The Girl Can't Help It (Unexpected Encounters)

by Johnson, Jeanie

  Perry made herself focus on her beautiful surroundings lest she become morose recalling her single state. Like everything else, her room was lovely and the view was fabulous. Perry could’ve lived in that room forever and she might have if she was anywhere else except Milan. She was sure she was meant to live in the most beautiful city in the world and not simply because it was the base of three of her favorite fashion houses.

  Maybe in a past life she was Italian royalty and had a villa in the fair city. Or maybe, she’d save up enough to purchase a vacation home in the city and summer here. When she retired, she’d live here. Both ideas were farfetched but a woman could dream. Taking a sip of her coffee, she closed her eyes and savored the rich taste.

  “Good morning, mia bella.”

  Perhaps if she was in a city other than Milan listening to a voice other than that one, Perry would’ve snapped her eyes open. As it was, she bit her lower lip to keep from gasping out her pleasure. The deep voice with a hint of an accent flowed over Perry like the warm waters of Numana Beach. She couldn’t help but think how nice it would be to stroll the Adriatic coast in the summer. Whatever woman this man was speaking to was damn lucky, she thought as she waited for the man to speak again. He had the kind of voice she could listen to forever. Perry couldn’t help but wonder if his face equaled the beauty of his voice.

  Perry sighed silently and took another sip of the mouthwatering coffee as she mentally itemized the list of places she wanted to visit while in Italy. Surprisingly, they weren’t all shops, although a fair amount of them were. She wouldn’t apologize. Italy was equal parts natural beauty and shopper’s paradise.

  “You ignore me, signorina?” the deep voice asked interrupting Perry’s internal thoughts.

  Opening her eyes, her own brown-eyed gaze clashed with amused hazel eyes in the face of none other than HDG…in Vuitton.® He wore those clothes well, but that damn dimple distracted her from giving his attire proper due. As much as she admired it, it caused her to recross her legs under the table.

  “Are you talking to me?” she asked him casually like it wasn’t taking every ounce of control she had not to throw herself at him. Considering she was still seated, Perry went ahead and silently congratulated herself on sounding so calm. Later, she’d analyze her feelings to death but right now she was going to pretend that having hot Italian men seek her out was a daily occurrence.

  “Of course, mia bella. I see no other beautiful woman.”

  Turning, Perry looked at him and had to remind her heart to continue beating. How dare he look so damn good in nothing but a crisp linen shirt and trousers? Mercy! Still, Perry played it cool. She responded with the half smile that her colleagues christened the “begone, you commoner” smile. Her smile said one thing; however, manners required her to say another.

  “Good morning,” she said. She was proud that her voice held no quiver, especially when she’d spend all of last night dreaming about him. He started with “good morning” and finished by screaming her name.

  “It is now.”

  Perry couldn’t help but smile. The world-famous European charm was at play. “Thank you. Enjoy your breakfast.”

  Perry turned back around before she acted upon a fraction of her fantasies. She continued to sip her coffee when a shadow fell over her table. Looking up, she realized her mistake immediately. In a store full of handbags his beauty blended in with the contents. Seated, she didn’t get the full impact of the man.

  “May I?” he asked even as he moved to sit across from her.

  There was no way she could deny herself this pleasure. She nodded her head even as HDG took a seat and made himself at home.

  “My business associates are late, and I did not think you would mind me joining you,” he said by way of explanation.

  What heterosexual woman would mind? She wondered as the waiter came and went.

  All too soon, Perry found herself the sole benefactor of those hazel eyes. It was unnerving. It was arousing. It was a prelude to her having bambini with this man.

  “Perry is your name, no?”

  It was both a question and a statement.

  “Yes,” she said even as she smiled at his phrasing. It was obvious that Signor Strozzi was accustomed to having his way. Somehow instead of turning her off, it turned her on. That was yet another thing she’d have to ponder later…while she was pleasuring to HDG’s visage and voice. Normally, she abhorred arrogant, assuming men. Perhaps it was because she was usually in competition with them. Academia, as well as many white-collar professions, was still pretty much a man’s world and many men resented women coming in and taking coveted positions. Now that women weren’t content to hide their femininity or pretend they were just like men, the resentment was even higher.

  “You look like you want to argue,” Signor Strozzi commented.

  An expert at adopting the blank face, Perry was sure that her expression hadn’t changed. She said as much.

  “Ah, but your eyes are flashing fire.”

  “And what do you think you should do about that, Signor Strozzi?”

  “Please, call me Alessandro.”

  “Okay. Please, call me Dr. Sebastian. What do you think you should do about my eyes supposedly flashing fire, Alessandro?”

  “Fare il resto di voi andare in fiamme.”

  Outside of designers and fashion terms, Perry didn’t know much Italian. Still, Alessandro’s words slid through her and touched all the feminine parts. “Do I want to know what that means?” she asked, proud of the fact that her voice sounded normal.

  “Sì,” he said. “But I’ll tell you later.”

  “Later?” she questioned.

  “After lunch. Or perhaps for dessert.”

  For dessert? Perry said nothing. She simply arched a brow even though inside her stomach felt as if there was a butterfly riot going on. Her limbs felt tingly like they were being brushed by those same creatures. Still, she wasn’t going to let on that she was affected.

  “Has anyone told you that you’re arrogant?”

  “Every day,” he answered smoothly. “Allow me to show you my city.”

  “Oh, now you own all of Milan?”

  “Not, all but enough. Strozzi’s have called Milan home long before that diminutive Frenchman declared it was the capital of the Repubblica Cisalpina and the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.”

  She could not hold back her smile. Alessandro looked so put out by that fact. “I like the way you don’t allow that to color your worldview.”

  “I will never forget a wrong done to me, and a wrong done to Italia is a wrong done to every Italian.”

  Instead of turning her off, Alessandro’s intensity turned her on.

  “Spend the day with me. You will not regret it.”

  “What about your business associates?”

  “They no longer matter.”

  She was about to chastise him about his bad manners before turning him down. And then he smiled, flashing those dimples and taking away her breath and her will to say no.

  Perry didn’t know what he was going to ask; she simply knew she was going to say yes. More than that, she wasn’t going to feel guilty about it.

  Chapter Cinque

  Alessandro was a sophisticated man. He was accustomed to the best of everything including women, cuisine, and clothing. His social circle was comprised of the “who’s who of everything.” He thought he’d had the best of women, but that was only because he’d never spent the day in the company of Dr. Perry Sebastian.

  Already wildly attracted to her, he just might’ve fallen in love with her when she requested to see Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro Stadium). His shock must have shown on his face for she explained.

  “Don’t tell anyone because I will deny it if you do. However, the only sport I can tolerate is soccer and the only team I follow is A.C. Milan™.”

  He was officially in love with Perry Sebastian. This woman shook him to the core with not just her beauty, but also with her mind.
She had a sharp wit, a sharp tongue, and a sharp mind. Always being up for a challenge, he could not wait for the moment when she used all three on him.

  He couldn’t help but watch Perry. A patient man, it was all he could do to keep himself from ravishing her. Each moment spent in her alluring company made him realize just how privileged he was. It was obvious that Perry guarded her emotions like the Papal Swiss Guards protected the Apostolic Palace.

  Normally, he was a man who shied away from emotions, especially women’s emotions. However, he found himself wanting to excavate the emotional layers of the woman beside him. A long-aged Italian red that he thirsted for, Alessandro knew that Perry’s waters ran deep.

  Alessandro was surprised to discover that he genuinely enjoyed the company of a woman outside of bed. Wanting, no needing her close to him, he tightened his hand around hers. Instead of pulling away, she smiled shyly at him. He found himself smiling back.

  Experiencing Milan with Perry was like experiencing it for the first time. Stylish, intelligent, beautiful, and aloof, Perry looked like she belonged…not just in Milan but with him. Watching her enter Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of the most beautiful structures in existence, he was struck by the image of a queen entering her castle. Perry would look at home in any palazzo. He did not have a palazzo but he did have a villa that rivaled many palazzo, thus he could see for himself.

  He must have been staring because she questioned him. “What?”

  Not about to lie, he was not about to reveal his thoughts either. Instead, he answered her question with a question. “How do you feel about villas?”

  “If they’re located on the Adriatic coast, I love them.”

  What was this woman doing to him? Later, he’d take the time to figure it out. For now, he’d continue escorting her around his city, learning what made her tick…and her graceful form.

  Holding her hand, Alessandro had to admit that he enjoyed the feel of her skin against his. He also had to admit just how much her touch affected him. Everything about this woman elicited such a primal response it kept him off kilter.

  Perry was like no other woman he knew who allowed him to do as he pleased with their bodies irrespective of their minds. Perry was the type of woman who demanded acknowledgement of her intellect and commitment for access to her body. He respected that, just as he respected her.

  He knew that was true when he considered her physical appearance. Even with all of her obvious assets, he fell in love with her smile. He wondered if she knew that smile slayed him. Next he wondered if she knew he’d slay for her. Alessandro wanted that smile to be just for him and since she gifted so few people with anything other than her professional face, he pretended that she did.

  “Ooh, Santa Maria della Grazie. Do you think we can go look?” she asked all bright eyes and excitement.

  “Sì,” he said and changed directions. Watching her take a delicate lace scarf from her handbag and cover her head before she entered the church to glimpse Leonardo da Vinci’s Il Cenocolo (The Last Supper), he felt something funny in his chest.

  He was not in love. He was not. He was innamorato and he was so screwed. It’d taken Perry less than two days to do what scores of women had tried and failed to do. She’d changed him.

  It would be dark in another hour. Alessandro didn’t want this day to end but he wasn’t about to have Perry out at all hours of the night. He wanted her well. The last place he wanted to take her was to her hotel, but he did so. Perry had been gracious and he wouldn’t repay that by being like every other man. Especially not when he wanted so desperately to be her man.

  Perry’s voice cut through his thoughts. It was as if her words reached out and encompassed him. What he’d give to hear his name fall from her lips as she came apart beneath him…to hear her say “faccio” (I do) when the priest asked her if she’d take him as her husband.

  He had to stop himself from pushing her up against the wall and asking “Mi vuoi sposare?”. He would, later but first he needed a ring. He also needed better scenery. Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral) would do. If it was good enough to house the Archbishop, then it was the perfect place to propose.

  “You really didn’t have to see me to my hotel room, Alessandro.”

  He shook his head and moved so he stood directly in front of the alluring woman who was going to be his moglie (wife). Placing his body so close to hers he imagined he could hear the beating of her heart, he stared down into her eyes. Her heat dared him to rub against her softness. Using the utmost restraint, he backed up a fraction. He wanted so desperately to crowd her, to rub his scent on her, to drink from her lips, to catch her breath in his mouth and savor her taste.

  Perry emitted a soft gasp at his nearness. Hearing that sound escape from between such lush lips almost drove him to his knees.

  “Perry, you have to stop. I’m only so strong.”

  “Stop what?” she asked clearly confused.

  “Stop being temptation.”

  “That makes no sense, Alessandro.”

  When did love ever make sense he wondered. “Senza di te la mia vita non ha senso,” he said softly. It was the truth. Without her, his formerly well-ordered life made no sense.

  “I don’t understand Italian that well, Alessandro.”

  “Not yet, you don’t, but you will.”

  “You’re sure of yourself.”

  Her fire was back pushing her reserve aside. He liked her fire. “No, Perry. I’m sure of you.”

  There was that smile again…and there went his good intentions. He had to get away from her but first he had to taste her.

  “May I kiss you?”

  “Yes,” she said without hesitation.

  The last part of her response had barely passed her lips before he was bending his head toward hers. The first taste of her went straight to his head. It was a good thing he had the hotel wall to hold onto for surely he would’ve fallen. Delving inside, he took small sips not wanting to frighten her with the intensity of his passion. As it was he was frightening himself. No woman had reduced him to this. He was in full command of his world and yet it was clear by his body’s response that Perry was in full command of him.

  Their kiss wasn’t anywhere near X-rated but it was the most erotic experience of his life. If tender kisses shook him like this what would making love with Perry do to him? It’d kill him but he’d die knowing true happiness.

  Pulling back from their kiss, he held her head against his chest in an effort to gather control. He couldn’t look at her lips right now…couldn’t see the sight of her breasts heaving beneath her shirt or the points of her nipples. Alessandro wondered if she was as wet for him as he was hard for her.

  “I will see you safely inside of your hotel room and then I will leave.”

  “I don’t think there’s an axe murderer lying in wait,” she teased. “Walking me in isn’t necessary. This is after all, one of Milan’s premier hotels.”

  She couldn’t seriously think that he was the type of man who would allow her to walk up to her room alone. The look in her eyes confirmed that she did. “I’m not carrying you to the threshold of my room, therefore, I will make sure all is as it should be.”

  She smiled that gentle smile. It shouldn’t have inspired passion, nevertheless it pushed him closer to the edge.

  “Thank you, Alessandro,” she whispered as she reached up and caressed his jaw. He closed his eyes and groaned. Never had he wanted to be stroked so badly but this was not the time…or the place. Catching her delicate hand in his, he halted her movements. “Please do not touch me. I am hanging on by a thread.”

  He didn’t expect so many things about her. He definitely didn’t expect her response.

  “That makes two of us.”

  Due to her line of work, few things stunned Perry, but Alessandro’s kiss left her dazed. It was a tender touching of lips. Alessandro tasted her like wine he was determined to savor, which was ironic considering he seemed to be a man dying of thirst. It was
the most erotic kiss she’d ever experienced.

  Rather than playing the role of spectator, she had been involved in that kiss. She wanted more and was about to demand it when Alessandro pulled away. As hard as he was against her, as close to the edge as he was when the tip of his tongue had touched hers, Alessandro had still pulled back. Not only had he pulled back, but he’d shown her his struggle. His honesty was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen just as his confession was some of the most beautiful truth she’d ever heard.

  She affected him. The thundering of his heart confirmed that fact. She, reserved, shy Perry Sebastian, affected Alessandro Strozzi, the man who had everything. It was a heady experience.

  Wanting to revel in Alessandro’s embrace just a little bit longer, Perry snuggled closer. This man felt like all of her dreams come true. His city felt like home.

  She didn’t want to part from this man. However, she took comfort in the fact that it was clear that Alessandro didn’t want to part from her either. The walk to her room was done at a snail’s pace, still, it ended all too soon for her tastes.

  At the door, Alessandro held out his hand for the key card. Perry smiled and handed it over, instinctively knowing that he wasn’t going to leave her before checking the room. She suspected he was the tiniest bit chauvinistic but she savored the feel of his protection.

  “Buona notte, Perry.”

  Yes, it was a good night. It could be even better. “Good night, Alessandro.”

  “I will hold my wishes and dreams until you give me the invitation.”

  Perry stared up into Alessandro’s hazel eyes. His eyes bore into hers. She’d had all day to become accustomed to the way he looked at her. When he wasn’t caressing her with his eyes, Alessandro caressed her with his touch. The brief brushes of his lips and hands had primed her. Already attracted to him, she was halfway to being in love with him after the day they’d shared.