Surprised by Love (19 page)

As luck would have it, Mrs. Reid had not yet started
dinner, and would instead serve cheese and crackers with fruit. 
Alessandro refused coffee, saying, “We’re  both tired and want an early
night, Mrs. R.  Better not clutter up the scene with caffeine.”

“Of course, Sir.  I won’t be a moment with the
cheese tray.”

 “And something else, Mrs. R.  If a woman
announcing herself as the Princess Renata Tevere-Borghese should phone, please
say that we are not at home, and you have been instructed not to accept
messages from her.”

 “A princess.  Renata and a mouthful. 
Right, Sir.  I won’t let her bother you or your wife.”

 “Thanks, Mrs. R.”

****

Connie raised an elegant brow when they were in their
bedroom by 8:45.  “We’ll never be able to do that when Nonna is staying
with us, even though we are married.”

 “Complaints?  Too early?  I thought
you wanted an early night.”  One side of his mouth quirked as he waited
for her reply.

 “Of course not a complaint,
amore. 
And
I did want an early night.”

 “Tired?” Instantly solicitous, he wondered how
much Renata had upset her.

“Do I have to be tired to want an early night?”

“Definitely not,
inamorata. 
Come here.”

“I thought this time we’d get our own clothes off
quickly and then I’ll come to you.”

“Just as you like—it certainly will speed things
up.  When I undress you I  get sidetracked, needing to kiss your skin
as I uncover more of you.”

By now, Connie had removed her sundress and thong, and
walked slowly toward Alessandro.  “Need any help with anything?”

“I was wearing my shirt unbuttoned and un-tucked, how
much help could I need with that?” he smiled.  As he gazed at her, he
sighed, “Connie—what you do to me—”

“About on a par with what you do to me, I’d think,
inamorato.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”  Naked, he took the few
steps to her and wrapped her in his embrace. He heard her little gasp when he
saw her eyes slide over his body. He smiled.  Her reaction to him never
changed—nor his to her.  Hot, passionate desire arrowed instantly through
him, settling low in his pelvis. 
Ah,
Connie—     

He gasped when he felt her hand reach for him, placing
the tip of his penis between the labia, her other hand caressing the swollen
testes, finding the secret place just behind, stirring deeply passionate
feelings in him, almost beyond his endurance.

“Please—let’s lie down,” she asked.  Smiling, he
took her in his arms, and together they fell on the big bed. 

He had intended making slow, unhurried love to her,
but when he felt her hands feverishly reaching for him, holding his penis and
caressing his sac, he knew he couldn’t take his time.  Connie wanted him
now. 

He warned gently, “
Carissima
—are you sure
you’re ready for me?”  He felt her gripping his penis more firmly, pushing
its head through the labia, against her vagina, and he sighed in relief. 
She was all dewy for him— 

Entering her in one fast, hard thrust, he went deep,
giving her all of him. Waiting for a moment so she could stretch to take him,
he began to move when he felt her muscles gripping him.

Connie thought that there seemed to be more of him
than usual—how amazing was that?  And why was that?  To banish all
thought of Renata? She frowned, arching her back, offering herself to him for
whatever he wanted. 

Lifting her pelvis higher, he managed to give her more
than either of them had thought possible.  She gasped when she felt all of
him filling her, stretching her more than he ever had before. 

Tightening his arms around her, he began a wild, pagan
rhythm that had her gasping.  Faster—deeper—until all they could do was
sense what the other wanted—united in the driving rhythm that invariably
preceded them sharing an awesome climax.

He felt the orgasm begin to envelop them both, taking
them higher than ever before.  Overcome by passion, he felt her clenching
and relaxing rhythmically around him, and surrendered to what only Connie could
make him feel—total and absolute passion—and something more.  Sighing her
name into her mouth, he gave her all he had to give, feeling again the
surpassing bliss of a shared climax as he spilled the hot flood of his seed
into her.  Spilled and spilled, overcome by feelings of rapture he knew he
had never felt with anyone else.  When at last the hot, passionate surges
of his seed stilled, he stayed where he was, unable to move away from her.

When his breathing and heartbeat had calmed down a
bit, he smiled into her eyes.  “That was exceptional, even for us. 
Ah, Connie,
inamorata,
what you do to me…”  He tightened his
embrace.  “And I promise to stay as long as you want me.”

She hugged herself more tightly to him for a
moment.  “Yes—it’s so good what we have between us…” 

He waited for her to go on, but she remained
silent.  Had he banished all thought of Renata?  He doubted it. 
All the same, he wasn’t going to ask.  If she needed to, she would ask
him.

After a little while, she did just that. 
“Alessandro—do you mind my asking—how long were you together with her?”

He frowned.  “We were never ‘together’ as you put
it,
amore. 
We dated for about a month, I think.  Off and on,
not seeing each other every day, but the moment I had been intimate with her,
she seemed to hear wedding bells, and I cooled it quickly.  Not quickly
enough, evidently.  A few days later, she left for Rome—her father had had
a stroke, and while the prognosis was not good, she wanted to nurse him. 
What on earth made her think that I would be ‘waiting’ for her return…” 
He shrugged, shaking his head.  “In the first week or so, she phoned a few
times.  Then I went to Ocean Breeze, and you know the rest.”

Connie hugged herself to him.  “You’re right,
that doesn’t sound like the Couple of the Year.  But as I said before, she
may have persuaded herself that you were serious about her.”

Alessandro frowned.  “I wasn’t…”

“I know you weren’t, but it’s amazing what a woman
like Renata could make herself believe.”  She smiled at him.  “You’re
quite a catch,
inamorato. 
You’re bright and kind and witty—and
beautiful.  Small wonder she wanted to hang on to you.”

“And there’s my money—don’t forget my money.  The
Tevere branch is impoverished.”  He frowned.  “She better cease and
desist or she’ll wonder what fell on her.”

Connie grinned.  “You say the nicest
things.” 

She gazed at him intently, finally asking, “Have I
talked you out of an encore?  I was just thinking, this is hardly
love-talk.”

He smiled.  “Anything you say in that smoky, low
voice is love-talk.  Come here and I’ll show you ‘encore’.”

And in the throes of their passion for each
other—which included Connie’s love for him and his mysterious extra feelings
for her—they forgot all about Renata and her plans to win Alessandro back.

Chapter 18.

The next morning, Alessandro told Tom enough to ensure
his help in keeping Nonna free from visits by Renata fishing for support in her
campaign to get Alessandro back. 

“A princess, is she?” Tom derided.  “And she
isn’t princess of this or that region or piece of land—like you are the count
of Montedalcino?”  He grinned.  “Cristiano’s princely title is backed
up by land.  He belongs to the ruling family of Concordia.  He’s here
now and I’ll let him deal with that Renata.  I can well understand a woman
wanting you back, but once she heard that you are married now, she should’ve
backed off quickly.  No one is going to be sympathetic to her alleged
prior claim on your body, shall we say.” 

Tom grinned lasciviously at Alessandro, who—for
once—let it ride.  The main thing was that Tom was on side to protect
Nonna from an overdose of Renata.

****

Renata’s next salvo was directed at Connie.  One
afternoon, Alice buzzed her.  “Ms. Sherwood, a woman who says she’s a
princess something or other says you are expecting a call from her.”

Connie frowned.  Renata was proving more
aggressive than they had thought she’d be.  Never mind.  “All right,
I’ll talk to her.”  She heard a click. 
     

“Constance Sherwood.”

~Ah.  You do not have the temerity to call
yourself the
contessa
di Montedalcino at my
fidanzato’s
office. 
I want you to realize what a lot of damage you are doing socially to the
Conte
di Montedalcino.  In our circles, he will barely be received if it
means you, a commoner, will have to be accepted as his wife.  Why don’t
you step aside—Alessandro will be generous if you do—and let me take up my
rightful position at his side?~

“Only a psychiatrist could deal adequately with your
delusions.  My husband tells me you dated off and on for about a
month.  He is sorry to realize now that you took this lighthearted fling
far too seriously.  My husband is married to me because he wants to be,
not because of coercion or any other sinister reason.  Realize it well,
and I suggest you stop your ludicrous attempts to get me to step aside.  I
am going to hang up now.  I shall leave word with my secretary that she is
not to accept further calls from you.”

Furiously, Renata began, ~But I…~  
Click. 
Connie broke the connection, got to her feet and walked to the door. 
“Alice?  Don’t accept any further calls from her.  The woman is
delusional.”

“Sure, Ms. Sherwood.  She sounded very pushy and
aggressive to me—sort of haughty, as if I was dirt under her feet.  You
bet I’ll keep her away from you.”

“Thank you, Alice.  Will you bring me the
Monferrato file?”

“Right here, Ms. Sherwood.”  Alice rose and took a
file from her desk, handing it to Connie, who nodded and went back into her
office.

****

A few evenings later, Alessandro and Connie were
having dinner at Tom and Jeff’s.  After some idle chat, Tom said, “You
were quite right, Alessandro.  That Renata woman made a beeline for our
gallery and she bought two small paintings, which had to be shipped to her
palazzo
in Italy, very pointedly addressed to the Princess Renata Tevere-Borghese.”

“A small village near Rome?  That is her father’s
country place, a big farm-house, updated with decent bathrooms and so on. 
It is by no means a
palazzo. 
She is just laying the groundwork to
make sure everyone knows she’s a princess and a welcome client of your
gallery.  She expects an invitation to your next preview, when she will no
doubt try something else to force herself on me.  Amazing she has been
quiet this long,” Alessandro observed.

“Uh… She hasn’t been quiet that long,
amore,”
said
Connie.  “A few days ago she phoned me at the office, did I realize how
much damage I was doing to your social position by clinging to you, et
cetera.  I told her only a psychiatrist could deal with her delusions, and
hung up on her.  Alice won’t put her through again.”

Alessandro paled. “You didn’t tell me,
carissima. 
Did she upset you?”

Connie shook her head.  “Apart from the nuisance
value, no.  All the same, I think a woman who has such delusions could
become dangerous.  Will you be extra-careful, Alessandro?”

He frowned.  “It seems to me that you are the one
who needs to be careful.  She wants to be with me, and you are standing in
her way.  In her deluded mind, that means you will have to be got out of
the way.”  He stretched out a hand to Connie. “I’ll double our security,
and I’m afraid that means you will have two bodyguards from now on, and not
discreetly at some distance, but very visible and close to you.”

Connie lamented, “Do I have to, Alessandro?”

“Just for a little while,” he soothed.  “Until I
can be sure that this demented woman has given up on her ridiculous plans to
replace you in my life.  Never.  You hear me?  Never!  And
we will curtail our outside activities until she’s given up.”

Tom sounded stricken, when he pleaded, “You’ve
got
to
come to my next preview, in a week’s time.  You must have received the
invitation already?”

Alessandro nodded.  “Yes, and of course we were
intending to be there, but with Renata on the loose, determined to replace
Connie in my life…  Even if I had never met Connie, I still wouldn’t have
allowed her to be in my life on more than that very brief fling basis—which was
all it was, months and months ago.  We dated a few times, and she seemed
to think that was a preliminary to wedding bells.”  He shook his
head.  “How ridiculous is that?”

“And all you were willing to have was a fling,” Tom
grinned, his tone  teasing.

Jeff said, “We will double our security detail and
make sure at least one of them sticks like Krazy Glue to Connie.”