A dawning. “You are not to breathe a word of this to anyone, is that clear.”
“Scout’s honor,” he promised, chuckling. “Wish I didn’t have to go in today, but there’s too much volatility with the markets right now.”
“Go,” I ordered, smiling, and pushed at his shoulders.
“I love you. Call me as soon as you’re out of the doctor’s office.” He raked me with a salacious gleam in his eyes before he stepped out of the SUV
“I love you.” I whispered it, still too bashful to be out and proud like he was. I had to adjust to things by small degrees. He, on the other hand, dove in head first.
He threw a smile over his shoulder before entering the building through the heavily adorned glass and brass doors. As I watched his broad shoulders fade away, a prickling sensation on the back of my neck drew my eyes towards the street corner. And there she was, wearing a stunned look on her plastic face. Paisley. The shock and awe on her features reconfigured into burning outrage. I pulled back from the open window and slid the dark, tinted glass back up, my heart racing. That sinister expression on her face did not bode well for me, and made a mental note to warn Sebastian about it later.
* * *
We detoured to my bank before heading to the clinic. I had to deposit my salary and check to see if I could afford to buy a few new articles of clothing––so that his Highness could stop complaining about my ‘God-awful’ wardrobe. I handed the teller my check, and she returned the receipt with my balance printed on the bottom.
“There’s been some mistake, miss,” I said in French. “This isn’t my balance.”
The stiff faced young woman took the receipt from me and checked it against her computer screen.
“There’s been no mistake. I double checked your account number,” she replied––rudely, I might add.
“This says a hundred and five thousand euro,” I whispered, looking around furtively. “That’s a hundred thousand euro more than I should have. Can you please check again.”
I couldn’t help sounding agitated. After being investigated for embezzlement, the last thing I wanted to hear was that there was an enormous chunk of money sitting in my bank account that I didn’t know about. She narrowed her annoyed eyes at the computer screen. The man behind me started making impatient sounds, craning his neck to see what the hold up was about.
“Here it is, two weeks ago, a wire transfer from Horn & Cie. to UniCredit in the amount of a hundred thousand euros into your account.”
My knees turned liquid, strength deserting me. “Does it say who specifically sent the money?”
The woman typed something into her computer. “It came from a personal account…Sebastian Horn.” Her eyes widened, then her gaze returned to me with a newfound alertness. Suddenly, she smiled. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss Sava?” she asked sweetly.
Wow, that was a rude awakening. I went from annoying nuisance, to Miss Sava in the span of time it took her to read a name. She handed me the cash I had requested. “No, thank you,” I answered, absently.
I walked back to the Mercedes on autopilot, still processing the information. A hundred thousand euros. Impossible man. And sighed. I knew what was coming next––another argument. Knowing him well enough by now, he would rather burn it than let me return it. I stepped into the Mercedes and texted him.
‘Do you have a moment to talk?’ Bling.
‘Always, for you.’ Bling.
My heart beat rapidly as I dialed his number. “Darling.”
“Umm, I like the sound of that.”
“You won’t like the sound of this. I just went to my bank.”
Silence. Here we go, I thought.
“There will be no discussion about this. I want you to go shopping. Tell them I’ll call with my credit card if it’s not enough,” he said in his most ‘your Highness’ voice.
Not enough??? “Sebastian, I…”
“I don’t give a shit if you burn it in a bonfire. It’s yours. Don’t push me. I’ll talk to you after your appointment.”
CLICK. He even hung up angry.
Well, just as expected. Bear looked into the rear view mirror and smirked. I had forgotten that he could hear everything. How embarrassing.
“Dropped call,” I lied, my cheeks as pink as an English rose no doubt. He responded with a short nod and smiled.
* * *
I sat in the waiting room with my nose buried in an Italian translation of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ I had borrowed from the library. I liked reading in different languages. It kept my language skills sharp and I found it entertaining how different cultures translated the subtle nuances in the classics.
I quick inventory of the room spoke volumes about Dr. Maria Rossetti. The oak floor was old but scrubbed clean, the walls were freshly painted but unadorned, and the reception area modest. The patients, old and young, were poor. With the list of commendations and awards this woman received, she could have easily set up a slick, expensive office off the Rue du Rhone. Instead, she had chosen to use her considerable talents to help the most needy.
A baby’s hysterical shrieks drew my attention to the far end of the waiting room. The child looked to be around two. Her face was ruddy, tear streaked, and a single tooth was visible in her wailing mouth as she bounced on her exasperated mother’s lap. Her mother was young, no older than eighteen, too young. She was losing her patience with the baby, seemed close to tears herself. I heard the mother pleading with the child in a language I couldn’t understand. Portuguese, I think. I was about to go over to them and offer some assistance when a nurse appeared in the doorway and called my name. I followed her to an examination room where she left me to change into a gown.
Dr. Rossetti knocked before entering. A handsome woman with thick lips, wavy mahogany hair, and hazel eyes that tilted up at the ends, she wore her age with grace. Early fifties, I estimated.
“Miss Sava, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Maria Rossetti.” She smiled pleasantly while she studied my chart. “Sei Albanese?” she asked in Italian.
“Yes, I’m Albanian,” I replied, in the same language.
“Your Italian is impeccable. You sound like a real Milanese.”
“I lived there for six years. I studied medicine at University of Milan.”
Her shapely, dark eyebrows rose. “Did you graduate?”
“With honors.”
“Congratulations.” She smiled warmly as she put on a pair of surgical gloves. “Are we doing a full physical today?”
“Yes. I’m interested in getting on birth control, but I’ve also been feeling tired and weak lately.”
“Let’s weigh you first.”
I was surprised to learn that I had gained six pounds. I knew the rawboned look was gone. However, six pounds for me was like a normal human gaining twice that amount. She took my temperature, my blood pressure, and ran other diagnostic tests before she pulled blood. I was getting dressed, zipping up my skirt, when she stepped back into the examination room.
“Here’s a prescription for the pill,” she said, handing it to me. “Don’t start taking it until I call you with the lab results, just to be safe. It shouldn’t take more than a day.”
“Of course, and the lethargy?”
“Doesn’t seem to be bacterial, but I’ll get a better idea once we get the test results. It could be a degree of anemia.” I nodded. I had considered that as well. “Where are you doing your residency?”
“I have an interview this winter with a hospital here in town.”
“Why don’t you email me your file. My husband could probably get you an interview at the University Hospital in Zurich.”
My eyes lit up. “That would be…thank you so much, Dr. Rossetti.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I’ll see what I can do,” she said with a reassuring smile.
I left her office with a new prescription and a huge smile on my face. I couldn’t believe this stroke of luck. And I got the distinct impression that Dr.
Rossetti was a no-nonsense type. She wouldn’t offer if there wasn’t a good chance she could get me an interview.
Zurich. Sebastian wouldn’t like it. It was probably a good idea not to mention it until I had an interview scheduled, no point in arguing with him over hypotheticals.
I stepped back into the Mercedes and Bear’s eyes connected with mine in the rear view mirror. I had to admit traveling around town with a driver waiting for me was a luxury I could really get used to.
“Where to ma’am?”
“Just one more stop, Mr. Mahoney, before we go back home,” I replied with a sly grin.
It was late, around midnight. I was in Sebastian’s bathroom washing my face when I heard him walk into the bedroom. He had stayed later than expected at the office, something about overseas’ markets and earning reports coming out worse than forecasted.
“Honey, I’m home,” he announced cheerfully.
I smiled into the soft towel I was drying my face with. He stepped into the bathroom yanking on his tie, his suit jacket already dispensed with. His hand stalled when he saw me. I watched in the bathroom mirror as his eyes roamed over me with a licentious promise in them. Turning to face him, I leaned back against the counter, openly appreciating the standard of masculine perfection standing before me.
“Did you go shopping?”
Smiling, I nodded. Then slowly untied the sash of the nude colored silk robe I was wearing. His expression turned comical when he saw what I had on underneath.
“Holy fuck.”
My brows rose up my forehead. “I should wash your mouth out with soap.”
“I don’t care what you do to me as long as you do it wearing that.” Moving swiftly, he pinned me hard against the bathroom countertop and devoured my mouth.
After my doctor’s appointment, I went to the La Perla shop on the Rue du Rhone and splurged. I was wearing a black babydoll nightgown made entirely of Chantilly lace with a matching thong. It really was a masterpiece, tasteful and sexy at the same time. The only reason I didn’t get sick when I went to pay for the items was because I rationalized it as a gift for Sebastian––a gift he clearly appreciated. I was assaulted with kisses. His hands cruised over every inch of me, squeezing breasts, butt cheeks, pressing my hips against his straining erection.
“I’m glad you’re eating. There’s more of you to squeeze,” he muttered between kisses.
“I guess you…like it,” I said, the remark interrupted by bubbles of laughter.
Pulling back, he looked down with a carefree grin. The contented look on his face was worth every franc I’d spent and more. “I can’t wait to see what else you bought.”
“You’re looking at it, darling. I almost fainted at the figure I spent on this.”
The smile turned into a frown, then his lips twitched in silent mirth. “I see I’m going to have to take matters in hand. We’re going shopping tomorrow afternoon.”
I removed his tie and unbuttoned his shirt––now something of a habit––and glanced up to find him watching me with unambiguous love and wonder shining in his eyes. He still seemed to be visibly surprised, grateful, every time I did the smallest thing for him. It broke my heart. And I couldn’t help but wonder if anyone had ever done anything for him purely out of love, without benefit to himself or herself––more specifically herself.
“I love you,” he whispered.
It was the weight in his voice that caused me to look up. His expression had turned grave, his eyes unblinking, as if he were expecting me to disappear into thin air somehow.
I ran my index finger down the gentle slope of his nose, traced his sculpted lips, found the soft dip in his chin, and proceeded to place kisses where my finger had been.
“I love you more,” I whispered back.
We were always so attuned to each other’s needs that he could tell I was tired. He undressed me with tender care and made love to me selflessly.
“I can’t believe I get to hold you all night. No more sneaking around.” Wrapping his arms around me, he snuggled his face in the curve of my neck.
“You always get what you want, don’t you?”
“Not always––” he said with a crooked grin. “But hopefully with you I will.”
Over his shoulder, the Gerhardt Richter painting of the mother and child hanging over the dresser stared back at me.
“I love that painting. Why did you buy it?”
He looked at it before his pointed gaze met mine briefly.
“A good investment.” A shrug off if ever I’d heard one. I didn’t believe that for a minute. “How was the doctor’s visit?”
Yeah, I knew that trick, too.
“Good. I got a prescription for the pill. You’ll have to suffer through a little while longer though. I can’t start until we get the results of the blood test.”
“Hallelujah, and the fatigue?”
“Most likely anemia. She can’t be sure until she sees the results.”
With his magic fingers sifting through my hair, I was losing a battle to stay awake. A fuzzy memory of Paisley’s face drifted in. “I have to tell you something else…” My voice trailed off as he tucked my body against his chest and sighed deeply.
“Tomorrow,” he murmured. And just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard him mumble one last word, “finally,” followed by a gentle snore.
Chapter Thirty-Three
I was in the middle of the most erotic dream since creation…I heard myself moan. A mirage of golden eyes stared back at me, heavy lidded, sullen.
A tiger. I was making love to a great, big tiger.
Tyger, tyger burning bright…Who wrote that?…Blake…Dunn…Blake.
Oh who cares––my body was painfully aroused, all my female parts throbbing with need. My nipples were erect and hypersensitive. A scrape of something wet and rough. A tongue. Oh God…yes. My body turned hungry and willing. Then a bite that had me bowing off the bed and nonsense spilling from my lips.
I was climbing. But the tiger taunted me, kept me mercilessly on razor’s edge.
“Not yet,” he commanded.
Moving languidly, the jungle cat rose over me. I felt the head of his hard shaft against the soft mound at the top of my thighs, nudging me in a steady rhythm until I was breathless and needy and spewing words of supplication. My hips tilted up of their own accord, meeting him stroke for stroke until he pushed inside of me.
A slow, heavy slide.
I dug my fingers into the muscles of his back and tried to pull him deeper, but he withdrew completely. The tiger was in control and made damn sure I knew it. I was on the verge of shedding tears of frustration when he rocked into me again, with force and certainty. His mouth fastened onto my breast, sucking and biting my nipples. The pain dissolved into hot pleasure.
His thrusts turned relentless, deep and fast. And then I came in a rush so powerful that my hips lifted off the bed, clenched his body like a fist, and sent us both in a downward spiral towards ecstasy.
My eyes were still closed when I heard the tiger speak again.
“What the fuck was that?” he asked, breathing heavily. I rubbed my eyes, cracked one open, then the other.
The tiger stared in shocked amusement.
In what distant deeps or skies. Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
“I was having the most unbelievable dream,” I croaked. My body’s satisfied state finally began to register. I looked down and found myself naked, with abrasions on my breasts and thighs––everything tingling pleasurably.
“That was no dream, baby,” he said chuckling. “You came so hard you lifted me off the bed.”
I blinked in sudden comprehension, blinked again and turned towards him. He curved his large hands around my head, buried his fingers in my hair, and peppered my mouth with soft kisses.
“If I’d known morning sex was going to be like this, I would’ve tied you to my bed the minute I laid eyes on you.”
Pushing the sweat soaked hair off his forehead, he smacked a qui
ck kiss on my lips and, throwing his legs over the mattress, wobbled out of bed. “Jeezus––” He grinned over his shoulder. “I’m not going to be able to walk today,” I heard him mutter as he walked into the bathroom, provoking a smile on my face too.
We showered together a short while later, taking turns running the sponge over each other’s bodies. I was efficient and workmanlike. He was slow and sensual.
“We’ll never be done if you continue at this pace,” I scolded, and ruined the affect by giggling afterwards. I squeaked as his hand connected with a sting on my rear end, the sound bouncing off the marble walls of his cavernous shower.
“You’ll just have to stand there and take it,” he stated in a low, sexy voice. “I’ve waited far too long to be able to do this and I’ll be damned if I let you hurry me now.”
The distinct shade of triumph in that declaration caused my smile to fade. I looked up into his possessive expression and knew something of consequence was about to be said.
“I don’t want you working here anymore. Just be with me…until you start your residency.”
I stared into his expectant eyes and searched for words to make him understand that this was moving too quickly for me. I needed time to think, to sort out my feelings… to measure the costs. Inexorably, he was pulling me into waters I had no idea how to navigate. So I did the only thing I knew was right. Taking his beautiful face into my hands, I told him how I felt.
“I love you––”
“Which part?”
His voice was so quiet it took me a while to realize what he was asking. Something soft and vulnerable flashed in his eyes. He waited patiently for me to answer, the value of which was apparent in his expression.
“I love the part that’s kind, and gentle, and selfless. The part that’s cool, and commanding, and capable. The part that’s burning with intelligence. The part that’s thoughtful and funny. I also love the part that’s rash, and high handed, and rude some times. I love every part of you…in a million different ways.”
A Million Different Ways (A Horn Novel Book 1) Page 32