Mira sighed. She was being silly. The place was a fortress. Still she couldn’t settle her racing heart after the mere thought of separating from her child. Giovanni went to the phone in his room. He made a call speaking to someone in Italian, downstairs. Mira paced thinking it over. Her mind said yes, but her heart screamed no. He hung up the phone and watched her. She knew he waited for her to be convinced, but she was not.
“I just can't. I’m sorry. No. I won’t leave her. No.” Mira said, wringing her hands. She peeked up at him to see if he looked disappointed, and then came a knock to the door. Giovanni rose and walked over to open it. Mira recognized the man entering. Two years ago at her party in Milan a giant Sicilian who could pass for a sumo wrestler escorted her to Giovanni. He looked frighteningly strong and committed to his role in the family. By the looks of the gun under his arm in the gun strap she figured he was an enforcer.
“Bella this is Nico. He will be the man to guard Eve with his life. No room she visits, sleeps or plays in will be accessed without his approval.”
Mira’s gaze volleyed between the men in stunned silence. Nico bowed his head in respect as if the job of babysitting was the greatest one bestowed on him. Mira smiled. “Thank you Nico. Grazie. I feel better knowing you will be here.”
Giovanni opened the door and Nico left. “Now? May I have your answer?”
“For the night, then we come back, right?” Mira said.
He approached her and took her face into his hands. Giovanni kissed her brow. “A night alone, just me and you, I can’t wait.” He brought his face to her neck and pressed a soft kiss there. “I have something nice planned for you,” he whispered in her ear.
Her love for him melted her resolve. “Yes, Giovanni,” she sighed. “Okay. One night. I’ll do it.”
“Grazie, Bella. Grazie.”
“I have a request.” She managed to escape his embrace, but not before he felt up her curves and squeezed her butt once more. “Let me get dressed. I want to clean up. Okay?”
He frowned. “How long will that take?”
“An hour, and I’m all yours.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Later
The door closed. Giovanni turned the lock and his gaze sought her out. Mira faced the panoramic view of Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. The dying rays of the sun bled in through the windows and softened her curves. Her hair glistened with dark luster. She’d blown it straight. The dark tresses reached just beyond her shoulders. He approached, and his hands slowly stroked her slender arms.
Giovanni brushed her concealed breasts with his fingers when he reached to unbutton her coat. The weather in Sorrento wasn’t as brisk as it was in central and northern Italy. She wore a thin leather trench to tease him.
“All evening I’ve wondered about what lies underneath,” he whispered against her ear.
Mira gave a sweet chuckle but said nothing as Giovanni caressed her neck with one hand and let the other ease inside her now open coat to caress her breast and flat tummy. The moment she joined him he’d been taken by her beauty. Everything about Mira excited him. From the gloss on her lips to the dark and smoky eye makeup to the long bangs that covered her brow with her hair framing her face like some Egyptian goddess, he was seduced.
They were finally alone. No interruptions, no distractions, nothing to keep them apart.
“Is this place yours?” she asked, rather breathless when he pinched her left nipple.
“Yes, this is our place.”
“Our place?” Her head turned and she glanced back at him as he drew the sleeves of her coat down her arms. The unveiling of her dress didn’t disappoint.