Chapter 11

As to be expected, I got zero sleep that night. Not with all the erotic thoughts I had spilling through my head. I spent what remained of the night tossing and turning in my bed, my body burning from full blown arousal left unfulfilled. Then as the first hints of light started streaking through the curtains I gave up and, ambling from the bed, headed for the gym. One hour, a bunch of lifted weights and one very beat up punching bag later and I was staggering into the shower still on full burn. By the time I headed to the kitchen it was going on 7am. Alessandro was already there, leaning on the bench and waiting for his coffee to boil. Seeing him there was almost too much. Suddenly all of those feelings I had fought so hard to suppress came back with a vengeance and all I could think of was how much I wanted more than just his fingers inside me. If I had thought I'd been crushing on him before, now that I'd gotten a taste of him, he was literally all I could think about.

"Ciao bella," he breezed. He was dressed in track pants and a singlet. I guess he was about to hit up the gym.

"Don't you have coffee in your guest house?" Playing it cool, I reached the fridge and pulled out a punnet of mixed berries and some almond milk.

Alessandro grinned. "The coffee here comes with a view."

I rolled my eyes at his blatant attempt at flattery though struggled to wipe the smirk off my face. Setting up the blender, I reached for a handful of bananas, dumped my ingredients into the glass jug and pulsed it. I cast a sideways glance at Alessandro while I waited for the blender to work its magic. He was staring at my legs. Probably thinking how easy it would be to just slip his hand right up my dress and...

Oh lordy.

I felt the onslaught of heat in my loins and resisted the urge to cross my legs over.

"I can't stop thinking about last night," as if to hear my thoughts Alessandro uttered beside me.

I spun to face him, only just realising how close he'd gotten, like he'd been drawn to me by invisible puppet strings. The expression on his face was part arousal part pain and I realised it was too late. I hadn't managed to stop things in time for it to not get awkward between us. A lump rose in my throat and I swallowed with difficulty.

"Me too. I'm sorry things went that far. It was out of line."

"No cara, you misunderstand." He shook his head. "I mean, I can't stop thinking of what it would have been like to have gone all the way with you. To have made you fully and completely mine."

Oh god.

"Aless-"

His kiss cut me off, so hot and vicious that it made me gasp. The force of Alessandro's body bumped me into the bench behind me, his arousal practically exploding out of his pants and I melted like putty in his hands. His tongue explored my mouth like he was on a mission to devour me, his hands holding me by the chin so that I wouldn't escape him while he made his point. Until my heart was pelting in my chest and my head was spinning.

He came away panting, voice rasping. "Ti penso ogni giorno. Povo a dimenticarti ma non ci resco." He swallowed like he was in pain. "We will talk later."

Then just as quickly as he'd come he was gone, body rigid as he stormed off to the gym. I just sort of stood there for a moment, mouth agape, watching him go. What the heck did he just say? Was he upset with me again? My heart lurched into my stomach where there it pounded and made me want to vomit.

"He is in love with you." I snapped around at the utterance. Giuseppe was standing there, unable to hide the wide grin. He'd obviously seen the entire exchange and he was proud as punch. "He said he thinks about you every day. He tries to forget but he can't."

"You heard what he said?" I was still in a state of shell-shock so it was taking a while for things to get through. "So he's feeling these things against his will then?"

"Oh no, not at all." Giuseppe placed his hand on my shoulder but I was finding it had to look at him and not think of what his son was doing to me last night. "Alessandro is like his mother. Slow to respond to love. But when he does feel it, he loves wholly and completely."

"Oh, I said. I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear that. Love. That was a whole higher spectrum above 'summer fling'.

Giuseppe frowned. "You don't feel the same, Lizbeth?"

I blinked from my daze. Alessandro's kiss was still burning on my lips. "I do... I think. I'm... just a bit shocked. Overwhelmed all of a sudden."

He offered me a knowing smile, then grabbed his coffee and left me alone to ponder over a cup of pulverised banana, oats and berries. I carried my breakfast up to my bedroom and took solace on the balcony by watching the mountains. It was cloudy this morning, the air fresh and crisp after the storm last night. I drank but didn't remember taking anything in as I contemplated all that had happened over the past 24 hours. If Giuseppe was right and Alessandro was indeed falling in love with me, where did that leave me?

Lust for him, I most certainly did, in every single way. I respected him, appreciated him even. And I adored our still budding friendship. He had a piece of my heart, but did that translate into love too? I have been in love once before. At least, at the time I thoughts it was love, but in the end it just turned into heartbreak. How could I tell that this would be different? Was there a secret formula? An extra little something that made it into a recipe for a forever thing? Alessandro was waiting for his queen. His one and only love. So I already knew where his mind was headed. Was I the right fit for him in the long run? Could I see us working?

"Lizzie?" Alessandro tapped on my balcony door and I turned to glance up at him, attempting to hide my startle. Showered and dressed, he looked sharp in his work slacks and a shirt.

"Hey," I said, my smile genuine as I stood to greet him.

"Don't get up. I was just coming to see if you wanted me to drive you to work this morning? Since I am headed out at the same time."

"Sydney again?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Staying in the mountains today. The owners of the Hydro are asking for my input on some of their further renovation plans."

"Oh that would be awesome to see what they have in mind."

"Yes," he said and pulled up a chair at my table. Man he smelled good. "You know I was thinking maybe on the weekend I will take you furniture shopping for your flat."

I smiled. He really was a sweetheart. "That sounds lovely but I actually already have plans this weekend."

"Oh?" he piqued an eyebrow. I sensed just the slightest waver in his voice. Was he upset that I'd made plans without him?

"I'm headed to Hawaii for my cousin Daniela's wedding. I'm taking off the week from Friday."

"I think I recall you mentioning that. I didn't realise it was so soon." He seemed to contemplate for a moment. "Did I tell you I own a hotel in Honolulu?"

I sat up straight. "You do? Which one?" Then I gasped, realising the answer before he even had a chance to say it. "Oh my god it's Palazzo Zingaro. That's only like one of the most luxurious hotels in the Hawaiian Islands."

He tilted his head, curiosity oozing from him. "You know it? You've stayed there?"

I stifled a snort. "Yes and no. One night in their cheapest room is more than double my rent for a week. But the pool is freaking amazing."

Alessandro took a moment to connect the dots. "You mean to say you used the pool of my hotel without paying for a room? And you've been to Hawaii for that matter?"

"Yes. Long story."

I watched as the smirk slowly made its way across his face. He leaned back in his seat, making himself comfortable. "I'm all ears."

I chuckled and shook my head slowly. "I'm not sure if I should be confessing such things to you, Alessandro."

But he made it clear that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Okay," I finally said. "So maybe Daniela lived not far from there and I was staying with her for a week or two. And maybe we got a little drunk at one of the bars beside the hotel and thought it would be fun to sneak in and check out the place. We were already dressed up so it wasn't that hard to pass as guests and we walked right through the foyer. Then somehow... we ended up in the pool." I didn't elaborate, mainly because my memories got a bit hazy at that point but I did remember one thing. "I'm sorry for throwing up in your pool."

Alessandro erupted into his howl of a laugh. God, I loved that laugh. He wiped a tear away from his eye, heaving a strained breath. "That is the best thing I have heard in... so long."

I smiled. "So yeah, even though you can lift my lifetime ban, I still wouldn't ever be able to afford to actually stay there."

"So where are you staying then?"

"Oh I was just going to crash at Dani's."

"Dani?" his eyebrow quirked. "The one getting married?"

I nodded. "She and her groom-to-be both work in a hospital there. Dani said they'll only be hanging around a couple of days before they're set to take off on their honeymoon."

Alessandro looked horrified. "Absolutely not! That will not happen! Sleeping at your friend-to-be-married's house is the last thing I'm going to allow."

Now it was my turn to laugh. Oh he was so cute! "It's no big deal. We're all adults. I know what newlyweds get up to. Besides, their bedroom is probably on the opposite end of the house."

Alessandro snorted at this. "Honeymoon activities are not limited to the bedroom, cara. In fact, an Italian honeymoon isn't a honeymoon until you've been naked in every room of the house. And judging by the nature of your cousin's name, I think it's safe to assume which side of the family she reigns from."

The thought of Alessandro naked suddenly exploded through my mind, causing me to go an embarrassing shade of red. "With a body like yours I think it would be a sin not to go naked." The comment slipped from my lips before I even realised it was out.

Another round of laughter, this time with considerably more menace. When he stopped, he was looking at me with a gaze that simmered with such sensuality it made my undies instantly damp. "Why don't you feel comfortable naked, Lizzie?"

I shifted in my seat. "Why do you think I don't feel comfortable naked?"

The look he gave me reeked of 'are you serious? I'm not an idiot.'

Eventually I sighed. "It's hard to look at myself naked and not see what I was before. Some days I feel like I haven't even changed at all and it's all just a big lie. That I'm just fooling myself. So then I start looking for things to pick on. Flab, cellulite, stretch marks... it never ends."

To my surprise Alessandro nodded. "I understand. I had similar issues. Years ago."

"Huh?" I wasn't sure I'd heard right. "But, you're... perfect."

He snorted, his face deadpanning. "Then you would be surprised to know that I was not always as healthy as I am now. And the guy you are talking to now, three years ago was so shy that he couldn't even talk to girls without stuttering."

"Really? Wow."

He nodded. "I do not have the talent for conversing easily with people I have never met before. Not like my father does. Not like," he smirked, "about ninety percent of the Italian population. People expect me to be the same as my father but I'm just not. I know determination and I know how to work hard. I know how to run my empire like a well-oiled machine but I just don't have that gift with people."

He ran a hand through his perfectly combed hair, causing it to stick up on end.

"Back in the day I was chubby. I didn't care much for my health until my father had his heart attack. That scared me. My father had let himself go after my mother's passing and we were just feeding off of each other, heading down into this sick spiral. So, long story short, we worked together to get healthy again. At first I just did it to help my father but then I started seeing the benefits."

I found myself gobsmacked at this.

"I had no idea." I breathed. "Giuseppe never mentioned any of that."

Just to bring the point home, Alessandro stood from his seat and yanking the bottom of his shirt from his pants, showed me his hip. I pulled myself to the edge of my seat, fascinated at the fine, silver lines that covered his skin. I couldn't resist running a finger along them, feeling the familiar grooves and valleys in his skin that also littered mine in places and it finally hit home. His body wasn't just perfect like that. He wasn't a Roman god. The fictional hero. He was flesh and blood human. He worked damn hard to get to where he was, yet he was just as fallible as anyone else. He had parts he disliked about himself just like everyone else. And I realised right then it was these 'so called' imperfections that I loved most about him.

I glanced up at him. He was staring down at me, warmth radiating from his smile.

"Lizzie," he said, grabbing my hand and guiding me to my feet so that he could wrap his arms around my waist. "Per me sei perfetta. You are perfect to me."