by Tina Duncan
She stirred.
He smiled…and kissed her again.
Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks.
He kissed her again.
She opened her eyes.
And then she smiled at him.
Her smile was like a ray of sunshine or a rainbow after a summer storm. Pleasure burst to life inside of him. ’Buongiorno, cara.’
‘Good morning,’ she replied huskily.
He rolled over and was rewarded by a loud, unfriendly hiss.
He looked down the bed. Baci had been asleep, lying on top of the covers between them. His sudden movement had woken her. She gave him her usual baleful look.
‘Get lost, cat,’ Luca said, nudging it with his knee.
He was rewarded with another hiss, before the cat raised itself up onto its paws, turned and pranced off the bed with its tail in the air.
‘Now…where were we?’ Luca asked, rolling over and pinning her body beneath him. His flesh began to swell in instant, gut-wrenching response. ‘You are wearing me out,’ he said thickly.
‘I’m not doing anything,’ she protested with a smile.
He laughed, only to stop when he saw the way she was looking at him. ’Dio, Morgan,’ he groaned, bending his head to kiss her. ‘I can’t get enough of you.’
One kiss led to another in a fevered hunger that drove Luca to the very edge of his control. Never before had he struggled to suppress his own climax so that his partner could achieve pleasure first.
‘I can’t wait,’ he said hoarsely, positioning himself between her spread thighs. ‘You drive me insane.’
‘Do I?’ She smiled and fed her hands into the hair on either side of his head. ‘I kind of like that idea.’
‘Do you?’ he asked, barely able to speak.
‘Uh-huh. Because you drive me insane, too.’
‘Now, that I definitely like.’
But in the sweet aftermath of passion, as he lay in his lover’s arms, Luca realised he was living a lie.
He still hadn’t told Morgan what she deserved to hear: that he knew she’d been telling him the truth all along.
And that was wrong.
He lived by a code he couldn’t ignore.
Honour had to come before lust.
Duty had to come before pleasure.
Just because he was unsure of Morgan’s reaction it was no excuse.
He had to do the right thing.
He couldn’t put off telling her any longer.
As soon as the time was right he would arrange a special dinner for them.
Then he would tell her that he believed her.
A sound in the doorway made Luca look up from the papers he was signing. His sister, elegant as always in a tan trouser suit, was framed in the doorway.
‘Stefania!’ he exclaimed, rising to his feet and rounding the desk. ‘What are you doing here?’
She flung her hands in the air, a broad smile on her face. ‘Surprise!’
‘It certainly is.’ He took her hands in his and kissed her on both cheeks. ‘You’re supposed to be in Australia.’
‘I know. But Joe’s heart attack put a bit of a dampener on things.’ She paused, then added, ‘We had a long talk while he was in hospital.’
Luca frowned. ‘What about?’
‘About a lot of things. Some of which happened a long time ago and I can’t tell you about just yet.’
‘That sounds very mysterious.’
She nodded. ‘It is. We also made a major decision.’
‘And that is?’
‘We’re going to fill in the papers for adoption today.’
Luca frowned. ‘Really? I thought you didn’t want that. I thought you were determined to have your own child.’
She shrugged. ‘I was. But at some point I have to face reality. It isn’t going to happen.’
‘It might,’ he said, his insides tight and tense. This was his fault. If he’d done something to prevent the accident then Stefania would not be in this situation. ’You just—’
‘Shush.’ She pressed her fingers across his mouth. ’It’s over, Luca.’
He turned away before she could see the tears welling in his eyes, but he was obviously not quick enough. He felt her hand on his shoulder. ‘I know what you’re thinking. But you’re wrong.’
He blinked and turned dry-eyed back to her. ‘And what am I thinking?’
‘You’re thinking that this is your fault. But it isn’t.’ She took his hands in hers and squeezed them tight. ’What happened that night was an accident, plain and simple.’
‘They shouldn’t have been fighting. I should have stopped them.’
‘How could you? You were just a kid.’
Luca knew she was right—in his head. But in his heart he felt differently. ‘I let you down.’
‘How can you say that?’ She shook her head vehemently. ‘I wasn’t wearing a seat belt. You saved my life when you grabbed hold of me. You never let me down. Never.’
Luca swallowed. He would always believe that he should have done something to change the outcome of that night, but Stefania’s words went a long way to easing his guilt. Maybe in time he would be able to forgive himself.
‘I don’t entirely agree. But thank you.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I’m concerned about your sudden change of heart regarding adoption. I don’t want you to rush into something you could regret later.’
‘It’s not sudden. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I’m at peace with my decision. It feels right. In here,’ she said, pressing a hand to her heart.
He opened his mouth to say something, but she held up a hand. ‘No, Luca. I’m tired. Tired of trying…and failing. I’m just tired. Seven IVF attempts are more than enough. I can’t take any more. Making the decision to stop riding on this merry-go-round has lifted a weight off me.’
Something—he wasn’t sure what—drew his attention to the door. It was ajar. ‘Do you mean that?’ he asked, striding across the room and pushing the door closed.
She nodded. ‘If you want to know the truth, I was ready to give up last year. I only kept going because of you and Joe.’
‘What?’ He tensed, muscles growing rigid. ‘What are you talking about?’
She sighed. ‘Even though Joe has always said having our own child wasn’t that important to him, I thought he was lying just to make me feel better. But on this trip he assured me he was telling me the truth.’
‘And me? Why on earth would you consider going on longer than you wanted to because of me? You know I only want what’s best for you.’
She smiled. ‘I know. But you’ve always blamed yourself for my inability to have children. I wanted to have a child to alleviate you of that responsibility. To ease your guilt.’
His heart palpitated, then started slamming against his ribcage as if he’d just run up ten flights of stairs. ‘I can’t—You can’t—’ He snapped his mouth closed on a ragged breath. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
She sighed again. ‘I’ve tried to talk to you about the accident over the years, but whenever I brought it up you changed the subject.’
‘I didn’t want to hear you say you blamed me,’ he admitted.
She shook her head. ’Stupido! I never blamed you for anything. Ever. You’ve been the best brother a girl could want.’
Luca wasn’t so sure about that. It seemed he’d made plenty of mistakes. And not just with Stefania…
The way he’d treated Morgan—was still treating her—was deplorable.
The minute Stefania left he would go to Morgan and release her from their arrangement. He could only hope and pray that she would forgive him for misjudging her.
Because if she did not…
If she did not…
Luca didn’t want to think about that. The suggestion left him gasping for breath.
Chapter Nine
LUCA INSERTED THE key into the lock of his Kensington apartment and pushed the door open. Now that he’d decided to tell Morgan how he f
elt, he couldn’t wait to get on with it.
He frowned when he heard the murmur of voices coming from the lounge room. Then his face cleared. It was probably Morgan’s friend Stella. Morgan had told him just last night that her friend was back from a trip to Europe and was hoping to catch up with her today.
Luca was halfway down the corridor when he realised he was wrong.
It wasn’t Stella.
Or any other friend.
It was Joseph.
He knew it without even seeing him.
Knew it because he could smell him.
It was Joseph’s expensive cologne. He recognised the scent immediately.
What was Joseph doing here?
Or was that a stupid question?
His heart sank down to his toes, and then rebounded into the back of his throat so fast he could hardly swallow.
He moved closer. Silently.
When he reached the doorway, he dragged in a breath and looked inside.
They were so wrapped up in each other they didn’t even notice he was there.
Luca closed his eyes, wishing the sight of them sitting so closely together on the oatmeal couch would disappear.
He opened his eyes.
They were still there.
Still talking.
Not that he’d heard a single word they said. All he could hear was the beating of his own heart, the blood thundering in his head.
Now he made a conscious effort to focus on the conversation.
‘…missed you,’ Morgan said, leaning towards the older man, the smile on her face the same kind of smile Luca had thought she reserved specially for him. ‘It felt as if you were away for for ever.’
‘I missed you, too,’ Joseph said, holding out his hands for her to take. It was an intimate gesture. So was the way Morgan grasped his hands and squeezed them tightly. ‘It wouldn’t have been so bad if I’d been able to talk to you.’
‘That’s OK. You tried. It was great getting your message.’
Luca felt something in his chest twist tight. The phone message Morgan had just mentioned was news to him. As far as he was concerned she had had no contact with Joseph since the call he’d intercepted. Not once had it occurred to him that Joseph would risk calling Morgan.
Ice slid through his veins. When she’d fallen apart in his arms Morgan had been lying to him. While she’d taken him to the heights of passion she’d known about that call and said nothing.
Betrayal bit deep—until Luca almost expected wounds to miraculously appear in his flesh.
‘Talking to your voicemail was hardly satisfying,’ Joseph complained.
Morgan shook her head. ‘I know. But I understood.’
He patted her cheek. ‘I know you did. That’s—’ Luca’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. If Joseph touched her one more time Luca wouldn’t be held responsible for his actions. ‘That’s one of the reasons I love you so much.’
An invisible fist hit Luca in the gut. He almost doubled over as the first wave of pain struck. It was all he could do not to gasp out loud. Another wave of agony crashed into him, almost severing him in two.
He’d heard enough. He couldn’t listen to Morgan’s response. Hearing her declare her love for Joseph was more than he could stand.
‘Well, well, well,’ he drawled, walking stiffly into the room. ‘Isn’t this cosy?’
Joseph jumped to his feet. Morgan, he noticed, had turned a pale shade of grey.
‘What are you doing here, Joseph?’ Luca demanded. ’Were you looking for me? It is my apartment, after all. Or is that a stupid question?’ He barked out a harsh laugh. ‘Of course it is! You’d know damned well I’d be working at this time of the day.’
‘I…I…’ Joseph stuttered, seemingly unable to string two successive words together. Beads of sweat formed on his upper lip and his throat.
Luca was so angry he expected steam to pour from his ears at any moment. Cold rage filled him. He wanted to hit Joseph. Wanted to punch his lights out so badly he could taste it. If it wasn’t for the fact Joseph had been ill Luca probably would have done it, too.
But that was nothing compared to what he wanted to do to Morgan.
She’d played him for a fool and he’d been stupid enough to let her.
He gave his brother-in-law a look that made the other man turn a shade of puce he’d never seen on a human face before. ‘I would have thought you had more important things to do. Like signing adoption papers with your wife!’
Luca heard Morgan gasp, but didn’t pause for long enough for either of them to answer. His patience—what little there was of it—had crashed and burned. It would take just one more word—one lie—and he was likely to do something he might live to regret.
Luca turned to Morgan with the same precision as a soldier readying to fire. ‘As for you,’ he said, his voice so sharp that she jumped. ‘You disgust me!’
She flinched and paled until even her lips had lost colour and her hair and eyes looked blacker than black. ’You—’
Luca waved a hand through the air, cutting her off. ’Don’t bother! I don’t need you to draw me a map, cara. I heard every word. Even a blind man can see that something is going on between the two of you.’ Pain filled his chest cavity but he forced himself to continue, each word like a knife slicing through him. ‘You can keep your lies! It’s over. It always was going to be over when Stefania came back. Just because my sister doesn’t know about the two of you it doesn’t mean I was going to rub her nose in it by escorting her husband’s whore around town so that everyone could laugh behind her back.’
Morgan swayed where she was sitting, and it gave Luca a savage kind of satisfaction to know that he was responsible.
‘I want you out of here today.’ He turned to Joseph. ’And you should be ashamed of yourself. If you ever cheat on my sister again I’ll kill you with my bare hands. Do you understand?’
Without giving either of them a chance to respond, Luca turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.
And, just like that, it was over.
‘What’s this all about?’ Morgan asked, taking a tentative step, hands out in front of her in case she ran into something. ‘You said you needed to talk to me and that it was important.’
‘It is,’ Morgan’s best friend Stella said from a few paces ahead.
‘It is,’ Stella’s husband Greg agreed from his position right behind her. His hands were cupped around her eyes, effectively blindfolding her. ‘We’re almost there.’
‘There’ being Greg and Stella’s apartment. They’d knocked on her door a couple of minutes ago and insisted she accompany them.
‘Why couldn’t we talk in my place?’ Morgan asked. ’Why do we have to go to yours?’
‘Because.’
‘Because why?’
‘Just because.’
Morgan suppressed a sigh. She wasn’t in the mood for this—whatever this was. But then she hadn’t been in the mood for much of anything this past week.
Ever since Luca had—
No!
Morgan slammed a lid on her thoughts. She wouldn’t think about Luca. She’d wasted enough brain cells and tears on him already. He didn’t deserve any more of her time or energy.
‘OK, we’re here,’ Greg said, his words immediately followed by the sound of the door closing, as if he’d kicked it shut with his foot. ‘Are you ready, Stell?’
‘Ready.’
‘Keep your eyes closed until I say you can open them,’ Greg instructed, loosening his hands.
Morgan stood there, dutifully doing as she was told.
‘OK, you can open them.’
She opened her eyes and blinked against the bright lights.
‘Surprise!’ Stella and Greg said in unison.
Her heart did a stutter step then took off at a gallop. ’What is all this? Why are you wearing those goofy hats?’
Both were wearing pointed foil party hats embossed with multicoloured balloons. The coffee table was lade
n with a scrumptious-looking cheese platter, little bowls of dips and olives, and a bottle of champagne on ice.
‘We want to help you celebrate your new job,’ Greg said. ‘We also thought you could do with cheeri—Hey! What did you do that for?’ he asked, as Stella dug an elbow into his ribs.
Stella rolled her eyes before passing Morgan a hat. ’Here, put this on.’
As she took the hat and slipped the elastic cord under her chin, Morgan felt tears sting the backs of her eyes. ‘You didn’t have to go to all this trouble!’
‘Of course we did. We’re your best friends. Who else would you celebrate with?’
Who indeed? Morgan thought.
A week ago she would have celebrated with Luca. He would have—
Damn it! She was doing it again. Thinking about Luca when she’d promised herself she wouldn’t.
‘Come on, Greg.’ Stella was practically bouncing up and down with excitement. ‘Open up the champagne.’
Morgan didn’t feel like celebrating. Yes, she was pleased she’d finally secured a job—even if it wasn’t as good as her position at Enigma Marketing.
Life could return to normal.
Only it didn’t feel normal.
Her old life didn’t feel right any more.
What was once familiar now felt alien.
It was as if her existence could be separated into two parts. Before Luca…and after Luca.
Morgan smothered a groan. Luca again. Why couldn’t she get the dratted man out of her head?
‘Earth to Morgan, earth to Morgan. Are you in there?’
Her head shot up. ‘What?’
Greg waved a glass of champagne under her nose. ’I’m waiting for you to take this so that we can make a toast.’
Morgan plastered a bright smile on her face. She didn’t want to be a wet blanket. If she wasn’t in celebratory mode that was her problem. For her friends’ sake she had to make an effort and pretend that she was.
Over the next hour she did exactly that. She drank champagne and she ate cheese. She tried Stella’s famous smoked salmon dip and raved about her roast capsicum relish.