A Promise of Forever (31 page)

When he finished with his shower, he told her it was all hers as he proceeded to make a call to his pilot.
Katelyn didn’t mean to listen to his conversation but she heard him tell the pilot that he wanted to leave as soon as possible.
She went into the bathroom and bolted the door from the inside.
She didn’t know why she did it but she knew it would irritate him.
It was obvious that last night had left a mark of discontent on him and he was feeling less than generous today.
He would do everything he could to get them out of the country as soon as possible; he believed he would have more control in Italy.

Once the two of them arrived at the airport, Mary Alice greeted them, congratulating them on their recent nuptials.
She told Gianfranco that if there was anything more she could do to make their flight more enjoyable, please let her know.

“Could you make sure my wife is comfortable?” he requested before he disappeared into the captain’s cabin.

As Gianfranco made himself scarce, Katelyn took the opportunity to go to her seat and read some of the magazines she had recently purchased in the airport terminal.
Mary Alice came over to her and asked if she could get her anything, informing her of the recent call that had been made to the pilot.
“Mrs. Broccolini, Brody Calder called ahead, he wanted to make sure that we had enough champagne stocked for you and your husband.
I assured him that Mr. Broccolini had seen to it that the galley was stocked sufficiently.
He wanted me to be sure to tell you both that he had called and sent his best.”

Mary Alice excused herself but not before almost bumping into the man whose orders she followed; Gianfranco had just heard every word she said about Brody’s call.
The eyes that raked over Katelyn’s were not cold or angry, just disappointed.
“Everyone on board thinks that we are on our honeymoon and that is the impression I insist we keep up.
Notwithstanding, your own feelings about Brody, I’m your lover aboard this plane.
Do you understand?” he asked angrily.

Holding her hand, his arm snaked around her waist, lifting her directly on top of his lap.
He let the fingers of his other hand roam down her long dark hair until he reached the hollow of her neck.
His hand lingered there for a short time, silence standing between them as he fought with the idea of flicking open the buttons of her top.

“I still have work I need to do but if you’d like some champagne, I will have it sent to the master suite.
It may not be from your lover but it’s all you’re going to get.
By the way, Katelyn,” he said, staring into her eyes, “the pilot has warned me that we are flying into a storm, perhaps you should try the champagne.
It may be good company for you,” he stated harshly, accomplishing exactly what he intended.
“I’m not a saint, call for me this time and I won’t be so gallant,” he warned.

She was furious with him, moving past him to their private quarters so she could escape.
Her thoughts were rampant but she was tired of his jealousy.
She sat at the desk and remembered a time when he believed in her.
They were secure in their relationship back then and jealousy had no place in it.
Would he feel differently
if she could convince him that her feelings for Brody were purely platonic
?
Or is the hostility he feels a cover for the regret he had because he married me?

There was no way to reason with him when he set his mind on something.
She decided to leave him alone and let him work through his issues himself.
Sooner or later, she hoped, he would come to the right conclusion about her feelings for other men.
She could feel the turbulence and it frightened her terribly so she went to closest seat and buckled herself in again until the light went on, letting her know that it was safe to walk around.
After Mary Alice convinced her that it was indeed safe to unfasten her seat belt, Katelyn decided that she would try to lie down for an hour or so.

She kicked off her shoes and jumped into bed but she couldn’t help noticing the silver picture frame that she had seen on her previous flight.
It incensed her that he would keep the picture of the other woman he professed to love in the same room they would share while they were married.
Anger was replaced by jealousy and disappointment; she didn’t dare look at the face of the woman who had what she wanted.

The plane shook again and this time Katelyn panicked.
She had faith that Gianfranco only employed the best but it did nothing to alleviate the fear that she had never grown accustomed to over the years.
Her heart was racing and tears were nearing the surface of her eyes as she heard the door bolt open.

“Are you all right?” he asked as he stormed into the room.
Gianfranco came to her, held her in his arms and rocked her, calming and soothing the fear he knew had overtaken her.
“I need to talk to the pilot but I’ll be back.
Katelyn, nothing is wrong, I promise,” he said, seeing the panic in her eyes.
“We’ll be in New York in no time at all.” With that said; he was gone but not before promising to return momentarily.

Katelyn was shocked and embarrassed by her behavior; she would try anything to take her mind off what she was feeling.
She turned her attention once again to the silver picture frame; she was taken aback by what she saw.
The silver frame held an image of a much younger version of her.
She remembered the day he had taken that picture; it was the day she believed Jenny was conceived.

Curiosity grew as she saw her own image staring back at her.
That curiosity was replaced by apprehension as Gianfranco entered the room again and witnessed what she held in her hand.
“I didn’t know you kept any reminders of me?” she stated, not waiting or expecting an answer.

“It brings back memories, doesn’t it?
It makes me wish I could turn back the clock whenever I look at it.”
He shook his head in disgust as if his thoughts were delusional. “If I could turn back the clock, I would.
Maybe things wouldn’t have to hurt so much now.”
He said gently, as he took the frame from her hand and placed it back on the nightstand.

“I remember when you took that picture,” she said warmly, she smiled as recalled the memory.

“I took it down near the yacht at the pier in New York right before we set sail on the open sea.
It was just the two of us on an adventure to nowhere in particular, to spend our last few weeks together.
Do you think about that trip?” he asked.
His hand touched the contours of the face in the frame and Katelyn wished it was the real person he was touching.
She could see the sadness in his eyes as he thought about the time they spent together on that trip.
“It feels like decades ago.
Time has a funny way of numbing the pain and masking it until something pushes those memories forward and you’re forced to deal with the hurt all over again.”

Gianfranco must have thought that her puzzled look was born from the uneasiness she felt as he reminisced about the past they had shared.
He had no idea how far he was from the truth.
Truthfully, her preoccupation that another storm was growing was gnawing at her and the only thing she knew that would calm her was to ask him to hold her in his arms but that was the last thing she wanted to do.

“It might help if you have a little more champagne,” he said as he handed her one of the two bottles that he had placed in the cabin.
“I figure you take one bottle and I’ll take the other.
We’ll skip the glasses; I don’t think we’ll need them.
The storm didn’t seem to be going away and even though they were above the clouds, she still felt the turbulence and heard loud thunder below.

She did as he suggested and sipped the champagne.
She couldn’t help but notice that his bottle was nearly empty.
It was apparent that he handled champagne a lot better than she did.
She felt tipsy from the small amount she drank while he seemed completely unscathed.
It didn’t seem fair, although it did give her a little Dutch courage, which she needed when it came to dealing with Gianfranco.

“I know this is a strange request but would you mind, after we reach the hotel tonight, if we slept together?
One night is all I ask, I promise.
After tonight you can go back to doing whatever it was you were doing, with whomever you were doing it before I stepped back into your life,” she added, as an afterthought and took another sip of champagne.

He was next to her within seconds and touched her lips with his own.
“I can’t promise to sleep in the same bed with you and not touch you.
I could never make that promise to you,” he said again as he kissed her more deeply this time and hoping that wouldn’t ask him not to.

“I don’t want you to.
Keep the promise, I mean,” she added softly.
It was more of a shy plea from the heart.

Everything that happened after that was a blur.
Neither of them could wait until they reached the hotel.
He hadn’t told Katelyn yet that he owned the hotel they were staying at or that the penthouse was his private apartment.
There was so much he hadn’t told her yet.
He had acquired a lot during his time without her and the majority of it had been obtained after their affair because he’d had little else to keep his mind off of her.
He had become a nightmare of a sort to his adversaries.
If he wanted your company, there was nothing that was going to stop him from taking it from it.
If he was ruthless it was because Katelyn had taken the man he had been with her when she left.

Gianfranco had been a kinder, gentler man before Katelyn betrayed him.
He believed in her and when everything they shared became sullied by her betrayal, he lost it.
For a long time he didn’t care who he hurt or what the consequences were from the takeover of the companies he wanted.
Money became the bottom line for everything he involved himself in.

The pilot’s voice announced that they would be arriving at JFK airport shortly and should gather their things.
Katelyn turned to Gianfranco and thanked him for what he did.
She knew that what she had asked of him was difficult but she was hoping to make up for it.

It was nice to be Gianfranco Broccolini, Katelyn thought.
He never waited in line for anything.
Their bags were magically taken to the car that waited at the curb them.
She could definitely grow accustomed to this life.

They held each other hands innocently while they waited for the bellhop to take the bags to the room.
As they entered a private elevator that would take them to the penthouse, he saw that mischievous look on her face.
Gianfranco took the rolling cart from the bellhop, gave him a large tip and told him he’d handle the bags himself.
In the elevator, things got a little wild even for Katelyn.

He watched and enjoyed every second as she undid the belt to her coat.
Before she could do another thing, Gianfranco took his own coat and threw it over the mirror that he knew housed a security camera.
The last thing he needed was to have his staff witness his wife doing a private striptease.
He was pleased, but shocked, as she dropped the coat to the floor and saw that, with the exception of thigh high black stockings and high heels, she was completely naked.
Somewhere between the plane and the hotel, she had stripped herself of all of her clothing.

He stopped the elevator by pushing the emergency button.
He had heard of this type of behavior in elevators but he had never participated in it himself.
He grinned as he watched to see what his innocent wife would do next and was overtaken by raw sensual need as she ripped the shirt open from his body and worked to release the belt from his pants.
He decided that, even though he was enjoying himself immensely, he would help her out.
He opened his pants, pulled himself free and watched as Katelyn quivered at the sight of him.

Katelyn slithered to the floor, without waiting to be coaxed, licking and tasting him.
She surprised herself as she allowed herself to move so wantonly over his naked body.
He thought he was going to die; what she was doing to him was driving him crazy.
He didn’t want to come this way.
In frustration, he lifted her into his arms and wrapped her legs around him.
He delved so deeply inside her that he didn’t know where she began or he ended.
She was ecstatic as he thrust in and out of her with unleashed abandon.

“I’m complete when I’m with you.
I can’t let you ever leave me again, Katelyn,” he whispered in her ear as he took her to new heights yet again.
After they completed the act, they went limp in each other’s arms and rested against the wall.
She had never made love with anyone else; each and every time he made love to her she was sure it was the best she would ever feel.
“I’m terrified that you’ll never love me the way you love him,” he said, as he felt her go frigid in his arms.