by Janice Sims
“Oh, that’s not liable to happen anytime soon,” Elle modestly said to Natalie’s comment. “With my present schedule I would not even have time for a cup of coffee, let alone a romantic dinner.”
“Sometimes the person who’s right for you is already in your life,” Natalie insisted. “Look around you. Isn’t there someone who pays you a great deal of attention, someone you feel close to?” She leaned in. “Forgive me for repeating gossip but the word is Jaime Montoya has been very attentive to you.”
“Jaime is very attentive to every beautiful woman who crosses his path,” Dominic put in tightly. He instantly regretted his comment because his mother’s and Isobel Jones’s eyes were now riveted on him. Jealous fool, he chastised himself.
Then he saw something that was truly frightening: his mother and Elle’s mother gave each other smug looks as if he and Elle getting together was a done deal.
He glanced at Elle. She’d seen it, too.
They smiled at each other. “Let’s tell them,” he whispered.
“You do it,” she whispered back.
He cleared his throat, getting the table’s attention. Directing his words to his mother, he said, “I wanted you to get this gossip straight from the horse’s mouth—Elle and I are dating.”
Everyone started talking excitedly at once. Natalie stood up. “You let me drop all of those hints for nothing?”
“You seemed to be enjoying yourself,” said Dominic, grinning.
He took Elle’s hand and kissed it. Directing his next comment to Isobel, he said, “Don’t worry, I intend to treat her like the queen she is.”
“That would be appreciated,” said Isobel, smiling warmly. Her eyes, however, were narrowed and in them Dominic saw the unspoken threat.
Natalie, still standing, raised her champagne glass. “A toast to the happy couple.”
Dominic gazed into Elle’s eyes as their glasses touched. He was truly happy. Everything was out in the open. They knew what to expect from each other. It was a match made in heaven.
Later, he watched as Elle hugged her mother and friends goodbye. They were going straight to the hotel to get some rest. They had an early flight tomorrow morning. He offered Elle his handkerchief as tears she couldn’t hold back left tracks down her lovely face. She and her mother hugged a long time, parted and hugged again. Her friends Belana and Patrice each whispered something in her ear as they embraced her and gave him wary looks, as if they were not sure she should be left in his hands.
Only Erik Whitaker, Belana’s brother, gave him a manly handshake and said with all sincerity, “You’re a lucky guy. I’ve tried for years to get her to go out with me and she told me it would be like going out with her brother. More power to you!”
John Whitaker simply eyed him with a mixture of belligerence and resignation. “If you’re her choice, then I hope you’ll be happy together. Take care of her, she’s special.” Once again, he got the evil eye and the unspoken promise of bodily harm done to him if he didn’t comply.
Dominic smiled reassuringly. "You don't have to worry."
Chapter 12
Once Dominic had Elle alone in his car he turned to her and asked, “How would you like to wake up in the most beautiful place on earth?”
“Are we going somewhere?” Elle asked eagerly.
“My villa on Lago di Como,” he said as he started the car. It was after midnight and traffic was still moderately heavy, but he thought he could drive the twenty-five-plus miles to the villa in under an hour.
“I can pack in less than half an hour,” Elle answered. She watched his profile. The beauty of the city lit up by glittering lights paled in comparison to him.
He smiled at her before returning his attention to the road. She reached over and gently rubbed his square jaw. “I didn’t know you had a house on Lake Como.”
“It was my grandmother’s. She left it to me. I think you’ll like it.”
At her apartment, Dominic went upstairs with her and kept kissing her, distracting her from the task at hand. Elle was trying to put clothes in a bag while he nibbled on her ear and kissed her on the neck. He couldn’t keep his hands off her long enough for her to get anything done. After a few minutes of this, Elle gave up and turned into his arms for a lingering kiss. “Are we going to make love here or at Lake Como?” she asked when they came up for air. Her body was tingling all over. She wanted him now and was getting very impatient. She held his heated gaze with her fiery one. “What are you trying to do to me?” she asked breathlessly when he grabbed her behind and pulled her close.
He was so hard she was sure he was about to suggest they dispense with the packing and begin disrobing immediately. “I have everything set up at Lake Como,” he finally admitted, looking sheepish.
Elle laughed. The great Dominic Corelli had staged her seduction just as he staged his operas. Planned down to the last detail!
“My God,” she teased him lightly. “Make love to me already. You’re driving me nuts!”
Dominic laughed, too. “You’re pushy when you’re horny.”
“You haven’t seen pushy yet,” Elle warned him as she reached behind her and unzipped her dress. Seconds later she was standing in front of him in her bra and panties, which were satiny, a light gold shade and very sexy.
She watched the molten desire in his eyes turn into a covetous stare. “Tesoro mio,” he breathed as he reached out and pulled her against him. His lips caressed her warm body from neck to midriff. She moaned with pleasure. At last, he was touching her as she had only been able to dream about the past eight weeks.
Elle moaned with pleasure as his mouth covered hers in a deep, knee-weakening kiss. He broke off the kiss and took his hands off her long enough to quickly remove his suit. Elle helped as much as she could but only wound up getting frustrated with the buttons.
When he finally stood before her in his black boxer briefs, she felt somehow rewarded. “It’s about time,” she murmured, and they were kissing again.
Dominic picked her up, she wrapped her long legs around him, and he backed up until his muscular calves hit the bed. He fell backward onto the mattress with her on top.
Dominic rolled her over onto her back and gently unhooked the front-fastening bra.
Her full, heavy breasts spilled into his big hands and he bent and suckled, giving both nipples equal attention.
Elle writhed with pleasure beneath him. Her sex was wet and throbbing by this point and she was understandably ready for penetration, but Dominic by all appearances was having too good a time licking her all over.
He pulled down her panties and cupped her sex in his hand, reveling at the softness of the hair and the inviting warmth. He loved the smell of her so much he bent his head and tasted her. Elle tensed but Dominic gently kissed the inside of her thigh and she relaxed. He said something in soft Italian that she thought meant elixir of the gods. She spread her legs invitingly. Then his tongue plunged into her and she almost came then and there. But Dominic knew how to prolong her pleasure with his tongue and by the time he raised his head and smiled wickedly down at her, her legs felt like jelly and she was purring like a well-fed kitten.
He wasn’t finished with her yet. Her body went through the rapturous throes of the most powerful orgasm she ever remembered having as his tongue did wonderful things to her. A muffled scream escaped and Dominic continued to give her pleasure.
Only after she stopped trembling did he get up and put on the condom that he took from his jacket pocket. Breathing hard, Elle watched him, his muscular golden-brown body moving with grace and power. His manhood was fully engorged and huge and her sex throbbed in anticipation of his entering her.
He straddled her and bent to kiss her mouth. The kiss deepened and Elle felt herself opening even further for him. Her body craved his completely and exultingly. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he entered her, and then she held on as he thrust slowly at first but more swiftly as he got into their rhythm. She couldn’t believe it: he was
bringing her to the point of release once again.
They were both breathing hard now and a thin layer of sweat had formed on their bodies. Where has this man been all my life? Elle thought as the second orgasm rocked her body. Then she moaned loudly and surrendered everything to him.
Dominic didn’t want to come because if he did it would be over, this bliss, this wonderful sensation that had every nerve ending in his body in ecstasy. He just wanted to stay here within her, enjoying her: her silken skin, the play of muscles working against his own as they moved together, the scent of her skin, that spot just behind her ear that he had discovered made her quiver. He could stay like this forever, learning everything there was to know about her body.
Of course, man was not built for that, and one particularly sexy moan from her sent him over the edge and he came with a guttural growl. He fell on top of her and then rolled onto his side. They looked into each other’s eyes and smiled, both instinctively knowing that something truly special had just happened between them.
“Do you still think singing is better than sex?” he asked teasingly.
Elle laughed softly. “Not by a long shot.”
Elle wanted to say she loved him, but telling that to a man who didn’t believe in love was not something a smart woman did. That would make him break the door down getting out of there.
Instead, she said, “So, what did I miss at Lake Como?”
“You missed a canopied bed with rose petals strewn across it, a scented bath with candles around the tub, good food and wine and Jeff Buckley singing ‘Hallelujah’ on the CD player.”
“I love that song!” she said, her eyes devouring him.
He gently kissed the tip of her nose. “I thought you might.”
“You planned a lovely evening,” Elle told him.
“Tesoro mio, I already had everything I needed right here,” Dominic told her. He looked at her with an intensity that made her toes curl. “You’re so beautiful. More beautiful than anything I ever wrote. I’m humbled by your beauty.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Elle said, and kissed him.
When they drew apart, Dominic smiled at her, hauled off and swatted her on the bottom. “Get up and get dressed. We’re still going to Lake Como.” He was getting up while he talked. “I want you to see the sunrise over the lake. I want to show you my favorite hiking trails.”
Elle just lay there and smiled at him. “It’s late, I want to sleep.”
Dominic, however, was revitalized. “We’re young and strong, we can sleep later. Come on, Jones, shake a leg!”
Elle shook a leg, literally. “But that’s all that’s shaking up in here.” She yawned. “Your star is tired, Maestro. Please come back to bed and hold me until I fall asleep.”
Dominic did come back to bed but it was only long enough to grab her and lift her up, sheet and all. When he began carrying her toward the bathroom with a mind to do some sort of mischief to her that Elle didn’t want to imagine, she started wriggling and cried, “Okay, okay, I’ll freshen up and put on my traveling clothes, Satan’s spawn.”
A few minutes later they were in the car heading north. “Lake Como is between the borders of Milan and Switzerland,” he told her as he drove. “The villa is on the southern tip, so it’s only about twenty-five miles away.”
Elle yawned again. “This is all very interesting,” she said. “Wake me when we get there.” She curled up in her seat and was soon fast asleep, snoring softly.
Dominic smiled. He could get used to this.
Forty-five minutes later they were at his nineteenth-century villa on Lago di Como. Dominic got out of the car and went around to Elle’s side. He opened her door. Elle turned her back on him, getting into a more comfortable sleeping position.
“Sleepyhead,” Dominic called softly in an attempt to wake her.
“Go ’way,” Elle mumbled.
Dominic reached in and gathered her up in his arms. While he was carrying her inside she snuggled closer, nuzzling his neck, her warm breath sending delicious shivers down his spine.
He didn’t even have to open the door because Claudio, the elderly estate-keeper who lived here year-round, had heard the car approaching and knew it could only be the maestro. By the look of Claudio’s huge eyes, though, he had not expected the maestro to bring a guest with him. Dominic didn’t bring women to the villa. It was his spiritual retreat. It was the place where he went to unwind and get rid of the stresses of city life and work. He felt his grandmother’s spirit here. And the last thing he wanted to do was disrespect his grandmother’s memory with mistresses in the villa. Elle, though, was special. He believed his grandmother would have approved.
“Buon giorno,” Claudio said as he held the villa door wide for Dominic to enter. “Come stai, Claudio?” Dominic said. “Did you get my message about the flowers and the wine and the other things I requested?”
“No,” Claudio said, looking puzzled. “I’m afraid I just got back tonight from visiting my sister in the hospital in Milan. I haven’t checked the messages.”
“Oh,” Dominic said, concerned. “How is your sister?”
“She is doing much better, thank you,” Claudio said as he smiled at the sleeping woman in Dominic’s arms.
“This is Signorina Jones,” Dominic told him. “She’ll be our guest for the weekend.”
Elle opened her eyes momentarily and smiled at Claudio. “Buon giorno.”
“Benvenuto,” Claudio said.
“Grazie,” returned a still-drowsy Elle.
“Yes, all right,” said Dominic. “We’re going upstairs.”
“Will you need anything else tonight, Maestro?” Claudio asked. He was a very short man in his sixties who had been an employee of Dominic’s grandmother for many years, and when she died Dominic had kept him on to care for the villa. “No, Claudio. Buona notte,” Dominic said with a strained smile. It was a good thing he and Elle hadn’t come earlier. None of his requests had been carried out.
He peered lovingly in her face as he carried her upstairs to his bed. As he entered the room he saw that Claudio continued to do an excellent job of maintaining the house. His bed had clean linen on it and it was already turned down.
He laid Elle on it and went back downstairs to get her bags. By the time he returned, Elle was hugging her pillow tightly, and her snoring seemed to have shifted into second gear. It was steady and not as loud; he supposed she was in REM sleep.
He put Elle’s bags in the adjacent closet and came back out to coax her out of her jeans, shirt and athletic shoes. She was sleepily cooperative.
When he was down to her bra and panties he debated whether or not to remove them. He decided not to. If she should awaken in the middle of the night and choose to take them off that was another thing, but he didn’t want her thinking that something had happened between them while she was asleep. He was a gentleman, after all.
He stripped down to his briefs and got into bed next to Elle. She naturally snuggled close to him, throwing her arm across his chest and digging her nose into his shoulder. Dominic smiled as he turned out the light on the nightstand. Moonlight spilled in through sheer curtains at the balcony doors. There would be a full moon tomorrow night. He planned to take Elle for a boat ride so they could watch the moonbeams dance on the water and maybe get into some mischief themselves.
Elle moaned in her sleep. “Dominic,” she said sultrily.
He kissed her forehead. She’d finally called him Dominic! Not Signor Corelli, or Maestro, or the devil incarnate or Satan’s spawn. Dominic. He closed his eyes and sleep claimed him shortly afterward.
Elle awoke in the middle of the night and was momentarily disoriented. The events of the night then quickly came to mind. She was lying on her side with her leg thrown across Dominic’s muscular thighs. Her face was inches from his shoulder. He was sleeping soundly and she didn’t want to wake him, but she suddenly got a strong urge to go to the bathroom.
She slowly inched her way to the op
posite side of the bed and got out using as few movements as possible. Still, Dominic woke up. Not with a start as she might when awakened, but alert. He reached over and switched on the bedside lamp. “Through there,” he said, pointing in the direction of the bathroom.
Elle felt somewhat embarrassed. This was, after all, the first time she had ever gone to the bathroom when he was in the room and could possibly hear her tinkle. “Thanks,” she said and hurried to the bathroom, where she quietly closed the door behind her and sat on the toilet. It was a large room with a walk-in shower on one side and a sunken tub on the other. Must be nice to have a choice, she thought lightly as she peed as quietly as possible.
Finished, she got up and freshened herself with a moist personal wipe from the pop-up dispenser on the long double sink. She wondered if this bedroom suite had been used by Dominic’s grandmother and her husband. Two sinks. She could see why a woman would want her own sink, since some men left hairs and God-knows-what-else on theirs after using it.
Dominic knocked on the door. “Did I hear you flush? I’ve got to go, too.”
Elle quickly deposited the used wipe in the trash, pulled up her panties and washed her hands. She opened the door and smiled at Dominic. “It’s all yours.”
He quickly entered, pulled down the front of his briefs and didn’t wait for her to leave.
Okay, thought Elle, that was a little too familiar for me. She shut the door. It was not something she wanted to witness, no matter how many years they were together.
She laughed softly as she got back into bed. Where had that thought come from? She and Dominic were not going to be together that long. He’d made it clear that there was no real future for them. They were living for the here and now. They were a sophisticated, twenty-first-century couple. There were no rules for them. They made them up as they went along.
She sighed as she punched her pillow and laid her head on it. Whom was she fooling? What did she know about the rules of romance?
