Page 58 of Under Her Skin

She smiled up at him. “Fuck me hard, Bachi, until I can’t walkstraight.”

“My pleasure.” He pinned her hands to the bed and began to thrust hard, Hero tilting her hips up to take him inside her as deep as shecould.

“We are definitely going to be late…oh…oh yes…God…Turo…yes!”

Still glowing from their lovemaking,Hero took the hand Arturo offered her and got out of the car. The piazza in front of the newly renovated Villa Patrizzi was full of press and partygoers for the grand opening. The hotel’s signage was covered with a tarpaulin, no doubt so Arturo—or rather the invited dignitary—could unveil it as part of theceremony.

Arturo and Hero mingled with the crowds, seeing their friends waiting to greet them. Gaudio had been given the night off, and he greeted them as old friends with Fliss wrapped in his arms. Hero grinned at her. “Still goingstrong?”

“You bet it is. I’m moving in with him nextweek.”

Hero hugged her. “I’m so happy for both of you. Let’s get together soon,yes?”

“Definitely. Oh, looks like your man is about to give hisspeech.”

Arturo was indeed on the stage with the invited guest, an international movie star who had a villa on the Lake. Arturo introduced his guest, and the actor made a brief speech, but then quickly turned back toArturo.

“Now, you might think I’m here to pull the cord and unveil the hotel’s sign…but in this case, friend, considering the circumstances, I think that honor should fall to you. So, without further ado, please give it up for my good friend and the genius behind this place, ArturoBachi.”

Hero applauded wildly with the crowd, knowing Arturo would be a little taken aback bythis.

Arturo stepped back up to the microphone, thanking his guest. Then he paused for a moment, seeming to take a breath in. “Friends…it’s not a secret what I had long planned for this place, and the…how should I say…checkeredhistoryI have had with it. Last year, I almost had all the pieces in place…then a beautiful stranger came in and changed everything. My whole life. And,mio Dio, I’m so very thankful that she did. Hero Donati…you are my love, my life, my wife, and this place would mean nothing if it weren’t foryou.

“This hotel has been years in the making, but to me, it only became a reality when Hero entered my life. So, when it came to renaming this place, there was no competition. Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to theVillaHero.”

Hero gasped in shock, and a million flashbulbs went off as Arturo pulled the cord, the tarp slipped to the ground, and the huge, wrought iron sign lit up.VillaHero.

There were tears in her eyes, and she fought her way through to him. “I can’t believe it, thank you…God, what an honor, Turo.” She felt giddy and discombobulated as the crowd jostled them, but when Arturo took her in his arms, everything meltedaway.

“The honor is all mine, Hero Donati Bachi, it always was…” And he kissed her until her senses swirled, and the noise of the crowd became nothing more than a song on the morningbreeze.

The End.

* * *

Under Her Skin ExtendedEpilogue

After the deathof Arturo’s beloved uncle, Philipo, Arturo takes on the mantle of the family business for good. Before getting to work, however, he and his beloved wife, Hero, return to her hometown of Chicago to spend time with her family before they themselves begin their own family, back in LakeComo.

Hero is eager to introduce Arturo to Chicago, and he is keen to explore the more sensual side of the city with his love. Together, they take an erotic adventure into the steamier side of Chicago’snightlife.

As their vacation comes to an end, Hero is reunited with someone she had thought lost to her, and Arturo and Hero discover something that will change their livesforever.

Hero pressedher lips to Arturo’s back as she slipped her arms around him. Her husband, so tall and broad-shouldered, turned slightly to wrap his arm around her. Hero gazed up at him. “Are youokay?”

Arturo nodded, his green eyes sad. “I am,cara mia. We knew this day was coming; that’s why Philipo wasprepared.”

His uncle, Philipo, had died a few days ago, of cancer that had taken years to defeat the ornery, spirited old man, and both Hero and Arturo felt his losskeenly.

After they had both been seriously injured by Arturo’s duplicitous and psychotic friend, Peter, Philipo had been like a father to both of them as they recovered and rebuilt their lives together. Arturo, in particular, had found a new understanding with his uncle, something he had never thought hewould.

Now, Philipo was gone, and Arturo was about to assume the mantle as head of the family property development business. Before that, however, after the funeral today, Arturo and Hero would be flying to Chicago to spend some time with her family, her adoptive parents Deirdre and William Donati, up in Kenosha, and see the city Hero shared with her late husband andchild.

“And,” Hero told him with a smile, “we get to try out some of Chicago’s kinkier clubs. I have one in mind that I think you’llenjoy.”

Arturo grinned. “Who knew my wife liked a littleplaytime?”

Hero laughed. “With you, I’d try virtuallyanything.”