Page 47 of Lovers' Dance

“Fuck!” she exclaimed, glaring down at her feet.

Matt couldn’t recall if he’d heard her swear before, then remembered their argument in the pub so long ago. It was startling to hear a strongly uttered expletive from his sweet Madi.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Did you hurt yourself?”

“I don’t think so,” she muttered, while leaning against him. He watched anxiously as she pulled up her dress a few inches, lifted up the offending foot and wriggled it side to side. “Nope, not broken. These heels were not made for cobblestones. Can I have a piggyback?”

“A what?” Matt made sure the disbelief he felt was clear to see on his face.

“A piggyback,” she repeated, pouting her luscious lips at him. “Please?”

“Madison—”

“It’s not too far to the water taxis, and I may have hurt my ankle,” she wheedled. Matt wasn’t buying it for a second, but she did look cute with that little pout. He injected a high level of sternness into his voice. “I’m a well-respected businessman—”

“Please, please, please, Matt.”

She fluttered her thick eyelashes at him and Matt gave in with a wry grin. “All right poppet, one piggyback and we’re never to mention this undignified occurrence to anyone. Hop on.”

He watched as she hitched her dress up, then turned so she could climb on to his back. This was completely unacceptable behaviour, but her infectious laughter made him feel like a young man.

“You’re the best knight ever,” she whispered into his ear, before planting a big kiss on his cheek.

“Mmm hmm, and you weigh a tonne.” His teasing comment was far from the truth, and she stuck a wet tongue into his ear in retribution. “Do that again, poppet, and I’ll dump you on the ground.”

“Giddy-up.” She clutched his shoulders, making sure her legs were wrapped firmly around him, and he chuckled despite their highly inappropriate conduct. Matt began walking in the direction of the Canal Grande. They could board a water taxi and be back at his place within half an hour. He quickened his pace while Madi drew him into a conversation over the history of the buildings they walked past. Matt, having holidayed frequently here, was a font of knowledge and he felt a deep-seated pleasure in the way she listened avidly to him describe Venice culture. By the time they boarded the water taxi, Matt couldn’t wait to get back to the house. Her lovely brown eyes flirted with him as she deliberately ran her fingers up and down his arm. Gone was the inexperienced young woman he’d taken into his bed a few months ago. In her place stood a sensuous goddess who turned his body into a consuming inferno with a mere touch. When they arrived, Antonio was waiting, ready to execute requests from his employer. Matt dismissed him for the rest of the night. He had everything he could possibly need, and she was standing by the balcony windows in his bedroom, wistfully peering at the night. He glided over, resting a hand on the small of her back.

“What’s on your mind?” he murmured softly.

“I’m—” she paused, twisting her head so she could see his face.

“What, poppet?” Was there a touch of sadness in her eyes?

“Happy,” she answered, but the melancholy smile curling her lips contradicted her words.

“So am I,” Matt said with quiet intensity, as his fingers latched over the zip and he slowly drew it down. She didn’t move as the dress slid to the floor, revealing her underwear-clad body to his hungry gaze. Matt rubbed his hand over her back, venturing lower until he encountered the top of her sexy lace knickers. He let out a rough moan of desire and she turned around, arms reaching up to wrap around his neck as she buried her face in his chest.

“Let’s go to bed,” he ordered, close to the edge of tumultuous passion and wanting to sate himself in the secrets of her body. Did she have any idea how much he yearned for her? Did she truly understand the way she affected him? Had changed him?

Matt took them over to the bed and lost himself in the pleasure of her touch, her scent, her soft moans of lust. He lost himself completely and, when they laid wrapped around each other exhausted from their climax, he vowed to never let her go. Her breathing evened out and soon enough she started snoring gently.

“I love you, poppet,” he whispered as he kissed her cheek.

“Me, too.” she murmured back.

Matt stilled, frozen in shock, then he carefully leaned away to observe her sleeping face. She was sleeping. Bloody hell. Had his words registered in her sleep-induced state? He listened to her weird snoring for a few minutes before settling back down.

‘Me, too.’ She had said, ‘Me, too.’ Matt ignored the obvious fact her response wasn’t made with an alert mind and drifted off to slumber. Tomorrow. He would sit her down and they would have a serious talk. All he had to do was convince her this connection between them deserved more than being hidden in the shadows. Whoever didn’t like it could go fuck themselves.

EIGHT

IT WAS A RAINY Thursday night when we returned to London—a day earlier than planned—and Matt had woken me up. My hair was a wild mess, and I felt like the wrong end of a dog. On the bright side, I was no longer crouched over a toilet bowl begging the Lord to make the violent puking stop. We’d had so much fun until Wednesday. Matt had promised me a gondola ride, so we went into the city and had something to eat. I had chosen supposedly fresh fish—it was to be a mistake. Within an hour of digesting my lunch, I was in the grips of food poisoning. It was a bad sight. Matt had been great although, getting me back to his place and holding my hair back as the war in my stomach waged and the pristine porcelain bowl in the bathroom downstairs had suffered. Oh, man, it suffered. Rosa had fussed over me, berating me for eating out instead of at the house, or so Matt had translated. Antonio had wanted to call an ambulance, but I had a thing about hospitals, so I said no. Franco had paced a hole in the marble floor, muttering in his native language. Matt had finally had enough of them because he carried me upstairs to his bedroom, locked the door as I scrambled to the ensuite, and resumed his kneeling next to me as I hurled.

Venice had ended on a sour note.

“Have some water, Madi.” Matt was holding a glass out to me as I rubbed a hand over my face. “You need to keep hydrated.”

I took the glass with a feeble smile of thanks and sipped it. My stomach gurgled loudly.

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