Page 57 of Giorgio

“Juliana…”

“Just leave me alone with some sort of pride, will you?” She cried. “Can’t you see what you are doing to me?”

“The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you.”

“And yet, here we are.” She scrubbed her hands over her face. “God, when I think about what my brother said when he insisted on me taking this trip, I want to laugh. ‘Go and have a fling, find someone to have a mindless romance and return home feeling better about yourself.’ I laughed, because at the time it sounded so hilarious.

You see, when I got my memory back it was to discover that I had a lousy track record when it comes to men. And I told myself, I had this very interesting pep talk and said to myself that Giorgio Russo would never look twice at a woman like you, there was no way that could ever happen.”

She was unaware that the tears were streaming down her cheeks. “But my stupid heart had a mind of its own and now I…,” she gulped and pressed a hand to her heart.

“I love you more than I can even explain. I might not be one of those glamourous women from your society or your intellectual equal, but I truly love you and would have made you happy. Only you are too set in your ways and too damn stupid to see it.”

He had bridged the distance between them and was kneeling at her feet, his face a tormented mask.

“I am.” He whispered hoarsely. “I said I would never hurt you and that’s what I am doing now.”

“Go away.”

“I can’t.” He told her achingly. Rising, he gathered her into his arms and sat on the edge of the bed, cradling her against him. “I am set in my ways. I have these feelings inside me that I cannot explain, and I don’t want to hurt you even more, but I am not cut out for marriage. Papa called me a coward and perhaps he is right.”

He pressed her against his chest, feeling the aching emptiness stretching in front of him. He would never forget her, that much was true. He would carry her light in his heart as long as he lived.

Holding her like this almost made him believe he could have a life with her. But he did not want to fall into the trap of thinkingthat life holds any guarantee. His father had been madly in love with his mother, and she had died, leaving him alone in the grief.

It had been the same for Juliana’s parents. People left and he knew instinctively that if he allowed himself to feel anything more for her, if he acknowledged what he was feeling and acted on it, he would always be dreading the day she was taken from him. And he was not certain he could live. It was better this way.

Lifting her head, she stared at him with tear drenched eyes filled with a love that tore him to pieces. “Make love to me, please. Give me something to remember.”

*****

Perched atop the glossy black animal that personally belonged to him, Giorgio spent the bittersweet minutes on the plateau which gave him a perfect view of the cobbled driveway, Giorgio sat still watching as she walked out of his life.

He had left her bed at dawn and rode for half an hour as if demons were chasing him. Ignoring the cold finger of the icy wind whipping through his clothing, he had put his horse through a very brutal pace, before turning around.

He watched as she turned to look at the house, her head lifted to the second floor as if trying to catch a glimpse of him.

Lifting one gloved hand, he reached out as if he was trying to prevent her from leaving. His heart felt shattered, eyes burned with tears as she settled carefully in the back seat.

Aldo was the one driving her to the airport and even from this distance, he could see how gentle he was with her. They all loved her, but that was not difficult, it was almost effortless. She was easy to love.

Memories of last night came tumbling back.

“I cannot get enough of you. Your skin is like silk, so soft, so sweet, like honey.” he whispered, lips trailing down her neck.

“I love you.” She cried. “I don’t care if- “

He had covered her lips, stopping the rest of the words. He couldn’t say it back to her, even though he wanted to. And he admits it now. The words had been bursting from his chest. But he somehow managed to hold them in. They were locked somewhere deep inside him, and he was afraid to release it. To give it life.

He had wrung cries from her as he used his mouth on her body, tasting her flesh, drinking from her as if he was a starving man with a sumptuous banquet placed in front of him.

A groan escaped him as he recalled how she had returned the favor.

She had insisted on pulling him up and over her- He hissed out a breath, his body vibrating. She had turned oral sex into an art that had left him breathless. Her tongue had caressed his glans, sweeping across the reddened tip, until he felt as if the back of his head was going to explode.

Swear words had erupted and he had lapsed into his mother tongue. He had barely managed to pull away and when he did, he drove into her with a force that banged her head against the headboard. His control had diminished like puffs of smoke, and he found himself chanting her name over and over again.

The climax had been so powerful, it left him coming until the energy left his body. He had been having sex since he was a boy, and nothing had ever felt that good. It had stopped being physical and taken on a spiritual realm that left him confounded.