“Anche io ti amo, la mia bella Inca.” I love you too, my beautiful Inca.
Inca’s tears fell then, and she wrapped her legs and arms around him, never wanting to let him go. “Oh God, Raff. What are we going to do?”
Raffaelo buried his face in her neck and she felt his tears too. “I don’t know, mio caro. I don’t know.”
Outside of the room, Tommaso watched them making love and kissing and felt … he couldn’t distinguish his rage from his desire, nor his betrayal from a sense of inevitability. He knew, without doubt, that Inca loved him, Tommaso, but now it was clear that she had the same feelings for Raffaelo. He wanted both to kill them and to join them in their lovemaking. He debated going into the room, telling them he’d seen them, but no. He had a plan now and this could wait. If Raff was going away, it would give him and Inca time to renew their relationship. He could forgive her this misstep—couldn’t he?
He walked silently away from the room where his lover and his brother were, and out of the house. He needed to get away, just for the evening. Needed to sate his rage somewhere else.
And he knew just where.
Olly Rosenbaum felt bad. He should never have said what he had to Inca—he no longer had the right. So when, the next morning, he found himself in the Sakura again, he made the point of apologizing.
“It’s okay,” Inca said, her lovely face tired. “We all do stupid things we shouldn’t have.”
He studied her –the dark circles under her eyes, the wan skin.” Hey, are you okay?”
She shook her head. “No. No, I’m not, but there’s nothing you can do about it. So please, let’s not talk about it.”
He was silent for a while. “Inks...”
“I made a mistake.” The words came out of her in a rush. But as soon as they were out, Tommaso Winter appeared at the door.
“Hello.”
Inca stared at him as if she’d seen a ghost. Olly nodded stiffly. There was a long silence, and then Olly coughed. “Well, I better get to work. Later, Inks. Winter.”
Inca mumbled a goodbye and Olly left, not looking again at Tommaso. Why did the guy get to him so much? He was Inca’s boyfriend now; he should really try and get along with him.
Except ... he stole a look back over his shoulder. Inca looked wary, maybe even scared ... Was Winter abusing her?
I made a mistake ...
What the hell had she meant by that? Olly didn’t know, but he was sure as shit going to find out.
But a couple of hours later, Olly Rosenbaum was to discover that Tommaso Winter was not a man to be crossed. Not a man to be crossed at all.
Later, when Tommaso had excused himself for a few minutes, and Inca had had time to collect herself, she looked up to see Scarlett coming into the teahouse.
“Hey, numbnuts. How goes it?”
Scarlett stuck her tongue out at her friend. She indicated behind her and Inca saw Knox and Tommaso standing outside talking—rather, Tommaso was talking at Knox, Inca observed with narrowed eyes. She sighed to herself. A second later the two men walked in and Tommaso immediately walked behind the counter to kiss Inca. She moved her head to avoid his mouth on hers, his lips brushing her cheek. She smiled at him to lessen the slight, but Tommaso’s eyes were cold as he pulled an envelope from his pocket. He pulled a sheet of paper from it and handed it to her.
“What’s this?” Inca took the paperwork Tommaso offered her and read it through. She looked up, startled. “A restraining order?”
Scarlett gasped. “Against whom?”
Tommaso smiled at them, a cool, calm smile. “Rosenbaum, of course. He’s been harassing us. Harassing Inca.”
Scarlett glanced at Inca, who looked as shocked as she felt. A couple of customers had left when the men walked in, and now the teahouse was quiet and empty except for the four of them.
Inca got up and handed the paperwork back to Tommaso. “Tommaso … this isn’t appropriate. Olly is a friend.”
Tommaso put a finger on her mouth. “Inca, it’s been more than that, and you know it.” He turned to the others. “I’m scared that his obsession with Inca is dangerous. Now that Kevin Harnett is behind bars, I think we have been too complacent about Inca’s safety. I truly believe Oliver Rosenbaum is the greatest threat to her.”
Scarlett put a hand on Inca’s back. “Tommaso, you’re overreacting.”
“Yes.” Inca was starting to get annoyed. What was he playing at?
Tommaso smiled at her, but his eyes were cold. “I don’t think so. After all,” he said, his gaze locking with Inca’s, “Inca is a very beautiful woman. I think a lot of men are interested in her.”
Inca felt a hot flood of shame. He knows. Oh God. I’m sorry, Tommaso.
“Still, I don’t think this is really necessary in Olly’s case. He’s just being a friend.”
Tommaso was silent for a moment, then reached into his pocket. “Okay. I understand why you’re reluctant to think badly of your friend. If it was just in isolation … but take a look at these. I took these over the past four nights.”
The photographs were dark and grainy. It was clearly Olly in his car parked outside the Winter mansion, hidden in the woods, standing at the windows. At night. Alone.
Inca was speechless. Scarlett’s eyes filled with tears. Tommaso looked at Inca sympathetically.
“He clearly has a preoccupation with you—I could tell that from the first day. What concerns me is how deep it goes. I’m worried for you.” Tommaso took Inca’s hand. “I just want you safe.”
“Hell.” Scarlett started to cry openly now, and Tommaso squeezed her shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, to all of you. Please understand this comes from a place of love, not control. I think he may be having some sort of breakdown. He’s not thinking straight. Knox.” And he turned to the police deputy, “You must have noticed at work? Anything?”
Knox hesitated. “Look, I still think a restraining order is unnecessary. Olly’s obviously got a lot going on, dealing with these murders. Anyone would be … unstable.”
Tommaso nodded. “Anyway, the restraining order remains. It’s to stay away from me too; you’ve all witnessed his antagonism towards me.” He bent and kissed Inca’s cheek, “I need to meet some contractors, darling. I’ll pick up some take-out for us later. Scarlett, Knox.” He nuzzled Inca’s ear again. “Anche io ti amo, la mia bella Inca.” Exactly what Raffaelo had said to her.
Oh God. She closed her eyes.
When Tommaso was gone, the three of them remaining sat in an uncomfortable silence. Eventually, Knox stood. “Look, I need to get to work. Inca, you want me to do anything?”
She smiled a strange half smile. “No, thanks. Seems Tommaso’s got it all covered.”
Scarlett and Inca looked at each other when they were alone. “What’s this all about, Inks? What the hell is going on?”
Inca shook her head. “I don’t know, Scarlett. But somehow I don’t think it has to do with Olly. Look, I need to talk to Tommaso … could you look after the teahouse for the rest of the afternoon?”
Scarlett hugged her friend. “Of course. Go talk to your man.”
Olly stared at Knox. “You’re kidding me.”
Knox shook his head. “Nope. From now you are not permitted to go within five hundred yards of Inca Sardee or Tommaso Winter.”
“But—” Olly stood, obviously riled up. “I’m the damn police chief!’
Knox sighed. “I know. I know, buddy; it’s utterly ridiculous. But you can’t break it, or it could cost you your job. Let things simmer down.”
Olly stood and thought for a long moment. “She must have told him.”
“Told him what?”
Olly hesitated and shook his head. “No, nothing. Look, I’ll honor the restraining order, but in the meantime …” He flicked his computer on and began to type.
Kyle had a growing sense of unease “What are you doing?”
Olly looked at him, his eyes angry but determined. “Proving once and for all tha
t I’m not the one Inca should be afraid of.”
Inca was sitting on the stairs, phone in hand, when Tommaso got back to the house. She waved at him. He held up the bag with the take-out. She gave him a thumbs up.
“Sorry, Nancy. Go on.”
Nancy sighed down the phone. “Try and listen. I’m inviting you and Tommaso to dinner tonight. It’s not difficult, is it? I’m not speaking German, am I?”
Inca snickered. “Calm down, Grandma.”
There was a silence on the end of the phone. “You are the spawn of the devil. Do you want to come to dinner or not?”
Inca was still giggling when she joined Tommaso in the kitchen. He was arranging the Chinese food on plates and smiled at her.
“Hungry?”
She hesitated. “Um …”
“Um?”
“Thing is, Nancy invited us for dinner tonight. Can we put this—and by the way, thanks for picking it up—but can we save this for tomorrow?” Her apologetic smile faded as she took in the expression on his face. Irritation.
“Tommaso, I …”
He picked up the take-out boxes and started dumping them in the trash. She darted forward to stop him, placing a hand on his arm.
“Hey, hey … we can put it in the refrigerator.”
He pulled his arm away without looking at her. “It won’t be fresh. I don’t like to eat food that’s gone bad.” His tone was clipped and remonstrative.
Inca was taken aback at the petulance in his tone. She watched helplessly as he emptied the still-steaming food into the trash can. His movements were jerky and annoyed, his shoulders stiff with anger. “Tommaso?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Inca. Not yet. Not now. We have a dinner party to go to.”
“Look at me.”
Tommaso hesitated, then met her gaze. Inca felt desolate at the pain in his eyes. “Oh, Tommaso. I’m so sorry.”
He held up his hands. “Please, Inca … not now.”
Inca moved silently out of the kitchen and went upstairs to dress. She could still hear him banging around downstairs. She sat on the edge of the bed, realizing that she was shaking with shock at Tommaso’s overreaction to the dinner and sadness at his obvious pain. Finally, the banging around stopped and she heard him on the stairs.
She got up and pulled the closet door open, pretending to look for something. She felt him watching her as he leaned against the doorframe.
“You should wear the pink dress. The one you wore on our first date.”
His voice was softer now, seductive. He was so changeable from one moment to the next. Inca stayed silent for a while, irritated herself now. She pulled out some fresh blue jeans and a T-shirt. She glanced at him then, her expression cool.
“I have to change.”
A small smile. “Of course.”
She closed the door behind her and stripped off, pulling on the fresh jeans, then pulling her long hair through the top of the T-shirt. There was a soft knock on the door. She sighed.
“I’m coming, Tommaso.”
She glanced over at him as he drove them across the peninsula. His expression was normal and friendly. It was as if his little temper tantrum hadn’t happened. He reached for her hand and she let him take it, feeling his large fingers squeeze hers gently.
Tyler opened the door to them with a warm smile.
“Welcome, welcome.” He hugged Inca and shook Tommaso’s hand. “I hope our invitation wasn’t too last minute.”
“Not at all. It was our pleasure. In fact, I insisted, didn’t I, Inca?” Tommaso clapped the older man on the back.
Inca gaped at him as the two men moved through to the living room, chatting. Nancy poked her head out of the kitchen.
“Hey, small fry. Come give an old lady a hand, huh?”
Inca could feel Nancy watching her. She avoided the older woman’s eye, but knew what she was thinking. She could feel the question hanging in the air.
Tommaso’s hand was on her thigh. Openly. Possessively. It was an overtly sexual move that was completely inappropriate in front of her parents. She tried to shift her leg away from him, but as they sat around the dining table, any movement would have been an obvious slight.
Tyler and Tommaso were talking about … what were they talking about? Inca realized she had tuned them out a while back. Her irritation at Tommaso hadn’t subsided. What was he up to? He’d been all charm, none of his early mood on display, talking to Tyler about his police career and about the property market. She, meanwhile, had been distracted, answering Nancy’s questions in monosyllables.
“That’s a beautiful ruby.” Nancy was talking to her now. Inca touched the jewel at her throat and tried to smile. It had been a gift from Tommaso a few weeks ago—back when she hadn’t slept with his twin brother.
God.
Inca felt sick.
“A gift. From my mother, indirectly.” Tommaso interrupted as Inca was about to answer her. He stroked Inca’s cheek with the back of his hand. “Made for her, isn’t it?”
Nancy nodded, but her eyebrows knitted together slightly. “You okay?”
Inca looked at her blankly for a second, then nodded. “Sorry, yes. I—”
“She’s had a pretty rough few days.” Tommaso stopped her with a hand on the back of her neck. She looked at him sharply but he ignored her, telling them about the situation with Olly.
“He’s unstable,” Tommaso continued. “And I’m concerned for her.” Tyler shook his head, but it was Inca who spoke finally, weariness in her voice.
“I can speak for myself. Olly would never hurt me.”
Tommaso gave a sharp bark of laughter. “Because he’s displayed such appropriate behavior so far.” He leaned over and nuzzled at her neck, but she pulled away from him and stood, gathering up the empty plates, not looking at him. As she walked into the kitchen, she heard him speak in a low tone.
“It’s okay; she’s just stressed.”
Inca banged the plates down on the counter. Who’s acting like a child now? She sighed, rubbing her hands over her eyes. She felt someone come in behind her and turned. With relief, she saw Nancy, balancing serving plates and narrowing her eyes at her.
“What’s up with you?” Nancy put the plates down.
Inca sighed and hesitated for a long moment.
“Nothing. It’s complicated. It’s between me and Tommaso.”
Nancy searched her face. “You need some time alone.”
Inca nodded. “Maybe I do.”
They went back into the living room. Tyler and Tommaso were seated at the table, photo albums spread across the table. Inca could see they were pictures of her childhood, aged six in the children’s home, at the beach with Tyler and Nancy at nine, hanging by the knees from the branch of the tree in the back yard, laughing wildly at Olly swinging beside her. Inca’s heart thudded with sadness. Tommaso smiled up at her.
“You were such a beautiful child.” He got up and hugged her, whispering in her ear, “And our children will be just as beautiful.”
“You misheard.” Tommaso’s tone was light. He smiled at her before turning his eyes back to the road. Inca gritted her teeth.
“So now I’m deaf too? I know what you said, Tommaso.”
He was silent for a moment. “Is it such a terrible idea?” His voice was apologetic, and she heard something else in his words. Hurt.
She looked away and out of the window, not answering him. The cold front had brought heavier freezing rain and it pounded against the car now, the headlights barely cutting through the maelstrom. For a few minutes, Inca was disoriented, not recognizing which road they were on, then realized they were on the east coast road. For some reason, she had automatically expected they would go back through Main Street. This road was poorly lit, and she saw only sporadic flashes of light as they passed the few houses that were visible in the trees that lined the road. Soon she saw the lights from the high school, as the road curved around the top of the peninsula.
She drew in a long
breath, trying to ease the ball of tension in her chest. She risked a look over to Tommaso. He sensed her glance and turn to smile at her. She could read no malice and no anger in his face. He patted her knee but immediately drew his hand away.
“Tommaso … we need to talk. About us, about … Raffaelo.”
Tommaso steered the car to the side of the road and stopped it. For a moment, he just stared out of the window then he turned to her. “I know.”
“I’m so sorry, Tommaso, I have no excuse. It just happened.”
“Yes.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “But perhaps it was inevitable.”
“Why do you say that?”
He touched her face. “Quid pro quo, mio caro. I once did the same to Raffaelo.”
That stung. No, she thought, it wasn’t revenge. That’s not why Raffaelo … but she felt sick. How could she have been so stupid? Tommaso was watching her.
“You are not to blame, bella. Neither is Raff. I got what I deserved.”
Inca felt the guilt weighing her down. “Tommaso, I want you to know … I love you. I’m so … confused about both of you.”
Tommaso gave her a strange smile. “Do you think it is impossible to love two people at once?”
Inca stared at him. “I guess not.”
“No. It is entirely possible. Which is why we must wait for Raffaelo to come home before we decide what to do. And that is your choice entirely, my darling. Me … Raff … or both of us. It is for you to decide.”
He leaned over and kissed her. “Now, shall we go home?”
Later, after they had made love and Inca was asleep, Tommaso slid out of bed and went downstairs to call Raffaelo. When his brother picked up, all Tommaso said was, “I know.”
Raffaelo sighed. “Tommaso …”
“Don’t apologize. It’s okay. I could see it coming. The only thing now is that we have to decide what happens next. I want you to think about that before you come home.”
He hung up, feeling wretched. Whatever he had said to Inca, the hurt from her betrayal was beginning to hit him now and he felt like he was losing her. He could not bear that, and even if it meant sharing her love with his brother, that would be okay with him.
Dr. Orgasm (A Holiday Romance Collection Book 2) Page 25