by Diana Duncan
“Sì. Sleeping with a suspect or witness is grounds for termination. And can taint court testimony.” He squeezed her hand. “I was assigned to protect you. Ordered to kidnap you from the Camorra and obtain information. I resented you at first.”
“I didn’t like you much, either.”
He leaned closer. “I did not make love with you to get information. I did not deceive you about that. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but I couldn’t stop it. As you said, my will was shanghaied.”
“I know.” She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand. “And the loss of control freaked you out.”
“It unsettled me. I have never lost control before. Never become personally involved in a case. But I don’t regret it.”
Tenderness curled inside her. She wasn’t the only one who had taken chances. “When I found out you’d taken my father’s files, I thought you had betrayed me. But your meaning came through loud and clear in your note and I figured out what you’d done.”
“I hated having to treat you cruelly.” He scowled. “I wanted to convey the message for you not to give up on me. I didn’t think you would try to help me.” He shook his head. “Let alone negotiate a deal with the FBI on my behalf. I will never again make the error of underestimating your stubbornness, intelligence or loyalty.”
She smiled. “I do my best.”
A wry smile banished his scowl. “It was Zia Ines who reported me for being a thief and errand boy for the Camorra. When the authorities were too lenient, she insisted I serve some time as a deterrent. In many ways, you remind me of her.”
“Thank you.” The ultimate compliment. “I wish I could have known her.”
“She would have adored you.” He toyed with a tendril that had escaped her braid. “Zia introduced me to Bernardo Moretti, the police officer son of a friend. He told me people who think like criminals make the best cops. If I stayed clean until I was eighteen, he would guarantee me a job with as much excitement—on the right side of the law.”
She nodded. “They saw what I see. They believed in you.”
“And except for brief doubt right after you burned the letters, I believed in you. Some of my superiors thought you guilty, and my strong defense of your innocence made them question my judgment. I had to finish the case. To clear us both.” He kissed her now-healed knuckles. Zia told me something I have never forgotten after I got out of jail. ‘Un uomo senza onore non ha niente.’”
“A man without honor has nothing,” Ariana said softly. “Yes, I understand.”
“Sì. You understand why I couldn’t compromise my honor, because you are a woman of honor. You…love me…” He blinked, clearly still wrestling with the concept. “But when you thought I was breaking the law, you turned me in. Thank you for calling the FBI.”
Bittersweet emotion tightened her chest. “Don’t thank me for almost getting you killed.”
“You had no idea Agent Esposito was a traitor. Your report proved your innocence to my superiors. Proved your integrity.” His voice went ragged. “You saved me. You jumped into the ocean to rescue me, though you cannot swim.”
“After you took three bullets for me.” Her heart fisted. “Please, accept my apology. I ruined your career and endangered your life trying to clear my father, who turned out to be a criminal.”
“In both instances, you did what was right for someone you loved.” He stroked her hair. “Whose father was the worse criminal, cara? Yours, who stole antiquities? Or mine, who stole my past. Stole my childhood.” He trailed a fingertip down her cheek. “You have done nothing for me to forgive. But I ask your forgiveness for the lies. The hurt.”
“No.” She tucked her knees under her and rose level with his face. “Dante, I’m glad you didn’t betray your honor and reveal your identity or information about the case.”
Hurt and grief glinted in his eyes. “It was the hardest thing I have ever been forced to do.”
“You are the most trustworthy person I’ve ever met.” She cupped his face in her hands. “I know I can trust you with everything. I can trust you not to betray me. To do what’s right, even though it costs you dearly.”
“It nearly cost me the only thing that matters. You, tesoro mio.” He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. “Ti amo. I love you, Ariana.”
Her heart stopped, and then sped into a jubilant flutter. Brilliant happiness sparkled inside her, exploded into joy.
This was the moment she’d waited for her entire life.
Laughing, she touched her mouth to his in a gentle kiss. “Right back at you, tough guy.”
“My audacious librarian.” He growled and tumbled her backward onto the bed. “I am crazy for you.”
“Dante! Your arm!”
He grinned wolfishly. Wrapping his good arm around her, he rolled, putting her on top. “I have two.”
She captured his mouth in a long, intoxicating kiss, her hair falling around them in a silky curtain. When he groaned, she drew back. “Too much?”
“Not enough.” Desire fired in his gaze. “I need you, Ariana. Make love with me.”
“Dante, your injuries—”
His grin flashed again. “You will be gentle with me, yes?”
She laughed. “Very.” Scooting down his legs, she removed his boots and socks and bared her own feet. Then she crawled back up, watching his eyes go heavy-lidded and dark with passion.
She straddled his hips and carefully removed his shirt. His bandaged arm and bruised chest came into full view. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
His sensual lips curled in a slow smile. “You are sitting on my lap. You tell me.”
“The southern province is having a heat wave. But your arm has to be sore.” Ariana leaned down and kissed one bruise then the other. “And these must hurt.”
“Mmm.” Dante closed his eyes and spoke the truth. “When you are touching me, I feel only pleasure.”
“Then let me make everything better.” He heard the smile in Ariana’s voice as she kissed the scrape on his forehead, his eyelids, his cheeks.
Their teamwork skills came in handy as they playfully removed each other’s clothing. Ariana’s hair trailed over Dante’s skin like silken licks of flame. Delight winged through him, and he floated in a haze of rapture as Ariana covered his body with kisses, bathed him in her love.
In the misty morning, raindrops drummed on the roof and sang on the windowpanes. Their breaths mingled. His heart beat for her, and hers for him. Mouths fused, hands stroked, both leading and following in the long, slow waltz of rhythm and warmth.
He needed this woman, her touch, her taste, her fire. But more, he needed her generosity and courage and her unshakable spirit. He needed her love. His hands glided over her smooth skin, teasing, tantalizing until she was panting and breathless. “You fit in my heart,” he murmured.
Her beautiful blue eyes smiled into his. “And you in mine.”
Holding his gaze, she rose above him, and he trembled as she slowly took him into her. As their bodies melded, moved in heat and pleasure, he told her all the things he had never been able to say before. How much he loved her. Needed her. Cherished her.
Joy and awe played across her lovely face, and lit up his soul. Warm light banished the darkness. For the first time in decades, he stepped out of hiding. There were no more shadows between them. No more secrets.
Ariana’s eyes locked on his and she whispered his name like a prayer. That radiant light expanded, surrounded them and burst into colors.
And Dante gloried in the sure knowledge that this was where he belonged.
A long time later, when his heartbeat slowed and he could breathe again, he gently withdrew and kissed her damp temple. “Ariana?”
“Hmm,” she mumbled. “One minute. Then I’m good to go.”
He laughed, even as his body twitched in response. “I thought we might talk first. I am leaving the force.”
“What?” She jerked her head up to stare at him. “Why?”
&n
bsp; “The reality of a cop’s life is not pretty.”
“I know exactly what it’s like. I’ve had an up-close-and-personal view the last few weeks.” Her heartbeat galloped against his. “I don’t want you to give it up on my account.”
“I would do anything to make your fairy tale come true,” he declared fiercely. “Teach, run a museum, whatever makes you happy. I already told Bernardo I’m done going undercover.”
She gasped. “Do you want to completely quit the force?”
“I no longer wish to lie for a living. But—” he refused to be a shade less than honest “—I would like to stay on as a detective tracking down stolen antiquities. Though even their hours can be long and unpredictable.”
“I’ll be plenty busy finishing that novel I’ve always wanted to write.” She watched him carefully, as if trying to discern his thoughts. “You’re a good cop, and you love it. Whatever your dream is, I want you to have it.”
His heart turned over. “There is a poet who said it best. ‘I, being poor, have only my dreams,/I have spread my dreams under your feet;/Tread softly because you tread on my dreams,’” he quietly quoted. “My dream, Ariana, is you. I want to make love to you every night and wake up beside you every morning.” He cupped her face in his hands, watched her eyes go wide and vulnerable. “Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
“Oh, Dante!” Tears sparkled like jewels in her sapphire gaze. “Yes! Sì!” She hugged him.
Happiness soared inside him. He smiled, even as moisture stung his own eyes. He’d never dared to hope he would be worthy of such riches. “How long is your commitment to Liberty Line Cruises?”
“Four more months. We’re sailing to the Caribbean next.”
“As soon as I’m back on my feet, I must tie up this case…but I will visit you in every port. Would you like to have the wedding aboard ship in the Caribbean?” He started, and his heart pounded furiously. “Unless…we need to marry sooner?”
She shook her head. “I had the clinic do a blood test. I’m not pregnant. At least not as of—” she leaned over to glance at the clock and smiled “—two hours ago.”
Relief and disappointment tangled inside him. “I would not have been unhappy.” He kissed the tip of her pert nose. “But is it selfish of me to want you to myself for a while before the bambini arrive?”
“No, I felt exactly the same.” She hesitated. “However, I require a very important disclosure before marrying you.”
Was she worried about events in his past? Something for which he might not have an answer? “I will explain the best I can.”
She grinned. “What’s your last name?”
Laughter rumbled out of him. Life would never be dull with Ariana by his side. “Dante Rafaele Colangelo, at your service.” He sobered. “I promise, Ariana, I will never again lie to you. About anything.”
“I trust you with my body, heart and soul.” She kissed him. “When everything and everyone I believed in turned out to be false, I embarked on a quest for the truth. And I found you. I don’t want fairy tales. I want the real deal—you, Dante Rafaele Colangelo.”
He warmed with contentment, at peace for the first time in his life. “And I went searching for others’ valuables, and was gifted with a priceless treasure of my very own.” He smiled. “The Fates took us on a wild ride, but they knew what they were doing, amore mio.”
“My love.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that.”
“In that case…” He glided his fingertips down her spine. Her heart leaped against his, and he reveled in her response. “I will say it to you every day, amore mio.”
Grinning, he rolled her beneath him. “For the next fifty years.”
EPILOGUE
The crew bar aboard Alexandra’s Dream
Two days later
ARIANA HAPPILY PROFFERED her left hand to show Patti Kennedy, the cruise director, her engagement ring.
“What beautifully burnished gold! Is it an antique?” Patti reverently touched the stone. “And the huge sapphire matches your eyes.”
“That’s what Dante said.” Ariana smiled. “Yes, it’s an antique Greek piece. The delicate wings carved into the band represent Eros, the god of love.”
“You’re so lucky.” Patti sighed. “Dante is sooo romantic.”
“I agree, on both counts.” Low music swirled in the background, and the room brimmed with laughing, chatting people. Patti had summoned the couple to the crew bar and surprised them with an engagement party.
Ariana looked across the room where Dante and her mother were serving themselves from the sumptuous buffet. After protecting Ariana with his life, Dante didn’t have to try to win Sadie over. He and Sadie had immediately bonded, and her mom had joyously welcomed him into the family.
Dante caught her eye and winked, then wove through the throng to her side. He offered her the filled plate. “Hungry?”
She grinned. “Did you bring olives?” He laughed, and her heart leaped. No longer forced into the role of brooding smuggler, he was the warm, teasing companion from their fishing expedition. And the caring, passionate lover.
Captain Pappas arrived with Helena Stamos at his side. Sadie had been right. The meaningful glances and knowing smiles said clearly the couple were in love. “Congratulations, Signor Colangelo, Miss Bennett.”
“Thank you. Grazie,” Ariana and Dante said in perfect unison, and everyone chuckled.
Gideon Dayan stopped to offer his best wishes. Katherine Stamos, Elias’s oldest daughter, gave Ariana a hug and then laughingly hugged Dante, also. As head of public relations for the cruise line, Katherine had flown in from her home in England to deal with media inquiries. Bernardo Moretti was also there, thrilled at being asked to stand in as Dante’s best man. He introduced his vivacious wife Giovanna to Ariana.
Theo Catomeris waited until Dante and Ariana had a moment alone before he approached. “I…just wanted to say I’m sorry—”
“No apologies.” Dante slid his arm around Ariana. “A smart woman once told me that we aren’t accountable for our parents’ actions.”
“I know that better than anyone,” Ariana said gently. “No one blames you, Theo.” Her smile returned. “Eventually, we’re going to be family, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
“May I have everyone’s attention, please.” Elias Stamos moved to Sadie’s side near the front of the room.
Elias had offered Dante a complimentary luxury cabin to recuperate during the crossing. Dante would fly from Miami to Italy to finalize the case before eventually rejoining Alexandra’s Dream in the Caribbean. Elias had arranged helicopter transport to the mainland for party guests who weren’t staying aboard.
Elias cleared his throat. “My deepest gratitude to Dante and Ariana for their courage and sacrifice to solve a crime that would have cost me dearly.”
Everyone murmured approval, and Elias continued. “We’ve had quite the adventure so far.” He looked down at Sadie and smiled warmly, then smiled at Dante and Ariana. “Congratulations. I wish you many happy years together, many children and many blessings.”
He raised his glass and his gaze swept the crowd. “And to each of you…smooth sailing ahead.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-1146-3
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Copyright © 2007 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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