid higher. Almost, but not quite there.

  Enrico felt a sheen of sweat building on his forehead and upper lip. This was definitely more fun than staying in the room. Definitely.

  They finished their meal in rapid order, Enrico hardly remembering a word they exchanged. His whole focus was on her. On Kate’s hand on his thigh, on the way her other hand occasionally toyed with the neck of her blouse or ran along the base of her throat. Or twisted the damp hair off the back of her neck. Dio, how he wanted to kiss her in all the places she touched. How he wanted her hand on his leg to move higher. But waiting had its benefits. He could see that now.

  He paid the bill and took her hand, starting toward the darker end of the street, where it turned off into a residential area. Once they were in the shadows, he pressed her up against a wall, kissing her hard and deep, grinding his hips into her. She let out a moan and he smiled against her lips. “Who is eager now?” he teased.

  She nipped at his lower lip playfully, then pushed him away and took off running, rounding a corner that led down to the beach. He loped after her, smiling when he heard her laughter, feeling both the urgency of sex and the excitement of being free and on his own in the dark. When was the last time he’d been like this? Years and years. Always it had been one worry after another. He hadn’t taken a real vacation in far too long.

  Kate dashed down a lane lined with trees, then popped through a gate that opened onto the beach. Enrico followed her, his shoes slipping in the sand. When she stopped to remove
her sandals, he caught up to her. Wrapping her in his arms, he hoisted her off the ground and twirled her around as she shrieked with laughter.

  Setting her down, Enrico smoothed the hair back from her face and kissed her, his tongue slipping into her mouth. When she sucked on it, he felt the sensation all over his body.

  After they parted, both breathing fast, she said, “Let’s find someplace.”

  He took her hand and headed for a thicket of trees. When they reached the low stone wall edging the beach, he helped her over it, then braced his arms on top and swung his legs over. “Not bad for an old man,” she teased him.

  “Old man,” he growled, kissing her with force, cupping her buttocks in his hands and pressing her against his erection. “Does that feel like an old man?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He took her hand again, tugging her up the hill, into the trees. Grass grew thick and long there, brushing against their legs.

  Kate looked around and apparently decided it was secluded enough. “Here,” she said, stopping and putting both her hands on his chest.

  Enrico brought his lips to hers, cradling her face in his hands before sliding them along the sides of her neck. Kate’s fingers wound into his hair as she deepened the kiss. When they parted for a second, Enrico stripped off his shirt and laid it on the grass, then drew Kate down with him. At last, he was where he wanted to be most. Alone with her, in the dark.

  Moonlight filtered through the trees as Enrico bent over Kate. He kissed her cheek, then her mouth, then the side of her neck. Between kisses, he murmured, “It has already been too long.” He rolled on top of her, his body almost fully over hers.

  The weight of him holding her down and something about the way the moonlight hit his face reminded Kate of Vince, of her nightmares. Of the attack. Fear ripped through her, making her shiver from a chill only she could feel. She shoved Enrico hard in a panic, and he quickly let her up. She sat up, panting for breath. Damn it!

  Her eyes blurred, and she swiped at the tears leaking from them. “God, when am I going to be normal again?”

  “Shh.” He stroked the side of her face. “Per favore, do not cry, cara.”

  “I don’t know what else to do.” She looked at him. “I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

  “Much has happened these last few days. Too much,” he said, leaning back on his elbows. “Maybe this—you and me—maybe it is moving too fast.”

  Kate lay back beside him, staring up at the stars through the branches. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  He was silent for a while, then he said, “Only recently have I stopped wishing I was dead.”

  She snapped her head toward him. “What?”

  “Ever since Toni died, I have wished I did not have to go on without her.” He put his arms behind his head, then he cleared his throat. “After she was gone, I carried on conversations with her all the time in my head. Sometimes all day.”

  The tightness in his voice moved her. Kate rolled over and placed a hand on his chest. “I can’t decide if that’s sad or romantic.”

  “I prefer to think of it as romantic.” His words hung in the air for a moment, then he said, “I still love her, Kate. But I feel it fading the more time I spend with you.”

  She smiled. “Put a little pressure on me, why don’t you.”

  “I do not mean to. Not exactly. I have felt like an impostor for a long time. I smiled and nodded in the right places, and I laughed when someone made a joke, but I was just pretending. With you, I feel alive again.”

  Her hand flexed against his chest. “You do?”

  “Ever since I met you, I have hardly been able to think of anything but you. Having you. Making you mine.” He picked up her hand and kissed it. “You have become my obsession.”

  “Now you’re scaring me,” she said, but kept her tone light.

  “You should be scared,” he joked. “I do not like to be denied anything I want.”

  “I’m sure that rarely happens.”

  He rolled up onto his side to look at her. “Somehow, you manage to deny me all the time.”

  “Only because you’re under my thumb.” She smiled and stroked his cheek.

  Grabbing her hand, he planted a kiss on the palm. “Indeed, I am your slave.”

  She bit her lower lip. “That conjures up so many interesting possibilities.”

  He looked at her, her hand still upturned in his, his lips hovering over her skin. When he spoke, his breath tickled her palm. “Would one of those possibilities involve any sex?” he asked. He pressed his lips to her palm again, then his tongue followed the path of her lifeline.

  Tingles traveled along her skin in the wake of his tongue. “You have been such a good slave, I suppose a little sex won’t spoil you.”

  He kissed the inside of her wrist, the touches fleeting as his mouth moved up her arm. “I live to serve,” he murmured, reaching her neck and the sensitive skin there. He parted her blouse, kissing along the hollow of her throat, then his lips moved down between her breasts. He made short work of the bra’s front clasp, his hands and mouth seeking her nipples greedily. Kate lay back beneath him, winding her fingers in his thick hair, a bit amazed they were actually doing this. Somehow he’d managed to cope with her and change her mood for the better. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who needed this connection between them.

  One of his hands slipped down between them, pushing her skirt up to her waist, his fingers smoothing up her thighs, and Kate felt her anticipation rising as his hand drew near her sex. But he veered away from it, instead letting his fingers play along the outside of her hip, squeezing the flesh there.

  Kate shifted restlessly beneath him, parting her legs slightly, though he didn’t take the hint. Instead he slid his palm across her belly in slow circles, just feeling her skin. His eyes followed the progress of his hand, and she studied him, surprised at how mesmerized he was by what he was doing.

  “You really like touching me, don’t you?”

  His eyes flicked up to hers. “Of course I do. You are so soft. So lovely.”

  She smiled and pulled him into a kiss. “My slave gives the best compliments,” she said when they parted.

  “So what would my mistress like?” His index finger circled her belly button.

  “Anything.”

  “That is such a broad category.” His hand stilled, lying flat and warm against her belly. “Tell me. Fingers or tongue?”

  She turned her smile wicked. “Why stop at one?”

  He laughed, soft and low, a sudden exhale at her neck that made her shiver. “Why indeed.” He bent his head, mouthing the tips of her breasts again, then slowly kissed down her belly, lingering just below her navel, his breath hot on her flesh.

  With the slowest of movements, he peeled her panties to just above the triangle of her sex, planting little kisses across her belly until she twisted her hips and let out a moan of frustration. She felt him smile against her skin. “This is for making me wait so long,” he said.

  “I knew I’d pay for it somehow. But it is better this way, isn’t it?”

  He nodded and finished taking her panties off. “Definitely.” Parting her legs, he kissed the insides of her thighs, then blew on her curls, making her shiver. He ran a finger down the center of her pussy, finally slipping it between the lips. His finger went in easily; she was soaking wet.

  Kate moaned when he pressed a second finger inside her. As he slid them in and out, he lowered his mouth to her, his tongue finding her clit and working around it in slow circles, a merciless tease.

  She closed her eyes and heard the tide coming in, waves crashing against the beach in rapid succession, her own breathing the only sound she could hear above it. Clutching his hair, she raised her hips to meet his mouth, his wonderful, teasing, taunting mouth.

  He brought her close to the peak several times, then backed off each time, making her groan with frustration. “Why are you torturing me?” she finally asked in a ragged voice.

  He smiled up at her, the
n placed a hand below her breasts and urged her to lie back as he continued to skirt around her fulfillment.

  At last he took her all the way. Her face flushed hot and she came in a belly-clenching, thigh-shaking rush, letting loose a cry that surprised her in its rawness.

  Moving up her body, he caught her lips with his. “I want you, Kate,” he whispered, his voice husky. “I want you so much.”

  “I want you too.” She held his jaw and delivered a kiss fierce with her hunger. She felt him fumbling with his belt and unzipping his trousers. She let go of his face and dragged his trousers down, her hands seeking his hips to pull him over her. But he surprised her, grabbing her around the waist and flipping onto his back so that she straddled him. She placed her hands on his chest and leaned forward. Both of them moaned as she slowly lowered herself onto him.

  She rocked over him, enjoying the freedom of the position. How had he known what she’d needed, when she hadn’t? Moonlight striped his face as she looked down at him, but he didn’t look like Vince now. He was so beautiful. Inside and out. Not perfect, not at all. But wonderful, nevertheless. Maybe she even….

  She pushed the thought away. She couldn’t be in love with him. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake again, she wasn’t going to allow herself to be swept away by a man she barely knew. Especially not by a man who was hiding something, a man who still loved someone else. A man who wasn’t truly available, who could never be hers.

  All he could give her was this, this ecstasy, this monumental pleasure. This bliss. And that was all she was going to take from him before she left.

  CHAPTER 21

  Enrico watched Kate sleeping. It was just after dawn, a little light filtering into their room. He thought back to those moments on the beach, what he’d said to her about Antonella.

  It was all true. Even while he and Fiammetta were involved, Antonella’s presence had hovered close to him. But now—well, more and more, especially the last few days—he’d stopped constantly thinking of Antonella. Which didn’t mean he’d stopped loving her. He always would. Would Kate ever be first in his heart? He didn’t dare hope for that.