Turn Towards the Sun Book Two: After the Rain (4 page)

I am only capable of nodding my head. He wraps his hands around my back and lifts me up to him. His mouth envelops mine and I respond hungrily, desperate to return the pleasure he just gave to me.

“Turn around,” he commands with that sexy, raspy thing his voice does. I roll over and wait for the next wave of pleasure.

“Do you know that I love the curve of your back, the sway of your hips? You’re so beautiful and you’re so mine.” He runs his hands across my ass. “There are so many things I want to do to you… with you. So many ways I can pleasure you. There are no limits between us. You are mine forever. You’re mine, Ava. Say it. Tell me, please.”

His words ripple through me, and the intensity of feeling in his voice fills me with love and desire. “I’m yours, Enzo. All of me, forever.”

I feel his hardness pressed between my legs, searching for my opening, and I spread them to give him access to me. Enzo’s hands run down my back and land on my hips, holding me in place. He dives in and fills me with his exquisite erection. My desire for him overwhelms me and all I can do is push against him.

“I love you like this, bella. Face down, ass up… very sexy.”

His hands find my breasts and he squeezes my hardened nipples between his fingers.

“Yes, Enzo, squeeze.”

He does, so hard that it just barely hurts. I moan in pleasure. He reaches out and gently pulls my hair, stretching my neck back towards him.

“Jesus, Ava. I don’t want to come yet, but… ah, shit, you’re so tight, so hot, so… ah.” His body tenses as he pumps harder and faster into me. I lower my head and press my ass as hard as I can against him, grinding into him.

“Ah… yes.” Enzo explodes within me and holds my hips tight to him as he releases. His motions slow, and then he finally lets me go, collapsing beside me on the bed.

I lay down next to him with a grin a mile wide across my face.

“Ava… I don’t even have words. It was… perfect. It always is. I love you.”

“I love you,” I reply.

“Are you happy, amore?”

“It would be impossible for me to be any happier.”

“That’s my goal, Ava, for the rest of your life.”

2
CHAPTER TWO

I’m thankful our flight doesn’t leave until 11 a.m. It leaves me just enough time to ease into my morning. Enzo is up early, as usual, and pacing around the living room while he talks on the phone.

“You have my number and can reach me when you need to, but I ask that you go through Francesca when you can. It is my honeymoon, after all.” He looks up and smiles as I enter the room. “Yes, okay, I need to go now. My wife is up.”

I plant a kiss on his cheek. “Up? I don’t know that I was ever down.” I grin. “Who was that?”

“That was Ted. He’s finalizing some of the contracts with the city next week for the Downtown Phoenix hotel. I was just making sure he had my contact information if I absolutely must be disturbed.” He wraps his arms around my waist. “But everyone knows there better be a disaster before interrupting me with my lovely bride.”

“I hope we’re always like this with each other – always so in love and talking this way. I know that eventually we’ll settle into a rhythm, have kids and responsibilities, but I really hope we can hold on to what we have right now.”

“We don’t hope,” he replies, kissing my neck. “We make sure it happens. I give you my promise.”

“I promise too.”

“I know.” His eyes cast downward. “Bella, we need to go to the police station to make a statement.”

The dark cloud of yesterday’s trauma hovers over me again, but I know I have to face it, and talk about it one more time. I hope this will be the last time I ever have to think about what almost happened.

I keep my thoughts to myself. “I know. We won’t miss our plane, will we?”

“I spoke with the detective this morning and he said it would take thirty minutes. He said he’d taken statements from many other people already. It seems that Anna is inconsolable and sedated in the hospital.” He shakes his head. “I must say, I’m still a little shocked that a simple rejection could turn into something this horrible.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Enzo, this is obviously much more than a simple rejection to her. Anna is delusional. She created a fantasy in her mind and you didn’t fulfill it. I only made it worse.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s what happened. Just the same, it’s very shocking. She was a very competent manager for many years. She ran my store well, always turned a profit, and remained very professional.”

“How exactly did it go down with her? I mean, how did she come on to you?” I ask. I’m not sure I want the details, but this is information I feel I should know.

Enzo hands me a cup of coffee. “Do you really want to hear this?”

I sit down at the table. “I feel like I do.”

He sits down next to me. “Anna called me in for the monthly inventory and told me there was a problem with some of the stock. She wanted me there to verify her numbers. It was a normal request. I had been there to do the same thing several times before.” He sips his espresso. “It was just me and her in the stockroom. Looking back now, I should have seen it. She was dressed… differently.”

“Differently?” I ask. “How?”

“I don’t remember the details. I just remember her looking more feminine than usual. Anyway, we were leaning over the desk, looking at spreadsheets and she… I don’t like telling you this story, Ava.”

“Please, I just want to know. It’s all in the past now.”

“Why do you want to know? What difference does it make?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I just feel like I need to know it.”

He sighs before continuing, “She pressed against me and kissed me. She just kissed me. No words or warning. I assume she thought I would want it.”

“What did you do?”

“I jumped back, pushed her away. I was angry with her and confused.”

“What did she do?”

“Anna stood up, and smoothed her dress and her hair. I remember the look in her eyes – it wasn’t her. I mean, it wasn’t the girl I was used to. She was so cold. She asked me why I didn’t want her, and I told her that our relationship was strictly professional. I told her I didn’t date and that I wasn’t interested in anything else.”

“What did she say then?”

“All she said was that she understood and it would never happen again. Anna told me she would finish the books in the morning, and if there was a problem she would let me know. It was then that I realized it was all a ruse to get me there. Honestly, I just left and hoped it wouldn’t affect our relationship going forward. The next time I saw her, she was cold and distant, but completely professional. We never spoke of it again. I thought it was a non-event.”

“She never did or said anything again?” I push.

He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “I should have seen it coming.”

“What?”

“I remember it so clearly now.” He looks off in the distance for a moment and then back at me. “Now that I’m telling you about it, I can remember the changes. She lost a lot of weight, cut her hair and upgraded her wardrobe. I think she even mentioned once that she was thinking of learning Italian. Now I can see she was trying to become what she thought I wanted. But, I never thought of her that way, not even once.”

“Well, somewhere along the way, her interest turned to obsession.”

“Obviously.” Standing, he adds, “We need to go, amore. Our bags are in the car already, and the station is a fifteen-minute drive from here.”

“Are Cassie and Chris here? I want to say goodbye.”

“You think I was going to share my wife on my wedding night? I had Grayson take them to the hotel to use our room.”

Oh yes, the hotel.

“I’m sorry about ruining your surprise. I just wasn’t up for it. I only wanted to be here with you.”

“You ruined nothing. Wherever you are is where I want to be.” He kisses my hand. “Andiamo.”

“Yes, let’s go.”

I’ve never seen Enzo drive so fast. I look around as we head to the police station, looking for any lurking paparazzi. I don’t think that is something I’ll ever get used to, so I hope I don’t need to. We pull up outside the station and check in at the front desk, where a woman directs us to sit for a moment.

Shortly, a burly man with a creased face, which has spent too many days in the Arizona sun, appears. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Milano, I’m Detective Jim Paulson. Come this way, please.”

Although his voice is gruff, I think his eyes are kind. Enzo keeps his arm around me as we take a seat in the detective’s office.

“Can I get you some terrible coffee?” he asks with a smile.

Enzo’s demeanor is anything but jovial. “No, we have a flight to catch in two hours, so if we can–”

“Of course. Mrs. Milano, can you tell me what happened when Miss Pierce confronted you?” Detective Paulson turns on a recorder.

Enzo squeezes my hand. “Tell him everything, Ava.”

I take a deep breath. “When I opened my hotel door, she was standing there, and then she shoved me inside.”

“Did she knock first?” the detective asks.

“No, she was just… there. She pushed me inside and starting talking crazy about how all of this was supposed to be happening to her, that it was her life and I was taking it away. She told me she tried to get me alone before the wedding day, but couldn’t. I asked her if she was the one who followed me and broke into my house. When she mentioned being in Italy, I knew it had to be her.”

“You were followed? When did this happen?”

Enzo answers, “On a trip to Italy a couple of months ago, and a few weeks before the wedding. Unfortunately, we are followed at times by the media, so it’s difficult to tell the difference between that and something unusual.”

“Did anything happen to you when you were followed?” asks Detective Paulson.

“In Italy I was pushed and I hit my head on a wall.” I glance at Enzo, remembering the first fight we had over that incident.

The detective nods. “And your house was broken into? Was that reported, Mr. Milano?”

“Yes, that was reported.”

“Mrs. Milano, please continue.”

I retell the events like I’m talking about a movie. I feel no emotion. I can’t cry and I don’t even feel anger. It feels like it happened to someone else. “I thought my only chance was to rush past her and try to get the gun away. Somehow in the struggle, she must have pulled the trigger,” I finish.

“The answer is obvious, but I have to ask it. Did you feel your life was threatened by Miss Pierce, Mrs. Milano?”

I nod. “Yes definitely.”

Enzo leans towards the detective and taps his finger on the desk. “I want her charged with everything – stalking, breaking and entering, and attempted murder.” His voice is colder than I’ve ever heard before.

“Yes, sir,” the detective replies. “It’s likely that she’ll be found incompetent though, and plead insanity. In this case, I’d say that’s probably accurate.”

“Regardless, I want her charged,” Enzo insists.

“You got it. If you and your wife could sign these statements, you can go.”

“Detective, what are the chances of this going to trial?” I ask, needing to know.

“Unlikely ma’am,” he replies. “Last I heard Miss Pierce was sedated and incoherent. She’ll still be prosecuted, though there probably won’t be a trial.”

“Thank you, detective.”

He smiles. “You’re welcome. Try to enjoy your honeymoon.”

“We will,” Enzo responds, shaking Detective Paulson’s hand.

My husband holds my hand as we walk to the car. “I’m sorry you had to go through that again,” he tells me.

“It was necessary and I suspect it’s not entirely over. I can handle it, Enzo.”

“Like you’ve handled me?” He grins, being playful again. Thank goodness.

I smile back and put up a fist. “I’m pretty tough.”

“That you are, my love. This trip will be amazing – just the two of us.”

I squeeze his hand. “I know. I’ll be much happier in a couple of hours when we are high up in the air.”

****

“Amore, wake up. We’re here.”

I hear Enzo’s voice, softly lifting me out of my Ambien-powered sleep. I filled a prescription for the sleep aid, so I’d be prepared to hit the ground running in Italy this time. I’m especially thankful for it, after staying awake almost all night with my handsome prince. We are flying into Naples and will spend our time in the nearby town of Sorrento.

I stretch and yawn. “I’m awake.”

“We’ll get our luggage and go straight to the house.”

“House?” I ask.

“I rented one. I’m going to be very regular.” His brilliant smile lights up his face.

“What does that mean?”

“Cooking, cleaning and laundry – regular people things…”

“Oh, see I was thinking of lovemaking, lovemaking and lovemaking – regular honeymoon things.”

He laughs. “I like your plans better. Fortunately, I’m open to negotiation.”