Page 201 of La Dolce Vita

The sexy smirk on her lips slipped away. He had her attention. And he intended to keep it. "You see,la piccoletta, you can't just pile on the compliments with a woman like you. If I give you too much too soon, it doesn't feel genuine. If I were to tell you how sexy, your lips are to me. How every time you cross your thighs I want to part them, you wouldn't believe me. If I can't see past your beauty and into that determined little heart of yours, you won't open it to me. Will you?"

"I don't think physical attraction is about any of that," she stammered.

"Physical isn't. Attraction is the key. You can lie with your mouth, Catalina. It's your eyes." He said. "That's why I removed your sunglasses. It's the way you look up when I say your name. Or the way you look away when I talk about your accomplishments. It's how long it took your mind to respond to your body heat when I kissed you. The physical comes last, the attraction between us has always been there."

"So what if it is? I can be attracted to another man and still love my Domi."

"True. But can you be seduced by another man and still love him?"

"No, that's crossing the line," she said.

"What line? Is there a line here? One between you and me? You crossed it when you met with me in secret in Mondello. When you spoke to me on the phone and didn't tell him. That line was crossed a long time ago."

"Domi would forgive those mistakes. This, he wouldn't."

"And if he never knew?"

"I would know. I couldn't live with it."

"Then there is no point? Is there?"

"What?" she frowned.

"No point in me taking you to bed. No point in this dinner. You don't want it. And I can't convince you to let go of his approval to save your cousin."

"If you give those tapes to Gio or his enemies, he will kill Lorenzo. Marietta loves him. He's her heart. You kill him; you kill her. Your father's long lost daughter. She dies because of those tapes."

Armando got up from the table. He walked over to the cabinet and opened it. Inside he worked the combination on the safe. He opened it and removed the tapes. Catalina watched him in disbelief. He put them down on the table next to her fork.

"What is this? A trick?”

"What you came for."

"That's not all of them," she said.

"It's all of them," he assured her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you proved to be stronger than I thought. And I'm an asshole. I'm just not that big of an asshole. The way I see it, I got to have dinner withla piccoletta. Not many men can claim that."

She opened the case of cassettes and counted them. There were seven copies. A slot was missing for another. She looked up at him with disbelief.

"You destroyed the eighth copy," he said.

"Grazie,Armando.Grazie."She stood and initiated the embrace. She hugged him. She felt so relieved; she had to hug him. And when the elation lifted and common sense returned, she looked up into his eyes. Her arms were fastened around his neck. He turned a bit to face the window. Her face barely an inch from his. Armando leaned in to kiss her, and despite her common sense, she parted her lips and kissed him back. His hold slowly tightened around her waist. His lips touched, but his tongue tantalized. It swept in and out slowly, drawing every ounce of breath from her lungs. And the kiss wasn't rushed, it wasn't prolonged, it ended on the sweetest note. Armando released her mouth and ignited a fire deep within her. Shocked, she didn't know whether to kiss him again or run from the room.

"And this is how you seduce a woman, Catalina. You give her what her heart desires. You wait to see if she comes back for more."

He let her go. He walked over to where her coat and returned to put it carefully over her shoulders. Catalina took the tapes from the cassette holder and dropped them into her purse. She smiled at Armando, but she didn't know what else to say.

"Isabella only sent me those tapes to taunt me. You can believe there are more out there. One way or another that bitch is going to have her revenge. You better find a way to prepare your family."

She nodded her agreement.

"Good night," he said to her.

"Good night," she managed to mumble before she walked away. Her legs kept going, but her head turned to look back for him. He wasn't in the hall. He didn't pursue her. Just like that, it was over. Catalina went to the elevator and pressed the button repeatedly until the elevator doors opened and she was safely inside. The minute the doors closed Catalina squealed with triumph. She jumped up and down and celebrated by shaking her head and her hips.

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