mind?”
“I like it very much,” he replied.
She’d been suppressing the urge to move, willing herself to lie still and give him full control. It was only as her pleasure increased and she was past the point of exercising control on herself that her instincts took over and her waist and hips did what they wanted.
His stomach rumbled suddenly.
“Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving,” he admitted. “I skipped the after-meeting buffet and drinks.”
“That’s why you got here so early!” she accused, pushing lightly against his shoulder.
“I couldn’t wait to see you, tesoro. ”He rolled aside and let her get up.
***
Stephano enjoyed the West Indian style curry and praised her as he ate it with gusto. Not for the first time, Natalie silently her mother for insisting that she learnt to cook at the age of sixteen. She’d resented being dragged away from reading at the time, but she had been able to feed herself adequately when she’d left home and now impress Stephano with her culinary skills.
They sat on the sofa replete from the meal, sexual awareness simmering between them, but too full to give in to it. Paul had nailed the Cadbury contract. Though semi-retired and enjoying golf and his much-younger third wife, Paul was the go-to man when the agency needed a big hitter. He was so eloquence, they always said that instead of kissing the Blarney Stone he’d taken a bite out of it.
Later she blamed the darkness and the wine which made her lose her customary inhibitions, but before she knew what she was doing she’d started telling Stephano about her relationship with Michael. Every shameful detail tumbled out, things that she hadn’t told Nathan, things that she had worried about telling Stephano lest it changed his perception of her.
He held her as she cried, stroking her hair softly.
“I still feel sad that he had such a terrible childhood,” she sniffled and blew her nose one last time.
“Even if he had an unhappy childhood, sweetheart, that didn’t give him the right to inflict his pain on you. I hope I never meet that fool, cara mia . I will find it difficult not to deliver several punches to his face,” Stephano threatened softly. “He didn’t deserve you.”
“It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you,” she apologized belatedly. “I lost my confidence and when I saw you with Eva…she looked so beautiful and so…”
“And so are you, cara mia .” He rubbed his nose against hers. “You’re everything I need in a woman. Beautiful, intelligent…great cook, ”
“And you’re all I’ve ever needed in a man,” she whispered back to him. They were probably lines she’d read or heard sung in a corny love song, but they were appropriate.
“I’m staying the night, teroso .”
He didn’t ask for permission. Natalie turned her head on his shoulder and snuggled her face into his neck, grateful that he’d somehow sensed that she needed companionship after stripping away the defenses she had built up over the years and allowing herself to experience the hurt and the pain she’d felt at that time.
She knew with an account as lucrative as the Cadbury’s contract, Stephano would have gone prepared for negotiations to overrun by days, if necessary. He would have packed an extra set or two of fresh clothing in his overnight case.
“We can only help people who want to be helped.” Stephano’s words caressed her ear as he spoke. “Renata’s two previous lovers cheated on her and she couldn’t let the past go and start afresh with me. Even my friends were a threat to her because her last boyfriend cheated on her with a transvestite. I tried to be understanding, but her jealousy would have destroyed both of us if I hadn’t ended the relationship.”
They had more in common than she’d realized, Natalie thought, as she stroked the back of Stephano’s neck soothingly. Though their experiences had been vastly
“I like it very much,” he replied.
She’d been suppressing the urge to move, willing herself to lie still and give him full control. It was only as her pleasure increased and she was past the point of exercising control on herself that her instincts took over and her waist and hips did what they wanted.
His stomach rumbled suddenly.
“Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving,” he admitted. “I skipped the after-meeting buffet and drinks.”
“That’s why you got here so early!” she accused, pushing lightly against his shoulder.
“I couldn’t wait to see you, tesoro. ”He rolled aside and let her get up.
***
Stephano enjoyed the West Indian style curry and praised her as he ate it with gusto. Not for the first time, Natalie silently her mother for insisting that she learnt to cook at the age of sixteen. She’d resented being dragged away from reading at the time, but she had been able to feed herself adequately when she’d left home and now impress Stephano with her culinary skills.
They sat on the sofa replete from the meal, sexual awareness simmering between them, but too full to give in to it. Paul had nailed the Cadbury contract. Though semi-retired and enjoying golf and his much-younger third wife, Paul was the go-to man when the agency needed a big hitter. He was so eloquence, they always said that instead of kissing the Blarney Stone he’d taken a bite out of it.
Later she blamed the darkness and the wine which made her lose her customary inhibitions, but before she knew what she was doing she’d started telling Stephano about her relationship with Michael. Every shameful detail tumbled out, things that she hadn’t told Nathan, things that she had worried about telling Stephano lest it changed his perception of her.
He held her as she cried, stroking her hair softly.
“I still feel sad that he had such a terrible childhood,” she sniffled and blew her nose one last time.
“Even if he had an unhappy childhood, sweetheart, that didn’t give him the right to inflict his pain on you. I hope I never meet that fool, cara mia . I will find it difficult not to deliver several punches to his face,” Stephano threatened softly. “He didn’t deserve you.”
“It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you,” she apologized belatedly. “I lost my confidence and when I saw you with Eva…she looked so beautiful and so…”
“And so are you, cara mia .” He rubbed his nose against hers. “You’re everything I need in a woman. Beautiful, intelligent…great cook, ”
“And you’re all I’ve ever needed in a man,” she whispered back to him. They were probably lines she’d read or heard sung in a corny love song, but they were appropriate.
“I’m staying the night, teroso .”
He didn’t ask for permission. Natalie turned her head on his shoulder and snuggled her face into his neck, grateful that he’d somehow sensed that she needed companionship after stripping away the defenses she had built up over the years and allowing herself to experience the hurt and the pain she’d felt at that time.
She knew with an account as lucrative as the Cadbury’s contract, Stephano would have gone prepared for negotiations to overrun by days, if necessary. He would have packed an extra set or two of fresh clothing in his overnight case.
“We can only help people who want to be helped.” Stephano’s words caressed her ear as he spoke. “Renata’s two previous lovers cheated on her and she couldn’t let the past go and start afresh with me. Even my friends were a threat to her because her last boyfriend cheated on her with a transvestite. I tried to be understanding, but her jealousy would have destroyed both of us if I hadn’t ended the relationship.”
They had more in common than she’d realized, Natalie thought, as she stroked the back of Stephano’s neck soothingly. Though their experiences had been vastly
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