Page 48 of Until He Confesses

CALLIE

Positano was one of the cities that I had dreamed of visiting for so long, however, I was yet to actually make my way over myself or join a flight that was. And despite the complications that Lucas had contributed so far, I allowed myself to look forward to the trip as we neared Naples.

I busied myself in creating an itinerary, and by the time the pilot announced our descent I was fixated on going straight to the inn I had reserved. The trip was for a week, and Lucas’s team had no reason to need me until then unless there was an emergency return flight of some sort, and so I had free rein to spend my time and money as I wanted.

I was excited.

As I thought more about the romance of the city, I couldn’t help but look toward the shut door to his bedroom that had more or less remained closed for the entirety of the flight.

The bed in there though small, looked comfortable and I couldn’t help but admit that the idea of being fucked by someone I had such an insane attraction to thirty-two thousand feet in the air had its lure.

I shook my head and tried to stay focused.

You’ve already rejected him,I reminded myself.Any back and forth now will just be pathetic and downright disrespectful to him and what you both had in the past.

So, I stayed put until it was time for us to finally land at the Capodichino Airport in Naples.

As was required of me, I waited at the entrance for the guests on board to disembark. For him, however, I had to wait a little bit more until I realized that he was taking too long to emerge. Concerned, I headed over to his room and knocked on the door softly, but he didn’t respond.

Immediately worried, I went in myself, and just as I had suspected I saw him asleep. There were a bunch of papers surrounding him on the bed as well as his devices, making it clear that he had fallen asleep while working. I stared at him and felt my heart slightly shift. In this state, he looked so vulnerable and soft, yet the virile strength that exuded from his frame was unmistakable. I sighed. The last thing I wanted to do was wake him up but it was unavoidable, so I headed over and tried my best not to startle him.

I tapped him gently on his hand and soon enough his eyes came open.

He stared at me and for a second I was so struck at the intensity that I couldn’t speak. I recovered and explained what I was doing in his room.

“We’ve landed, sir," I tried to speak as softly as I could but ended up croaking out inaudible sounds instead.

I cleared my throat and tried again.

“We’re here, in Naples, sir,” I informed him. His gaze moved from my face to his surroundings and then shutting his eyes briefly he nodded, and I moved away so he could get up.

I turned around to leave so he could get the privacy he needed to get ready, and rather than just waiting at the door, I went to fetch him some water and as an added thought added in some lemon slices. I recalled he didn’t mind this although when we were younger, I was the one that had it frequently.

Soon he arrived and I presented it to him at the door.

He looked exhausted I realized, but so sinfully rugged that butterflies swarmed my stomach. It was about seven now in Naples and what I wouldn’t have given to be able to go with him wherever he was headed so that we could spend the night together. Instead, I cleared my throat once again and shook my head so I could come to my senses. His white shirt was loosely buttoned, the sleeves folded nearly up to his elbows, and his hair a tousled wavy mess.

He accepted the water while looking at me, but I kept my gaze on the draining glass and my lips curved in a smile.

“What are your plans for the next week?” he asked, his tone gruff and sexy as hell. I couldn’t look away from him then as I responded.

“I-I’m not sure yet,” I stuttered. “I’ll figure it out.”

This was the truth although I was sure that my response came off as a lie.

“Are you staying in Naples?”

I didn't respond. Instead, I smiled, thanked him for using our service, and began to head back toward the galley, thankfully with my sanity still intact.

22

LUCAS

Iwas going to be spending my week on a yacht. But before that, I had to spend the next day in Naples for the meeting that brought me to Italy in the first place and then I would be on my way. I was looking forward to resting and as I was driven away from the runway, I had to think hard about the last time I had been on vacation. It had been almost three years now and even this wasn’t completely a vacation as I would still be having casual business meetings throughout the week. Hence why I insisted I stay on a boat. This way when it was time to rest, I would truly feel as though I was cut off from work and everything else. I leaned my head against the headrest and couldn’t help but imagine having Callie with me on it. It would be nothing short of glorious, I imagined. There was no surface I wouldn’t take her on, and the very thought made me smile. When we were younger, these were the thoughts I'd had when I would imagine our future together and the apartment we would both share. Now the future was here, and although they weren’t the circumstances I would have preferred, I was more than willing to take what I could get. She had made it very clear to me on the plane she didn’t want any interaction of any sort and it was disheartening, to say the least. But I was fine with it. I had to be.

In a short time, we arrived at the Grand Hotel Parker’s in Naples, and I immediately checked in. I had already taken an unplanned but much-needed nap on the plane so I was ready to get dressed for my meeting which was late and would be held at about nine. In no time, I changed dress shirts, threw on a tweed jacket, ran my hands lightly through my hair, and was out of the hotel. I didn’t want to spend the time we had here alone, I had to admit to myself, so the fact we were in the same city yet unable to be with each other truly annoyed me.

Mr. Balan was not from Italy, however, Naples was one of the cities he frequented the most. We’d met through an acquaintance a few years earlier, and our discussions had steered toward the direction of opening up some casinos in Romania. When he’d called me the previous week and mentioned he was vacationing here, while I on the other hand was looking for a reason to take a break and reach out to Callie, it immediately occurred to me that I could make a trip out of this. I had my doubts about it all falling into place as I hoped, but since I couldn’t come up with a better idea at the time, this one had sufficed.

---