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She hadn’t argued when he had coht

They both knew she needed the break At least they’d learned that the heart attack had been a mild one, and that Gio’s diet was the primary culprit

She poured herself a glass of Chianti froh the open, contemporary plan She wished Raphael had stayed but he’d barely showed her to a room before he’d made his escape

Maybe he was afraid she’d pounce on hiain

A harsh laugh escaped her as she re hi his share froe and didn’t need Gio’s She explored the steel and chroous study with a dark any table in the center with a picture of Alyssa and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves withroouest bedrooms

She took a long shower in the attached bathroo then that she didn’t have any fresh clothes Delving into the closet provided a white dress shirt, pressed and folded and a couple of packages of wo hard to rein in her riotous curiosity, Pia donned the underwear and the shirt which fell to her thighs And kneas Raphael’s

Instant comfort surrounded her at the faint scent of hied

She still wanted him And not just for a quick screw, as he had called it Even with things aard between theth of his presence over the last week

Efficient and ruthless as ever, he’d chased away the hordes of Gio’s relatives that had descended on the hospital with one look When one had called hied it away

He’d been fierce, as if he could hold Gio to this earth by the sheer force of his will He had let her borrow his strength, his conviction He’d even oat was far fro the pair of them

But Pia knew him now She sahat no one else did under that ruthless exterior Gio’s attack had shaken hi away at him, not that he would talk about it And least of all with her