Page 89 of Empire of Temptation

I needed my hands free. Cursing my son, I took the mug from her and set it in the holder, along with mine. “Valentina.” I cupped her face in my palms and brushed my thumbs over the velvety skin of her jaw. “I want you passionate and loud. I want you to scream your pleasure so the entire town hears it. And I wasn’t quiet, either. So who gives a fuck?”

“I do,” she said, frowning. “It’s humiliating. We’re not having sex in your house again.”

No way would I agree to that. I gentled my voice. “Piccolina, I’ll fuck you in every room of that house, if I choose. And I won’t care who hears it.”

“Well, I do. And we can stay at my?—”

I cut her off. “Don’t say it. I’ll move Gabriele to a hotel before I agree to sleep at your house.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my house. Beef up the security if you want. Make it safer, I don’t care. But we’d be totally alone there.”

No, this wasn’t happening. I wanted her in my house, which was more secure than most prisons. Therefore, this discussion was over.

I unbuckled her seat belt and lifted her up onto my lap. Her ass settled on my thigh and her side pressed against my chest. I kissed her throat, my hand drifting up to cover her tit. The smell of her bodywash—which I now knew was melon—invaded my senses and my dick started plumping. Fuck, I was insatiable for this woman.

She arched her neck to give me better access, while her hands gripped my suit coat. I nibbled and licked, then bit her gently and she gasped—a tiny intake of breath that had me wanting to lay her down in the back seat, remove her panties, and eat her pussy for breakfast.

“We’re not done . . . discussing this,” she said between breaths.

“Amore, who makes the rules?” I whispered, plucking at the buttons on her sweater, opening them.

“Luca.” It came out more like a whine.

I dragged my knuckles along her cleavage, wishing there was time to suck on her nipples. “I should take you into the restaurant, lock us into your office, and fuck you again. Then you could feel my come inside you all day long.”

Her fingers tightened. “Everyone would know.”

“Yes, that’s true. Everyone in the restaurant would know how greedy this pussy is, how much you need my cock.”

“Oh, god.” She slumped against me, pliant and soft. “Stop talking. Aldo can hear you, and I have a restaurant to reopen.”

“Then stop arguing with me. Trust me to take care of you.”

She smoothed my silk tie, the one she picked out earlier. “No one has taken care of me in a long time.”

“I know.” I kissed the top of her head. “Which is why I want to do it. No one is more deserving than you.”

“That is very sweet.” She played with the knot of my tie. “So who takes care of you?”

I frowned, almost insulted at the question. I was raised to be strong, a man who needed no one. There hadn’t been any compassion or understanding in the Benetti household. My father’s love had been wrapped up in cruelty and responsibility, and my mother always sided with him, even after he treated her like shit. I did what I could to shelter my brothers from him, but it hadn’t been easy.

My father discussed a marriage for me many times, but died before seeing it through. Then as the years passed, I resisted bringinga woman into my world. What need was there to marry? I had two sons already and I fucked whomever I pleased. The staff oversaw the house. And I wouldn’t love a wife, so why would bother?

“Luca?”

Blinking, I glanced out the window. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn’t realized we’d arrived at the trattoria. “Andiamo,” I said, setting her on the leather. “I’ll walk you inside.”

She put her hand on my shoulder and her keen brown gaze searched my face. “Are you okay?”

“Of course.”

Her expression didn’t change. Leaning in, she placed her lips on mine and kissed me sweetly. Unhurriedly. Like we had all the time in the world. I heard the door close, which meant Aldo was giving us privacy. So I deepened the kiss, needing to prolong it. I wasn’t ready to turn her over to the busy day ahead. Being with her was a tiny respite, a slice of happiness in a brutal and terrible world. It was like Valentina washed away all my sins, a benediction of kisses that made me feel whole.

The air in the car turned humid, so I pulled away. We were both panting. “You ruined my lipstick,” she whispered. “And now it’s all over your mouth.”

“I don’t give a shit. You’re still beautiful.” I wiped the edges of her now-swollen lips. “And everyone will know I kissed you goodbye before work.”

She bent down and reached into her new handbag. When she straightened she held a tissue in her hand. “Hold still.” She proceeded to wipe the lipstick off my face, her touch firm as she cleaned me. I didn’t move. No woman had taken such care with me. No one would have dared. Or maybe I wouldn’t have allowed it. It was hard to say why I was allowing it now, except that I didn’t want to hurt Valentina’s feelings.

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