****
Catalina lie in bed with her back to Franco. She felt bereft and desolate with him so close. When he returned home he barely said two words at the dinner table. Mira asked about Arturo in front of the few men who joined them at the table. Franco mumbled an excuse to explain Arturo’s absence. Catalina and Mira made small talk but the rest of dinner was eaten in silence except for the sporadic baby chatter from Eve. Giovanni didn’t arrive in time for the family meal, and she could tell Franco was relieved. Thinking back to their lovemaking in contrast to the ways Dominic made love to her, she began to see the truth. From day one it had always been awkward and hurried. No foreplay and no whispers of passion. She thought it was her because she just wanted it over, but now she knew differently. He was a fraud and so was their marriage.
He disgusted her.
She wished she’d never laid eyes on him.
Pulling back the covers she eased out of bed as gently as she could. Franco either pretended to be sleep or remained unaware. Going over to a chair in the room, she slipped on her robe. She looked back at him and wanted to smother him with a pillow. Catalina went to the bathroom to wash up and brush her teeth. It came to her in the middle of the night what had to be done. She knew there was no other way to gain her freedom. Lifting her gaze to the woman in the mirror, she studied the bruise that had somewhat faded. There was still dark raised skin under her eye, but the concealer did a good job of covering it. Tonight she made sure not a trace of makeup remained on her face. Combing her hair forward to her face on the left side she hid the bruise under her thick locks.
Catalina crept from her room. She remained in the shadows grateful that she didn’t see any of the guards. It was a risk, however. Lorenzo’s room was next-door to Dominic’s, and she didn’t know if he was still at Melanzana or back in Milan.
She slipped silently inside. Dominic was home. He slept with his arm thrown over his eyes. In the dark she admired how handsome her hero was. His body, fit and trim, and his loins and stamina had made a woman of her when she was only seventeen. She remembered their first night, how hard he tried to resist and how desperate she felt to have him. He was gentle at first, eased her into lovemaking. And when she sexually matured in their affair he introduced her to passion that smoldered inside of her even when they were apart. This was why she could never turn away. Catalina slowly untied her robe and let it drop from her arms and then removed her nightdress. She wore nothing underneath. She combed through her hair with her fingers to make sure that the left side of her face was concealed under her long locks before crawling in a feline like maneuver across the bed to her lover. Dominic’s arm lowered. He squinted at her. Catalina eased over him kissing his lips before he fully woke. He kissed her back, and then pushed her shoulders to halt their passion. “No.”
Catalina’s hands ran up and down his chest. She avoided his eyes. “Please, Domi, don’t push me away, I so desperately need you.”
“What’s wrong?”