Not Juliet (5 page)

Riella’s face
turned sober, any hint of amusement long gone. She disentangled
herself from his arms and sat up, looking away. Was she having
second thoughts? She’d said she loved him. There was no denying the
chemistry between them; every moment, every touch, every kiss
they’d shared that day had sizzled with passion. So why was she
trying to distance herself from him now? The girl had not only
secrets, but trust issues, too?

“Look, I know
we haven’t known each other long, but…”

Her hand
touched his, but she still didn’t meet his gaze. “No, it’s not
that, Luca.”

“Then?”

She took a deep
breath and let it all out before she spoke again. “You don’t know
anything about me. You might not like me, when you find out. And… I
didn’t come here on holiday. I have business to attend to,
important business, and I can’t let… us,” she waved a hand between
the two of them, “sidetrack me, or… or even slow me down. There
isn’t much time. I have to get this sorted; I’m his only hope.”

She was opening
up. How far would she go? Luca blinked, trying to infuse his
features with understanding and concern for her predicament. “If
there’s anything I can do… Whose only hope?”

“Please don’t
ask for details. It’s too complicated. Just know that I have never
felt this way about anybody, ever. And it took me by surprise. I
mean, my feelings… I don’t know how to explain.”

Luca reached
for her and drew her closer to him. She’d almost opened up. Almost.
But not yet. She wasn’t trusting him yet, not enough to share her
secrets. He sighed and kissed the top of her head. “Then don’t. I
don’t need an explanation. I can wait.”

“You will?” She
lifted her face to look into his eyes.

“Yes, of course
I will. I was serious when I said I wanted you in my life. Unless…”
His lips quirked up in a half-smile he was obviously trying to
control.

“Unless what?
What’s so funny?”

He let his
smile turn into a full-face grin. “Unless you have such a horrible
name, I won’t be able to live with it. Were you ever thinking of
telling me your name?”

Riella laughed
out loud. “Hah! I never realized I didn’t introduce myself. See? I
told you there’s so much you don’t know about me.”

He quirked an
eyebrow, waiting.

“What? Oh!
Riella. My name is Riella Smith.” Then, in a shy voice, she asked,
“You think you can you live with it?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, I like
Luca.”

“I’m glad.
C’mon,” Luca said before she could enquire about his surname.
“Let’s get going. Rome is not just over the hill, you know? It’ll
be dark well before we get back.”

He pulled her
to her feet and held her close as they walked back to the bike,
Riella still favoring her right ankle.

“How did you
know I needed to get back to Rome?” she asked suddenly.

Luca shrugged.
“Lucky guess.” He pulled her closer and placed another soft kiss on
her lips, mentally kicking himself. Damn it! He’d have to watch
what he was saying, or he’d blow his cover. Riella Smith may be
sweet and loving, but stupid she was not.

Riella sighed and
leaned into Luca. The wind was tugging wildly at her hair, but she
didn’t care. Her eyes were closed, and she’d tucked her face into
his chest, right beneath his collarbone, completely blissed out.
Instead of worrying about the speed they were travelling at, or
that she was wearing no protective gear whatsoever, or the more
important fact that her arms were clutched tight around a virtual
stranger’s waist, she’d never felt more safe, more loved and
protected her whole life. She smiled and nuzzled against his tight
pecs, pressing her ear closer to his heart.

He’d insisted
she sit across the seat, in front of him, so he could be sure she
was all right. From the frequency with which he was peppering
kisses on her hair, she suspected he might have had a secondary
reason, but she wasn’t complaining. His tight arm around her
shoulders and his kisses on her hair – or anywhere on her body, for
that matter – suited her just fine.

She’d been so
close to telling him everything, back in the Bardini Gardens, but
faint vestiges of an inferiority complex she’d picked up from
growing up on the road stopped her at the last moment. Not everyone
was prejudiced, she knew – people were people, no matter the race
they’d been born into – but many gadjee felt uncomfortable in the
presence of a gypsy. What if Luca’s feelings for her would become
tainted by her association with an undesirable race, now that he
said he could at least live with her name?

Could she
continue to love him, if he decided he couldn’t love her back?
Would the hurt she would feel seeing the disgust in his eyes when
she told him she was a gypsy be enough to quell these all-consuming
emotions? She didn’t think so. This was the real thing, for her.
This was love. She was certain of her own feelings, but not of his,
and because of that she was unwilling to do anything that would
jeopardize her happy ending.

Luca stopped
them in front of a cute Ristorante with colorful décor and
modernist paintings on the walls. He marched them right in and past
the counter separating the front room from the kitchens. No one
tried to stop them. It was as if he owned the place. Down a narrow
corridor, a left turn, and they were standing in front of a
glass-panel door, on which Luca knocked solidly twice.

“Entra,” a male
voice issued from within.

A smile
twitched on Luca’s face and he pressed down on the handle. “The
boss man’s in. You’re in for a treat.”

The room they
were in housed a large sectional sofa and a whole host of coffee
tables smothered in house plants and framed photographs. From the
midst of a heap of hand-embroidered throw pillows, a man strongly
resembling a wine barrel struggled to his feet. His wide, jovial
face opened up in a huge smile when he saw Luca. Lively eyes
travelled down his arm and to the hand he had wrapped around
Riella’s. His eyebrows shot up and he clapped his hands, then
proceeded to rub them together in a joyful, excited gesture.

He skipped
forward faster than a grasshopper, making Riella jump, and whacked
Luca on the shoulder. “Meraviglioso! Finalmente, eh? Ho pensato che
non avresti mai trova la giusta donna.”

“E l’ho
trovata?”

“Senz’altro!
Si!”

Luca laughed
and pulled the odd man in for a quick bear hug.

“What did he
say?” Riella whispered when Luca took a step back to stand by her
side.

“He’s happy
that I found the right woman.”

Riella frowned
as she thought it through. “Do Italians always say very little
using a lot of words?”

Luca laughed.
“He said he never thought I’d find the right one. I asked him if he
thought I did.”

“And he
said?”

“He thinks
you’re perfect. Now let him have a hug, or we’ll never get a moment
to ourselves.”

Riella smiled
uncertainly and allowed the little man to take her hand and peck
the back of it while introducing himself. “Orazio. Incantato.”

“Orazio,” she
repeated the strange name weakly while he pulled her in for a hug,
his arms circling her tighter than iron bars.

“Charmed, my
dear,” Orazio said in a strongly accented English, letting her go
and taking a step back. “Now,” he turned to Luca, “will you let me
treat you to the best I have to offer? Seeing you like this… it
makes me want to celebrate!”

“Certainly, my
good man. Is there anywhere we can dine in private?”

Orazio let out
a loud belly laugh. “As if you didn’t know that! Here.” He gestured
with his arm in a wide arc. “I’ll have my staff set up a table just
for two right here, in my quarters. No one will disturb you.”

“Fantastic.
Thank you millions, Orazio.”

“My pleasure.”
Orazio started rolling toward the door to get things in motion.
Right before leaving them alone, he turned and asked, “So, have you
told anyone yet? Cosimo? The rest? You know your father and
everyone else will want to make a huge fuss! This is excellent
news, you know, don’t you?”

Cosimo? As in
the elusive man she’d been looking for? But then Riella shook her
head. Almost certainly a coincidence. There must be lots of men
with the same name in Italy. The strain of the last few days was
beginning to skew her thinking. Tomorrow she’d go and straighten
things out, back in the Roma camp, and then she’d be free to
dedicate her attention to her Romeo and their budding
relationship.

But even as
she’d come to that decision, from the corner of her eye, Riella
thought she saw Luca’s face pale. She couldn’t be certain, but
there was no mistaking the tension in his jaw. Her eyes searched
his, probing, but he smiled and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“Haven’t had
the chance yet, Orazio,” Luca said, his voice clear. “I only bumped
into Riella a few hours ago.”

“Riella? Er…
But I thought…” Suddenly, Orazio stopped talking and backed out of
the room, looking embarrassed. Had Luca shaken his head?

Riella turned
to stare at Luca full-on. He seemed relaxed, his eyes wide,
smiling. He inclined his head and slanted his lips over hers in a
quick, but incendiary kiss, and Riella’s unease dispersed faster
than thin mist on a scorching summer’s day.

Orazio had
promised them a celebration, and he certainly lived up to it.
Riella lost track of the number of different dishes she’d sampled,
everything from avocado mousse with herby breadsticks and orange
and pistachio salad, to mignon of lamb with a red wine, cinnamon
and star anise jus, and all throughout dinner the wine kept
flowing. She was a light drinker and had begun to feel the buzz
after the second glass.

Gazing into
Luca’s eyes over the top of the tall tapers surrounded by fragrant
lilies, and with the soft background music caressing her ears – a
romantic guitar instrumental which seemed to come from all around
them – Riella felt warm, pampered and extremely lucky. If she
didn’t know better, she would have thought herself living in a
dream, or perhaps in one of the stories she loved so much. A real
Juliet, caught in a golden moment with her charming Romeo.

Through the fug
clogging her brain, fragments of thoughts nagged, thoughts about
something unpleasant, worries and responsibilities trying to stab
through, but they were far away, and making sense of them required
far more concentration than she was capable of at the time. She
would deal with them later, when she absolutely had to. Right now,
she would allow herself the luxury of enjoying her fairytale.

Finally, the
table was cleared and all that remained was a bottle of champagne
in a cooler and a platter of chocolate truffles.

For some
reason, Riella couldn’t suppress a giggle.

“Am I amusing
you?” Luca asked, taking her hand and helping her rise from her
seat. He led her to the couch and pulled her down alongside
him.

Riella could
spend hours telling him just what he did to her, but settled for
slipping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss.
Luca dipped his head willingly.

His lips lit a
fire that inched its way over her skin, making her hot and bold.
Her hips jerked in an unfamiliar way, causing her to groan and
press her thighs together. When he moved his mouth to her chin, she
sighed and arched her neck to give him better access. Carefully,
Luca glided off the cushions to kneel in front of her, and she
parted her knees to help him get closer. His hands traveled through
her hair, over her shoulders and down her arms, his fingers grazing
the sides of her breasts as they settled on her waist.

Goosebumps
peppered her skin and Luca smiled, his eyes hooded yet guarded. He
lifted one finger and gently touched her bottom lip, then traced
down with the tip of his nail, so lightly, she was certain she was
imagining his touch. His second hand joined the first, caressing
her shoulders, his thumbs skimming over her neck, and traveling
down, slowly, painfully slowly, to the valley between her breasts,
pushing her t-shirt aside as they went. Her breath hitched and he
smiled, and allowed his fingers to brush the round contours of her
breasts through the thin material. He placed a kiss on the exposed
skin between them, then his hands slipped around her middle and
slid the fabric up her torso and over her head, his tongue and lips
trailing a wet strip of butterfly kisses from her navel to her
lips, causing the goosebumps to return and her nipples to
harden.

Riella drew in
another jagged breath, twisted her fingers through his thick black
hair, and surrendered herself to him.

Luca couldn’t believe
his nerve – or her abandonment – as he threw her t-shirt to the
floor and found her lips once more. Their tongues intertwined. The
air became thick with mutual need.

Riella’s
fingers wove magic through his hair. Luca could feel every fine
curl in his locks stand on end, so electrifying was her touch. When
his fingers found her pebbled peaks, she moaned and the sound was
so hot, it almost lit him on fire. He was so hard, he was sure he
could pound through concrete and not feel it.

He deserted her
breasts for a split second, enough to grab the bottle of champagne
and the chocolate truffles off the table, then knelt in front of
her again, easing her skirt up to expose the scrap of lace covering
the most intimate part of her body. He yearned to see – to touch –
what was hidden behind the delicate barrier.

One chocolate
truffle found its way into his mouth and he began to swirl it
around just enough to melt the tougher exterior. He brought his
lips to hers and shared the sweet, making sure to nibble at her
lips on the way, whilst his fingers caressed her thighs and stroked
nearer her secret place.