Chapter Five
Of course, the peace Briony found in Marco's arms couldn't last. He rolled off of her, gathering her into his arms. He planted sleepy kisses along her neck, murmuring in Italian. She was sure that whatever he was saying was sweet, but suddenly the implications of what she had done sank deep claws into her.
Oh god, he's still the man who thinks those ridiculous things about women. Rescuer or not, I don't know him. I don't know him at all. Oh god, what am I doing with a man that I don't know?
She had never done anything like this before. She wasn't someone who was given to one-night stands or even talking to strangers, let alone having sex with them. She could barely believe her own recklessness.
I am going to blame all of this on the adrenaline after what happened with those men from before, she told herself, but that didn't help her figure out the current situation.
Marco could tell there was something wrong. He propped himself up on one elbow, looking down at her. She nearly melted when he reached up to tenderly brush a strand of hair away from her eyes.
"What is it, darling?" he asked. "What's the matter?"
She almost told him, but then what would happen? She would simply collapse into his arms, whimpering and crying, and he would have another data point that women weren't as strong as men, couldn't even begin to be worthy of the same kind of regard.
Instead, she groped for the first excuse she could come up with.
"I think I hear someone coming," she murmured, and Marco's eyebrows went up. He tilted his head to listen, but he looked dubious.
"No, I'm sure I do," Briony lied. "Here, quick, help me get back into my dress.”
Bemused, he did as she told him to, repairing the cut in the laces he’d made earlier by tying those ends together into a knot first. He didn't lace her up as tightly as Seanan had, but that wasn't necessary. The thing that mattered was that the heavy dress was on and it wasn't likely to fall off.
"Stay here," she said urgently. "I'm going to go see who it is, and I'll stall them while you get dressed."
Briony started to walk towards the door, but Marco grabbed her by the hand, spinning her back for one last gentle kiss. She was sure she was already so rumpled and flushed that it likely wouldn't make much difference at all.
"Send them away, but do not be afraid," he murmured. "Nothing will harm you while you are with me."
She smiled, and as she hurried to the silent door, his words echoed in her head. More than a part of her wanted to return to him and let him make good on his promise, but right now, she was entirely too overwrought to do anything with that. No, she needed to get somewhere safe, she needed to think about what was going on, and she needed to be alone to think.
"Hi!" she said to the empty air upon opening the door. "Oh, I see, yes, yes...."
She slipped out of the library, closing it behind her, and then picking up her skirts, she dashed back to the guest wing. She encountered some people already heading up to rest after the party, and that was even better. There was likely a lot of people leaving now, and she would be lost in the crush. Of course, that was if he even cared to look for her. Would he? It hurt to think that he wouldn't, but Briony shrugged that hurt off.
She nearly ran to her own small room. It wasn't really hers, but it was so comforting. With trembling hands, she pushed off the dress, but she couldn't simply leave it in a pile on the floor. She hung it up instead, and when she looked at it, she had to sigh. Marco had said she was more pretty by far than the dress, but looking at it now, she knew it was a lie even with the small rip in the hem from when she’d climbed down from that tree in the grove. She pulled off the black mask that she couldn't help but feel had started all of this and left it on the counter.
Finally, she climbed into her thin yoga pants and favorite, oversized T-shirt. Seanan had sighed over Briony's chosen sleepwear, urging her towards negligees and other fancy satin items for the trip, but Briony was stubborn. Now, nestled in clothes that said “home,” she was grateful for her own willful ways.
That wasn't me, she thought to herself. I'm not someone who runs around in velvet and masks. I'm not someone who runs through olive groves after getting chased by strangers, and I'm definitely not someone who...who makes love to men like that in the library.
Even when Briony thought of it now, she couldn't stop herself from shivering. Marco's touch was like some kind of deep magic, drawing out a wildness in her that she had never even considered before. In his arms, she had been someone far different, and it would be lying to say that she hadn't liked it.
The wistfulness to be back in Marco's arms, to be that exciting woman again, was nearly the most alarming thing that had happened to her that night. She shook her head, pulling back from those thoughts.
No.
She wasn't that woman, she never would be, and the more heed she gave it, the more trouble she would get into.
Still, it was difficult to banish thoughts of Marco entirely, especially when vivid memories of his touch started to ghost through her mind.
Briony realized she must have sat with her warring thoughts for hours when there was a gentle knock at the door.
Marco...?
She padded to the door, feeling practically naked even in her frumpy sleepwear, but when she peeked through the peephole, she was both relieved and disappointed to see that it was Seanan.
She opened the door, and her sister floated in, a rapturous look on her face. Briony noted with affection and a complete lack of surprise that Seanan looked as fresh and vivid as she had when the evening began, her own velvet dress crisp and lovely.
"Oh my god, Briony, it was amazing, there were so many people, and I managed to get some time with Lionel O'Neil from Wentworth Pictures, and..."
Seanan stopped abruptly, looking her sister over. Briony felt as if she was under a microscope whenever her older sister turned that gaze on her. She tried to turn away, but Seanan grasped her by the shoulders and turned her around.
"Honey, what happened? Are you all right? You look like you've been sick or maybe that you've been crying?"
Briony shook her head. "No, neither. I guess...I guess it was just all a little too much?"
"Awww, sweetie," Seanan said sympathetically. "Mr. Baldassare said something about some of his groundsmen making trouble for a guest. They're in the lockup right now, but I guess there's some stress going around... Oh...oh honey, are you all right?"
Against her will, Briony could feel tears springing up in her eyes. Seanan guided her over to the bed, cuddling her close.
"Oh Bri, I didn't know that was you! You should have come looking for me."
"There was someone else around to look after me for a little while. I was fine." Briony sniffled. "I mean, nothing happened, I just got scared, that was all."
Seanan scowled. "That shouldn't have happened to you. I'm sorry it did. Did someone take a statement from you? Did you have to talk to the police?"
"No, nothing like that. Seanan...can we just go home? I mean, can I just go home?"
The thought of dealing with police or anything like that made her throat close up with nerves and anxiety. She couldn't stand having to recount it. She might have done it if there was a chance those men were going to walk, but she realized that Marco had likely only spoken about himself being attacked by the groundsmen. Absolved of that responsibility, all she wanted to do was to get out of Italy and go home.
"Go home?"
Briony shook her head, wondering at how she could be so selfish. This was Seanan's victory party, and the idea of pulling her sister away from it only made her more miserable.
"We don't have to..."
"No." Seanan's voice was steel. "If you want out, we're getting out. Stay here, get some sleep. I'm going to go talk to some folks who might be able to help us out."
Seanan dropped a gentle kiss on Briony's forehead. "Don't worry, I'll get everything taken care of. We're getting out of here."
Briony felt as if there was something tugging at her heart, demanding that she stay in Italy, but in the end, fear won out.
"Yes, please," she whispered, and she knew her sister would move the world to get her what she needed.
***
It took Marco a while to realize that he had been tricked. Velvet wasn't coming back, and by the time he made it to the library door, she was long gone.
For some reason, he was impressed. Even if it had been at his expense, it had been neatly done. Then he felt as if he had been punched in the gut.
He was not naive enough to think there was no reason why a woman might want to discreetly move away from an incident of love-making, even one as impressive as theirs had been. She might have had second thoughts, Christ, she might have been married. Marco understood.
Usually Marco understood.
The idea of his Velvet being married was a bitter pill to swallow, but that wasn't the only reason women fled. He knew he had to know why she had fled, if only so he could tell her that it was foolishness, that the kind of connection they shared was too special by far to waste.
Tomorrow, he told himself. Tomorrow, he would find her, they would talk, he would learn her real name, and then things could truly begin.
Any other option was unthinkable.
***
At seven in the morning, Seanan herded Briony onto the jet, two fresh tickets in her hand.
"I was able to trade my tickets and my room to Augusta Ward, who was never even invited to that first party," Seanan said triumphantly. "And I'll get started with more networking when I get back to LA. This is working out better than I would have thought."
"I'm glad," Briony said with a faint smile, and she was. She would never have forgiven herself if she had cost her sister a precious opportunity, but Seanan had a way of landing on her feet.
In their seat, Seanan tugged up the armrest so she could let Briony lean against her shoulder.
"It'll be fine, you'll see," Seanan said soothingly. "We'll be back home in no time, and you're sure to get back to normal."
"I hope so," Briony said with a sigh, and as the sun rose, she watched Italy drop away behind them.