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Addie thought about the women they had passed while they were shopping and the comment one of them made about her. ‘Not beautiful enough to be his lover.’ But what if someone else had seen her with Vic and sent a photo to the press?
Vic reached up to smooth her frown away. ‘What’s that serious look for, hmm?’
Addie drew in an uneven breath. ‘You know we’re only a photo away from being exposed. Those women down when we were shopping—’
‘Were wrong, for one thing,’ Vic interjected. ‘You are beautiful.’
As much as his compliment thrilled her, she still was worried about how the press would portray her. And if they realised she was Solange Featherstone’s daughter, there would be comparisons for sure and not flattering ones towards her. ‘But what if the press was to find out? And how will we explain it to Marcus and Isabella?’
He stroked his finger down the slope of her nose in a tender fashion. ‘Let’s not worry about things that might not eventuate. This is between us for now.’
Addie captured her lower lip in her teeth, her gaze slipping out of reach of his. ‘I’d better go and check on Katerina. She often wakes this time of night.’ She moved out of his loose hold and getting off the bed, slipped her bathrobe back on, tying it securely around her waist. Leaving to check on Katerina was an excuse to put some distance between them, to collect her thoughts, to reflect on her situation now that she recognised she was in love with him. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself by suddenly blurting it out, especially so soon after making love with him. It would make her appear an even more naive and gauche person than she already was.
‘Addie.’ His firm deep voice sent her gaze back to his. ‘The app on my phone will alert us to Katerina waking. Stay for a bit longer.’ He patted the bed she had just vacated but somehow, she summoned up some willpower and resisted.
‘I need to use the bathroom.’ She gave a self-conscious smile and added, ‘And I know this sounds terribly unsexy, but I’m starving.’
He gave a deep rumble of laughter and tossed off the sheet that was half covering him. ‘You go and do what you need to do, I’ll check on Katerina and then I’ll make us some supper, okay?’
‘It sounds wonderful.’ And it did. But she was a fool to think this fairytale was going to last. A romantic location, mind-blowing sex, a handsome and tender lover, a midnight supper with only the moon watching on. It all sounded so dreamy, something she had never thought could ever happen to her. But the sooner she accepted this was temporary, the better. But oh, how she wished it could be for ever.
A short time later, Vic stood over Katerina’s cot watching as she slept deeply. He could see his friend’s features in his goddaughter’s angelic face, but he could also see his half-sister’s Italian colouring and even his mother. Genetics was an intriguing thin…how it passed on DNA from previous generations.
He had ruled out having children of his own because he didn’t want any child of his suffering the loss he had suffered. Losing his father so young had made it impossible for him to envisage a life where he would be responsible for keeping his loved ones safe. Every day on the news, families of all shapes and sizes were shattered by tragedy. There was no escaping the vicissitudes of life and his only way to navigate through it was to control what he could. He could avoid grief by not loving someone the way he had loved his father.
But looking down at little Katerina, so soon after making love with Addie, made him begin to realise what he was missing out on. There would be no day in the future when he would look down at his own sleeping child. There would be no day when he would watch that child grow from an infant to an adult.
Those thoughts had never bothered him before. He had simply dismissed them, not allowing them any traction in his mind. But making love with sweet and innocent Addie this evening had triggered something inside him. A sliding doors moment. Something that made him wonder what his life would look like a couple of decades from now. Would he still be satisfied with the long hours he worked, the financial success he had accumulated, the no-strings casual dating he engaged in?
He had poured so much of his time and energy into his company, rebuilding it from the ruins his stepfather had left it in. He had thrown himself into the challenge, channelling his anger at his circumstances into producing one of the most luxurious hotel chains in the world. He had done it to honour his father who had not only missed out on seeing Vic grow from child to adult but had also missed out on seeing the business he founded grow into the successful empire it was today. This very villa was going to be Vic’s ultimate achievement, to turn his family home into the most salubrious hotel of the Jacobetti chain.
But would he be satisfied at all he had achieved at the end of his life? It wasn’t something he had dwelt on much in his quest to build the hotel chain into what it was today. He was not unaware of people’s regret at the end of their life over the choices they had made, the things they would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight. Would he be one of them? Full of regrets instead of gratefulness? And why was he bothered by these thoughts now?
Making love with Addie had been a wonderful experience; he would even go as far as saying it was the best sex he had ever had. The chemistry between them was explosive, a slow burn that had fizzed and sparked into combustible heat. The sensual touch of her hands, the sweetness of her mouth, the tight wet warmth of her body had made him feel honoured and privileged that she had chosen him to be her first lover. His body was drawn to her by an irresistible force, like lightning was drawn to metal and his pleasure had been just as earth-shattering.
He couldn’t remember feeling pleasure and satisfaction like it. It was like making love for the first time but without the clumsy awkwardness and embarrassment. His body still hummed with the sensations she had evoked in his flesh; the drumbeat of ongoing lust was rumbling like background thunder.
But what to do now? Was it fair to leave it as a one-off event? Surely Addie deserved more than a one-night stand? But if he continued their sexual relationship he would be drifting into dangerous territory. There were risks involved, risks he wasn’t sure he wanted to take. What if she developed feelings for him? She was not a worldly type of woman; she had zero experience in the world of casual dating. She had a big heart and it would be bruised if not broken if she wanted more than he was prepared to give. And there were other risks, ones he didn’t want to acknowledge existed, but he would be a fool not to factor them in. His relationship with Addie was unlike any other in his circle of friends, unlike any of his casual encounters. She was unique and therefore he had to be careful not to trigger feelings he didn’t want to possess. He wasn’t incapable of love; he loved his mother and his half-sister, he loved his friends, most particularly Marcus who was the closest thing to a brother he could get. But falling in love was not something he had ever done or ever wanted to do. Addie Featherstone was someone who deserved to be loved. She deserved to be treasured and adored for a lifetime, not a short time. But Vic wasn’t the man to do it. Why then did that make him feel uneasy, unsettled, edgy?
Katerina murmured in her sleep and turned her head to the other side of the cot facing the wall, and Vic held his breath, hoping he hadn’t inadvertently disturbed her slumber. But after a few more moments, she let out a sigh and settled back down again. Vic tiptoed out of the nursery, closing the door as he left. He wished he could close the door on his troubled thoughts just as securely.
Addie dawdled in the bathroom, showering, and changing into some casual clothes rather than putting the bathrobe back on. She didn’t want to appear too desperate to make love with Vic again, but her body was still tingling from his possession and every now and again her belly would flip-flop as she recalled his thick presence inside her. She placed her hand on her stomach and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked the same and yet she felt so different from an hour ago. Her body was awakened to the needs she had ignored for years and it was hungry for more of Vic’s touch. It was like she had tasted a potent drug and now craved her next hit. He was irresistible but hadn’t she always sensed that? Her crush on him from the first time she met him should have warned her that he was danger personified. Dangerous because he had no intention of falling in love with anyone, much less someone like her. They moved in completely different worlds, he was a playboy everyone talked about, she was someone who avoided the spotlight. And she was glad not to be noticed, wasn’t she? She didn’t want to be compared to her gorgeous mother, nor did she want to be compared to Vic Jacobetti’s gorgeous lovers. She wanted to stay out of the spotlight, to live her quiet uneventful life as before.
But…how could she now that she had tasted the delights of sexual intimacy? How could she turn the clock back and return to being that shy, innocent woman when Vic had awakened her to her sensual needs? Needs that still pulsed and throbbed inside her.
When Addie finally came downstairs, she found a light supper set out in one of the rooms off the kitchen. It had big windows that overlooked the lake and the moon high in the sky at this time of night sent a silvery beam across the water. Vic came in carrying a tray with a teapot and teacups and saucers on it and set it down on one of the side tables next to a brocade-covered sofa.
‘There you go, tea for two,’ Vic said, sending her a mercurial smile.
‘You certainly know the way to my heart,’ Addie said, then immediately wished she hadn’t. It sounded like she was flirting with him, playing games of seduction she had no business playing. She lowered her gaze to the teacups on the tray, busying herself with putting milk in her cup, hoping her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.
‘I was going to bring champagne but wondered if that would be appropriate.’ He poured a cup of tea for her, the sound of the liquid filling her cup loud in the ensuing silence.
Addie took the cup with a hand that wasn’t as steady as she would have liked. ‘What would we be celebrating?’ She still couldn’t quite meet his gaze and carefully took a sip of the hot and fragrant tea to cover her embarrassment.
Vic sat opposite her, holding his own cup of tea, but he didn’t take a sip. ‘Addie.’
She slowly brought her gaze up to his inscrutable one. ‘You don’t have to worry, Vic, I’m not going to beg you to make love to me again.’