Venetian Masquerade (4 page)

“What did you do when he kissed you?” pleaded Maria.

“I stepped back and slapped him very hard round the face.”

“And what did he do?”

“He kissed me again.”

And he had told her there was no point in fighting it because he could feel her body responding, her lips growing soft and responsive and, moving a hand to her breast, her nipples hardening. But Amy kept those details to herself.

“I knew, I just knew, that he was going to be a part of my life, whether I wanted him to be or not. He was so arrogant, I absolutely disliked him, but there was a fire in me I had never felt before. Well, I managed to break away when a secretary came bursting in with an urgent message for Alessandro, and I fled back to the office in a state of shock.”

“And he came after you?”

“He must have called Mrs. Wentworth to ask where she’d found me. Within the hour, a florist’s van arrived outside. For five minutes, the driver went to and fro, bringing in about a hundred and fifty red roses, all in crystal vases. My boss and the other girls were in hysterics. The phone rang every five minutes, but I refused to speak to him for the rest of the afternoon. Being Alessandro, he wouldn’t give up. He came to the office in person and dragged me off into the back of his car outside. The chauffeur shut the door, drove off, and I was virtually kidnapped.”

“Oh, Amy, how romantic.”

“Yes, it was. It was…” To Maria’s obvious frustration, Amy went into a reverie, remembering how Alessandro sat on one side of the car and she, as far away from him as possible, on the other.

“How dare you do this, Signor,” she said, glaring at him. “Just who do you think you are?”

“Oh, I know who I am, Amy,” he said, smiling at her. “And I know who you are—and who you are going to be.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you are going to be mine. You already know it, so there’s no point in fighting me—although I am sure you will. The minute you walked into the room and I looked at you, I think we both understood our lives would be intertwined forever.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Where are you taking me?”

“Only to dinner. What did you think I was going to do? Drag you to my castle and take you by force?”

She turned to glare at him. “I imagine you are capable of anything. Now let me go, Signor. I don’t know you.”

“Yes, you do, and my name is Alessandro. Your soul recognized me straight away, as mine did yours.”

“Amy!” protested Maria. “Stop floating away. What happened next?”

“Sorry…well, because he gave me no choice in the matter, I had dinner with him in a small, very unpretentious bistro. After the way he’d kissed me at the office, I had visions of fighting him off afterwards, and I was prepared to make a real stand, but to my utter amazement, he took me back to my flat, gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek, and left.”

“And then what?”

“I wondered if I would ever see him again. I presumed he thought me an unsophisticated little fool and not his type at all. But he was waiting for me outside the office the next evening and the same thing happened. He didn’t make a move on me…just dinner and an avuncular goodnight kiss. For three weeks, the same thing every evening: we went to the ballet, to art galleries, to restaurants, and every night, he took me home and gave me a kiss on the cheek at my front door. He was really very charming and funny, and he stretched my mind. He would tell me about his business interests, his view on life, and wanted to know about me. By then, of course, I was madly in love with him, and he knew it. But he was prepared to wait for me to tell him when I was ready to…to...”

“Make love?”

“Yes.” Amy laughed. “Are you shocked?”

“At my age, my dear, it would take more than that. What happened next?”

“Maria, you can guess what happened next. One night after the theatre, when I really thought he might just turn and walk away, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I kissed him. It was the signal he had been waiting for, and the effect was…indescribable.”

“So, you became lovers?” asked Maria sleepily.

“Yes, we became lovers,” Amy replied softly as the old lady closed her eyes with a smile, drifting into a light doze.

Sitting beside her godmother, Amy remembered that kiss as if it had happened yesterday. Alessandro had brought her home and led her to the garden gate, leaning on it with such a look of longing in his eyes, her heart somersaulted. He didn’t touch her, not even a kiss on the cheek and then, to her dismay, he’d turned to leave. “Goodbye, Amy,” he’d whispered, and panic had stricken her heart.

“That sounded very final, Alessandro,” she called after him.

“Do you want it to be?”

“No.”

“Then you must show me what you do want.”

Amy took a deep, shaky breath, knowing what would happen, but she was in an agony of need, longing to be in his arms. Slowly, she walked towards him and, standing almost on tiptoe, brushed her lips across his. The effect was electric, and with a groan, he took her face in his hands and kissed her back, gently at first and then more and more deeply; she was swept away in a tidal wave of desire and flung her arms around his neck.

“At last,” he murmured. “I would have gone insane if you had made me wait any longer. Come with me, my darling. Come with me now…now…”He pulled her back into the car and told the driver to head for Lido di Roma. He made a mysterious phone call, saying simply, “Luigi, tonight.”

“Where are we going?” she gasped, coming up for air a few minutes later.

“We are going to my yacht. I am taking you away for a few days.”

“Your yacht? I can’t, I have to work. You have to work…I haven’t packed…”

But he laughed and kissed away her protests, and by the time they arrived in the old Roman port, she felt as if her insides had turned to liquid fire. The port was lit by myriad lights, and Alessandro took a bag from the boot of the car, which she later discovered contained everything she might need, and sent the driver back to the city. Then he led her to a beautiful white yacht named Silver Lady, gleaming in the moonlight, moving sensuously to the lap of the waves, and led her on board.

“We’ll stay in port tonight. Tomorrow, Luigi and my crew will come on board and I shall take you on a cruise you will never forget. Now, come with me.”

He led her to his stateroom—a room such as she had never seen, furnished exquisitely with antiques and leather sofas. Next, he took her through to the bedroom, in the center of which a vast double bed dominated the room, draped in blue silk damask, with a bottle of champagne on ice by the bed.

Amy began to laugh. “Did you learn all your romantic gestures from Hollywood B movies?”

“Too much? All right, we’ll take the champagne on deck and look at the moonlight.”

Amy laughed even more, going into paroxysms, making it difficult to breathe.

“You are impossible, Alessandro,” she gasped at last. “I don’t want the grand gesture, for Heaven’s sake. I just want…”

“Me?” he asked tenderly. “Please, say you just want me, cara.”

“I do, Alessandro. Truly, I do…but…”

“But what, Amy?”

“I’m not very…experienced. I’m afraid you will be disappointed…” she murmured, remembering ruefully her only previous sexual encounter with a fellow student after a party. It had been such a let down, she had fought off all comers ever since.

“It will be my sublime pleasure to teach you, Amy. Relax, darling, simply relax. Come here…”

And she had gone shyly into his arms.

Sitting beside the slumbering Maria, Amy remembered every erotic, sensual detail as it replayed in front of her eyes. She heard herself crying out joyfully many times during that night and remembered Alessandro burying his face in her hair afterwards, whispering her name over and over.

When she woke, after the most exhausting and unforgettable night of her life, the boat was at sea and the Italian coast had fallen behind the horizon. Alessandro had disappeared, but his side of the bed was still warm, and she laid her cheek on his pillow, breathing in the scent of him. Her body felt languid and achy after such a night of love, and she sighed, a contented smile on her face. The memory of his hands, touching, exploring, and delighting her body made her tremble anew…and his mouth… Oh, how he knew how to use that. Lying there naked in the silk sheets, she blushed and giggled, knowing she’d been led to do things she could barely have imagined, for Alessandro was an inventive and generous lover. But there had been no embarrassment—just a soaring need to give herself to him as he had given himself to her.

“Good morning, my sweet. Breakfast.” He came into the room dressed only in white shorts, carrying a tray bearing scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and a steaming pot of coffee.

She propped herself on one elbow and smiled at him, admiring his slim, athletic physique as he sat on the bed, placing the tray between them. His eyes darkened as he looked at her, and she knew that one touch of his hand would ignite the flame all over again. Seeing it in her eyes, he laughed softly.

“I must let you eat or you won’t have the energy you are going to need.”

That amazing week, she had needed a lot of energy; it had been an unforgettable experience as they’d visited Corsica, Nice, and Barcelona. Alessandro had delighted her mind during the day and her body every night. By the time they got back to Rome, Amy had known she had changed. She’d glowed with a new confidence, a new joy in life, a new love, and hope for a future which could only be spent with Alessandro. But it hadn’t worked out that way.

Chapter Three

A
my crept out of Maria’s room, taking with her the envelope she had been given. She went to find Gabriel, whom she discovered fussing over his boat.

“We met a little girl and her rather gorgeous mother in the park. They live down the road, and James has gone to play. Sonya will bring him home in time for lunch.”

“Sonya?”

“We got chatting while the children were playing. She’s lovely—short dark hair, enormous grey eyes, and a cute figure.”

“I see.” Amy gave him a questioning smile.

“Don’t worry, James is quite safe. She only lives a hundred yards away. Do you want to come for a boat ride? You look as if you could do with some fresh air.”

“Yes, can we go somewhere quiet where we can talk?” Amy climbed in, taking his hand, and sat facing him.

He started the outboard motor and steered the boat back along the little canal and into the lagoon before turning towards Arsenale, ten minutes away. Amy sat quietly, trying to absorb the turn her life had taken and the fact that she was, effectively, rather a rich woman. Gabriel didn’t interrupt her thoughts until he had moored the boat and helped her onto the quayside.

“Coffee?”

“Please.” They strolled to a restaurant and sat outside under a parasol.

“What am I going to do, Gabriel? I had absolutely no idea, you must believe me. I presumed you would inherit everything, or that she might have left me a small legacy…but this…” She laid the envelope on the table.

“Maria gave me my legacy early to start my business ten years ago. She put me firmly on my feet, and I can never thank her enough. As she had no children of her own, she is right to give back to you what your father helped her to accrue. I hold no grudges.”

“Thank you. I understand now what you meant by difficult days ahead, and I am certainly going to need a friend.” Her faced crumpled, and he took her hand.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, you have one. I shall treat you as my sister unless you ever give me the signals you want it otherwise.”

In that moment, Amy thought it would be very easy to give Gabriel those signals. He was good-looking, thoughtful, and kind, and she was sure he would never hurt her or let her down. But a dark shadow lurked in the background, and she knew Alessandro, much as she hated him, would always come between her and falling in love with someone like Gabriel.

An hour later, he moored the little boat outside Maria’s villa and helped Amy onto the road. “I’ll come and say goodbye to her before I go back to the island. Tomorrow, I am going to an auction in Padua, and I want to do some research into one of the lots on offer. Carmela has all my phone numbers, so call if you need me.”

Maria had decided to stay in bed, so he went in to say farewell. A few minutes later, Amy and James, still very excited to have met a playmate, watched as his boat began to move away.

James jumped up and down, yelling, “Come back soon. You promised to take me fishing!”

“On Saturday!” called back Gabriel, waving.

“Mama, can I invite Donna round soon? She’s my new friend, and I like her mama, too. She makes great muffins.”

“Yes, James, of course she can come to play—and her mama; it will be lovely for us both to have friends.”

When they went inside, Amy picked up the phone, impatient to speak to her own mother. “Mama, did you know Maria had planned to leave me the villa and most of her money?”

“Yes, I did. But she and I decided not to tell you until now because we wanted you to make a life for yourself first—enjoy a career, travel, and maybe marry—before having to make a big decision about moving back to Venice. Now you can choose to sell it and invest the money, or you can do as she suggests and turn it into a business.”

“I suppose I’ll consider all that when the time comes.”

“All right, my dear. Give Maria my love, and be careful because you are emotionally very vulnerable right now. How is James?”

“James is in love. This morning, he discovered a little girl called Donna who lives in an apartment down the road, and they are already inseparable. Her mum invited him to play.”

“And Gabriel…do you like him?” her mother asked tentatively.

“Yes, Mama, I like him enormously. But that’s all it could ever be.”