“Ho!” he exclaimed as his hand slid across the small bump the foot made. “Does this happen all the time?”
“Lately, yes.”
Another kick as the father leaned down to kiss his son and her belly.
When he lifted his head, he met her gaze. The gold melted in his eyes, giving the green a gild of glory. Without thinking, without planning, she slanted closer and placed her lips on his. The kiss was mellow at first while his hand drifted across her now-silent belly. Yet when she slipped her tongue along the closed crease of his mouth, he gasped and let her in. The duel of their tongues escalated into a panting need to take and give.
Pushing him down, she rolled her body over his, keeping the kiss going. Her hands pushed the duvet down, all the way down, and then she stroked back up.
He was naked. Completely naked.
How delightful. How provident. How lucky could a girl get?
“Lise,” he groaned. “I don’t think—”
“Don’t think,” she husked on his mouth. “Feel.”
He was hard and hot in her hand. Like heated silk covering stone. Just as before, just as always with this man, the wanton creature lurking inside herself exploded and took control. Rubbing her thumb on the tip of him, she reveled in his cry.
With a sudden twist, he had her on her back as he hovered above her. His face was contorted with need and desire. His big body trembled, the muscles clenching with want. “Mia dolce. You destroy me.”
Her busy hands ran across his hot body, tweaking his nipples, sliding across his shuddering chest and stomach. “Vico, have sex with me.”
“Are you sure?” His eyes held lingering doubt.
“Positive.” She pulled him down, loving the weight and heat of him on her breasts and tummy.
“No.” He rolled sideways.
For a moment, she thought she would scream with frustration, but when she turned to give him a piece of her mind she was met with a wicked grin. His arm still lay firmly across her body, pinning her to the bed.
“What are you doing?”
“I am making love to my wife,” he said simply.
Her breath caught as they stared into each other’s eyes for a long, hushed moment. Then the moment tripped off the stage, swallowed by his kiss.
“This time,” he murmured on her skin, “this time is going to be very slow and very thorough.”
This time we’re going to make love.
The silent words hovered over their bodies as they moved in the ancient dance.
Chapter 16
“He must have stolen dozens of companies like ours in order to afford a place like this.”
Lise tried to focus on the late-October sun as it slanted across her face and shoulders. The warmth made her sleepy and happy. Unlike the voice beside her. The voice that hadn’t stopped complaining and harping for three days.
Her mother’s voice.
“Or he might be in the mafia. It would make sense since he’s a disgusting Italian.” Esther Helton’s irritated tone laced the words with malice. “He’s some kind of thief. I’m sure of it.”
She managed to hide a wry smile by leaning over from the lounge chair she lay on to take a sip of her lemonade. The thought of her sophisticated, intelligent, honorable husband in the mafia; she nearly snorted into her drink.
They’d come out to the terrace to catch the last of the afternoon sun and watch the boats glide across the blue waters of Lake Como. She’d hoped the enchanting view would soothe her mother’s mood. However, no matter what diversion Lise put in front of her, the conversation always came back to the same speculations, putdowns, complaints.
About Vico.
“There really should be some kind of investigation done on him.”
Esther Helton had arrived on the villa’s doorstep unannounced. Possibly she’d had a mother’s intuition that her daughter would have found some excuse to deny the visit. She had come, she announced in her usual stately manner, to check on her baby.
Her baby. Not her daughter’s.
Sliding her hand down her tummy, Lise consoled the child within. Because it was clear from her mother’s actions and words since she arrived that she’d never be a loving grandmother to this baby. Funny, she hadn’t noticed this attitude during the prelude to the wedding. Perhaps it had been the shock of all the changes in her life or the confusion of her emotions or the ever-present sickness that made her too distracted to notice. Maybe it had been because she’d been avoiding her mother and her scolds and rants. Whatever the reason, she’d missed this disgust.
Her mother’s disgust for her grandchild.
The realization had hurt. Still, not as much as she’d thought it would. The distance she’d always felt with her mother finally bore some dividends. The distance protected her from the disgust. She’d merely experienced a mild resignation.