An Italian Affair (3 page)

“
I want to be inside you, Kelly,” he growls suddenly, moving
his head down to my breasts and beginning to tease my nipples with
his tongue. I let out a groan of satisfaction, at which point he
immediately moves his head back up so that he’s staring into my
eyes. His expression is wild, his eyes intense. “I want to remove
every trace of that pathetic excuse for a husband you have from
your body; I want you to be mine.”

His
words drive me wild. Never have I felt so wanted, so desirable. I
leap up from underneath him, forcing against his weight with all of
my strength and pinning him down to the bed underneath me, crushing
his lips against mine. He lets out a groan and frees one of his
arms from my grip with ease, and then uses it to guide my hand to
his cock. His boxers are already wet with pre-cum from grinding
against me, and I can feel them getting wetter at my
touch.

I begin
to move my hand along the length of his shaft, and he slides a hand
down my stomach and under my frilly lingerie until his fingers are
on my clit. He bites his lip as he rubs me, his bright eyes still
piercing into mine.

“
You are so wet,” he mumbles, freeing his hand from my
underwear and bringing it up to his mouth, pressing his fingers
against his lips and then slowly sliding them inside. His eyes
close as he does so, and I tighten my grip on his cock. But he
can’t keep his hands off me for long, and before I know it his
fingers are inside me as he fucks me with his hands. I let out a
groan and arch my back, releasing my grip on his cock and thrusting
my hips wildly against his hand.

This
does it for him. Within seconds my underwear has been ripped off
and I’m on my hands and knees while he kneels behind me, forcing
his cock into my wetness.

“
I can’t control myself any longer,” he gasps. “I need
you.”

“
Fuck me,” I manage to croak, my voice almost as weak as my
knees. He does as I ask, and I groan as he fills me. When he’s
comfortably positioned he begins to fuck me, and I can feel my ass
jiggling as he repeatedly slams into me.

“
You have such a sexy ass, Kelly,” he growls, slapping it so
hard that he makes me yelp. “I could fuck you all day
long.”

“
I’ll let you,” I gasp, raising my hips higher to encourage
him.

Fuelled
by excitement and anticipation, we move in unison on the bed,
groaning and panting and sweating as our orgasms build. But just as
I can feel myself beginning to climax, he stops. He hasn’t come
yet, and at first I worry that I’ve done something wrong. Yet
before I have a chance to ask I can feel his hands on either side
of my hips, forcing me onto my back. I let out a yelp as my body
hits the sheets. My eyes are open just far enough to see him
leaning over me, forcing my legs further open with his
arms.

“
I want to see your face when I’m coming into you, and I want
you to see mine. I want you to know exactly how you make me feel.”
He pins my hands down with his own, our fingers intertwined again,
and slides his cock back into me. The creaking of the bed is
drowned out by our desperate gasps as we reach the
climax.

“
Fuck me harder,” I groan, grabbing his shaking arms and
pulling him towards me. A small smile appears across his face and
his bites his lip, his thrusts deepening.

“
I’m going to come,” is all I need to hear from him to tip me
over the edge, and I pull him in to kiss me as the orgasm takes
control of my body. My hips are shaking, my back is arched so that
my breasts press into his chest, and my heart is thumping against
my ribcage. And then I lie still, savouring the moment as he
empties his warm come into me and then collapses with his face
buried into my breasts.

We lie
there for a few moments, sweating and panting but still kissing
each other. I’m unsure where my body ends and his begins, but I
can’t bring myself to move. I could lie underneath him all night,
gazing into those cool eyes and listening to his heart beating hard
against mine. But my fantasy is interrupted as pulls away from our
kiss and props himself up on his elbows. His eyes flicker open, and
I immediately feel myself beginning to melt under his
gaze.

“
You fuck very well,” is the first thing he says, and I can’t
help myself from laughing.

“
Thank you. You are not so bad yourself.”

He brushes a loose strand of hair out of my eyes and leans
down to kiss me once more, then pushes himself up into a sitting
position. “I should be going now,” he says, glancing at the clock.
I follow his gaze.
What? 11pm
already?
I yawn, suddenly aware of how
tired I am. He gets up to leave, but I grab his hand and pull him
back.

The
words come out before I know what I’m going to say.
“Stay.”

He
furrows his eyebrows. “Stay?”

I nod.
After what just happened between us, the thought of spending the
night alone is almost unbearable. “You can resume work in the
garden first thing in the morning.”

He seems
to consider it for a moment, but shakes his head. “Your
husband.”

“
No,” I say, fully aware of how desperate I’m beginning to
sound. “He won’t come back, I promise. Just stay.” I can’t promise
such a thing, of course. Hell, he could be back at any moment — for
all we know he could be sitting in the kitchen right now listening
to our conversation — but right now I’ll say anything to make him
stay. And it works.

“
I will stay if you want me to, Kelly,” he whispers, moving
closer and kissing my forehead. “Shall we sleep?”

I nod
and he pulls back the covers so I can slide in, then he turns off
the light and slides in beside me, wrapping his arm around my
shoulders. “Thank you,” I whisper, burrowing my face into his
neck.

He falls asleep before me and I lie listening to his
breathing. I think back to this time last night when I was lying
here listening to my husband’s breathing, and I suddenly realise
how much I’ve been missing all these years. My horrific
misconception about my husband, my first and only true love, has
just hit me: I don’t love him, and I never
did.

Chapter
4

I awake to the sound of my husband’s voice. At first it
startles me and I get up with a jolt, ready to wake Matteo — but
he’s nowhere to be seen. Unsure whether to feel panic or relief, I
scramble out of bed and into the kitchen, where David is talking on
the telephone, a cup of coffee in hand. He frowns at me as I enter.
“Thanks, I’ll call you later,” I hear him say before he ends the
call. He looks stern, almost angry as he takes a sip from his
cup.
Shit.

“
Who is this man?” He asks curtly, pointing out the window
into the garden. Although I’m already pretty certain that it’s
Matteo I crane my neck, pretending to act uninterested.
Double shit.

“
Oh, him? He’s just the gardener?” I can hear my own
heartbeat, and for a second I worry that he can hear it too.
Did David find him in my bed? Did Matteo confess
what happened between us last night?
I
gulp.

He
raises one eyebrow. “We have a gardener now?”

“
Yes,” I shrug. “The garden needed a little extra attention,
so I thought we could use a gardener. I can feel my cheeks
beginning to flush, but thankfully he’s turned away to rinse his
cup in the sink. For once, his lack of interest in my daily affairs
works to my advantage.

“
How’s business?” I ask as casually as possible, desperate to
change the subject. I sneak a quick glance out of the window when
he’s turned away, only to notice that Matteo is looking right back
at me. It’s much hotter today than yesterday, but he’s wearing a
tee shirt now.

“
Same as usual,” David grunts, taking out his phone and
beginning to dial a number. “I’m having some people over tonight
for a barbecue. There’ll be some pretty important people there,
hoping to make some contacts. You up for it?”

I nod.
Do I have a choice?
Then he walks out of the room, his phone pressed
to his ear. “I’m going to go out and get some food. I’ll be back
soon, alright?”

“
Alright,” I say, secretly relieved that I can have some time
alone with Matteo. I run out into the garden as soon as I hear the
back door slam, and he smiles as soon as he sees me coming towards
him.

“
Good morning, Kelly, did you sleep well?”

“
Very well, thank you,” I say, biting my lip. “Much better
than I’ve slept in a long time, in fact.”

“
Good.” His voice is warm and soothing.

“
What time did you wake up this morning?” I ask, glancing back
at the house to make sure that David hasn’t returned for any
reason.

“
About six,” he says after a short pause. “I wanted to make
sure that your husband didn’t catch us. He got back around half an
hour after I got up, I think we were lucky.”

I
breathe a sigh of relief. “I don’t know what I would have done if
he had caught us.”

Matteo
shrugs. “He came into the garden early this morning and demanded to
know who I was.”

My heart
stops for a second. “What did you say?”

“
I said I was your gardener.”

“
Did he buy it?”

“
Well, it’s kind of the truth,” he says, grinning at my
evident panic. “So yes, he did buy it. He doesn’t like me though, I
can tell.”

“
Why not?”

He
shrugs. “Dunno. I can just tell by the way he speaks to
me.”

“
I think he talks to everyone like that.”

“
I doubt it. Does he speak to you like that?”

“
He doesn’t really speak to me very much at all,
actually.”

“
Oh.” There is a long pause before I speak again.

“
I’ll let you get on, then,” I say eventually. “We’re having a
garden party later, perhaps you can attend?”

“
Perhaps,” he says, turning around and picking up his watering
can.

The majority of the day is taken up by work. One of the
blessings of my job is that I get to work from home, but today it
seems like more of a curse — despite usually being able to work for
at least three to four hours without needing a break, today I get
up every hour to go and make a coffee. Of course, all I
really
want is an excuse
to stare at Matteo out of the window, but I keep that to myself.
After all, what’s the harm if he doesn’t see me?

David
returns several hours later with bags of shopping and piles them on
the kitchen table. They’re brimming with every barbecue food
imaginable: steak, chicken, beef, burgers, cheese, onions,
sweetcorn, peppers, and alcohol— lots of alcohol. I pack it into
the fridge as he unloads the bags.

“
Who’s coming tonight?” I ask.

“
There’ll be lots of people. Mostly neighbours and work
colleagues and a few other friends.”

I nod, secretly bitter that he didn’t give me the chance to
invite anyone — but then again, I suppose he has a good reason for
it. After all,
who
would I invite? Matteo?

“
The gardener has been working hard,” I say. “He’s been here
since the early hours of the morning out in the garden.”

“
I can see that,” he says, his voice devoid of
emotion.

“
Shall we invite him tonight?”

He just
shrugs. “Do whatever you want. Just make sure he doesn’t cause a
commotion, I’ve got some important people here tonight and the last
thing I want is to be shown up.”

“
Why would he cause a commotion?” I ask, confused.

He doesn’t answer. “Go and get dressed, they’ll be here in
about an hour.”

It takes
me about half an hour to get dressed. I decide on a short taffeta
cocktail dress and a white pair of sandals. My long brown curls are
pinned to one side, and I can feel them brushing against my back as
I run across the grass to Matteo. David is still inside, he’s been
getting ready for longer than I have.

“
My husband is hosting a party tonight for some guests from
work. Will you come?” I ask as he turns around to greet
me.

“
You look beautiful,” he says immediately, sporting his usual
smile. “I will come if you want me to. Is it okay with your
husband?”

“
Yes, he’s fine with it. He’ll be so busy that he probably
won’t even notice that you’re here.”

“
That’s good,” he laughs. “I should probably go and get myself
ready, then. Is that okay? I think that I have made lots of
progress today. One more day and it should be done, I
think.”

“
Great,” I say as convincingly as possible, trying to hide my
desperation for him to stay longer. “Yes, it will be starting in
around half an hour, I think.”

“
See you then,” he says, swinging the shovel over his shoulder
and half-jogging across the grass.

Within
half an hour, the garden is packed with middle aged women and men
wearing expensive dresses and suits and drinking lots of expensive
champagne that we can barely afford to give them. But David brushes
off my concerns, telling me that it’s “all about the image” and
that the connections he makes from this party will pay off all of
the costs of the champagne and more.