The feast was sumptuous. They dined by moonlight… sitting on their balcony… savoring frisee, truffles, and risotto. They sipped Dolcetto wine and talked late into the night.
Langdon did not need to be a symbologist to read the signs Vittoria was sending him. During dessert of boysenberry cream, with savoiardi and steaming Romaffe, Vittoria pressed her bare legs against his beneath the table and fixed him with a sultry stare. She seemed to be willing him to set down his fork and carry her off in his arms.
But Langdon did nothing. He remained the perfect gentlemen. Two can play at this game, he thought, hiding a roguish smile.
When the food was eaten Langdon retired to the edge of his bed where he sat alone, turning the Illuminati diamond over and over in his hands, making repeated comments about the miracle of its symmetry. Vittoria stared at him, her confusion turning to obvious frustration.
"You find that ambigram terribly interesting don't you?" she demanded.
Langdon nodded "Mesmerizing."
"Would you say it's the most interesting it's the most interesting thing in this room?"
Langdon scratched his head, making a show of pondering it. "Well there is one thing that interests me more."
She smiled and took a step toward him. "That being?"
"How you disproved that Einstein theory using tuna fish."
Vittoria threw her hands up. "Dio Mio! Enough with the tuna fish! Don't play with me, I'm warning you."
Langdon grinned, "Maybe for you next experiment, you could study flounders and prove the Earth is flat."
Vittoria was steaming now, but the first faint hints of a smile exasperated smile appeared on her lips. "For you information, professor, my next experiment will make scientific history. I plan to prove neutrinos have mass."
"Neutrinos have mass?" Langdon shot her a stunned look. "I didn't even know they wee Catholic!"
With one fluid motion, she was on top of him, pinning him down. "I hope you believe in life after death, Robert Langdon." Vittoria was laughing as she straddled him, her hands holding him down, her eyes ablaze with a mischievous fire.
"Actually," he choked, laughing harder now, "I've always had trouble picturing anything beyond this world."
Langdon shook his head. "No, and I seriously doubt I'm the king of man who could ever have a religious experience."
Vittoria slipped of her robe. "You've never been to bed with a yoga master, have you?"