A Sicilian Engagement by Rachel Lyndhurst

Author:Rachel Lyndhurst [Lyndhurst, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Entangled: Indulgence
Published: 2013-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Lorenzo rubbed at his jaw as he watched his fake fiancée play with his daughters in the pool. For the first time he could remember, their shrieks and laughter echoing around the outside walls didn’t jangle his nerves or jar in the part of his head behind his eyes. Maybe even those whistles wouldn’t make him feel like his corneas were being crudely cut out with no anesthetic this morning. Or afternoon, technically.

He’d slept until midday after Lora had encouraged him to go back to bed. He hadn’t wanted to; he’d wanted to drag her with him, but she’d threatened to call Gennaro and Vanessa. And then he’d woken with an erection that would put some of the Pompeii brothel paintings to shame, and she hadn’t been there.

He felt amazing considering he was post-migraine. The after effects were still there, aching stomach muscles and an overwhelming feeling of emptiness, but he felt happy. Positive. Energetic. The memory of her deft touch around his feet and head had him closing his eyes and savoring the moment. He craved her touch once again, but not in a sexual way. Something had happened in the darkness of that bathroom. A woman had shown him real compassion. Selfless, hands-on help that no one had ever offered him before. More than sex, so much more. And then she’d supported his shoulders on the way back to bed; Ivanka would never have managed to bear half his weight with her bony frame.

For a moment, he wished he could share the experience with somebody, but then dismissed the idea. What happened between him and Lora that morning would remain their secret, and he knew he could rely on her to honor that even though he’d never actually said as much. He’d been too ill at the time, for pity’s sake. He tensed, but nothing in life was certain, and he’d never met anyone he could rely on 100 percent. They needed to talk.

“Ciao, bambini!” His heart skipped a beat as his daughters’ small faces tipped up instantly in the swimming pool and broke into radiant, sunny smiles.

“Ciao, Papa!” the girls chimed in unison, droplets of water clinging to their eyelashes and lips, but he shook his head when they implored him to come and join them.

“Not right now,” he called down. “I need to speak to Lora.”He saw Lora’s expression change from curious to wary in a second. “Can you come up?” he said fixing her with an unwavering gaze that indicated instruction not request.

“Of course,” she shouted up in a clipped tone. “I’ll come immediately.”

He smiled to himself. Feisty woman. She should never be at the beck and call of anyone unless she wanted to be, a free spirit to the core. He hoped he wouldn’t extinguish that to any degree due to their unusual arrangement.

Her expression was unreadable as she stood against the outside doorframe of the bedroom balcony with her arms crossed. “You called, sir?”

Ah, sarcasm. He had predicted she’d be irritated by his public summons.

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