her hand once again and laid it palm side up. She tried to pull it away, but he wouldn’t let her. And when he started to make patterns on the palm, Clarissa almost groaned with the agony of desire his touch sparked. She was able to control her reactions only by staring straight ahead, pretending to the rest of the audience that nothing out of the ordinary was happening. She couldn’t even care that so many people kept staring at their box as long as Max continued with his erotic touch. It was the first time she’d been on display and hadn’t cared a fig.
When the ballet let out, several of Max’s friends met them outside in the lobby and everyone agreed to dine together at a nearby restaurant. Clarissa didn’t want to eat. She wanted to tear her hand away from Max’s and beg him to show her more. She loved the way she was feeling right now and wanted to continue to explore this new world.
At the restaurant, the conversations were lively and she enjoyed everyone. But when they left, she wanted to fall into Max’s arms. Instead, he kept her close by his side, but didn’t touch her in any other way. Until they reached her door.
As a challenge to him, she hadn’t locked her door. He growled down at her a moment before he pulled her into his arms. But just as he had the other two times, he only kissed her passionately before stepping away and starting to walk back to his limousine. A few steps away, he stopped and turned back to her.
“I have to go out of town for several days. If I arrange it, will you meet me in Sicily for a long weekend?” he asked.
“A long weekend?” she gasped, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “Will you show me your house?”
“Absolutely. And I’ll show you a part of Italy that is much different from what we saw previously.”
“I’d love it,” she breathed.
“I’ll send a car for you.” He touched her cheek a moment before leaving.
Three days later, she was on one of Max’s jets and she was flying over the ocean, her excitement at seeing him after an absence of three days almost making her jump up and down in her seat.
When the plane touched down and taxied over to the private landing area, she was thrilled to see him standing there waiting for her. Her instinct was to rush out of the plane and throw herself into his arms, but after three days, she was too shy and insecure of his reaction so when the doors were opened, she smiled tentatively and walked sedately down the steps.
When she was a foot away from him, he shook his head. “Not a very enthusiastic greeting, cara,” he said.
Without any further prompting, she smiled and jumped the last foot into his arms. He caught her easily, and pulled her against him, his arms lifting her higher so he could reach her mouth without bending down. “You look beautiful,” he said a moment before his mouth claimed hers.
The drive to his home was fascinating as he pointed out several interesting sights along the way. When the driver pulled into the long, tree lined driveway, Clarissa gasped in excitement as she surveyed his home. In true Italian style, the roman archways and climbing vines decorated his house, making it look both elegant and yet still welcoming.
The cool tile entryway was lovely and a maid greeted her as the two of them walked in, handing both of them a tall, cold glass of lemonade. “Buon giorno,” Clarissa smiled politely.
The maid replied back and then disappeared quickly.
“Have you been studying Italian?” Max asked, his arms slipping around her waist and hugging her gently.
“Maybe a little. I didn’t know much the last time I was here and it was confusing at times.”
“It sounds very sexy when you speak it,” he replied, his lips nuzzling her neck.
Clarissa shivered with delight as she felt his lips against her neck, moving to her shoulder and then back up to take her ear lobe between his teeth. She had trouble holding the glass of lemonade in her hands since they started shaking so much.
“Max, release that woman at once,” a strong, female voice said from one of the three hallways leading to the entry way.
Clarissa gasped and opened her eyes, looking around to see where the voice had come from.
She saw a lovely, elderly woman with black hair and merry eyes walking