The Italian's Final Redemption - Jackie Ashenden Page 0,55

take with me when I go.’

He muttered something harsh under his breath, the glitter in his eyes full of anger and desire, heat and regret, and too many other things she didn’t understand.

But she understood the demand of his kiss as he bent his head and took her mouth, hard and deep and hot. Knew, too, the taste of his desperation, because she felt the same. She put her arms around his neck, rose up on her toes, kissing him back just as desperately as he was kissing her. And everything suddenly became feverish and raw.

He swept her up into his arms, carrying her from the terrace and through the villa till they reached his bedroom, where he tore the robe from her body and laid her on the bed. He got rid of his clothes, found the protection they needed, then eased apart her thighs and settled himself between them.

He didn’t wait and she didn’t need him to. There was a yawning emptiness inside her, an echoing hollow space that only he could fill. And he did, thrusting deep and hard inside her. And this time he didn’t treat her as if she was made of glass. He didn’t go softly or gently, treating her as if she was vulnerable.

He gripped her thighs, hauling them up and around his waist, tilting her hips back so he could slide more completely inside her, and then he was moving in an almost savage rhythm, forceful and hard and demanding.

It felt so good. Exactly what she wanted. Because she wasn’t the scared little girl he’d brought to Capri days ago. She was different now. She was changed. She wasn’t afraid any more, not of herself and not of him, and not of what she wanted.

And she wanted everything. She wanted it all and now, because she didn’t have long to enjoy it. Only a few days. But she would take those days and throw herself into them. Take as much happiness as he could give her and then come back for more. She wouldn’t hold back and she’d deny him nothing.

She might not deserve it, but he did. Everything he’d given her she’d give back to him, because, whether he knew it or not, he needed it too.

So she put her arms around him and tightened her thighs around his hips, holding him to her, moving with him. And she kissed him, nipped him, licked him. Let him know how much she liked what he was doing to her, how much she wanted all the pleasure he gave her.

And when she’d reached the point of desperation, when her soul had been drawn so tight with pleasure she almost couldn’t stand it, she stared up into his intense face, and felt everything inside her still.

It was as if he held her in the palm of his hand, her whole being gathered up tight in his fist. Then he opened his fingers and her soul flew free, caught in a spiralling ecstasy. Only to fall into the hot darkness of his eyes.

And drown there.

For the first time in his life, Vincenzo had no idea what to do. Always, his path had been clear to him. Always, he knew in which direction to turn and which route to take.

Justice was what he was after. Justice for the woman he’d lured into that dark alleyway. Justice for Gabriella and her father. And perhaps some justice for himself, too. For the way he’d been used and manipulated.

There had never been any conflict within him. He always knew that what he was doing was the right thing, and even when there had been protests and denials from the people he’d put away, he’d never doubted that they deserved what they got.

But now he was made of doubt and the path that had always been so clear was shrouded in fog.

Lucy had accepted that she was guilty of the crimes she’d committed for her father and that Vincenzo would turn her over to the police. And not just accepted it. She felt she deserved it.

Days earlier, there had been none of this conflict. Yes, she was guilty. Yes, she deserved it. But now...things were different.

He sat on a sun lounger under the shade of a big white linen umbrella, gazing at the woman who lay face down on the lounger next to him, her head buried in the crook of one arm, her mass of dark hair in drifts over her pale shoulders. Beyond was the cool blue of