Propositioning the Rich Italian (7 page)

He didn’t realize just how shallow the women he’d been involved with before were. Tierra seemed to simply enjoy life itself. She wasn’t demanding, even when it was obvious she deserved everything she wanted. He could sit across the table from her and not flinch at the idea of coming home to her every night for that reason. She reached out and took the spoon from his hand before offering him the bite he tried to offer her. He took it willingly before sitting back. The dessert tasted as good as he expected it to be.

“Tierra, we really do need to talk.”

Her eyebrows rose before she frowned. “This sounds serious. I would…wait. You aren’t married are you?”

 
He arched a dark brown in her direction at her off-the-wall assumption. Her contrite expression told him she regretted the words as soon as she said them. Still, he could understand the line of questioning considering the events she’d been through recently.

“
Cara
, believe me, when I marry, it will be my one and only marriage.”
 
The corners of his mouth curved upward. “Besides, I have a mother who would cuff my ears if I even thought about being unfaithful in my marriage.”

Taking a deep breath, he tried to relax and prepare himself for the reaction he would probably receive in response to the news he was about to tell her. Her gentle smile the reassurance he needed to continue.

“What do you want to talk about?”

He decided the best way to handle the situation was to be straightforward. “Last night I told you I had business to take care of so I could spend the next two weeks with you.”

She nodded slowly. “Yes, I remember.”

“Well, it included having an informal meeting with my family this morning.”

A look of confusion appeared on her face. “Why did you need to do that?”

He grimaced, hating he was about to be partially dishonest, but he could not tell her the complete truth and scare her off.

“So I could have the next two weeks off uninterrupted.”

He watched her eyes widened again. “You told your family we are going to have an affair?”

He shook his head, fighting a smile at her horrified expression before reaching across the table and taking her hand in his.

“I have told you once before that what happens between you and I stays between you and I.”

She gave him another confused look. “So what is the problem?”

He took a deep breath then released it slowly. “My parents want to meet you.”

* * * *

All of the food Tierra consumed began to weigh down on her stomach like lead. This was the last thing she wanted to do. Her first impulse, get up and run out of the room. She stayed put for two reasons. Reason number one, it was her hotel room. Two, she didn’t have anywhere else to go. Taking a deep breath, she tried to get fresh air, and it seemed to be impossible even though she stood outside. She shook her head slowly.

“I know this is my first affair, but I thought you’d keep others, especially family members, out of the equation.”

“It is an agreement I made in order to assure our privacy.”

She gave him a look of disbelief. “Your family has that much power over you?”

His smile widened. “Have you ever been around an Italian family, especially one you co-managed a hotel with?”

She shook her head. Yet, she understood family pressure and gave into it a few a times herself. Still, this wasn’t what she planned. She wanted a non-complicated affair. Looking over at Antonio, his expression told her there was no chance of that happening.

She frowned before looking at him. “Do you think your family will have a problem with me not being Italian?”

He chuckled. “If I don’t have a problem with it, they definitely won’t.” He leaned closer to her. “My family is very accepting and open-minded. They will love you.”

It hadn’t crossed her mind until he brought this up. She was open-minded when it came to who she dated because her parents raised her to be. Besides, what could be so bad about spending a few hours in the presence of his family? If they were anything like him, everything would be okay. She took a deep breath.

 
“Okay. If I agree to meet your family, when is it planned for?”

Antonio gave her an apologetic smile. “Tomorrow night.”

Chapter 6

The bottom of her stomach dropped, and she began to feel faint for the first time in her life. Antonio actually reached across the table to steady her when she began to sway.

“Tierra
,
are you okay?”

She didn’t bother to hide her apprehension. “I think I am going to faint.”

He smiled. “If you do, I will be here to catch you.”

She gave him a look through narrowed eyes.

“I am glad you find this so amusing,” she huffed indignantly, folding her arms across her chest. “I am also glad we have not consummated this relationship.”

His dark brows arched. “Well, we will and soon whether you meet my family or not. If you aren’t comfortable meeting them, I can put it off, but trust me, my family is insistent.”

She smiled. “Is that where you get it from?”

He nodded, and she had the pleasure of seeing his cheeks heat with slight embarrassment, but he still answered her honestly. “Yes, it is.”

Leaning back in the chair, he waited. She finally sighed in resignation.

“I’m not one for putting things off. If we are going to do this, we might as well get it over with.”

He shot her a wicked grin. “I prefer to take my time.”

She looked at him with every ounce of exasperation she felt. “You know what I mean.”

He brought her hand up to his mouth.
“Yes, I do.
I am glad you are willing to meet my family.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Is it important to you that I do?”

 
“Yes, it is. I am a representation of my family, as they are of me.”

She closed her eyes, understanding exactly what he meant but still wondering if she were going to regret this. There wasn’t anything she’d done that she regretted, at least not yet.

“
Cara
, have you ever made love with a man?”

Her eyes popped open at his unexpected question. The man had an uncanny way of changing the subject. It made her hesitant about giving him an answer to the question because she knew it could change her plans, but her only option was to be honest, if she wanted this to work. Shaking her head, she gave him a small smile.

“No, because of you I am starting to realize I haven’t,” she whispered. “But I have had sex.”

He gave her his characteristics smile. “Well,
cara
, I am glad to be the one who is showing you that there is a difference between the two.”

His expression suddenly changed to a frown. “I would hate to think what would have happened if it wasn’t me you ran into in the bar.”

She gave him a slight shrug of her shoulder. He had no idea how long she sat in the bar before he’d come along or how many invitations she declined, and she wasn’t going to tell him.

“I may be lack experience, but I am not stupid.”

His smile reappeared at her indignation. Tierra prided herself on her level of intelligence and thought about everything she did very carefully before she went through with it.

“I believe you.”

She smiled at how intuitive Antonio appeared to be when it came to her and wondered if Quincy ever had been. If he had, she couldn’t remember. Then again there were a lot of things she couldn’t remember about Quincy while in Antonio’s presence.

She felt fate made him walk into the bar last night. Call it divine intervention or call it luck, she was just glad it happened. She shuddered at the thought of having chosen another man besides Antonio to be the one to touch her. She looked up as he reached out and brushed her cheek with a caring hand.

“Do you want any more dessert?”

She shook her head slowly. The panna cotta tasted delicious, but she knew what she was about to share with Antonio would be even better.

He stood up before holding his hand out to her. She took it, and he led her inside. He placed a brief kiss on her lips before pulling back.

“I will be back in a moment.”

She watched him enter the bathroom and close the door before she moved. First, she brought the votive candle sitting on the patio table inside, then closed the door and drew the curtains. She placed it on the dresser before opening the second drawer and reaching inside.

Pulling out what she needed to change into, she waited for Antonio to come out of the bathroom. She didn’t have a long wait. When the bathroom door opened, she struggled to breathe normally.

Knowing he was the man she would share herself with sent a shiver of anticipation through her. She gathered up her things and slowly made her way to him, smiling.

“I needed to freshen up a little.”

He nodded his understanding and moved to the side, letting her enter the bathroom. She closed the door before leaning heavily against it. Never in her life had she been so nervous. Taking a deep breath before she chickened out, she put the nightgown on the counter before reaching up to untie the straps holding her dress up. She also slipped out of her underwear before reaching for the lingerie she originally bought to tempt Quincy.

It gave her pleasure to know she had the opportunity to entice Antonio with it instead. Quincy definitely didn’t deserve the honor. She pulled the fly-away nightgown over her head and smiled when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Slipping into the matching thong panties only made her smile widen. She was ready now. Hanging her dress on the back of the door, she put her discarded underwear to the side before giving herself one last look in the mirror. Shutting off the light in the bathroom, she opened the door and smiled. Antonio stood there waiting for her in the candlelit room. His expression once he laid eyes on her said it all. He liked what he saw…a lot. She took a step toward him, and the gown moved in smooth unison with her, a great amount of her skin exposed, yet a lot covered. The gown fell to her ankles, completely sheer for the exception of the area that held her breasts.

Antonio’s eyes roamed over her appreciatively. “You look very beautiful in the gown,
cara,
but you don’t need it. With your beauty, I only need you.”

His words gave the reassurance she needed, and in the next moment, she was in his arms.

“Do you know how much I want you,
cara
?”

“As much as I want you,” she replied softly.

The next breath she drew ended with his lips covering hers. Her arms instinctively went up and encircled his neck, loving the feel of his shoulders underneath her palms. She began to run her fingers through his hair. It had a satin-like feel to it. Her body molded itself perfectly to his. His hands found her bottom.

She found he seemed to have an obsession with it. One she didn’t mind. This kiss was different than the others they shared—possessive, claim staking. If she hadn’t known before this kiss he had no plans to share her, it became crystal clear. His kiss became intense to the point she wanted to pull away. Instead, he tightened his hold on her, and she had no choice but to succumb to his onslaught of pleasure. He pulled back only so the two of them could get a get a quick breath of air. She leaned weakly against him, and he scooped her up into his arms before carrying her over to the bed. His breathing just as heavy as hers, glad to know she wasn’t the only one being affected by their heated exchange. Once he laid her down, he looked at her.

“Are you sure about this?”

She stared up at him, and instead of telling him how sure she felt, she showed him. She reached for him and pulled his head down for another kiss. He went willingly, very willingly. Her body began to ache for his touch. She groaned as he pulled back from her.

“Where are you going?”

He shook his head. “Nowhere. I just want to take a look at you.”

She watched him lean back to study her through heavily lidded eyes. When his hand slid beneath her nightgown, she closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure. Her mind went back to the memory of him touching her last night.

As if he were thinking the same thing, his hand slid to the vee of her thighs before touching her intimately through her underwear. A moment later, he touched her again, and she whimpered. He seemed to know exactly how to touch her and where to drive her wild with pleasure. She whispered his name, and his mouth found hers again. His mouth felt just as skilled as his hands. Her hands came up and grabbed his strong shoulders, needing something to anchor on to. His kiss seemed to become desperate, as if he needed it to sustain his life. She met his mouth with a desperation of her own.

A moment later, he drew away from her, ending the kiss, and she tightened her grip on his shoulders. The only thing that kept her from protesting was his mouth began following a trail down her throat. He slid a strap off her shoulder, revealing one of her breasts, before lowering his head. The sensation of him pulling a pebbled nipple between his lips was just enough to make her cry out with pleasure. She gasped, trying to control the overwhelming sensations racing through her, knowing deep down she fought a losing battle. He seemed to understand he overwhelmed her and pulled away from her breast. She sighed in relief, but it was short-lived when she realized his next goal.