Chapter Eighteen

Sunday ran her hands down River’s body as they showered together the next morning. He grinned down at her, water dripping from his dark curls, water droplets in his long, thick eyelashes. Sunday kissed him. “I love you.” Her words were simple, but she meant them with her whole heart.

It was strange. Despite the threat to her safety, there was a peace in her heart with this man. She truly belonged here, with him, and nothing was going to break that.

River drew her close. “Listen … we talked about going away. Why don’t we just go? Before Berry starts school again, before the summer and everyone is taking their vacation?”

She leaned into his solid, muscular body. “Let’s do it.”

“Italy?”

She loved the hope and the excitement in his eyes.

“I would love that, so much, baby. I want to see where you call home.”

So, after a few days of organization, the three of them flew to Italy. River’s villa was just outside Siena and they drove through the hills, Berry exclaimed excitedly at the lines of cypress trees and the secluded, rustic villas. River drove up a small hill to his own villa and as he glanced at Sunday to see her reaction, he saw that her eyes were full of tears. She smiled back at him. “It’s so beautiful, darling.”

He followed Sunday and Berry as they explored the villa, its white painted rooms, cool tiled floors, and comfortable furniture. “I have someone who does the housekeeping for me, and a gardener, but I love to come here and just be alone. Now I have a family to bring here.” He smiled at Sunday and went to open the shutters on the windows of the main room, a large open- plan living space which opened out on one side onto a veranda overlooking the valley.

Berry exclaimed with excitement at the sight of the pool. “Hey, shall we all get changed and take a dip? I could do with a cooldown,” River asked his daughter, who nodded eagerly. He raised his eyebrows at Sunday, who grinned.

“Let’s do it.”

River and Berry beat Sunday out to the pool and when she finally emerged, she saw the admiration in River’s eyes as she walked down to the pool, her already caramel skin glowing in the white bikini.

“Wow,” River said, and Sunday grinned at his obvious lust. She stepped into the water and swam over to him. Berry was sitting in an inflatable ring, singing to herself, and Sunday snickered mischievously as she surreptitiously cupped River’s cock through his swim shorts.

He groaned as his cock reacted immediately and Sunday swam away from him, giggling. “You’ll pay for that later, woman.”

They played games with Berry in the pool, Sunday and her ganging up against River until he complained, laughing. Later, Sunday and River cooked a simple meal of roast chicken and they all sat out on the veranda as dusk settled over the valley.

After Sunday had put a sleeping Berry to bed, she came back out to find River opening a bottle of wine for them. He offered her his hand and she took it, sitting on his lap, and he drew her close. They sat in companionable silence for a while, and Sunday saw him gazing out at the scenery, eyes slightly squinted, and knew what he was testing.

“Baby?”

He sighed, nodding. “Yes. The colors are different to how I remember them. It’s like I’ve spilled water onto paint and the color saturation is faded. Damn it.”

Sunday covered his eyes with her hand. “Close them,” she ordered, and he obeyed. “Now, River Giotto, you know what, say, Hooker’s Green looks like. See it in your mind.”

She waited until he nodded. “Now open your eyes and look at that cypress tree at the edge of your property. See it with that hue you can see in your mind’s eye. See it.”

River concentrated and she could see he was struggling. “Baby, remember how you first learned to draw. See it now as how you’ve been taught it looks, but rather how your imagination sees it. Light and shade. See the hue.”

She watched as his bright green eyes focused and unfocused as he tried to see it her way. “Any luck?”

There was a faint smile on his face. “Almost, and I can see where you’re going. It’ll take practice.”

“Anything worth doing will. This is the reality: you have a condition for which there is no cure. So we’ll have to learn to see the world differently. Your art will evolve, perhaps not in the way you had foreseen it, but it will evolve. It’s part of you.”

River was looking at her, his eyes intense, and he crushed his lips against hers as she finished speaking. “We,” he said with feeling, “you said we will have to see the world differently. God, Sunday Kemp, have you any idea how much I love you?”

She clung to him. “Show me.”

He lowered her down to the cool tile of the veranda, covering her body with his. He stroked the hair away from her face. “You look even more beautiful in a Tuscan sunset.”

Sunday grinned at him. “Coming from anyone else, that would be cheesy, but from you … I’ll take it.”

River chuckled. “Good.” He kissed her lips then trailed his lips along her jawline and her throat as he unbuttoned her dress. She had decided against wearing a bra in the heat of the Tuscan summer and River sucked on her nipples until they were rock hard and Sunday felt an urgent wet heat between her legs.

“I want you inside,” she whispered and he smiled at her.

“You want me inside?”

“Yes …”

He reached in his back pocket but she shook her head. “No.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure?”

“I want to feel you inside me.” She studied his eyes. “Does it scare you?”

River’s smile answered her question. “No. Not at all … I’ve been thinking about it since Berry asked you the question.”

“I know it’s quick, but I feel like … my body is aching to bear your child. I’ve never felt like this before, that it’s right, it’s time.”

She didn’t have to say anything else. River’s lips were rough against hers as he kicked his jeans and underwear off, and as he gathered her to him, hitching her legs around his waist, he nodded. “I want this too, baby, so, so much.”

His cock was ramrod hard as she helped guide him inside her and he pushed inside her slowly, wanting to remember this moment, finally, skin on skin as they began to make love.

Their gazes never wavered, their breathing synchronized as River’s cock thrust deeper and deeper into her. Sunday’s thighs gripped his waist, and she squeezed her vaginal muscles harder around his cock, making him groan.

His hands pinned hers the tile as his pace increased and by the time she came, she was almost weeping with pleasure, his body owning hers entirely. She felt his cock pump thick, creamy cum deep inside her as he buried his face in her neck, murmuring her name over and over.

Afterward, they lay in each other’s arms, a light breeze blowing over their damp bodies. River’s hand splayed on her belly, his lips against her shoulder. Sunday gazed out over the valley. “It’s unbelievably perfect here.” She grinned at him. “Let’s just stay here.”

“Done,” he laughed, then sighed. “But seriously, as much as I love it here, we have to go back. Luke’s there, Carmen, and Berry has school.”

“I know, it’s a pipedream.” She sighed. “And I still have to face whoever is stalking me.”

“I hate to admit it, but yes. We cannot have that hanging over our heads, especially with Berry.”

Sunday chewed her lip. “You know, if it came down to it … I would never put you and Berry in danger. I couldn’t bear that. Whatever this is, it’s between me and the psycho nutjob who killed Cory. It’s my fight.”

“Our fight. ‘We,’ remember. Always ‘we.’”

She kissed him. “Let’s just enjoy this vacation.”

Carrying their clothes, they walked hand in hand to their bedroom, where they made love again and then fell asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms.

At 3:00 a.m., in the blue moonlight of early morning, River slipped from the bed and put on his jeans. He padded through the silent house, checking in on his sleeping daughter as he did.

He stepped out into the cool night and drew in a lungful of breath. A movement caught the corner of his eye and he looked to see the dark-clothed man approaching him.

FBI Agent Sam Duarte nodded at River. “Mr. Giotto.”

River gave a wan smile. “Sam, call me River, will you? You’re here at all hours, protecting my family. I think it’s right we know each other’s first names.”

Sam smiled, but then it faded. “Does she know?”

River shook his head. “No. She thinks we’re here alone and I want it to stay that way. For these two weeks, is all I ask. Sunday’s had too long being watched by this asshole, and, forgive me, by you. I want her to think she’s free.” He sighed. “Any news from Rockford?”

“We’ve looked into Scanlan and Merchant. Scanlan’s a pretty big deal in New York—it would be hard for him, given his visibility, to orchestrate that kind of campaign without there being some weak link in his armor, someone who would give him away. Marchand … he may look like a surfer dude, but he’s hiding something. He’s rich … and we’re talking could buy Bill Gates three times over rich.”

“Tony?” River was astounded. “I’m assuming family money?”

“Some, but mostly he’s a self-made man. Older than he looks, too, and here’s the kicker. He says he’s from the Pacific Northwest? He was born there but guess where he was for the last five years?”

“In New York,” River said, his heart sinking. Sam nodded.

“You got it … and there’s more. His apartment? Three blocks from Marley’s—sorry, Sunday’s.”

“Shit. Anything tying him to her?”

“Not that we’ve come up with yet. He’s still in Rockford, still dating that sweet girl from the coffeehouse.”

“God, Daisy … Sam …”

“It’s okay. We have people looking out for the kid. Her sister, though, is a loose cannon. No one has seen her for a couple of days.”

“Shit. But I have to tell you, Aria does that. She likes to play mind games, especially if she thinks she’s not getting any attention.”

“Noted. Your ex-step-monster is still in town with her paramour, but there’s a rumor the engagement is off.”

River frowned. “Then why are they still in town?”

“Scanlan apparently is in talks to buy the resort. Seems he likes the place.”

River shook his head. “More fool him. You say he’s broken things off with Angelina?”

“Apparently. Look, we’ve looked into the guy, and he appears clean. Are you sure they are the only two newcomers to town?”

“As far as I know. Daisy said she’d put the word around, find out if there are any others, but it’s a resort town. Season is ending, but we still get a lot of hikers and climbers. It’ll be impossible to vet everyone.”

“Just let us know anyone who Sunday comes into contact with, or anyone acting suspiciously.”

“I will … and thank you, Sam. I cannot thank you enough.”

Sam nodded. “Just take care of her, and don’t worry. You’re safe here.”

River went back inside and to the bedroom. He took off his jeans and slid back into bed. Sunday murmured and snuggled up to him. River kissed the top of her head but couldn’t get back to sleep, his dreams wracked by horrific nightmares lately. The thought of someone hurting Sunday, of taking her away from him, had been a worse pain than Angelina’s treatment of him and he knew, that since meeting Sunday, he had become a different person. A man he hoped his beloved parents would have been proud of. He knew now that, being with Sunday, and them being parents to his daughter, he had found his true home. When Sunday had asked if they could live here, it had been on the tip of his tongue to say yes, but he knew they had to go back to Colorado to face and to beat her stalker.

He couldn’t live with knowing that at any moment, she could be taken away from him. That was not acceptable. So he had called Sam Duarte and, between them, they’d figured out a plan to keep Sunday and Berry safe and happy.

For now … that would have to satisfy him, but he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he would do anything—anything—to protect the woman he loved, even if it meant killing another person.