“Let’s go for a ride.”
“A ride?”
He nods. “A ride.”
Luca sets his wine glass down and holds out his hand. I take it and I find myself being led to the stables.
“By yourself or with me?” he asks as we enter the building. The sweet smells of hay surround us and I murmur, “With you.”
“Good answer,” he says approvingly, and he only saddles one horse. He lifts me up, then swings up behind me. I lean back against him, against his warmth and strength. I can feel his heart beating against my back and I enjoy the feeling very much.
By now it is dusk and we are on the beach, the large horse easily carrying us through the sand. The sea crashes to our left and I stare at the moon.
“It’s beautiful here,” I say drowsily, my back absorbing the heat from his chest. “I love it here at Chessarae.”
“It can be very beautiful,” Luca answers. “Especially when you are here.”
His strong arms tighten up around me and warmth fills me up. I’m treading a dangerous line here and I know that. The line is about to blur to a place where I will no longer be able to be objective where Luca is concerned. Tonight, however, I am having a hard time caring about that. We ride for at least an hour more.
When we finally return to the stable, it is very dark and I am very tired.
However, when I slide to the ground and turn, only to find myself face to face with Luca, I suddenly realize that I’m not too tired. He ducks his head and covers my mouth with his, still hungry. We make love again, here in the stable against the wall. He picks me up easily and holds me as my legs encircle his hips. I don’t even feel it as my back slides against the stable wall. I lick the side of his neck and I decide that I love the taste of him. I tell him that, whispering it into his ear.
“I love the taste of you,” he says, and his eyes get a wicked gleam.
He pulls out of me and slides to the ground to his knees and then fills me with his tongue. My knees instantly grow weak. My hands grasp first at his hair and then at the wooden beams of the wall behind me and my eyes glaze over with pleasure. It’s all I can do not to whimper. By the time he is finished, however, I am doing more than whimpering. I am screaming his name, then falling limply to his chest as he moans mine.
By the time we finally return to the house, I have decided that it has been a very good day.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Luca
I don’t know why I have done this. I have no excuse. My behavior is as reprehensible as I am myself. To have drawn Eva to me like I have, to have acted on what I know we shouldn’t have… it’s unforgiveable.
Yet even still, I tighten my grip on her. She is sleeping now, deep and still and peaceful, her crimson hair spread around her on the pillow. The moonlight drifts in through her balcony doors and I wonder why we didn’t open them before we collapsed into the bed.
But we weren’t thinking about the balcony doors when we came into this room.
We were exhausted by how much we had ‘indulged’ ourselves today.
And after we came into this room, and my intentions were only to tuck her in, I couldn’t help myself. She was so soft and beautiful, I couldn’t resist but to stay. I drew her to me and she came so easily, sleeping in my arms. Her soul is so beautiful and I know that I will break it. Against every lingering shred of my will, I know that I will break it. I sigh raggedly in the dark room.
She’s beautiful and gentle and God would never give me someone like her and allow it to work. He wouldn’t.
Yet still I clutch her.
She is soft beneath my fingers and I know that I should let go. That I should get up from this bed and never come back.
But I can’t.
The selfish part of me can’t do it.
Eva moves slightly and I adjust my hold on her, allowing her to turn. She settles in, turning her face into my chest and I wrap my arm around her. She is vulnerable in sleep and I feel an inherent need to protect her.
Against myself.
I sigh, a ragged sound in the night. I carefully get up, taking care to not disturb her. I’m restless now. If I stay in bed, I know I will disturb her. I first cross to the balcony doors and open them, allowing the fresh sea breeze to come in. Then I make my way down the halls to the great room where I play the piano, trying to play the restless energy out of myself. But an hour passes and I am still wide awake.
I move to the outdoors for a walk in the fresh air.
The gardens are lit with the silvery light of the moon. I can smell the earth, moist with evening dew, as I walk through the dimly lit paths. I move quietly through the fragrant blooms to the terrace. I sit on a nearby marble bench, staring absently at a bubbling fountain in front of me, trying to allow the soft blue light in the water to lull me to a sleepier place.
It doesn’t work.
“You couldn’t sleep, either?”
Adrian’s low voice interrupts my solitude and I turn to find him standing behind me. He’s dressed casually, in sweats and a t-shirt and it looks like he has been in bed. His hair is slightly rumpled. I shake my head.
“No. You?”
Adrian shakes his head. “Nah. Fucking full moon.”
He rolls his eyes and I lift mine to the sky. There is a full moon tonight. I hadn’t noticed it until now. Huge and yellow, it hangs low in the sky, barely visible on the edge of the horizon. It’s a beautiful sight, Mother Nature at her finest.
“So the moon’s at fault for your shitty sleep patterns now?” I scoff.
Adrian shrugs. “Why not? Everything else is blamed on it. Child birth, bad behavior, crimes, epileptic seizures. Why not my insomnia?”
I shrug. “As you like.”
He sits next to me and hands me a flask.
“Night cap?”
I take it from him wordlessly and take a gulp.
Scotch. Adrian always knows what I like. Of course, I hooked him on the stuff years ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if he kept this flask in the glove compartment of the Mercedes. I mention that and he smiles without incriminating himself.
“What’s going on with Eva?” Adrian asks instead, his blue eyes focused on me. He doesn’t beat around any bush. He never has. I sigh.