Revenge (31 page)

Franco flushed with triumph. He would have
his vengeance. An eye for an eye. A son for a daughter. And he knew
just who would help him achieve his justice: Carlo Andretti.

Kate and Enrico arrived at the private
airstrip later than intended, but Enrico told her they could make
up the time in the air. Soon they were aloft and winging south. A
flight attendant brought them drinks and a light breakfast, then
left them alone.

Enrico reached over and took her hand, saying
nothing. What was he thinking about? Probably trying to figure out
what to do about Carlo, now that he wasn’t marrying Delfina.

Did she have any right to raise an objection
to such a marriage, when she wasn’t sure she wanted to stay with
him? What if she decided to leave? What if he couldn’t arrange
something else with Carlo? What if she’d just doomed them both, and
all for nothing?

They landed in Naples and took a car to
Sorrento, where they shopped and had a late and very leisurely
lunch before boarding a private boat for the trip to Capri. The sun
was starting to set when they left Sorrento. As they motored away
from the coast, Kate looked at the houses clinging to the
gold-washed cliffs. She leaned against Enrico while they stood in
the back of the boat, and he put his arms around her. Despite all
the danger, despite their troubles, Italy was seducing her with its
charms. Hadn’t Enrico said that worry was a useless emotion? She
sighed. “Italy is amazingly gorgeous.”

He squeezed her tight and nuzzled her neck.
“You would not love Naples in the middle of a garbage strike in
August.”

She laughed. “I suppose not.” She turned in
his arms. “Doesn’t the Mafia control the garbage pickups?”

He nodded. “The Camorra control everything in
Naples.”

“Then why do they have strikes?”

“Money. They go on strike, people agree to
pay more to end it.”

A thought occurred to her. “Are we in danger
here?”

“Not in Capri. The Camorra know the tourists
butter their bread. We might be in some danger in Naples. But they
would take offence if Carlo tried anything on their territory.”

Kate nestled closer to Enrico as the wind
whipped around them. “The idea of us being hurt is taking all the
fun out of this trip.”

“Forget Carlo. Forget all of it. Just be with
me.” He pulled her into the shelter of his body, squeezing her
tight.

“With Antonio and Ruggero around, how can I
possibly forget?”

He stepped back and looked at her. “Listen,
mia cara.
We will take some time for ourselves.”

“Just you and me,” she whispered, her voice
husky with promise.

“When we get to the hotel…” he murmured, his
voice trailing off, the hunger in his gaze speaking for him.

“When we get to the hotel… what?” she
teased.

“You know.” And to make sure she did, he
started whispering in her ear all the things he would do as soon as
they were alone.

Kate smiled at his imagination. She stretched
up on tiptoe and kissed him, softly at first, then with heat. Damn
it, just like all the New Year’s resolutions she’d ever made, she
was going to break the one not to have sex with him, wasn’t she?
And she wasn’t going to feel that bad about it either.

As they pulled into the harbor, she looked up
at the cliffs of Capri towering above them, encircling the bay.
Houses of all sorts perched on those cliffs, nearly every square
inch occupied, but somehow plenty of green survived and thrived,
giving the island a tropical air.

They left the boat, luggage in hand, and
headed for the funicular station. The little tram would take them
up to the top, to Capri town proper, where no cars were allowed,
not even for rich men like Enrico. Not even here, where money
certainly talked, was Enrico any different from anyone else. Except
that he was armed. And so were his guards.

Kate sighed, taking his hand as they boarded
the funicular. They stood by the window, both holding the same pole
as the tram started ascending. She watched greenery and homes pass
by, caught the blue-purple of wisteria, the red and pink of
bougainvillea, the creams and pastels of the houses, the bright
colors starting to fade as twilight descended.

By the time they started walking to their
hotel, it was full dark, the narrow winding stone streets
romantically lit by the stores and restaurants that lined them.
Enrico kept hold of her hand, his strong fingers locked around
hers, giving them a light squeeze now and then when she remarked on
something that delighted her. She felt a bit like a child with a
father for whom none of this was new, except when she looked up at
Enrico’s face, she saw delight on his features as well. She was
finally able to relax, to believe they were safe. Inhaling deeply,
she breathed in the scent of jasmine and freesia. The lingering
heat coming off the stone streets and buildings kept the air warm,
and the humidity of the climate raised a sheen of perspiration on
her skin, making her palm go damp in Enrico’s hand.

He motioned with his chin to a large
whitewashed building before them. “We are almost there.”

Kate picked out the words “Grand Hotel
Quisisana” set in gold letters on the building’s face. Grand it
certainly was. The naughty nothings Enrico had whispered to her on
the boat echoed in her ears, and she quickened her pace, tugging on
his hand, grinning up at him. Antonio jogged ahead of them, while
Ruggero stayed behind.

Enrico handled their checkin. Antonio and
Ruggero had the rooms flanking theirs. Kate nearly gagged at the
cost of taking three ocean-view terrace rooms, then she forced it
out of her head. Money was no object here. Fun and pleasure were
the order of the day—or night, as it were.

She followed the men down the hall to the
left of the lobby. A short set of stairs took them to their suites,
which were spacious and high ceilinged with large marble baths.
Kate barely set her purse down before Enrico shut and locked the
door behind them. Then he was scooping her up and dropping her onto
the king size bed.

He rolled atop her, his mouth and hands
everywhere at once. Kate returned his fire for a few minutes, but
when he started to unbutton her blouse, she stopped him.
“Wait.”

He looked up from kissing her neck, eyebrows
raised. “Wait?”

She bit her lower lip teasingly. If she was
going to break her vow, she was going to make it count. “We should
have dinner first, maybe go for a walk.”

Laughing, he questioned her. “Are you
serious?”

“We just got here. Let’s enjoy it a bit
before we start enjoying each other.”

Without a word, he pushed her skirt up and
slipped a hand between her legs, his fingers shoving aside the thin
fabric of her panties so he could touch her. When he encountered
the moisture built up inside her, he said, “You seem to be of two
minds about the subject.”

When he starting stroking her, she gasped.
Clamping her legs shut on his hand, she trapped it. Then she
reached down and pulled his hand away. He wasn’t going to distract
her so easily. “Not yet.” She sat up and kissed him. “Waiting will
be good. You’ll see.”

Enrico groaned in frustration. He wanted to
push harder. If it wasn’t for Vincenzo, he could have.
Damn
it.
He hated being on eggshells with her. He wanted to be more
insistent, more demanding, more in control. But that could wait. He
didn’t have to have everything now, as much as his body argued
otherwise.

He tried once more, giving her his best
pleading puppy eyes, which she resisted, shaking her head. “Okay,”
he said on an exhale, rolling away from her. “Shall we eat here or
go exploring?”

“Exploring.”

He smiled. “I was hoping you would say that.”
He was in no mood for the three-hour plus dinner they’d get at the
hotel’s restaurant, as exquisite as the food was. He had only one
thing on his mind, and he wanted it as soon as possible, Kate’s
wanderlust be damned.

She zipped into the bathroom, checking her
hair and makeup and straightening her clothes as he waited for her
on the bed, mulling over ways to short-circuit her plans. Perhaps a
quick bite in a café he knew around the corner? Then a brief stroll
around the hotel grounds?

Kate came back with her purse. “I’m
ready.”

Another possibility occurred to him. “The
hotel has excellent room service.”

“No room service today.” She extended her
hand to him. “Come on. The longer you pout, the longer it’s going
to be before we’re back here.”

He took her hand, rising with a
long-suffering sigh. “True.” He brought her hand up to his lips,
brushing her knuckles with his mouth. “It is just that I have been
thinking about you all day.”

“Another hour or two won’t hurt.”

“For you, perhaps.”

She skimmed her hand across the crotch of his
trousers, making his half-hard cock tingle from her touch. “All
good things to those who wait,” she whispered. He chuckled at her
audacity. The old Kate was back. Then she turned and tugged on his
hand, urging them out of the room.

“Can we leave Antonio and Ruggero here?” she
asked as he closed the door.

“Yes, it is safe.” He’d told her a small lie
earlier; Capri wasn’t safe because of the Camorra; they didn’t have
even a toehold in Capri. Capri was safe because it was Don
Battista’s domain. Not even Carlo was rash enough to challenge
him.

Enrico thought enviously of the night ahead
for his guards. Room service and porn. Then again, he’d be coming
back to the real thing. He hoped. He ducked his head in Ruggero’s
room and let him know they were going out, then they left the
hotel.

As they walked the stone streets hand in
hand, Enrico’s head filled with images of him and Kate, what he
wanted to do to her, with her. The sounds of it, the sights. The
scent of her mingling with the scent of him. The way she’d feel in
his arms, underneath him, above him, pressed between him and the
walls of their room. He wanted her in all ways, in every way
possible. And he wanted her now. Except they weren’t alone.

They wandered for a while, Kate undeterred by
Enrico’s suggestions of where to eat. Realizing she wasn’t going to
be denied, he eventually gave up. He was just going to have to be
good and hope she gave him what he wanted sooner rather than
later.

Kate finally settled on a small, crowded
café. Enrico slipped the waiter several bills to ensure expedited
service. He was watching Kate read the menu, when he felt her hand
just above his knee.
Madonna
, he thought, noting no change
in her expression as her hand slid up his leg. It lingered at the
juncture of his thighs, but her fingers didn’t move. When he placed
his hand over hers, she withdrew. Ah, so it was her way, or no way.
Two could play that game.

He ordered a Caprese salad to start, eating
it with his fingers when it arrived. He popped a mozzarella and
basil covered tomato in his mouth, licking the sweet balsamic
vinegar and olive oil off his fingers and thumb as he looked at
Kate.

She smiled. “Trying to seduce me, are
you?”

He said nothing and wiped a dot of oil from
his chin with his index finger, then sucked the oil from his skin.
He ran a thumb across his lower lip, then picked up another tomato,
offering it to her. “You must try this.”

She leaned forward and opened her mouth,
accepting what he offered. Chewing slowly, she held his gaze,
watching as he licked his fingers again. He reached out and wiped
up a little vinegar from the corner of her mouth, then used his
tongue to clean his finger. “Delicious, no?” he asked.

She nodded and watched him pick up another
tomato, a smile playing with her lips. He was sure he had her
thinking about what else his tongue could do.

Leaning forward, she placed her hand on his
thigh again, but didn’t move it. Shifting her weight slightly and
giving his quad a squeeze, she brought her lips to his ear. “What
if we didn’t go back to the room?”

His cock twitched at the suggestion. “Do you
have somewhere else in mind?”

“I’m sure we can find some quiet, secluded
nook somewhere.” Her hand slid higher. Almost, but not quite
there.

Enrico felt a sheen of sweat building on his
forehead and upper lip. This was definitely more fun than staying
in the room. Definitely.

They finished their meal in rapid order,
Enrico hardly remembering a word they exchanged. His whole focus
was on her. On Kate’s hand on his thigh, on the way her other hand
occasionally toyed with the neck of her blouse or ran along the
base of her throat. Or twisted the damp hair off the back of her
neck.
Dio
, how he wanted to kiss her in all the places she
touched. How he wanted her hand on his leg to move higher. But
waiting had its benefits. He could see that now.

He paid the bill and took her hand, starting
toward the darker end of the street, where it turned off into a
residential area. Once they were in the shadows, he pressed her up
against a wall, kissing her hard and deep, grinding his hips into
her. She let out a moan and he smiled against her lips. “Who is
eager now?” he teased.