“Thank you.”
With one hand holding the glass, I placed the other over my belly. If I didn’t drink this glass of champagne, Castello would notice. Castello always noticed.
I held the glass to my lips and turned my back toward him, pretending to admire our surroundings. Hopefully, he wouldn’t notice that I wasn’t taking an actual sip of the champagne.
“It’s beautiful out here,” I remarked as I stared out over the garden.
Castello stepped up behind me, his chest barely touching my back, but nevertheless it made me shiver. “Uncle Gino’s wife, Angelique, has a great talent and love for gardening. You will meet her tonight.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “May I?”
He smiled and held out his hand, gesturing toward the stairs that led to the garden. Castello followed my every step as I walked down the pebbled path, admiring the beauty and the colors. White magnolias, vibrant-colored birds of paradise, beautiful orange and yellow dahlias, and I smelled the sweet scent of orchids before I saw them.
For a moment, I was lost within the colors. I walked within a world of beauty and perfection, untainted by the greed and the hate of man. Like most artists, I didn’t see shapes and lines, but emotions that shined through ever color, feelings that spoke through every outline and silhouette. It was beautiful…peaceful.
I felt Castello’s hand at the curve of my back. “It is truly magnificent to see you get lost within a world of your own.”
I glanced at him. “Are you not in this world with me right at this moment?”
Castello stared out in front of him. “My world has been black and gray for too long, little mouse.”
“It’s not too late to open your eyes to a different world, Castello.”
He looked down at me, eyes narrowed as he studied my face. “Maybe.”
I smiled and stared at the pebbled path. The pinks and yellows of dusk, the sweet scent of flowers, and the chirping birds as they made their way back to their nests made this moment feel almost…romantic.
“Oh, look.” I stepped off the path and into the soil. I didn’t care that I was probably ruining the five hundred dollar set of heels I was wearing. I stared up at the vine and placed my fingers beneath the purple and white petals. “It’s a passion flower. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Castello leaned over my shoulder. “It sure is a very unique-looking flower.”
“Very. The passion flower belongs to thePassifloraceaefamily. It consists of ten sepals and petals. It’s the unique shape that makes it my favorite flower.”
He placed his hands gently on my hips. “Why so?”
I glanced up at him over my shoulder. “For me, different is good. Unique is beautiful. A common beauty loses its appeal when adored by too many.”
His fingertips travelled down over the curve of my hips, earning a shiver from my body. “A certain beauty can never lose its appeal.” Soft lips touched the skin of my neck, and I closed my eyes.
“May I ask which certain beauty you are referring to?”
The tip of his tongue moved all the way up the side of my neck until he reached my ear. “The beauty of watching you, witnessing you come undone under my touch. There is nothing as beautiful as you when you embrace and unleash your most carnal desires.” Slowly he started to pull up my dress. “Tell me more.”
“About what?”
“The flower. Tell me more about the flower.”
His fingertips brushed my skin as he pulled the skirt of my dress all the way up, the cold spring air wafting across my naked ass.
From where we were standing, we could see the crowd on the deck through the passion flower vine. I was looking directly at them, but they couldn’t see us through the thick green leaves—I hoped.
“The passion flower is a part of five hundred species of flowering plants.”
His finger traced all along the slit of my ass. “Go on.”
“Most species are found in South America, eastern and southern Asia, and New Guinea.”
The sound of his zipper made me suck in a breath, my body already primed and ready to be taken by him.