"Why didn't you say something before I left? Why didn't you tell me you'd be coming back to the city?"
Vic slid his gaze to the window. "What was going on inside me was worse than the storm we survived." He looked at Drake. "I was afraid to believe in what I was feeling. I thought it might be just the turbulence of the weather, of my emotions that had finally broken free after so long. After I lost--"
Drake couldn't stand the pain he saw in Vic's face and he reached across the table to cover Vic's hands with his own.
"I'm sorry, Vic. I know, from what you told me, you loved your partner very much. I can't imagine the pain you went through, what you're still going through."
Vic turned his hands over and clasped Drake's. "But don't you see, that's just it. That weekend I spent with you." His clear gaze met Drake's across the table. "I didn't think I'd ever allow myself to feel that deeply for another human being again."
Drake nodded. He was sorry for Vic's loss, but having known Vic so intimately, and yearning for him for the last three months, he couldn't help wishing he were the man that Vic loved so passionately.
"I understand how difficult it would be for you." Drake's words seemed such a small thing compared to Vic's loss. He wished he knew the right words to say.
Vic's grip tightened on Drake's hands. "But that's just it. I began to fall in love with you. And I felt like I was betraying Kev. I couldn't tell you what I was feeling, I had to work it out for myself. I had to make peace with my memories."
Drake's breath clogged in his throat. Was Vic saying what he thought he was? He stilled, was afraid to move, was scared it was actually a dream after all. And if he blinked, Vic would disappear.
"I-I don't think I heard you right."
"I know it may be too late, that you've either mended things with Aaron or found someone else. But I had to take the chance. I found someone to manage the garage, someone local. And I came back to the city. I knew my father's corporation was opening this restaurant and I practically begged for the chance to take it on."
"You--" Drake realized during that whole weekend, he'd never asked Vic's last name. It hadn't seemed important somehow. "W-what's your last name?"
Vic smiled. "Yeah, I know. It's Allegre. Vittorio Allegre, actually."
"Jesus," Drake whispered. That family ran an empire of not just restaurants like this one, but they were a major food importer and had their finger in quite a few pots. When their stock went public, Drake had made sure he had a finger in that pot and had called his broker immediately. And then another realization struck him. Vittorio Allegre was a chef of some renown, even having his own cooking show. His name was known worldwide. How could Drake have guessed at the real identity of the small-town mechanic he'd fallen in love with? "I-I never guessed. You said you were a cook, but damn... But why the garage?"
"Yeah, growing up I spent a lot of time in the kitchens. I was always fascinated watching the chefs prepare the meals. Especially for the banquets. Those were pretty awesome. And the garage? Well, that was owned by an uncle who now runs a huge factory near Detroit. He let me stay at the garage." His expression turned somber again. "You see, I had to get away from everything that reminded me of Kev. I wasn't certain I could come back here, but I'm doing it. And it's because I want to be with you. I want to live again and I want to try again. With you, Drake. With you."
"Do you know how much I want to kiss you right now?" Drake said in a voice just loud enough for Vic to hear him.
Vic's lips parted and he licked them. "I remember your taste, Drake. It's stayed with me all this time. Every time I turned around, you were there. I remember the feel of your skin against mine. The taste of raindrops on your neck. How it felt to be inside you. How hot and tight you are. The sound of your voice when you come, that deep rumble in your chest."
"Stop," Drake said, dragging air into his lungs as he tried to control his cock's responses to Vic's words. "I'm going to embarrass myself right here if you keep this up."
"You haven't had your dinner yet, but I want you to come home with me," Vic said. "Every night since we opened I've watched this table, waiting for you, waiting for word that you had come in."
"How did you know I'd come here?"
Vic shook his head. "I didn't. Eventually, I would have come to you. I was dragging my feet because I wasn't sure if you'd still want to pursue a relationship. I didn't know if you'd still want me."
"Damn you, Vic. How could you not know it? After what we shared that weekend?" Drake wasn't certain he could find the words. "It was fate--destiny I guess, if I believed in that kind of thing." He leaned closer over the table. "I don't necessarily believe in love at first sight, but by the time I left, I knew I was in love with you. What I felt for Aaron was purely lust and nothing more. But with you, it may have started out as lust, but that's not where it ended. I want you in my life. I need you there."
Abruptly, Vic rose to his feet. His gaze was burning a hole right through to Drake's heart. "Let's get out of here. I can cook you a better meal at home anyway. I don't live far from here."
There wasn't a moment's hesitation on Drake's part. He was about to get something he'd waited for all his life. "Lead the way." He grabbed his briefcase and followed Vic through the restaurant toward the door.
The hostess handed Vic an umbrella. "It's raining out there, Mr. Allegre, you might want to take this with you."
"Thanks, Annie." He took it from her, and Drake stepped out into the wet night behind Vic.
He looked up at the sky. Vic opened the umbrella and they walked toward the corner to cross the street.
"I'll never look at rain the same way again," Drake said as they crossed the street. Stopping at the corner on the other side, Vic turned and looked at Drake. Vic's gaze was hot and arousing, undressing Drake right there on the city street corner.
Slowly he folded up the umbrella and Drake felt the raindrops splatter on his face. Vic tossed the umbrella into the garbage can.
"I love the rain," Vic said. He cupped Drake's face. "I can't wait until we get home." And then his lips were fastened to Drake's. Drake dropped his briefcase onto the sidewalk and wound his arms around Vic's back. He heard the thunder and felt the lightning surge inside him as he embraced his lover, never wanting to let him go again.
Vic pulled back and looked at Drake. He smiled. His hair and face were already drenched. "Let's go home, baby. I want to love you all night long."
Linking hands with Vic, Drake picked up his briefcase. He looked up at the sky and smiled. Stormy weather would always be his favorite. But the rainbow after the storm--that was inside, encircling his heart with the brightest, most beautiful colors.
"Let's go home," he said.
* * *
Adrianna Dane
Theresa Gallup uses the pen names of Tess Maynard and Adrianna Dane. Theresa has been writing since the age of 10. A legal secretary for 30 years, she is currently working on another erotic romance, as well as a full-length romantic mystery/suspense. She has been married for 30 years and has three grown children (a daughter and twin sons), and is a new grandmother.
Writing as Tess Maynard, her first published short story appeared in the ezine, The Whispering Forest, in January of 2004. Writing as Adrianna Dane, where adding sensual heat to romance is her motto, Esmerelda's Secret was her first foray into the erotic romance genre.
Having traveled and lived from the East Coast to the West Coast, Theresa receives inspiration for her stories from a variety of sources, including music and poetry, and her tastes are eclectic.
For more information about current projects, visit Theresa's web sites at: www.tessmaynard.com or www.adriannadane.com
* * * *
Don't miss The Exile: A Seductive Tale, by Adrianna Dane,
available at AmberAllure.com!
The Brotherhood of the Midnight Pearl...
An island known as the Isle of Men, a place where passion among men is the rule--the only rule...
Linus Masterson
, once a powerful man of authority, has left the isolated, mystical Isle of Men to return to mainland life. He left Mannos because of love and desire for one man, an initiate, he couldn't truly possess, but now he meets another man who reminds him of the object of his desire from paradise.
Sam, a young, attractive waiter, wearing the double pearl earring, marking him a mainland member of the Brotherhood of the Midnight Pearl, draws Linus's heated attention. Sam's a man meant for pleasure and Linus is determined to show him how good it can be at the hands of an immortal, experienced authoritarian. Linus can only hope that in the arms of his new lover he will return to the paradise he had thought forever lost...
* * *
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