Just like that, his eyes shuttered blank. He dropped her on her feet and stepped back.
Lise wobbled in the water, the shock of his withdrawal causing goose bumps to rise on the skin of her arms. “Vico?”
She twisted all the way around, only to see him hightailing it out of the pool. She watched with frank astonishment as he lifted a towel from a lounge chair without stopping and used it to wipe himself off as he climbed the terrace toward the villa.
Her husband was running away.
From his lust.
Some demented male reason was causing him to stay away from her.
Not her body. Not her weight gain. Not a lack of interest.
Lise stared after him with a determined glower. She’d had enough of this. He couldn’t run fast enough or far enough to get away from her and her questions.
And her seduction.
Chapter 15
Ribbons of moonlight flitted across the hallway’s stones as a peaceful silence filled the night air.
A momentary amusement tugged a smile onto Lise’s face. How could a family fill a home with sounds so loud and varied one could barely think, but then sleep so soundly a woman could imagine herself alone in this stately villa? Granted, some of the group had left after dinner, however, there was still a sizable crowd behind these various doors.
She crept past all of them.
There was only one bedroom she was interested in. Only one person she hoped was not yet asleep. Perhaps it would be better if he was asleep, she thought, as she tiptoed past his momma’s room. Maybe she’d have more courage if she slipped into his bed and started touching before he was awake.
Just like the first time.
A shiver of anticipation zipped over her skin. It didn’t matter if he was awake or asleep. Either way, she was determined to seduce her husband now that she knew for sure she wasn’t the only one suffering from this driving need.
Her heart murmured a plaintive wail of worry, but she ignored it.
His room was at the end of the lengthy hall. Sliding her palm across the hand-carved teak door, she remembered arriving here on the first day. Remembered watching him as he left her in her solitary bedroom, pacing down this hallway like the devil was on his back. Remembered her feeling of unwanted desolation as she saw him open this door and close it behind him.
Shutting her out.
A deep breath filled her lungs and the joy she’d felt this afternoon rushed back.
Unlike the first day, when she’d thought he was running from her, she now knew—knew—this wasn’t the case. He wasn’t running from her, he was running away from his desire for her.
Why?
She had no idea, but she was going to find out and put an end to it.
Pressing her forehead on the cool wood, she gathered her courage. Perhaps she’d read it wrong this afternoon, maybe she’d misunderstood what she’d seen in his eyes. There was no way she’d misread his body’s reaction to being near her, though. The only thing she had to do was figure out what stupid male reason was behind keeping his distance, and then they could enjoy what they both wanted.
The realization flooded through her how different she’d become during these past three weeks.
Awareness stopped her for a moment.
The old Lise would never have thought of creeping down a hallway, intent on seduction. She wouldn’t have spent a moment lusting after a man. The old Lise would have been content to go along, keep the peace, stay aloof. She might not even have noticed there was no sex. She might have thought it was for the best.
She’d dreamed of making changes in her life, but they’d been all about the superficial, really. A new home, maybe. Standing up to her mother, probably. Still, she realized today what she’d needed was a change inside.
And the change had happened. Without her knowledge up until this point.
This was a risk. One the old Lise wouldn’t have taken. But now she was willing to risk her body as well as her heart in the attempt to win this man.
Win his body. Win his soul. Win his heart.
Make him her own.
During the last month, she’d become fully aware. Aware of the bloom of life within her. This new, surging life filled her with a pulsing need to grow and change and blossom. A life that demanded everything: all the love, connection, passion she could grasp in her hands. Life was about giving and taking and loving and wanting. It wasn’t about hiding, ignoring, stifling.
One man had shown this to her. Given her this gift and awakened her.
The man behind this door.
The door eased open with no sound.
His light was on. Her heart picked up its beat, thudding in her chest.
Lise stepped into the anteroom. Shadows blurred the outline of an antique sofa situated between two glass end tables. One wall was lined with his ever-present books; another covered with a multicolored tapestry. She’d never entered his lair before. She’d never been asked and she’d never dared.