Page 200 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

He’d ignored and avoided this for too long, he realised with a burst of clarity. Too many nights he had lain awake, his sleep disturbed by his unfulfilled craving for the sweet connection with her body, and that had probably helped to cause the confusion in his mind, his body becoming overwrought with need and misinterpreting the signals being transmitted. But that was easily fixed.

‘I think we may need to revisit the terms of our arrangement,tesoro,’ he murmured against her lips, finding the power to momentarily break the kiss.

Rae’s cheeks were flushed and she blinked a few times, a frantic look spreading across her face. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Us, Rae.This.We clearly both still want each other. We may as well take advantage of this time and enjoy ourselves.’

‘No.’ Rae shook her head, lightly at first but then with even more vehemence. ‘No. Domenico. You’re wrong. I don’t...’

‘Don’t lie and tell me you don’t feel it too, Rae,’ he said huskily. ‘I know your body, your kisses.’ Even in that second, he could feel the hum of her blood, moving fast and hungry through her aroused body. ‘I know you still desire me as I do you.’

An expression of panic shot through her eyes and she tried to put as much space as possible between their heated bodies. ‘We’re not having this conversation. We have an arrangement and the terms of it are fine. And now you should leave. You need to leave. There is a problem at your office and people waiting for you,’ she reminded him sternly.

Domenico couldn’t argue with that. The clock was ticking on his crisis. But if he didn’t have to leave...

Using his finger, he angled her flushed and frantic face up to his. ‘You may be able to run from this right now, but we will be talking about it again,’ he promised, feeling the quiver skittering beneath her skin. ‘What we have is too special to waste, Rae. So think about it...think about all the ways you know I can satisfy you. I know I will be.’

CHAPTER SEVEN

TAKINGABREAKfrom the sketch she had been focused on for the last forty minutes, Rae savoured a sip of her cool water and, leaning back in her seat in her favourite corner of the palazzo’s courtyard, tilted her face towards the sun, enjoying the heat that kissed her cheeks. However, she had no sooner closed her eyes than Domenico loomed at the forefront of her mind, just as he had numerous times since the previous night, forcing her to snap her eyes open again to keep her thoughts from wandering too far off the beaten track.

The previous evening had been...unexpected. After the kissing incident at the gala she’d been nervous about being so close to him again and had expected that the night would be edged with the tautest kind of tension, an expectation that had seemed on point when Domenico had been quiet, almost distracted, when they’d set out from the palazzo. But then he’d amazed her by asking about Imogen and from then the conversation had unfolded with incredible ease. Admittedly, he had stayed true to form and redirected the conversation when he hadn’t wanted to say any more on the topic of his birth mother, but it had surprised her how candid he’d been about his shattering experience as a young boy.

Having waited so long for answers about his past, any answers, it had been hard for Rae to not be greedy, to refrain from pushing for more information, but she knew how difficult it was to draw him out to speak about his memories and she hadn’t wanted to scare him into shutting down entirely and so had let him change the subject, content that he had opened up at all.

Rae couldn’t remember a time when he had been as open with her. As they’d walked home, he had even offered up details about The Ricci Group, but it was what he had revealed about himself and the past, which he carried like an albatross around his neck, that had stuck with Rae the most.

Learning that his mother had actually lived in Venice had astonished her, because she’d never been given any indication that there had been any contact between him and any of his immediate family members. Hearing that she had completely ignored his presence had rendered Rae speechless, heartbroken for Domenico that he’d been forced to face such callousness and livid with his mother at the same time. It was a good thing that she no longer lived in Venice because, now that she was privy to that information, Rae was certain she would not be able to cross paths with the woman and hold her tongue. Of course there could be circumstances that Rae wasn’t aware of, but, regardless, Domenico had deserved better than that. He’d deserved some acknowledgement of his existence at the very least.

She’d watched the pain flicker like a dying ember in his eyes as he’d recounted their encounter and the added admission that he’d crumpled the memory into something small and buried it away had torn at her heart whilst also explaining so much. If that was how he had handled any painful experiences over the years, he probably had a whole mental trunk stuffed with negative emotion that he never wanted to open again, hence why he’d resisted her every attempt to get him to open up. Perhaps he was afraid that once he let one thing loose, the rest would come tumbling out in an overwhelming tumult that would bury him.

It definitely cast his actions in a new light. In the past, Rae had taken his rebuffs personally, the rejection weighing heavy on her heart because she’d felt that he didn’t want to share his secrets withher, that he didn’t trust her enough to open himself up. But maybe his reluctance had always been more about his own fears. Maybe if she’d pressed harder, as she had last night, rather than backing off when he’d made it clear he wanted her to, they could have achieved that small breakthrough long ago.

Not that it mattered any more. The past was gone and their future extended only as far as the next six months, and, even if that deadline hadn’t existed, Domenico still didn’t possess the emotional openness that Rae wanted in the man she chose to share her life with. She wanted a partner whom she could talk to about anything, a partner who would be supportive and encouraging, who would meet her where she needed to be met, a partner who could share his feelings as easily as he shared his bed. That wasn’t Domenico.

Their conversation last night had been good, and had reassured Rae that once she changed she could encourage change in those around her, but it certainly didn’t mean thathehad changed in any meaningful or permanent way.

Since a future together was not a viable option—and it absolutely wasn’t—where was the sense in rekindling a sexual relationship that would only blur the lines of their arrangement? She knew with every rational breath she drew that it wasn’t a good idea, yet...yet last night’s kiss was playing over and over in her mind, like a song on repeat.

That hot, searing, purposeful claim his mouth had staked on hers had been like something from a dream. Tender but powerful. The full force of him had been contained in that encounter, making her feel as if the earth was shifting beneath her feet and she couldn’t help but wonder if there was another man on the planet who could be capable of making her feel so much. Not that she was thinking about a relationship with anyone else. Her sole focus, for the moment, was on herself and creating the life she desired. When she’d left Venice, Rae had assumed that in time Domenico’s mark on her would fade, but the more time she spent with him, the more confused she became because she realised how deeply her physical senses still belonged to him. Yearned for him.

It had taken far too long for her body to settle last night.‘Think about all the ways you know I can satisfy you,’Domenico had said, and Rae had certainly done that. She hadn’t been able to stop herself from thinking about it.

Those aching throbs low in her pelvis had continued to strike long after she’d showered and climbed into bed and, as sternly as she had ordered herself not to, Rae had yearned for Domenico to return and satisfy her in a way she hadn’t ached for anything in a long time, even though she knew that was a path she must absolutely not go down.

But the tentative emotional connection that had threaded itself between them like a silken web had only made that physical yearning all the deeper. Because the time they’d spent together had highlighted how he could be a perfect partner. He’d listened so attentively to her concern over her sister and his response had been thoughtful and wise. After their conversation, the worry she’d been nursing had been somewhat allayed, his reassurance calming her.

She wasn’t used to having someone to share her concerns with and it had dawned on Rae that perhaps that she hadn’t always been the best at sharing her feelings or concerns either. Since losing her parents, she’d had to carry her worries alone. Her sisters had had more than enough to contend with in their grief and she’d never wanted to burden them more. Over time it had become her habit to keep things inside and to steady her fears herself.

So maybe if she had been better at sharing...matters would have unfolded differently. But there was no point in dwelling on that either. She couldn’t alter the past and Rae knew that she had made the right choice in leaving. That was proven by the giant strides she’d made in building her own bridal collection in only a few short months. If she’d still been in Venice, still been a full-time Ricci wife, there was no way she would have had the time to outline her whole collection, source materials and design and produce nearly a dozen bridal and bridesmaids’ gowns.

Her mother had made the choice to abandon her dreams of running her own catering company once she’d become a corporate wife. She had given over all of herself to the demands of Rae’s father’s busy professional life, and they’d enjoyed an enormously happy relationship, but where had it left her mother? She’d been devastated by her husband’s untimely death and, without anything other than him to anchor her, had been swept away by a tide of grief and loneliness. Rae refused to follow her there. Refused to leave herself in a position for that to happen.

Whatever she was feeling for Domenico, she was unequivocal about that.

‘I should have known I’d find you out here. It always was one of your favourite spots.’

Rae started, taken unawares by the low thrum of Domenico’s voice, almost as if the strength of her thoughts had conjured him home, and as her eyes jumped to where the voice had come from, her heart leapt high in her chest.

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