Semua Bab WILL I EVER LOVE AGAIN?: Bab 51 - Bab 60

His company was not for keeps. Lovely Rivero knew that.She sat in her button-up dress in the hairdresser’s at four and asked for a French roll, but the hairdresser tutted, picked up a long coil of blonde and suggested—or rather, strongly suggested—curls. After some hesitation finally Lovely agreed.Whatever had happened to her this morning, it was still occurring. She felt as if she were shedding her skin, and at every turn she fought to retrieve it. Her lashes were darkened, and then Lovely opened her eyes when the beautician spoke.‘Porpora...’Lovely did not know that word, but as the beautician pushed up a lipstick Lovely managed, without translation, to work out what it meant.Crimson.‘No.’ Lovely shook her head and insisted on a more neutral shade.Oh, Lovely wanted to be back in her cocoon—she was a very unwilling butterfly indeed—but she did buy the lipstick, and on her way back to the hotel she stopped at the boutique and bought the red dress.And then she entered the compl

For the first time since they had met Lovely looked truly relaxed. The conversation flowed easily, and quite simply he did not want to take the chance of ruining a very nice night. But he did need to know more. And he did not need to delve, for a very at ease Lovely was now talking.‘I know he can’t stand Mauro.’‘How do you know that?’‘Because Bastiano told me.’She was stirring her drink and didn’t see the sudden tension in his features. It dawned on Raul that Bastiano and Lovely might already be lovers for all he knew.‘There was a wedding at the castle one weekend,’ Lovely explained. ‘It was a very good one. Of course Mauro had been through the guest list, and he made a bit of a beeline for Bastiano. He’d found out that he’d converted an old convent into a retreat, and Mauro wanted to hear his thoughts on doing something similar with the castle.’Raul Soriano gave a disparaging laugh, and Lovely assumed it was in reference to Mauro’s gall at approaching a guest.But Raul was mock

He peeled her off him and it was a feat indeed, for between his attempts to halt her he was resisting going back in for a kiss. He was hard and primed, and she was desperate and willing.An obvious match.Yet somehow not.‘Slow down...’ he told her. ‘Angry sex we can do later.’Raul never thought of ‘later’ with women and was surprised by his own thought process, but his overriding feeling was concern.‘I’m not angry,’ Lovely said.She could feel his arms holding her back as he somehow read her exactly and told her how she felt.‘Oh, baby, you are!’She was.Lovely was a ball of fury that he held at arm’s length.She was trying to go for his zipper. She was actually wild.‘Lovely?’He guided her to a chair, and it was like folding wood trying to get her to sit down, but finally he did.Lovely could hear her own rapid breathing as Raul went over and flicked on a light, and she knew he was right.She was angry.He saw her pale face and the red hand mark, and Raul’s own anger coiled his

She was heated and twitching, breathless and giddy and perfectly done as he moved over her and crushed her tense lips with his moist ones. His thigh moved between her legs and splayed her, and even coming down from a high, with the feel of him nudging and the energy of him, Lovely knew this would hurt.‘Slowly,’ she said, but her words were muffled, so she turned her head. ‘I’ve never—’He was about to aim for hard, fast and deep, when he heard those two words that were so unexpected.‘Slowly,’ she said again.He could do that.An unseen smile stretched his lips at the thought of taking her first, practically beneath Bastiano’s nose. And then the thought of taking her first made his ardor grow.But then, just when bliss appeared on the menu, the stars seemed to collect and become one that shone too bright. And, like a headmaster grabbing an errant student by the shoulder, he suddenly hauled himself back from the edge.Everything went still.All the delicious sensations, gathering tigh

Yet still they lingered in bed.‘What are you going to do with the rest of your day?’ he asked her.‘I’m going to head home while I’ve still got one. I’ll see if I can transfer my flight to today,’ Lovely said. ‘I want to tell my mother—away from Mauro—that I’m moving out.’‘Good,’ Raul said. ‘You need to...’ He halted. It was not his place to tell her what to do.‘I know what I need to do, Raul.’She closed her eyes for a moment and thought of the mountain in front of her that she was about to climb—walking out on the family business, forging a career of her own, finding somewhere to live with nothing.Yet there was excitement there too.It was time.And that made her smile.‘What will you do today?’ Lovely asked.Raul thought for a moment—the weekend spread out before him, and really he could take his pick.Allona was waiting for Raul to call with his amended schedule.There were parties and invitations galore—particularly as he was known to be in Rome. And yet whatever he chose Rau