‘You shouldn’t be walking in this heat,’ Vito said. ‘You need to rest for a few days. Then, after you are re-covered,— if you want to visit my grandfather you must go by boat.’
‘I don’t need a few days’rest,’ Lily protested. ‘I’ll be all right by tomorrow. And I need to walk or I won’t get any exercise at all, and that can’t be good for me.’
‘I’m calling the doctor.’ From the decisive tone of his voice it was clear that he had already made his mind up. ‘I want to know for myself what it is all right for you to do. I won’t let you overdo it.’
Lily stared at him in bewildered consternation. At seven months pregnant she could still be working fulltime,— if she wasn’t in the privileged position of being married to a rich man.
‘Your ankles are puffy.’ Vito knelt down to pull off her sandals. He sat next to her on the sofa, turned her sideways and lifted her feet up onto his lap. ‘Is that normal?’
‘I think so,’ Lily said as Vito began to stroke gently along her feet, smoothing the slight indentations the straps of her sandals had made, and then massaging up her calves towards her knees. ‘Unless it gets too bad. The midwife always checks for it—but I don’t know what it means.’
‘I’ll ask the doctor.’
‘Really, I’m fine now,’ Lily protested. The glass of water had refreshed her, and she really did feel fine. Better than fine, in fact. The touch of Vito’s fingers, which she was certain he meant to be purely comforting,— was already doing things to her libido. Her progression— well into her third trimester had not done anything to curb her physical desire for Vito. ‘But I think I might feel better if I freshen up in the shower.’
Before she realised what he was about, Vito swept her up into his strong arms and, holding her cradled against the broad planes of his chest, carried her upstairs to their bedroom.
He took her through into the en suite and set her down on the marble floor. The small mosaic tiles felt deliciously— cool under her feet and, as always when she was close to Vito, Lily felt completely aware of her own body. And every inch of her skin or strand of her hair was conscious— of Vito—longing to touch or be touched by him.
‘Do you need any help?’ he asked, and Lily could see from the darkening of his blue eyes that he knew exactly what she needed.
‘I’d love some help.’ She sucked in a shaky breath as he brushed past her to turn on the shower. Then, bending to take hold of the hem of her loose-fitting summer dress, he pulled it up and straight over her head.
He shed his own clothes quickly, and kicked them out of the door into the bedroom before turning back to her.
‘You are so beautiful,’ he said, letting his hands caress her seven-month bump as he reached for her lacy underwear.
Lily held onto his powerful shoulders as she stepped out of her briefs. He still showed such adoration of her body, even though her pregnancy was well advanced. And he was very inventive when it came to finding new ways for them to enjoy their love-making despite her changing body. The way he was treating her gave her hope for the future—maybe in time he would come to share her feelings of love.
He reached behind her to unfasten her bra. And then, totally naked, they both stepped into the shower. She sighed asVito started to smooth exotically scented shower cream over her body. Being with him was incredible.
Later that evening Vito took Lily to his house in the Dolomite mountain-range. As soon as she stepped out of the helicopter she could feel her body relaxing in the cooler atmosphere. Although sometimes it had felt like it, she knew she hadn’t really been hot all the time in Venice—the palazzo was air-conditioned—but there was something wonderfully refreshing about being in clear mountain air.
‘It’s incredible,’ Lily breathed, gazing at the awe-in-spiring— view.
‘The chalet makes a useful retreat,’ Vito agreed. ‘And it will be a good place for you to rest.’
‘I don’t exactly do much in Venice,’ Lily protested, turning to look at what she presumed must be Vito’s chalet. It didn’t look like her idea of a chalet—but then she was thinking of the small, individual holiday-homes she and Ellen had sometimes stayed in while she was growing up. Not an impressive timber building that looked more like an exclusive alpine ski-lodge. ‘I’m pregnant—not an invalid.’
‘The doctor thought it would be good for you to get out of the city,’ Vito said, taking her hand and leading her up the wooden steps to an impressive first-floor balcony that appeared to run right round the building. ‘And I agree with him.’