A Dark Sicilian Secret(30)

She felt the bed give on his side, felt the covers tug and then the warmth of his powerful body settle next to hers.

For a moment she couldn’t breathe. She’d dreamed of this, of him, so many times since she’d run away from his villa in Bellagio, wanting so badly what she couldn’t have.

Because she couldn’t have him. It wasn’t sane. He posed danger to her at every level.

But what was that expression? The heart wants what the heart wants?

And her heart had wanted him. Her heart had always wanted him.

“You can breathe,” he said quietly, his voice pitched so only she could hear.

“I am.”

“Barely.”

She smiled in the dark even as her chest ached with fierce emotion. This was the Vittorio she’d wanted. This was the man who’d made her feel extraordinarily loved. “You don’t need to worry about me,” she whispered.

“Oh, but I think I do.” His arm slid around her and he pulled her close against him. She felt his lips brush the back of her head. “Now relax. Sleep. Tomorrow will be here before you know it.”

Miraculously, she did sleep. She must have drifted off right away because the next time she stirred, she was alone in the bed. Frowning, Jillian glanced at the clock on the narrow bedside table. Six hours had passed since she’d closed her eyes. Amazing because she never slept deeply, not anymore.

A soft knock sounded on the door and then the door opened. Maria entered with a tray. “Signor sent you coffee and juice and a breakfast pastry. He thought you might want something to eat before we land.”

Jillian sat up, glanced at Joe who was stirring in his cot. “We’re landing soon?”

Maria nodded and placed the tray next to Jillian on the bed. “In less than an hour.”

Maria took Joe to the staff room to feed and dress him so that Jillian could have her coffee and dress in privacy.

Privacy felt like a luxury, Jillian thought as she nibbled on the breakfast roll between sips of coffee. But that was Vittorio’s way—affluence, luxury, comfort. She’d forgotten just how posh his lifestyle was. She’d forgotten how decadent she’d felt in Bellagio in his lakeside villa with the stunning views of the mountains.

Dressed, she headed for the main cabin where Vittorio waited for her. “Did you sleep okay?” he asked her as she took a seat in one of the honey leather chairs opposite his.

“I did. Better than I have in months. Thank you.”

“I didn’t remember you being such a restless sleeper,” he said, his long black eyelashes dropping to conceal his eyes. “You kicked and thrashed half of the night.”

“Is that why you left so early this morning?”

“I stayed with you all night, only leaving so that I could have Maria bring you breakfast.”

She flushed. “I didn’t know.”

“Yes. Apparently there’s a great deal you don’t know.” He paused, studied her thoughtfully. “Just as there are many things I need to understand about you.”





CHAPTER SIX



JILLIAN did not ask what he meant and Maria arrived with Joe just as the seat belt sign flashed on.

Jillian gratefully took Joe onto her lap and wrapped her arms around him. Blinding sunlight poured through the jet windows as the Boeing 737 dropped lower and lower until the jet’s wheels finally touched ground. Once on the runway, she dropped a kiss on the top of her son’s head, happy they’d landed safely.

As she kissed him, his cloud of soft black hair tickled her nose and she breathed in his sweet baby scent.

Feeling Vittorio’s gaze, she glanced up, her eyes locking with his. He was sitting across the aisle from her and yet she could practically feel him. He had such a strong presence, a very physical energy that made her body hum even now.

“You have shadows under your eyes,” he said.

“I shouldn’t. I actually slept well last night.”

“It sounds like you don’t get a lot of sleep.”

She shifted Joe in her arms. “Babies wake up a lot at night. And then of course, there’s my need to check on him.”

“You should have had more help with him.”

Jillian knew what he was really saying—that if she’d come to him, she would have had help, she wouldn’t have had to struggle on her own.

“It will be easier for you to sleep when Joseph is in his own crib, in his own room,” he added. “And he does have his own room at my house. There’s space for Maria to sleep in the nursery should we need her to—”