Read Online VITTORIO'S WOMAN (The Vittorio Series) by Kimberley Reeves - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kimberley Reeves
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your live-in lover?”
“Why not?”
“For one thing, I can’t just give up your therapy. We’ve made so much progress…”
Simon’s face hardened. “What progress is that? I am just as helpless now as when you first came here.”
“You were never helpless, and how can you say there’s been no progress? Your muscle tone is better, your general overall health is better, and your disposition has certainly undergone a dramatic face lift over the past week.”
“For all the good it has done, I still cannot walk.”
“Give it time,” she pleaded, “you will walk again, I just know it.”
Simon’s arms dropped to his sides. “So that is why you are rejecting me. You do not see me as a man because my legs do not work. Dio , what was I thinking?”
Lilly rolled away from him and sat up. She couldn’t bear to see him like this, couldn’t tolerate knowing she was the cause of his pain, but what could she do? She had no experience with men, had never gone past kissing and a little fondling. What could she possibly offer a man like Simon who dated models and socialites that knew how to please him in bed? She would bore him to tears and the affair would end before it even had the chance to begin. And then what? She couldn’t just leave without doing everything in her power to get him back on his feet.
Lilly glanced back at him, her heart wrenching at the grim look on his face. It was the same expression he’d worn when she walked into his room that first day. Hope . Hope was the key to healing a wounded heart, the gift that Lilly had always been able to give her patients. But she hadn’t given Simon hope just now, instead she’d snatched it away, and somehow she knew what she did in the next few minutes would either breathe new life into him or shatter his life forever. She wouldn’t let him down, but neither could she let herself down. A slow smile spread across Lilly’s face. As Simon had so aptly pointed out, it was so simple.
“Send Gaetano up to help me dress,” he said brusquely when Lilly shifted away from him and climbed out of bed.
Let her go , he commanded himself. He didn’t need her, he didn’t need anyone. So what if her kisses set him on fire or the scent of her skin drove him half wild with desire? Let her go, and the memories of those kisses would fade in time. He would forget the way his heart leapt whenever she touched him, the same heart that now felt as if it was being ripped from his chest. Time would erase the sound of her laughter and he would be grateful for it because once she was gone he didn’t want to remember anything about her. That’s what Simon told himself, and that’s what he believed right up to the moment he heard her walking away.
“Lilly, do not…” No, he wouldn’t give in to the panic welling up inside him. “Do not forget to send for Gaetano.”
He turned his head away, steeling himself against the pain he knew would come once she walked out the door. He waited in breathless agony for the sound of her retreating footsteps, clenching his teeth to keep himself from calling out and begging her to stay. When the soft patter of bare feet against the hardwood floor finally came, Simon’s brows drew together in confusion. Why was she heading for the door leading to the hallway instead of going to her own room? He listened intently, hope blooming like the first flower of spring when he heard the soft click as she locked the door and returned to his bedside.
“I have an idea,” Lilly said as she pulled her nightgown over her head and let it flutter to the floor. “You can rehire me…after we make love.”
Simon’s breath caught his throat. He knew what that soft rustling meant, knew that she was standing there in nothing but the lacy panties he’d discovered when his hand had traveled up her silky thigh only moments ago. Another soft rustling made him groan out loud for he
“Why not?”
“For one thing, I can’t just give up your therapy. We’ve made so much progress…”
Simon’s face hardened. “What progress is that? I am just as helpless now as when you first came here.”
“You were never helpless, and how can you say there’s been no progress? Your muscle tone is better, your general overall health is better, and your disposition has certainly undergone a dramatic face lift over the past week.”
“For all the good it has done, I still cannot walk.”
“Give it time,” she pleaded, “you will walk again, I just know it.”
Simon’s arms dropped to his sides. “So that is why you are rejecting me. You do not see me as a man because my legs do not work. Dio , what was I thinking?”
Lilly rolled away from him and sat up. She couldn’t bear to see him like this, couldn’t tolerate knowing she was the cause of his pain, but what could she do? She had no experience with men, had never gone past kissing and a little fondling. What could she possibly offer a man like Simon who dated models and socialites that knew how to please him in bed? She would bore him to tears and the affair would end before it even had the chance to begin. And then what? She couldn’t just leave without doing everything in her power to get him back on his feet.
Lilly glanced back at him, her heart wrenching at the grim look on his face. It was the same expression he’d worn when she walked into his room that first day. Hope . Hope was the key to healing a wounded heart, the gift that Lilly had always been able to give her patients. But she hadn’t given Simon hope just now, instead she’d snatched it away, and somehow she knew what she did in the next few minutes would either breathe new life into him or shatter his life forever. She wouldn’t let him down, but neither could she let herself down. A slow smile spread across Lilly’s face. As Simon had so aptly pointed out, it was so simple.
“Send Gaetano up to help me dress,” he said brusquely when Lilly shifted away from him and climbed out of bed.
Let her go , he commanded himself. He didn’t need her, he didn’t need anyone. So what if her kisses set him on fire or the scent of her skin drove him half wild with desire? Let her go, and the memories of those kisses would fade in time. He would forget the way his heart leapt whenever she touched him, the same heart that now felt as if it was being ripped from his chest. Time would erase the sound of her laughter and he would be grateful for it because once she was gone he didn’t want to remember anything about her. That’s what Simon told himself, and that’s what he believed right up to the moment he heard her walking away.
“Lilly, do not…” No, he wouldn’t give in to the panic welling up inside him. “Do not forget to send for Gaetano.”
He turned his head away, steeling himself against the pain he knew would come once she walked out the door. He waited in breathless agony for the sound of her retreating footsteps, clenching his teeth to keep himself from calling out and begging her to stay. When the soft patter of bare feet against the hardwood floor finally came, Simon’s brows drew together in confusion. Why was she heading for the door leading to the hallway instead of going to her own room? He listened intently, hope blooming like the first flower of spring when he heard the soft click as she locked the door and returned to his bedside.
“I have an idea,” Lilly said as she pulled her nightgown over her head and let it flutter to the floor. “You can rehire me…after we make love.”
Simon’s breath caught his throat. He knew what that soft rustling meant, knew that she was standing there in nothing but the lacy panties he’d discovered when his hand had traveled up her silky thigh only moments ago. Another soft rustling made him groan out loud for he
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