Everywhere she looked, there were festivities going on with a pulse of joy beneath them.
The next evening, reunited with Rocco’s wife, Olivia—they had bonded over her and Stefan’s kissing scandal at Christian’s wedding—and Alessandra, who was beginning to show a growing baby bump, she visited Nadia, Zayed’s intended.
Even as Stefan and she were taking part in Zayed’s extravagant wedding, back home in New York, Jackson was under investigation by the SEC. The guilt she had initially felt had eased as more and more of Jackson’s illegal business practices began to come into light.
Driven by greed, he had fleeced so many people.
Under Stefan’s expert guidance on all things related to the charity and its finances, she had hit the ground running in terms of her work. When he looked at her now, there was nothing but admiration and respect in his gaze.
She had achieved everything she had set out to do when she had stumbled into his suite at the Chatsfield with her life in tatters.
As much as she had feared ruining their fragile relationship, making love with Stefan was the most natural path they could have taken.
More than a week went by where they lost themselves in learning, exploring each other, where Stefan, as if determined to be the only man in her thoughts, seduced her so thoroughly that Clio felt like a new woman in her own skin, free to embrace her wants and desires.
And the more she let herself go with Stefan, the tighter he bound her to him with his own desires. Sometimes he would wake her up with kisses, make love to her so slowly, with such thorough care that she thought her heart would burst out from his tenderness.
Other times, his desire was touched by a desperate passion that shredded his control, that had once had him taking her against the wall in the lounge, seconds after he had returned from burying Marco.
I needed you so desperately, bella, that a week has never felt more like a lifetime.
At those times, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to breathe if he stopped.
The different depths to his desire left Clio addicted and just as desperate as him. And terrified that he was slowly, but irrevocably stealing a part of her soul.
Because as demanding and giving as he was when it came to sex, he didn’t say a word to her out of that context. She had begged to go accompany him to Marco’s funeral, wanted to share the ache of that moment with him. But he had stubbornly denied her.
It was as if he could communicate with her only through sex.
Now, as she dressed for Zayed’s wedding, Clio trembled when the gold silk caftan slid over her skin with a whispered caress, imagining Stefan taking it off her. She remembered the heat of his erotic promises, the addictive strokes of his tongue at her core, the sinuously abrasive texture of his skin, the whipcord strength of his thighs…
It was as if he was spreading through her every cell, every thought until he was a permanent part of her.
Grabbing her hairbrush, Clio ran it through her hair and met her reflection.
He deftly alleviated her concerns and yet didn’t give anything of himself that he didn’t want to.
The default pattern of their relationship.
As they stood witness to Zayed’s own wedding, amidst the noise, extravagant pomp and celebration, amidst the acres of garden and incredible feasts unlike anything she had ever seen, Clio finally pinpointed the root of the growing panic within her.
It was the uncertainty of what tomorrow with Stefan would bring.
And yet, she didn’t dare ask him where they were headed or what he wanted. Couldn’t bear to hear him say they were done with each other. Not yet.
As usual, every small thing she required, from the elaborate, long-sleeved designer dress to the jewelry that would go with it; from the gold-colored sandals to her bangles; everything had been arranged as it suited to Mrs. Bianco’s status.
He would give her everything but would he give her even a little piece of his heart? How long was she willing to let this uncertainty hang over her?
And how had she, again, found herself in that very spot where her happiness, her entire sense of self hung precariously on the whims of a man, and one who had ruthlessly warned her that he had nothing to give her?
* * *
Stefan pocketed the sheaf of papers that he had collected from the printer in Zayed’s office and stepped out into the enormous gardens in front of the majestic Gazbiyan palace.
The most extraordinary stunts were being performed in honor of Zayed’s wedding and yet the flutter of excitement in his gut felt stranger than anything he had seen.
For the first time in years, he felt as if he could have a different kind of life, felt as if Clio could fill the void he had been determined to ignore.
Burying Marco who had had such a long and wonderful future ahead had made him think hard about his own life.
He could never love Clio, never be the man who believed in it. But he wanted a future with her. And just the prospect of taking his wife home and making love to her in their bed…it was the best thing he had looked forward to in a long time.
Spotting her, Stefan laced his fingers through hers.
“Boys’ club dispatched for the night?” she said with a smile.
He nodded, without bothering to clarify that he hadn’t been with Rocco or Christian. Or that he had been cooped up all day in the office that Zayed had lent him, on a phone call with his lawyer. Or that he hadn’t slept a wink in over a week deciding what to do.
Pulling her close to his side, he let his hand wander over her hip just as the sky burst into a million colors.
A chorus of laughter and shouts erupted from the crowd.
“You were hard to find after the wedding ceremony, bella,” he whispered at her ear. “Almost as if you were avoiding me.”
Slowly, the tension in her lithe frame dissolved. Reaching a hand up, she pushed a lock of hair away from his forehead. The intimate gesture pierced through Stefan, finding a vulnerable spot.
Her mouth tightened and then relaxed. Slowly, she pulled herself back and looked around. “I just wanted some time to think.”
Stefan hooked their arms and tugged her away from the festivities.
When she didn’t budge, he turned around.
There was a wariness in her eyes that he didn’t like. Knew it was there because of him, because he had kept her at a distance the past couple of weeks.
“I want to stay back for a little while more.”