CHAPTER 11 —Mmm... I like it! —Ian looked without a drop of modesty at Lia's slender and delicate body —. Do you like it?He pulled the top straps over her head and stretched the provocative triangles over her breasts. The way they were indented in the fabric was more than tempting, and as if that wasn't enough, she nodded smilingly, sending a shiver of satisfaction down his spine."I could be making love to this woman around the clock!" He thought.—Turn around, I must tie this for you. —But instead of turning around Lia pressed herself closer to him, her breath hot on his naked torso, her mouth ajar on his skin.Ian crossed his arms behind her back, following the line of the straps, and tied with a simple bow the bikini top he'd bought her. He had been out in the morning for an hour, long before Lia woke up, and for once he hadn't been afraid to leave her alone. He made two more b

 He wanted to forget it, to put it out of his head, to focus all his attention on the great progress that meant Lia was playing with the wolves... but he couldn't. Rage tingled with every inhalation, and if he didn't send memories to Katherine's progenitors it was only because he didn't know their names.Leah stopped playing after a few minutes and advanced toward him. She knelt to his right, resting on her heels, and looked out at the sea: at the waves crawling up to her knees, and those breaking further out against the rocks.She was his own ocean, he was able to appreciate her in all her beauty, but he would not be able to discover her depths in all their magnitude, at least not as long as she continued to be silent.He dropped down on one elbow and took a picture of her. How could he not be angry if Katherine had no idea of the way that girl captivated him? He stroked her back with upward moves, from her buttocks to the nape of her neck, and Lia

Ian waited for Katherine's car in the yard and waited for the woman to get out. They were both uncomfortable about the impending confrontation, so they barely said hello to each other.Inside the house, Sammy's labor kept Lía busy, completely absorbed in her every moan of pain.Kathy bade him good morning with acrimony, and he returned the greeting in kind, but it was obvious that politeness would go no further than that.—Where's Lia? —she asked, scanning with her eyes the unusual quiet of the house, which was usually interrupted by the howling of wolves when there was a visitor.—She's inside, in the living room, with Sammy. My she-wolf is about to have her puppies.The woman let out a gesture of discomfort that did not go unnoticed by the Italian. The whole situation was awkward, but he was sure she wouldn't keep silent for long. She was not the kind of person who delayed her conflicts.—Listen, Ian... I'm s

"Lia...!"How was it possible for him to dream about her even having her by his side, after making love to her so intensely? It was an incredible thing to sleep with Lia. He couldn't remember all the women he had shared his bed with, but that girl was the first one he had allowed himself to sleep with.He inhaled deeply, searching for the special scent she left on the sheets, on the pillow, and reached out to caress her.Her absence made him jerk up. Next to him, the sheets were cool enough to know that She had been up for some time.—Lia! —She wasn't beside him, and the damned wolves hadn't warned him!—.  Lia!He pulled on a pair of shorts and scoured the upper floor with an anxiety of which he would never have believed himself capable. But he did not find her on the terrace or in any of the rooms. Neither her nor the wolves.—Lia! —he called out to her again almost desperately as he descended the stairs.<

The wolves sensed him, as always, and Lia did not want to wait alone. She followed them through the tangled jungle trails, barefoot and laughing, to the edge of the property where the car was to enter.Ian had taken almost three hours longer than expected and she had an anxiety to see him that she could barely control. All those photographs had led her to three important conclusions: one, she was somehow alive again, conscious; two, Ian was responsible for that; and three, he could show whatever he wanted about her because after all the only reason she had at that moment to be happy was him.As the car entered the zigzagging path that led off the road, the wolves joined their return journey with howls of satisfaction, and set off in a straight line towards the house, matching the car's turns on the dirt road for several stretches.—But what the hell...?Ian followed the direction of Carlo's gaze and immediately understood the reason for his expressi

—Stop joking, Carlo! —Ian scolded him, annoyed.—No, I'm not joking! I'm completely convinced that what you feel for her you've never felt for any woman before.Indeed, he was right. Ian had never felt half the sexual attraction for another woman that he felt for Lia, but that was it... That was it, wasn't it?—That may be, but that doesn't mean that I fell in love with her, far from it. My name is not Carlo Di Sávallo, who married the first little princess who made eyes at him! —he protested.His brother couldn't help but laugh at such a childish jab, which only served to confirm his suspicions.—True, true. —He admitted—. Your name is Ian Di Sávallo, but you're still going to end up tangled up with those little eyes.Ian made a gesture of deep exasperation with his shoulders and went inside to pour himself another brandy. Carlo was wrong, he had to be wrong, but he didn't want t

Ian felt a shiver run down his spine as Lia caressed him. He closed his eyes to enjoy it, making a superhuman effort to control himself, because it was no less than two o'clock in the afternoon and they were in the kitchen of the house.The girl smiled inwardly watching him tremble under her fingers. She knew how much he wanted her, every moment, with every pulse, and she was well aware also of how much she wanted him. She grabbed the lapels of his shirt and pulled him in, taking hold of his mouth and forgetting for a second the pain she felt when her breasts pressed against him.Ian was her comfort zone and she wanted to have him, to have him as soon as possible, because nothing turned her on more than the elemental fact of taking refuge in him. She barely managed to control herself when she ate something from his hand, and seeing him there, so attentive, so protective, had left her crazy with the desire to have him inside, around, everywhere, without thinking. That w

—Is it possible that you can't tell me anything... absolutely nothing? After everything that has happened between us?Lia lowered her head, disgruntled, and he ran his hand through his hair in lively agitation. It wasn't because of her, but because there was less and less time left before Katherine came for her, and that had him in the grip of the greatest restlessness he had ever experienced.—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push you. —he kissed her on the forehead, holding her close— Forgive me, Lia, please forgive me. It's just that sometimes I long to hear your voice... to hear you in any other context than while we make love.He stroked her hands and brushed her lips briefly, reminding himself that the girl did not know the reason for his uneasiness, imagining that perhaps, when the time came, she would be strong enough to utter the words that would allow him to keep her by his side.—Are you sure you don't want to come with

It must have been past five in the afternoon when Lia opened her eyes and tried to wake up without much result. She was tired, exhausted from so much crying, but somehow that deep, silent exhaustion had brought her some peace.She staggered to her feet and approached the bathroom mirror. She brushed her fingers over the purplish marks on her throat and let out a moan, remembering the night before, the gut-wrenching feeling that had gripped her as she choked, the look of terror in Ian's eyes."Ian...! How could I have made him do this to me?"She had to talk to him, she had to explain that fit of madness, she had to... she wanted to tell him how she felt, no longer for Grace's loss, but for him. For him who had spent so long trying to keep her ghosts away, until he had finally succeeded.She hurried down the stairs, looking for him, but the sound of an arriving car stopped her. She discreetly peeked out the window overlooking the porch and saw Katherine em

Galagas was full to capacity with spectators, although the invitations to the exhibition had been exclusive - very exclusive! Everywhere waiters could be seen hurrying around with trays full of champagne glasses.The six huge glassed-in halls on the fifteenth floor of the Cavalier Hotel were filled with seductive women and smiling men enjoying the shattering of their expectations.It had nothing to do with the micro-nature cliché that had come with the brochures and invitations, but it was a life. A latent life that moved from photograph to photograph, and that was capable of absorbing all the attention of the public in those magnificent spaces of one hundred and fifty by one hundred and eighty centimeters.The congratulations to the artist had been pouring in since early in the evening, and the reviews promised to be flattering. The auction had not yet been authorized, and the rumor among those present already announced that large sums would be involved in the bidding to acquire some