VITTORIO'S WOMAN

by Kimberley Reeves

  “Are you trying to drown me?”

  Lilly blinked. “What?” Embarrassed by her wandering mind, she mumbled an apology and pulled both the empty glass and her hand free from his grasp and set it back on the table. “Would you like dessert? There’s fresh fruit and lemon cake.”

  “No, now it is your turn to eat.” Simon tilted his head back and drew in a deep breath. “It has been some time since I have felt the sun on my face.”

  “We can make it part of our daily routine if you like.”

  “Your predecessors did not last more than three days, what makes you think you are so different?”

  “I don’t give up,” she said simply.

  “We have much in common then, for I do not give up either. You are not welcome here, and you will soon learn I do not give in unless I desire to do so.”

  Having finished her lunch, Lilly stood up and began gathering their plates. “So you wanted to eat then?” Her eyes danced with amusement when his jaw flexed because he knew that he’d been beaten.

  “Si, it was my decision,” he gritted.

  “I appreciate your cooperation,” she said without the slightest hint of sarcasm. “And now that you’ve been fed and your mood has improved, I think it’s time to clean you up.”

  Simon’s brows furrowed. “Elaborate.”

  “No offense, Simon, but you look as if you haven’t bathed in a week. Your hair needs to be cut and you could do with a shave…”

  “Siete insano,” he sputtered, “you have lost your mind if you think I will let you bathe me!”

  “Simon, I am a licensed nurse and therapist. I have bathed both men and women, and I assure you, there’s nothing you have that I haven’t seen before.”

  Simon was silent for a moment, torn between the humiliation of having Lilly help him take a bath and the knowledge it could be the opportunity he needed to rid himself of her. Yes, he’d lost weight since the accident, but his body couldn’t have deteriorated much in only a few short weeks. He’d seen the way she looked at him at the night club and how embarrassed she’d been at having been caught. No matter what she said, Lilly desired him, and he would use that to scare her off.

  He shook his head ruefully. What hellish stroke of fate had brought her here when he no longer had any hope of a normal life? The only saving grace was that he didn’t have to see the pity in her eyes when she looked at him.

  “Very well, cara,” he conceded, “I place myself in your capable hands.”

  Lilly’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t trust him, not for one single minute. He’d given in too easily, seemed much too complacent for her to believe he wasn’t up to something. She’d trumped him when she pointed out how he’d folded to her once already by eating and highly doubted he was the type of man to be bested a second time. He’d allowed Luisa’s husband, Gaetano, to help him dress but that was all, so his total capitulation to her was reason enough to believe he was up to no good.

  Lilly shrugged it off. Let him try to get rid of me, she thought. It would work in her favor if he underestimated her determination, and of course her own personal feelings for Simon only strengthened her resolve to get him over the worst of it.

  “Good, that’s good. I’ll just go run your bath water then and…” Lilly’s voice trailed off.

  Oh God, she was going to undress Simon! How was she supposed to maintain her composure, her professional demeanor, when every inch of his magnificent body would be exposed? All those nights when she’d dreamed of running her hands over his corded chest, touching his skin, feeling the heat of it beneath her fingertips, she’d never really believed it would ever happen. And it still wasn’t happening, she told herself firmly. He was her patient and nothing more. All fantasies stopped here, because if she let even one of them escape she’d be hopelessly lost.

  “Lilly, is anything wrong?”

  She glanced at him sharply, noting the little twitch at the corner of his mouth. So he was enjoying this, was he? Well, she’d show him! Without a word, she stomped off to run his bath water and find the things she’d need to give him a shave and a haircut, unnerved by the soft laughter that floated after her.

  ***

  Simon’s bedroom was impressive; large enough to be considered an apartment by most people’s standards, but it was his ensuite bathroom that had Lilly quite literally awestruck. Marble topped counters, smoked glass encasing a shower five people could easily fit into, and a sunken bathtub that also doubled as a Jacuzzi. The man certainly enjoyed the finer things in life. At least getting him in the tub wouldn’t be a problem. All she would have to do was help him out of the chair and he’d be able to lower himself down into the water.

  Lilly frowned. How could she wash him when the top of the tub was level with the tiled floor? Lying on her stomach was hardly the ideal position to be in, and with her luck she’d probably lose her balance and fall in. It would be much easier if she was actually in the tub with him, but of course that would be totally inappropriate.

  Unless…unless she wore a swimsuit. Well, why not? She’d packed a one piece suit, and it wasn’t as if she was trying so seduce him. She was merely being practical, and it would also be much more efficient than lying on the floor.

  “I’ll be right back,” she called out as she slipped through the door that joined their rooms.

  “Where did you go?” Simon asked when she returned a few minutes later.

  “I just had to change my clothes real quick and start the bath water. You’re going to feel much better once you’ve had a nice long soaking,” Lilly assured him as she wheeled him into the bathroom. “Your tub is fabulous by the way, the whole house actually, not that I’ve seen it all but I’m sure I will eventually.”

  “Mio Dio,” he shook his head, “if you insist on talking non-stop at least say something of importance. Tell me about yourself Lilly.”

  Simon felt the tension slowly ease from his body as she began to shave his face. Her voice was soft, with just the slightest touch of huskiness when she became enrapt with what she was talking about; it both soothed and aroused him at the same time. Such contradictory emotions, like the waves on a shore that got swept out in a furious rush only to come gliding back with calm serenity. He should have been angry with her for making him feel this way, but in truth, it felt good to shove aside the dark depression that had settled over him and forget, at least for awhile, that his life had been shattered beyond all recognition.

  Lilly chatted happily as she finished with his face and moved onto his hair. “I’ll have to undo the bandage but I can’t remove the eye patches. Your medical records said they should be changed regularly, but only in dim light, and you’re not to open your eyes under any circumstances.”

  Simon smiled at the note of authority in her voice. His little hummingbird was growing overly confident in the absence of his open hostility, but he would allow her this moment of glory. Once she began to bathe him, he would regain control of the situation. At the moment, he was enjoying the feathery touch of her hands far too much to put a halt to it.

  With the bandage removed, Lilly began the task of trimming his hair, and to Simon’s surprise he discovered that he trusted her. Maybe not so surprising, he told himself; hadn’t he known from the very second he’d laid eyes on her that there was something special about Lilly?

  He could still feel it, the magnetic pull that had drawn him to her that night. At first he tried to ignore it, but inevitably his eyes had wandered around the room, seeking her out, and just as inevitably, he’d felt a strange tug in his chest when they finally found her. Simon didn’t understand it. She wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the room, nor was she dressed in any manner that would have warranted more than a passing glance. Maybe she stood out because she wasn’t all made up like the other women, or maybe it was the way the lights played off her long hair, making it shimmer when she turned her head. It was the color of corn silk, falling in graceful curls to her waist, and the desire to run his fingers through it had been so po
werful his palms had actually begun to tingle.

  Never in his life had he been so intensely attracted to a woman, and there had certainly been an abundance of them; all of them warm and willing, practically from the time he’d hit puberty. Kissing young girls had been thrilling at first, but he grew tired of their incessant giggling when he tried to slip his hand beneath their shirts, so he’d set his sights on someone a little older and more experienced.

  It was Annalisa, the twenty-seven year old nanny of his younger siblings, who had shown him the pleasures of the flesh on the night of his fifteenth birthday. He’d been half asleep when she crept into his room and slipped into bed with him, gloriously naked and smelling of jasmine.

  “My birthday gift to you,” Annalisa whispered as she took his shaking hand and placed it on her breast.

  Simon had accepted her gift with relish, his subsequent two month affair with Annalisa awakening an insatiable hunger for more. He was eager to learn all the secrets of satisfying a woman and quickly discovered that using his skill as a lover heightened his own sexual pleasure immeasurably. His time with Annalisa ended abruptly when his mother walked in on them.

  Apparently having heard his wild ranting, she assumed her son was having a bad dream and entered his room intending to wake him. It was fortunate that he and Annalisa had been going at it beneath the protective covering of the sheet or he might never have lived down the embarrassment. They’d both been frozen with fear when the light was switched on, and then breathed a sigh of relief when it was just as quickly turned off. Their relief was short lived, however, when Ravenna Vittorio’s crisp voice shattered the silence.

  “I am certain the seduction of my adolescent son was not in your job description, Annalisa. I shall give you twenty minutes to pack your things and remove yourself from my home.”

  Simon had been frantic for Annalisa’s welfare. “Where will you go? How will you survive?” he’d asked as he tugged up his jeans.

  “Do not worry about me, tesoro,” she said with a shrug. “It was time for me to move on anyway.”

  “I do not understand.”

  Annalisa cupped his face in her hands and gave him a soft kiss. “I have had a wonderful time with you, Simon, and you have far exceeded my expectations as a lover, but there is nothing more I can teach you.”

  He’d gaped at her incredulously as the meaning of what she’d said began to sink in. “You mean you have done this kind of thing before?”

  “What can I say? It is the thrill of teaching a young man the proper way to make love to a woman that I adore. And the satisfaction of knowing I have done a good job. You, Simon Vittorio, have been my star pupil and I will never forget you.”

  He’d been bereft for the better part of a week before catching one of the young maids eyeing him with a soft smile on her moist lips. As he sneaked the pretty girl into his room, Simon silently thanked Annalisa for all she’d taught him, one of which was to never get emotionally involved with your lover. There were several hard fast rules, like making sure he always used protection, never spending the entire night with a woman, or saying that he loved her.

  “It will mean the death of a beautiful liaison if you break these rules,” she told him. “You are a handsome boy, Simon, and you will grow up to be every woman’s fantasy. But if you are not careful, you will find yourself trapped in a relationship you do not want. No commitment, Simon. That is the key to a happy life. And you must always be honest with your lovers about it; they may not like your terms, but they will have no cause to complain when you move on.”

  “Would it be so bad if I fell in love?”

  Annalisa had stroked his chest for a moment before lifting her sultry eyes to his. “What a horrible crime it would be to deprive the hordes of women who will one day throw themselves at your feet. You are magnificent, Simon, do not bind yourself to one woman.”

  Twenty one years had passed since he’d last seen Annalisa, but he’d adhered to her rules with religious fervor and they had served him well. His relationships were brief, but fulfilling, and he rarely had a problem disentangling himself once he grew bored. He was kind but firm when it was over and for the most part, his past lovers remained on friendly terms with him.

  His heart had remained steadfastly intact and he’d never once considered changing his lifestyle or trading it all in for just one woman. Until the night he’d seen Lillian Barclay and been captivated by the warmth in her beautiful blue eyes.

  Chapter 3

  “I go where I’m needed,” Lilly told Simon when he asked where she normally worked.

  “Your employer decides this?”

  “In a way, I suppose. I’m my own boss. I have a website set up so people can request my services online, or they can write a letter and send it to my post office box.”

  “You cannot possibly make much money at this, Lilly. Unless all of your clients are wealthy, as I am.”

  Lilly smiled at the look of consternation on his face. “No, I don’t make much money, but there’s more to life than how much wealth you can accrue.”

  “But how do pay your rent if you take only one client at a time?”

  “I don’t pay rent. As a matter of fact, I don’t have a place of my own. When I’m not in residence with my patient, I stay at hotels.”

  “Hotels! Mio Dio, it is not safe for a woman on her own to stay at such places.”

  “I have no choice, Simon. My work takes me from one coast to the other, so it seems silly to rent an apartment or even to buy a house.”

  “Where were you working before you barged into my home?”

  “I didn’t barge into your home, Simon, I was invited by Milana. As for where I worked, I was in upstate New York until a few weeks ago.”

  “How long were you there?”

  “I don’t know, four months I guess. Before that I was in Montana.”

  “But where do you stay when you are between jobs? Surely you do not spend months at a time in a hotel.”

  The very idea that his Lilly was holed up in some cheap hotel while she waited for someone to request her services put knots in his stomach. She was too small, too delicate to fight off the unwanted attention from the type of men who stayed at those places. It sickened him to think he could have protected her from that if only he’d been able to find her. It was no wonder the private detective he hired hadn’t been able to locate Lilly; she’d been hopping from one employer to the next and camping out in hotels in between jobs.

  Lilly did one final snip to his hair then stored her scissors back in the case. “I don’t usually have to spend more than a week at a hotel before I’m off on another job. I know you may find this difficult to believe, but my services are in high demand.” She maneuvered his chair over to the massive tub and locked the wheels in place. “Can you undress yourself or do you need my help?” she asked, careful to keep her voice as steady and professional sounding as possible. Not an easy task considering her heart was starting to beat a little erratically.

  “Do you do this often,” Simon queried stiffly, “undress men you do not know?”

  “It’s part of my job.”

  “And do you enjoy this particular part of your job, cara?”

  Only with you, Simon. “It’s a bath,” she bit out, “not a pool party. Now do you need my help or not?”

  Simon splayed his hands out in front of him, a devilish grin playing on his lips. “As you can see, I am totally helpless.”

  Helpless as a wolf getting ready to pounce on an innocent lamb, Lilly thought. So that was to be his game then. “You think it will embarrass me to undress you, is that it?” She reached for the buttons on his shirt, thankful that he couldn’t see how badly her hands shook. “I’m glad to see nothing has impaired that over inflated ego of yours, Simon. I do hope you forgive me if I don’t fall into a dead faint as I’m sure most of your women do.”

  “Careful, mio bello,” he said softly, “one would gather from the tone of your voice that you are jealous.”

&n
bsp; “That’s ridiculous,” Lilly said tersely, “why should I care how many lovers you’ve had?”

  “Perhaps because you want me for yourself and do not like the idea that so many other women have undressed me.”

  Was he serious or just trying to get her worked up so she’d quit like his previous therapists? The man was arrogant beyond belief, but he was also right. She did want him for herself, and she was also envious of the women who’d been intimate enough with Simon to undress him. Lilly continued to unbutton his shirt, aware that he was waiting for some kind of response from her. Well, she’d respond all right, but certainly not in the manner he was obviously hoping for.

  “Shall I unfasten your jeans or are you too helpless to do that by yourself too?” Lilly could almost feel the air around her turning glacial as Simon’s spine went rigid. “Or maybe you’ve got one of your girlfriends stashed nearby. I could run and fetch her if you like.”