Page 71 of Twisted Obsession

I’d just placed the glass back on the tray and quietened my mind, when I heard her heels hit the gangplank outside. One of my men spoke to her and then suddenly, a few seconds later, I could feel her behind me.

‘Hello, love.’

‘Ciao, Dante.’ The hairs on my arms stood on end as she spoke my name.

‘Come on in, Giovanna,’ I commanded. ‘Take a seat.’

‘Where?’ I could hear the subtle tremor in her voice.

‘Anywhere.’ Without looking at her, I picked up a remote and operated the privacy glass that had been placed in all the windows of the saloon. Then I strode towards the door and, after closing it, I used the remote in my hand to lock it. In the confined space, I honed in on her breathing and listening to it I could hear her own struggle. With that spurring me on, I finally turned and found her eyes with my own. I took the few strides I needed to come up close to where she had chosen to sit. When I was directly in front of her, I bent my legs, lowered myself slowly and sat down on my haunches, before taking one of her hands in mine. If only to stop her hands fidgeting while resting on her bare legs.

Fuck!

What the hell is she wearing?

Whatever it was, it barely covered her arse and left her long, silky looking legs fully on display.

With my eyes focussed on hers, I let her know who was in charge of the meeting she’d asked for. I stroked my fingers over the back of her hand, watching as her lips parted in response, and committed the gasp she released to memory, as I stroked down towards the tips of her manicured fingernails. Then I stopped all movement and stared intently at her, watching as her pupils dilated at our minimal contact, before turning her hand over and placing my lips against her wrist.

‘Now what was it you wanted to ask?’ Her mouth opened at my question, but before she could answer it, I placed one finger to her lips and silenced her. ‘Ahh, no need.’ I shook my head slightly, ‘I remember… did I ever love you?’ I tapped my fingers on her leg as I spoke out the last five words, making sure she felt them as strongly as I did. ‘Does it make any difference if I did or not? We’ve been apart a long time.’

‘It makes a difference to me, Dante.’ I could hear she was telling the truth, but needed to make her squirm that bit longer.

I rocked my head slowly from side to side as I pretended to think. It was then I understood, that however much I wanted to be a complete bastard to her, I couldn’t. She hadn’t started what had happened between us, I had. And for that reason alone, I owed it to her to be as truthful as I could, hopefully without destroying what was left of my heart in the process.

‘I…’ She spoke against my finger, and the reverberations caused an electrical surge to travel straight up my arm and down to my cock. Slowly, I moved my finger away, and trailed it down her jawline, just as I had the day we’d first met as adults. Her breathing changed and I pulled the finger sharply away, unwilling to show any reaction to her. Then I leant in close and with her loose hair brushing against the side of my face, I told her the truth.

‘Yes, Ididlove you, Giovanna.’ I emphasised the one word I needed her to hear clearly. Moving slowly out of her personalspace, I sat back on my haunches once again and took in the look of what could only be described as shock on her face, before standing and making my way over to the food Juan had prepared for us. ‘Is that all you came to find out?’

‘I’m not sure.’ I felt her truth deep in the heart I was so certain her leaving me in London had destroyed, and it made me uncomfortable. Knowing what needed doing, I broke the silence between us. ‘Come and eat.’

‘I’m not hungry.’

‘I didn’t ask if you were hungry—I told you to come and eat.’

‘Dante,’ she pleaded.

I turned back to face her after gaining some of my equilibrium back and placed an olive in my mouth. I made the olive burst in my mouth and swallowed it down.

‘Giovanna, you asked to see me. You wanted to ask me a question—I’ve answered it. Now, are you going to eat a civil meal with me, or is there more to why you’re here?’

‘I can’t eat!’ The words released on a sob.

‘Why?’

‘This is too much! How can you want to eat? There is so much between us unsaid—can’t you feel that?’ Emotion hung from her every word.

‘Forget about food,’ I declared, throwing a hand up into the air, knowing that our conversation was rapidly becoming too emotional to carry on, and there were things I needed to know for myself before she once again walked out of my life. Even the thought of that made me feel sick. ‘Tell me how come you managed to be in Malta? I know the level of security Salvatore would demand of your stepfather?’ I questioned, taking more of her in than was necessary for my mental health. Her beautiful hair had been left loose and was as long as I remembered, with its natural honey-coloured streaks. Her make-up was subtle, but it made her eyes stand out. I found myself focussed on her inthe silence as I wondered, not for the first time, if her eyes were greener or was the light brown more dominant.

‘It’s a long story.’

‘I have all night,’ I voiced and instantly regretted it, because fuck—what I would do to have her spend the night here with me.

‘I have a music and a teaching degree.’ I heard her speak and extinguished the thoughts inside my head and raised my eyebrows at her news, not knowing where the fuck she was going with her answer.

‘Congratulations. Did you get to Bologna?’ I folded my arms over my chest, as I looked at her with interest.

‘I did.’ Over the past few years, any news of Giovanna had rarely reached my ears, probably on Salvatore’s instructions. I was pleased he had allowed her to live, when he could have married her off early or locked her away. ‘And I’ve just taken up a post for September to teach deaf students at St. Cecilia in Rome, on a voluntary basis… It was Luca…’ She looked questioningly at me to see if I knew about Luca, and I offered her a quick nod before she carried on. ‘With our nephew being partially deaf, but able to feel the vibrations my piano generates and enjoying it so much… Well, I wanted to bring that to others.’

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