The truth was, deep down, she wanted to believe in romance again. To dare to love again, even. A secret affair in the most beautiful city on earth…
When Luca ducked his head inside the cabin to find coffee-cups for them Nell couldn’t help noticing how lithe he was, how powerful. There was surely no harm in observing that much about him!
‘Did the waiter know what you had planned tonight?’ she asked when he emerged.
‘I don’t confide all my secrets in him.’
His expression was drawing her in, tempting her to believe everything she wanted to believe. One ebony brow arcing above sparkling eyes was all it took to make Nell wonder how many of Luca’s secrets involved her. ‘So you don’t make a habit of this?’
‘Do you care?’
Yes, she did—very much indeed. ‘No, of course not,’ she said flippantly.
He gave her a cup to hold and poured out the coffee. Clinking his tiny demi-tasse against hers, he murmured, ‘To us.’
‘To our successful association.’
‘There’s still a lot I need to know about this scheme of yours before I give the go-ahead.’
‘I’ll answer any question you care to ask.’
‘Will you indeed?’
‘Yes…’ She hadn’t missed the innuendo, and she hadn’t meant to hold his gaze. Luca’s smile was faint, but very dangerous.
And he was right: this was a magical place. That had to be the reason why things happened when they weren’t supposed to, and why she was weakening at the very moment when she had to be strong. Silent messages were flying between them, insistent messages too powerful for her to resist…
Removing the coffee-cup from her hand, Luca leaned inside the cabin and stowed it with his own. Coming back, he smoothed a lock of hair that had fallen over her face. ‘I like your hair longer. It suits you.’ He tucked another wayward strand behind her ear.
A spasm of nerves hit Nell the moment Luca’s fingers touched her face, but when he left her side to attend to something on the boat she wondered if she had got it wrong. She ached with longing, already missing him, missing his closeness, his attention. But when he came back he was cool, as if nothing special had happened between them.
And then his hand brushed hers lightly. Was that an accident? Did he mean something by it, or was she guilty of imposing her own desires on Luca’s innocent actions? Her hand was still tingling while Luca seemed content to gaze out across the lagoon. Every part of her was tingling with awareness of how close he was, how alone they were…all the possibilities.
As the silence enveloped them Nell closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The air was warm and softly fragranced with his scent, with hers and with the unmistakable salty smell of Venice. The only sound she could hear was gently lapping water and their mingled breathing: steady, regular, soothing. And then she felt Luca’s fingers on the back of her neck, brushing her hair aside, tracing her earlobe…the lightest touch, feathering, then pulling away. Had she imagined that? Opening her eyes, she stared at him but he was gazing towards the opposite shore.
Leaning back against the rail, Nell turned her face up to the sky. Silence closed around them. And then she felt his warm hand touching her thigh. Was she imagining that too? Closing her eyes, she savoured the trail of fire he left behind him as he pushed up her skirt, stroking, searching, finding…
She didn’t dare to breathe or move in case he stopped. Reckless or not, she needed him.
The back of his hand brushed between her legs, quickly, lightly, a frustrating butterfly’s wing of a touch. But that was all it took for him to prove how swollen she was, how moist, how hot for him.
Exhaling on a sigh, Nell edged her legs apart, wanting so much more. But instead of giving her what she craved, Luca lifted his hand away. Somehow she stopped herself crying out with frustration, then gasped instead when he claimed her arms with a perfect blend of possession and reassurance. She couldn’t pull away now, even had she wanted to. Tipping up her chin, she met his gaze. She wanted him and she wanted him to know it. Sweet fingers of arousal were caressing her body in the most delicious torture she had ever known: the strength in his hands, the curve of his lips, the delicious suspension of time he had created—she didn’t want any of it to end.
‘Must you wear this armour now?’ Murmuring against her lips, he pushed the jacket from her shoulders.
Luca didn’t know how close he had come to the truth, Nell thought as the jacket fell to the deck. It was her armour, and he was right: there was no need for it now.
Luca started on the buttons of her shirt, taking his time. He had to force himself to hold back or he knew he might be too rough with her. But it was taking every ounce of his willpower to slow the pace. When he let her shirt drop to the deck he sucked in his breath at the sight of the cobweb chemise she wore beneath. The thought of more delicate wrappings to remove excited him beyond belief. But it pleased him to take his time, because it pleased her, and he liked to see how aroused the delay made her.
Rolling her head back, she sighed, offering him the tender hollow at the base of her neck. Dipping his tongue, he licked and felt her tremble. Moving away again, he eased the delicate top over her head and let it flutter to the deck. The fastenings on her skirt were easily released and she had already slipped off her shoes when she climbed on board in deference to his teak decks.
She was wearing hold-ups beneath her skirt. Just who was torturing whom here? And how much more torture was he supposed to take?
Luca answered his own question silently: quite a lot more. The lacy tops clung to her firm, full thighs, leaving a tantalising hand-span of soft ivory flesh between that and the briefs she wore. They were so fine as to be almost transparent, and there was no mistaking how aroused she was.
The moment he captured her breasts would live with him forever. The pebbled nipples sent delight coursing through his overly sensitive finger pads. They appeared to be forcing themselves insistently through the flimsy fabric of her bra, and when he caressed them, lavishing them with the attention they deserved, he heard her whimper and the fire inside him raged into an inferno.
He removed the bra quickly, tossing it aside. The heaviness of her breasts was a revelation to him. He chafed her nipples again, more fiercely this time, relishing her cries of encouragement. Each new sound she made was a discovery that only intensified his pleasure. His senses were flooded with erotic heat. The scent of her hair, the warmth of her skin, the look on her face—all of it seemed designed to urge him on.
Luca knew just how much pressure to use, how to stroke and when to apply the firm touch she craved. She was melting into him, her body warm, moist, and swollen with desire. He lavished attention on her breasts until each taut nipple strained towards him. Her breasts had never looked so beautiful, Nell thought, as they did now in the dappled moonlight, nor had they ever felt so cherished and warm beneath a man’s touch…
She cried out when Luca moved away, but before she had time to miss him he encircled her waist and dragged her close, dipping his fingers beneath the waistband of her briefs. Removing them in one easy movement, he swung her up, settling her onto a wooden platform. Nudging her thighs apart, he moved in close. His fingers found her wet, but evidently not wet enough, not as wet as Luca wanted her. And so he started stroking delicately, persuasively, responding intuitively to each sound she made. Resting her head against his chest, Nell relaxed completely, happily giving way to pleasure.
Hearing foil rip, she felt a brief surge of panic. He stopped immediately, even before she pressed her hands against his chest.
‘Why?’ he murmured against her mouth. ‘Do you want me to stop?’
By then the moment of doubt had passed. She shook her head vigorously, and he began teasing her again, brushing her lightly before pulling away, until it was she who wrapped her legs around his waist to draw him close.
As his hands moved to cup her buttocks she spread her legs wide, leaning back within the secure curve of his arm and tilting u
p her hips to meet him. ‘I need you now, Luca. Please, don’t tease me any more. I need you to make love to me…’
She felt him tense briefly, but then he moaned as if the same spear of desire had pierced him too. Their free will was lost in that instant; they were both slaves to the same hunger, both willing captives. She couldn’t think now; she could only feel as he filled her, stretching her beyond imagination, burying himself to the hilt, groaning with ecstasy as she closed her muscles around him to take him deeper. He didn’t settle, or pause; she wouldn’t let him. She asked and he gave, thrusting firmly, deeply, rhythmically rocking in time to her hungry cries, his body overwhelmed by the same force that gripped her. The waves of sensation built quickly for both of them and soon their wild cries were pealing out across the empty water.
That was just the start. Luca knew how to keep the pulse soft and low until she had recovered, when he increased the beat in time with her need. Having eaten, she wanted more, and soon she was feeding ravenously on pleasure again, luxuriating in his strength, in his virility. Luca was everything she had ever dreamed a man should be and never was, unselfish, intuitive…
As they came down from the peak together, Nell could see that Luca was as stunned as she by what had happened between them. For that brief time they had been free, and it was an abandon she found both exhilarating and terrifying, but it was a luxury she knew she would have no trouble getting used to.
Sex with Nell was a revelation for him. The intensity beyond belief, the pleasure unimaginable. It was as if the years of waiting, of thinking about her, had coalesced into this one fervid episode, and all the yearning in his heart had burst free. He wanted more of her than he had supposed. He wanted everything. He wanted all of her—
All of her body.
He had to be sensible, after all. They lived in different countries, led separate lives. It was extraordinary sex, but that was all it was. He needed to get real, and enjoy what they had while it lasted.
Luca carried her into the cabin, where they made love again to a more relaxed pace as they fell in with the gently rolling rhythms of the boat. Another ghost laid, Nell reflected as they lay quietly afterwards. After Jake’s death it had crossed her mind that she might have failed him in bed and that was what had driven him into the arms of another woman…but if Luca was dissatisfied, he had a strange way of showing it.
‘What are you looking so happy about?’ There was a glint in his dark eyes as he caught her staring at him and rolled on top of her once more.
‘This,’ Nell whispered, taking him deep.
She felt so safe in Luca’s boat. It was an erotic cocoon, a tiny dot on the vast lagoon—and that was also a metaphor of their night together. This encounter was a tiny dot on the vast map of their lives and wanting any more was foolish. But as the hours sped by, Nell discovered that even the past couldn’t stop her wanting things she couldn’t have.
It was approaching dawn when Luca sat up abruptly next to Nell’s sleeping body.
What was he doing? Where was he going with this?
He’d wanted sex and he’d got what he wanted. That should be enough for him. But in the restaurant he’d enjoyed her company too—really enjoyed it. And sex with Nell had only left him wanting more.
But that wasn’t practical, or realistic. He needed distance, thinking space. He didn’t need to get involved, and she was clearly the kind of woman who got involved.
He had to make the break now before things got too complicated.
By the time he had buried his head in his hands and reflected for a few seconds, Luca had convinced himself that seducing Nell had been a mistake. It was up to him to nip it in the bud and make sure it didn’t turn into a full-blown disaster—for both of them.
‘Luca, what’s wrong?’ Nell awoke as he pulled away from her to sit up, and felt the loss of him like a wound. He was resting his elbows on his knees, and his face was hidden from her.
‘We should be going. I have to get up early.’
His voice was cool, dispassionate, and she felt snubbed. But then, hadn’t he said he would be tied up for the next couple of days?
Yes, and wasn’t that the reason she was supposed to have used this time to tell him about her scheme?
As Luca’s words echoed in her head a cold hand tracked down Nell’s spine. There had been something, something essential, missing from his voice. The tone that had been so teasing and warm before had turned detached, as if he were talking to a stranger. He hadn’t used the voice of a man who had just been making love to a woman. He had spoken to her like one polite stranger to another.
‘You can wash there.’ He gestured abruptly towards the shower cabinet on board.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll shower at the hotel,’ she said. Suddenly she couldn’t wait to get away. ‘I won’t keep you.’
If Luca had noticed the dig he didn’t show it as he dressed. He kept his back turned to her, as if he wanted to shut her out. Nell kept telling herself that any moment he would turn to reassure her and draw her into his arms. They had shared so much; they had shared everything. Hadn’t they?
With the last button on his shirt secured, Luca stood up and stretched. Easing past her, he ducked out of the cabin and went to raise the anchor with an electric winch. He took his seat at the bridge, switched on the engine and engaged the control lever, all without a word.
As the boat started moving towards the shore Nell remained where she was, sitting tensely on the edge of the bunk where they had made love. She didn’t move again until Luca brought the boat alongside the landing stage at her hotel.
Her insides were ice as she stood up, but her face was flaming with humiliation. As she went to move past him he held out his hand to steady her as she stepped onto the shore. ‘Thank you…’ She stopped. What was she supposed to add? Thank you for a lovely evening? Taking a steadying breath, she fell back on, ‘Thank you. That was a delicious meal.’
‘I’m glad you enjoyed it,’ he said without a trace of irony. ‘See you at the meeting.’
She barely heard him, and only belatedly realised he had been saying something about a meeting. ‘What time…?’ But he had already turned the boat away and her voice was lost on the wind.
Chapter Seven
WHY had she trusted Luca enough to go to bed with him? Why had she stayed? Maybe because it was too easy to become complacent when you were safe in someone’s arms, Nell reflected, careful not to let her feelings show. ‘Has anyone called for me this morning, Marianna?’
‘No one.’
‘Are you sure?’ Nell glanced at her wrist-watch. It was almost eleven o’clock.
‘Of course she’s sure, Mum. Why?’
As Molly’s intelligent gaze searched her face, Nell turned away, afraid of what Molly might see. The cold ball of humiliation inside her was growing more indigestible every minute. ‘No reason. I’m just waiting for feedback from last night.’
‘From your dinner with Luca?’
‘From my meeting with Luca.’ Nell hated the betraying edge that always crept into her voice when she was lying. She didn’t want to talk about Luca with guilt still pulsing through her veins. She had allowed herself to be a cheap one-night stand, which should never have happened. She should have remembered that he had walked out of her life once before. What had she been thinking?
She hadn’t been thinking, of course. The carnal urge to mate had been too strong. Playing so far out of her league meant wising up, or leaving casual sex to those who knew how to handle it.
Feeling two pairs of eyes trained on her face, Nell stared intently into her coffee-cup. She wasn’t about to admit that she had already rung the hospital, having locked herself in the bathroom to make the call. Signor Barbaro couldn’t be found, the man at the other end of the line had told her. Perhaps Signor Barbaro didn’t want to be found—at least not by her.
Feeling Molly’s gaze burning into her face, she tried to lighten the mood. ‘So, what would you like to do today, Molly?’
‘Dunno.’
Great! Her mood was catching. Nell turned to Marianna, but before she could speak the phone rang. They all tensed. After a moment Marianna went to answer it.
‘Luca Barbaro for you,’ she mouthed.
‘Thank you.’ Retreating into a corner of the room, Nell turned her back for some privacy. ‘Hello?’
‘Didn’t we have an appointment this morning?’ Luca sounded as if he had a thousand other things on his mind.
‘You said you were tied up for the next couple of days, and I thought—’
‘My schedule’s unpredictable. You should have checked before deciding not to turn up.’
And you might have waited before turning your boat around to be sure I had heard! ‘I apologise if I’ve kept you waiting. It seems I misunderstood.’ Hurt was bubbling away inside her, but she couldn’t forget why she was in Venice and the part Luca must play if the scheme was to be a success.
‘Half an hour?’ His tone was brisk.
‘Yes, I’ll be there.’
‘They’re expecting you at the gate. Collect a badge and come straight up.’
It was hardly the call she had been hoping for. Nell’s expression hardened as she pictured Luca’s arrogant face. How gracious of him to grant her an audience. Was this payment for services rendered? Did he think she used her body like an incentive-packed goodie bag?
But she had to calm down. Her pride had to take second place to the scheme—and like it or not, Luca Barbaro was the man she had to convince to establish her scheme in Venice, unless they were to completely redraw the plans they’d made.
It was time to put on her armour again.
Luca hadn’t kissed her once, Nell realised as she sat down across from him. It hadn’t occurred to her before, but now it did.
And wasn’t that how people behaved when sex was an end in itself and the people involved meant nothing to each other?
A Venetian Affair Page 24