Gambler's Folly (Bookstrand Publishing Romance) (15 page)

“Cara, you are so silly! It is just a different language. They mean the same thing.”

“That might be, but they don’t fit. So until something fits, you have to be just Damiano, or Dam. Okay?

“
Fa bene
.”

They were met by the press as soon as they arrived back at the Stella d’Oro. Of course the explosion had been all over the news, and everyone wanted to know what really happened.

“We’re waiting for the results from the fire marshall,” Damiano told them. “Until then, we won’t know what caused the explosion. We’ll let you know as soon as we have something to tell you.”

Karianna was tired from all the excitement, the flight back and then the drive from the airport. Since they weren’t sure where the leak in Damiano’s establishment was, they ordered out for dinner. Dante brought them a couple of steak dinners from a restaurant down the way, which were very tasty.

“Cara, why don’t you go to bed?” Damiano asked as she nodded off again.

“Will you be in soon?” she answered. “I don’t want to abandon you.”

“I am not abandoned, Karianna. I have a few calls I can make and some paperwork to finish, and then I’ll come to bed. Bene?”

“Okay. Good night, Dam.”

“
Buonanotte
, cara mia.”

When she woke several hours later, Damiano still hadn’t come to bed. Worried, she put on her robe and went to find him. She finally located him in the small office he had in their suite, leaned back in the chair and sound asleep. Stacks of paperwork covered the desk.

Not wanting to startle him but afraid he would have a monstrous headache if she left him there, she reached out to touch his arm as she called his name. He woke suddenly and defensively, nearly hitting her before he registered who she was.

“Cara mia, now I’ve frightened you,” he apologized. “I’m so sorry. I was dreaming about some of our recent problems. You know how dreams can be. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I was just scared when your fist came toward my face. I’m glad you stopped.”

“Povera cara,” he said, “after the time you’ve had the last little while, now you’re afraid of me.”

“No, Dam, I’m not,” she insisted. “Just startled a little bit, for a moment. I’m fine really. But shouldn’t you come to bed? It’s beyond late. It’s three in the morning.”

“Yes, I suppose I should. Thank you for coming for me, Karianna. I am glad you at least care about me. It’s nice to know someone does.”

Back in bed, they cuddled together and slept until late in the morning. Karianna just had time to get to her workout, while Damiano called to reschedule his first meeting of the day.

“Will you be home for lunch?” she asked.

“I don’t know, cara. It depends on the meeting. With a little luck, I will.”

After their return, Damiano had decided they would be safer elsewhere. As he had several establishments in the Stella d’Oro chain in town, they moved as far as possible from where they’d been living. The two hotels were staffed from different places, and nobody had requested a transfer from one to the other for over a year.

Carl, Marco, Paolo, and Dante came with them to their new hotel. Damiano always had these four with him and provided housing as part of their salary. Between them, they had everything moved in a day.

Their new suite was as large as the old one had been, only it was on the top floor, with a beautiful view of the city, the distant mountains as a backdrop. Karianna loved it the moment she first saw it.

“Why did you stay at the other hotel when this one has such a wonderful view?” she asked him.

“The other one was a little easier to defend against the usual sort of attack. Unfortunately, this didn’t extend to the kitchen and waitstaff. I believe we have that all sorted out, but why take the chance?”

They finally got everything arranged, just before dinner, so they dressed and went down to the restaurant and gaming rooms of the new hotel.

“What should I wear, Dam?” she asked him. “Any suggestions?”

“Let me look,” he answered, walking over to her to make his choice. After a minute, he pulled out a slinky black number. A floor-length gown with a halter top cut very low in front, the fabric was soft and shimmery, almost wet looking, with sequins accenting her figure. It clung to all her curves, the narrow skirt slit high on the side, but cut so that it caressed her leg, showing occasional brief glimpses rather than a full view.

The deep V-cut in the back from the crossed bodice left her bare to the waist. She dressed as Damiano watched, nodding his approval. Coming up behind her, his hands slid around to her breasts, squeezing them lightly before travelling on down her body to her hips. The kiss on the back of her neck sent chills down her spine and awakened her libido. At her reaction, Damiano chuckled and then nipped her shoulder with his front teeth.

“Ow! That wasn’t very nice,” she complained.

“Maybe not, but we have to go downstairs now. So try to keep yourself in control until later, cara.”

“Me keep in control? I was just standing here minding my own business…”

“Half dressed in my bedroom, in a gown that fits like a glove? No, no, cara. That is not minding your own business. That is inciting to riot.”

“Who chose the dress?”

“Hm, I guess you’re right. You should make an entrance tonight, amore mia.”

And she did. As soon as they were through the front door, every eye in the place was on her. Damiano had dressed in a luscious formal black, with a white silk shirt, black tie, and diamond pin. The sense of possession he gave off nearly made them a trio instead of a couple. Think alpha male wolf with designs on his alpha female, surrounded by a jealous pack. She is his and interference could be lethal.

At least one of his hands was always touching her, his arm around her waist, one hand stroking her spine, a hand low on her back, fingers tucked underneath her dress. There were occasional little kisses on her neck, cheek, or the top of her shoulder. Just enough to remind everyone that she was with him and they were lovers. Once or twice they took to the dance floor, with full body contact and one or two sensuous kisses as the music ended.

After a couple hours, Karianna was more than a little aroused. As the energy of the gaming rooms and dance floor rose, the more possessive he got and the stronger his scent became, pushing the limits of her endurance.

“Are you ready to leave, Dam?” she asked, finally.

“Why, cara? There are several of the rooms we’ve not visited. And I have yet to place the first bet this evening.”

“Oh no, Damiano. You’re gambling to the limit. If we don’t leave soon, I’ll attack you right here. So you either need to slow down, or we need to go. Your choice.”

“Why, cara, what is the matter?” he asked, his voice subtly sensuous, knowing full well his effect on her. “It’s not like I don’t give you any attention.”

For the rest of the evening, he took great pleasure in keeping her just as close to the edge of her control as possible. She noticed she was moving in an unusually sensuous way, her manner toward her husband hot and suggestive. The crowd took note, and the tone in the room said imaginations were running wild.

“Let’s have one more dance, cara,” he suggested, his eyes dark and compelling. “And then we can go back to our suite.” For just a moment, she thought his eyes had changed, pupils slit like a giant cat, with a hint of green. She must have been mistaken, because when she looked again, they were their usual gray.

Arm around her, he led her onto the floor. The next piece up was a tango. Karianna had taken ballroom lessons as a teenager, so she was familiar with the form. Apparently, quite a few of the people on the floor were not, so they retired to their drinks and snacks, to watch the braver souls.

“So, cara, you understand the tango then?” Damiano asked.

“Yes, I do. So?”

“And you know it is about control and domination?”

“What are you suggesting, Damiano Leone?” she demanded.

“Only that we should dance it properly, cara mia. Let’s show off a little. Dance with attitude, mia amore.”

With no more warning, he pulled himself up to his full height and became the masterful Latin lover the dance required. Already aroused by his behavior all evening, she responded in kind, defying his control over her. They danced with the snap and swirl of a professional dance team, giving everyone a good view of the lord of the underworld and his consort.

As is always the case with the tango, the male dominated in the end. He drew her back to him in a full-body embrace and then kissed her deeply right there in the middle of the dance floor. And because of the mood she was already in, the kiss was not one-sided in the least. He could have taken her right there, for all she cared. She knew what she wanted and was tired of being denied.

When they parted, his eyes gazed deeply into hers, almost black with his desire. “Hm, are you hungry, cara?” he purred, sounding for all the world like a contented tiger.

Wriggling to loosen his grip on her, she replied, “No, you bastard! I’m damn near starved to death.”

Damiano threw back his head and laughed out loud, startling several tables of patrons. His arm around her waist, pulling her close to him, he waved to everyone and announced, “My wife is desperate to get home,” with a lecherous look sweeping her entire body. “We’ll be back tomorrow, once I’ve seen to her needs.”

In the lift, she threw herself at him, trying to reach his mouth to continue the kiss they’d started on the floor, but he was having none of it.

“Cara, contain yourself,” he said. “Surely you can’t want me so badly. Aren’t women supposed to be the pursued, not the pursuers?”

They left the lift, her wrists firmly trapped behind her back in one of his hands. Her wrists had always been very small, and his long, handsomely shaped fingers were as strong as iron bands. Marco met them inside the suite, one eyebrow raised. “Is everything alright, Marco?” Damiano asked him, pushing Karianna toward the bedroom hallway.

“Si, Signor. It is fine. I was just on my rounds, checking to make sure.”

Karianna had waited long enough. “Dam, I need you right now. Come to bed!”

Amused, he answered, “Don’t interrupt my business, cara. I’ve told you time and again.”

“I’ll interrupt anything I like, if you don’t get in here.”

“Karianna, don’t make a scene. I’ll be there when I’m finished.” Standing in the hallway, she glared at him, not noticing the grin and gesture he gave Marco.

“This is my house, you are my husband, and I’ll make a scene if I want to. You’ve been teasing all night, so now it’s time to finish what you’ve started. Marco can wait.”

“Don’t make me spank beat you, cara. I’ll be there when I can.”

“You’ll come in to me now, Damiano, or I’ll come out and have you where you stand.”

“Do I need to turn you over and spank your lovely behind, cara?” he asked. She could see Marco trying to contain some emotion.

“Like that’s a threat.”

“Okay, cara, you’ve done it now. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Marco,
a domani
. It seems I must teach my wife who rules my house.”

As soon as the door was closed and locked, he strode over to her, sweeping her off her feet and over to the bed. Pinning her face down on the bed, one hand between her shoulder blades, his other one swatted her firmly on her bottom. The sound she made was not one of pain or displeasure.

A few more swats and he suddenly turned her onto her back, his body covering hers, to kiss her forcefully, deeply, her hands pinned over her head.

“Now, cara, we will get to the crux of your problem.” He swiftly bound her wrists to the headboard with his tie, unfastened the halter from around her neck and ever so slowly peeled the dress down her body, kissing and stroking as her flesh became available. After the dress, the panties came down with the same painful slowness, until she was screaming at him to come to her.

“So impatient, cara, so impatient.” Very carefully, he undressed for her, one agonizing button at a time. She had never seen the zipper on a pair of trousers take so long to come down. Where he got his self-control, she didn’t know, but she could have beat him for keeping her in agony so long for something she wanted so much.

When he was finally naked, he came over to her slowly, one finger tracing the lines of her body, his mouth carefully savoring each nipple as one hand cradled her head, the other stroking her inner thigh.

“So, cara, are you nearly ready for me? I’ve tried to be attentive and patient, knowing you ladies need a little more time to become aroused than we men. I try to be considerate, cara, I really do.”

Her response would have been unprintable if it could have been understood through her clenched teeth. But finally her appetite was sated, much later that night, since Damiano liked to do a job thoroughly. And as her husband and lover, he made it quite clear which one of them ruled the bedroom.

* * * *

They settled into their routine after a few days and things seemed to be taming down into a form of normality. But after their first evening in the new suite, Karianna had been planning a payback. So one evening about two weeks later, she asked Damiano for his opinion on her attire for dinner. He usually picked out something rather provocative.

“I don’t know, cara. What were you thinking about?” he asked.

“I wasn’t sure, which is why I asked for an opinion. Maybe the dark green?”

The dark green dress fit much like the black one. A basic floor-length column with spaghetti straps, which, though a deep emerald green, shimmered with gold as it shifted in the light.

“Yes, that would be lovely, cara. You’ve not worn that one for some time.”

She dressed, put on her jewelry and a little perfume she knew was his favorite, and they walked together to the lift. Just before the doors opened, she pulled him close for a seductive kiss.

“Cara, what is the occasion?” he asked her. “Should we go back upstairs?”

“No, I’m just feeling a little frisky this evening I guess.”