Once we were in the village, he slowed down and gave the car to the valet.
It didn’t seem like he had a reservation, but they got him a table anyway, giving him a prime spot away from the kitchens and the hostess stand. Whenever we were in public, he was a gentleman, pulling out the chair for me and selecting the wine we would have for the evening. He did that now before he looked at his menu.
I held my menu in my hands, but my eyes were on him. The low light hit his handsome face perfectly, cast a deep shadow under his jawline. The top button of his collared shirt was undone so more of his tanned skin and muscles were visible. I hadn’t appreciated his good looks in the beginning because I was too busy trying to survive. But now, I really took him in, appreciating that my lover was the best-looking guy I’d ever seen.
He seemed to have decided what he wanted because he put his menu down.
I quickly looked away, trying to hide my blatant stare. “What are you having?”
“Florentine steak. It’s better here than it is in Florence.”
I looked down the menu, my stomach in such knots I wasn’t even hungry.
“And you?”
“I’ll try the same.” I put the menu aside.
“Good choice.”
When the waiter came over and poured the wine, Cauldron ordered for both of us. The bread was placed in the middle, and then we were left alone again. Never-ending silence passed like cars on the freeway, and for all that time, Cauldron stared at me. Sometimes he sipped his wine, but most of the time, he resigned himself to openly staring at me like it didn’t matter if it made me uncomfortable.
It didn’t.
But it did make me feel hot all over. Made me feel lucky that I got to be the woman he stared at. “Have you ever done this before?”
He didn’t speak, but his eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“Taken a woman to dinner.”
He drank from his glass again. “Why would I?”
“Then why did you take me?”
He set his glass aside and continued his stare. When enough time had passed, it was clear he wasn’t going to answer the question. He was the only person I knew who could be so comfortable in silence, who could refuse a question without unease.
I drank my wine then grabbed a piece of bread from the basket between us.
“The same reason I kiss you.”
I lifted my gaze from my bread in surprise.
“The same reason I fuck you and only you.”
I felt the heat move into my cheeks, and it had nothing to do with the wine. “And what reason is that…?”
Another bout of silence stretched, even longer than last time. “Time will tell.”
He drove back home, taking the turns at dangerous speeds like he was used to the road. One hand was on the steering wheel, and the other was free.
Like a teenager, I left my hand there, hoping he’d take it.
Lights from passing cars filled the windshield and brightened his handsome face, casting long shadows under his jawline. As with all other times of the day, he wore that focused look, like he was thinking about more than just driving. I wondered if he looked like that even when he slept.
We arrived at the house, and his staff was waiting to take his car to the garage somewhere else on the property. It wasn’t attached to the main house, and I wasn’t sure where it was.
We entered the estate, taking the long walk up the stairs to the third floor. Some of the windows were open, the sound of the fountain in the roundabout audible. The flowers still carried their scent, and the hint of summer wafted on the air throughout the house even though the sun had been gone for hours.
He pulled his shirt over his head as he entered my bedroom, the rippling muscles visible underneath his tanned flesh. His jeans hung low on his hips, and they hung even lower once he unfastened them.
Bumps formed on my arms. My throat had gone dry. My heart wasn’t calm anymore. My body was no longer my own, at least when we were alone together. When he turned to look at me, my world was set on fire. Flames erupted in my belly and burned me from the inside out. I was so hot it felt like an inferno in my chest.
He crossed the room toward me, barefoot with the button of his jeans undone. He crowded me, his face tilted down to regard me, the shadow from his hard jawline stretching down his neck. Dark eyes were on me, more commanding than Napoleon.
I forgot to breathe.
His hands went to my thighs then slid up, gathering the material of my dress until he pushed it over my hips to my waist. The material bundled there, my black thong exposed. His eyes remained on mine as he gripped either side of my thong and pulled it down to my thighs.