Artie stroked his thigh in a comforting fashion, her heart contracting for the way he had suffered as a young teenager. She was all too familiar with how grief and guilt were a deadly combination. Destroying hope, suffocating any sense of happiness or fulfilment. ‘I can only imagine how hard it was for all of you, navigating your way through so much grief. But what about your mother? You said she lives in New York now. Do you ever see her?’
‘Occasionally, when I’m there for work.’ His mouth twisted. ‘It’s…difficult being with her, as it is for her to be with me.’
‘I don’t find it hard to be with you.’ The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She bit her lip and mentally cringed as heat flooded her cheeks. Next she would be blurting out how much she loved him. Words he clearly didn’t want to hear. Love wasn’t part of their six-month arrangement. Romantic love wasn’t part of his life, period.
Luca glanced her way, a smile tilting the edges of his mouth and his eyes dark and warm. ‘I don’t find it hard to be with you either.’ His voice was low and deep and husky and made her long to be back in his arms. To feel the sensual power of his body, the physical expression of his need, even if love wasn’t part of why he desired her. But she realised now her desire was a physical manifestation of her love for him. A love that had awakened the first time his lips touched hers, waking her from a psychological coma. A coma where she had denied herself the right to fully engage in life and relationships. Locking herself away out of fear. But she was free now, freed by Luca’s passion for her and hers for him.
‘Will I get to meet your mother? I mean, is that something you’d like me to do?’ Artie asked.
A frown formed a double crease between his eyes. ‘I’m not sure it will achieve much.’
‘But what if I’d like to?’
He flicked her a brief unreadable glance. ‘Why do you want to?’
Artie sighed. ‘I lost my mother when I was fifteen. It left such a hole in my life. I can barely watch a television show or commercials or movies with mothers in them because it makes me miss my mother all the more.’
‘You have no need to be envious of my relationship with my mother,’ Luca said in a weighted tone.
‘At least you still have her.’
There was a protracted silence.
Luca released a heavy breath. ‘Look, I know you are only trying to help but some family dynamics are best left alone. Nothing can be changed now.’
‘But that’s what I thought about my fear of leaving the castello,’ Artie said. ‘I lost years of my life by giving in to my fears, allowing them to control me instead of me controlling them. I never thought I could do it, but you helped me see that I could. Maybe it’s the same with your relationship with your mother. You shouldn’t give up on trying to improve the relationship just because it’s been a little difficult so far. What you went through as a family was horrendously tragic. But you still have a family, Luca. You have your mother and your grandfather. I have no one now.’
Luca reached for her hand and brought it up to his mouth, pressing a soft kiss to her fingers. ‘You have me, cara.’ His voice had a note of tenderness that made her heart contract.
But for how long? Six months and no longer.
And then she would be alone again.
* * *
A short time later, Luca drove through the gates of his estate and pulled up in front of the imposing medieval villa.
Built like a fortress with four storeys, a central dome and several turrets, it was surrounded by landscaped gardens with a tinkling fountain at the front. ‘Don’t be put off by the grim façade,’ he said, turning off the engine. ‘I’ve done extensive renovations inside.’
‘I try never to judge a book or a person by their cover,’ Artie said. ‘Not that I’ve met a lot of people lately, but still. Hopefully that’s going to change.’
Luca’s eyes glinted. ‘I’m not sure I want to share you with anyone just yet. This is our honeymoon, sì?’
A shiver coursed down Artie’s spine and a pool of liquid fire simmered in her core. She sent him a shy smile. ‘So, we’ll be alone here? Just you and me?’
He leaned closer across the gear shaft and, putting a hand to the back of her head, brought her closer to his descending mouth. ‘Just you and me.’
CHAPTER TEN
ARTIE WOKE THE next morning to find her head tucked against Luca’s chest and his arms around her and her legs tangled with his. One of his hands was moving up and down her spine in a slow stroking motion that made her pelvis start to tingle. His hand went lower, to the curve of her bottom, and every nerve in her skin did a happy dance. Her inner muscles woke to his touch, instantly recalling the magic of the night before and wanting more. Would she ever tire of feeling his hands on her body? His touch was gentle and yet created a storm in her flesh. A tumult of sensations that made her ache for closer, deeper, more intimate contact.
Luca turned her onto her
