Page 195 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

She and Domenico exchanged polite greetings with many of the couples in attendance before collecting drinks from the bar and standing at one of the high top tables. Rae was able to breathe for all of two seconds before she spied renowned socialite Luisa D’Amato strutting in their direction, her sights very much fixed on them. Behind her smile Rae’s teeth gritted together, her body tightening even more. Luisa was the very last person she wanted to deal with. Their interactions had always been unpleasant, with every single remark she’d ever made designed to make Rae feel small and insecure and incompetent, and as hard as Rae had tried to withstand their power, they’d somehow always left their mark, chipping at her confidence and her sense of security as Domenico’s wife. Not that Domenico had ever noticed, and Rae had never raised it with him, not wanting to appear petty or insecure, or as if she couldn’t handle herself in his world. But it had just become one more pretence, one more truth she wasn’t speaking, and one more brick in that ever-growing wall between them.

‘Rae, so wonderful to have you back,’ Luisa trilled as she reached them, air kissing each of her cheeks.

‘It’s lovely to be back,’ Rae replied with a smile.

Luisa surveyed her through heavily made-up eyes. ‘I must admit, we were starting to wonder if we would ever see you again, you were gone for so long. If only you’d heard some of the rumours going around,’ she murmured, leaning in almost conspiratorially. ‘That perhaps your marriage was over. Absolutely crazy, I said. But that’s why it’s dangerous to leave one’s husband unattended for so long. Hopes, as I’m sure you can understand, were getting rather high. But I assure you, Rae, I did my best to keep some of the more predatory women away. No doubt you can imagine who I’m talking about,’ she went on, gesturing not so subtly with her eyes to a passing female. ‘But I suppose it’s always nice to know you have options,’ she added with a direct look of smiling suggestion at Domenico, ‘should you ever want them.’

Rae’s fingers clenched dangerously around the crystal flute of champagne in her hand, unable to believe what Luisa had just said, and yet not surprised at all. But after all the catty remarks and slights Rae had had to suffer from her, that was too blatantly disrespectful, too far over the line, and she wasn’t going to just quietly accept it the way she always had before.

Throwing back her shoulders, she met Luisa’s gaze. ‘I’m very grateful for your help, Luisa, although I knew I had nothing to worry about. It’s not as though anyone here is Domenico’s type or he wouldn’t have still been single when I came along, would he?’ she mused, trailing a hand down his arm. ‘But your care and attention towards him is much appreciated, especially when you could have been using that time to look for husband number three. Or it is number four? I’ve lost track.’

From the corner of her eye Rae was sure she caught Domenico’s look of surprise, but she was more interested in Luisa’s faltering expression.

‘If you’ll excuse me, I see Antonia and I need to speak with her. But it is wonderful to see you.’

‘You too. Say hello from me.’ Rae smiled as Luisa walked away. A small sense of satisfaction rippled through her, but she hated that she’d earned it by engaging in the same unkindness that Luisa practised.

‘Are you okay?’ Domenico asked in her ear, a low whisper that sent shivers rippling through her.

‘I’m fine,’ she replied, taking a sip of her champagne in the hope of shedding the nasty feeling snaking through her veins.

‘Your hand is shaking, Rae.’

She looked at her hand to see Domenico was right, and then quickly up at him. ‘I’ve never found Luisa to be the easiest person to deal with, that’s all.’

He said nothing else, but placed a warm hand on the bare skin of her back, rubbing his palm up and down her spine, and within seconds she could feel the tension start to ease and her body begin to relax. Whether Domenico had intended it as an act of comfort and reassurance or as a necessary show of affection, Rae wasn’t sure, and the answer did not prove forthcoming as her awareness narrowed to that mesmerising motion of his hand over her sensitive skin, streams of hot, sparkly feeling running in a dozen different directions.

She wanted that delicious feeling in the rest of her body too. She wanted those clever fingers to slide up her spine and graze her side. Wanted them to slip beneath the silk and curl over her breast, for him to touch and tease as he’d once loved to, and as she’d loved also. How many times had he brought her to screaming orgasm just by lavishing the hot attention of his lips and tongue on her breasts?

The bliss of imagining was dashed as she felt eyes scalding her skin. Across the ballroom, Luisa and her group of friends stared their way, murmuring intently amongst themselves.

‘Ignore them.’ Domenico’s lips were against her ear again, his hand continuing to trace over her skin, skating a line up and down her spine.

‘She’s ghastly... To stand there and say those things to my face.’ Rae looked up at him. His expression was unconcerned and that rattled her even more, breath hissing from between her lips. ‘Not that I expect you to care. You’re probably delighted to know you have so many options.’

His eyes gleamed, dark and rich and completely devastating. ‘A little late to be possessive, isn’t it?’ he remarked with a slight smile, sliding his hand to the curve of her waist and pulling her even tighter against his muscled body, and she hated that it did make her feel better. That each caress softened her mood that little bit more. That the nearer she was to his body, the more the rest of the room seemed to slide away. ‘You never seemed to be bothered by the women and their comments before.’

Was he actually that obtuse? Rae thought with a frowning glance up at him. Or had her feelings really mattered so little to him that he’d never spared a thought for how those high society social occasions, in which she had no experience, could be difficult for her? It was hardly a new realisation, but it was jarring all the same.

‘Of course I was bothered by them, Domenico,’ she sighed, frustration loosening her tongue.

The look on his face was one she recognised: he was chewing over that information, trying to fit it in with all that he already knew. ‘You never said anything.’

The words contained a mild accusation and Rae moved her shoulders in a small inexpressive shrug. She was regretting having said anything about it now and making it a bigger deal, highlighting her silly female feelings when she’d only ever wanted him to think of her as strong and capable, the perfect wife. The weight of his stare was unmoving, though, and Rae knew she had to say something to defuse the heaviness of the moment and diminish her confession.

‘Most of the time there didn’t seem to be much point in complaining about it,’ she admitted reluctantly and uncomfortably. ‘It’s not like it’s something you can control, Domenico. I just saw it as a reality of being with you. Of course other women were going to be catty or jealous or mean. You’re a beautiful man. You’re wealthy. You’re powerful. One of those is catnip. All three together is a lethal combination. Naturally, any woman who looks at you is going to find you irresistible. Because you are.’

His hand had stopped moving. He stared down at her, a new light moving through his powerful gaze and, much to her annoyance, Rae realised she had done the opposite of what she’d wanted. Instead of brushing him off, she’d only made him want to dig deeper into her feelings. ‘Irresistible?’

He repeated the word with a quirk of his lips and for the barest of seconds he looked like the Domenico she was used to—the Domenico she’d fallen head over heels for and married in a whirlwind. Charismatic and quick-minded, with that devastating slash of a smile. There was none of the cool distance, none of the well-bred politeness he’d treated her with on their few brief encounters since she’d been back.

‘It’s only the truth,’ Rae replied huskily, feeling colour rush to her cheeks as she cursed herself for giving away something else that she shouldn’t have. For giving him a first-hand look at the feelings she was alternating between ignoring and denying.

Domenico seemed to be on the verge of saying something else, his eyes dark with thoughts, before clearly changing his mind. ‘We should dance,’ he said instead, prising her flute from her hand and leading her to the centre of the room, where many couples were already taking advantage of the lilting music to move in smooth circles around the floor.

Domenico pulled her in close. His jaw brushed her cheek, the touch jolting through her like an electric shock. She caught the scent of him, strong and sharp, and it clouded her head completely and Rae had to fight the urge to brush her lips across his smooth, sweet-smelling skin, to sample his flesh with the tip of her tongue.

Get a grip, Rae.

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