“I…”
It deeply offended him to know she thought him that kind of man, but Luca reminded himself that it was only to be expected. Right now, she probably felt she was being bullied into a corner and any sign of rebellion would be quashed with brute force. He said quietly, “I promise you, Vivi. No matter what happens between us, you will never come to physical harm in my hands.” His lips twisted. “My entire life, there has only been a single instance into which I had been provoked to forget the lessons my mother had instilled in me about treating the fairer sex with courtesy and respect. I struck my ex-wife in the face, but it was only that one time and I have not done so again, no matter what the provocation.”
Holding her green eyes captive, he said gravely, “I tell you this so that there are no lies between us.”
She thought about what he had revealed, and swallowing, she said, “Thank you for telling me the truth.” She might be naïve, but even she knew it wasn’t easy for any man to admit to having been provoked into hitting a woman, and she appreciated the risk he took for doing so. “I won’t blame you for what happened. I…” This time, she swung her gaze away as she mumbled, “I researched about you a bit on the Internet, so I k-know, just a bit, about what happened between you two.” She almost winced at the words, knowing that she couldn’t blame Luca if he considered her actions as stalking. Maybe it really was, but she had just wanted to know more about him and his past.
Unfortunately, the knowledge she acquired hadn’t been what she expected at all, with the tabloid reports including all sorts of sordid and sensational details about their supposedly wild and rocky marriage, their constant fights, and later on, the scandalous way in which his wife had left him for an older and – at that time – wealthier man.
Suddenly, she felt Luca cupping her chin, and Vivian reluctantly allowed him to tip her face up so their eyes would meet.
“Do you think less of me now because of what you’ve learned?” Luca managed to keep his voice steady even though he was mentally cursing all the paparazzi to perdition. Even now, he could remember the headlines tackling his doomed marriage to Maria, and the majority of them had painted him the stupid, cuckolded husband whose sexual infatuation with his wife had cost him his fortune.
He prepared himself to see pity in Vivian’s gaze, but instead she was shaking her head vehemently at him. “Even if I’m not as worldly as you are, I’m not stupid either,” she said sharply. “I can read between the lines, and after seeing you with Eula, I know that all of your sacrifices were for her.” After a moment’s hesitation, she touched his hand, saying softly, “I don’t think there’s any shame in that, Luca. If you ask me, I…think you should be proud of how much you’re willing to do and give up out of love for your daughter.”
The words caught him off guard, Luca never having expected to hear something like it from someone so young, someone who barely knew him.
But then – wasn’t this the very lesson he told himself not to forget?
Time was no way to measure how much you knew a person, Luca reminded himself grimly. You could spend forever with someone and still not know her, but you could also be with another for just a moment and know everything about her.
Maria had taught him that…and now, Vivian was reminding him of the same lesson, albeit in a different way.
A small sigh escaped him. “Sometimes, cara, you simply take my breath away.”
Luca’s admission, spoken almost reluctantly in a low undertone, had her toes curling. “I d-do?”
“Yes.”
She smiled helplessly, saying, “You don’t sound happy about it.”
“No,” he agreed. “I don’t.” When she choked at his answer, his broad shoulders moved in a Gallic shrug. “I do not wish to lie to you.” He reached for her again, his fingers encircling her wrist, and then with a quick firm tug, he had her falling against him.
“Luca!” But before she could figure her next move, he had already scooped her into his lap and his mouth was already bearing down on hers. Vivian’s eyes widened and she automatically placed her hands against his chest, intending to push him away.
But again, she was too late.
His mouth swooped down on hers, tongue driving in to claim her, and the heat and passion in his kiss drove all thoughts of resistance away. In an instant, she went from wanting more distance to wanting him closer.
Closer and closer, she thought dizzily, until their bodies touched like the last time—-
As if hearing her silent plea, she felt Luca’s hands move down, cupping her buttocks before using it to push her firmly towards him, squashing her breasts against the rock-hard wall of his chest. She whimpered against his kiss when she felt her nipples prickle into life, and he growled back before kissing her even more deeply.