Made to Bend, not Break

    The breeze off the sea travelled upward and brushed over my face. I lifted my face and closed my eyes. I was so far into the simple pleasure of it all that when he walked up behind me I did not sense him.

    “Buonasera.”

    I gasped and swirled around. There he was. This time, however, he wore more than a speedo-esque bathing suit. He was dressed in a pair of jeans, a graphic t-shirt that I couldn’t really see well in the dim light, and a suit jacket. His hair was finger-raked backward and he hadn’t shaved. Draco De Luca cleaned up very well. I glanced around him, then up into his eyes. He was so tall. “Draco? What are you doing here?”

    “My mother is this party’s hostess,” he explained.

    “Your mother? Who’s your mother?”

    “Capri.”

    That rang false to me for Tricia never recognized him on the beach, yet she was such good friends with Capri. Of the five years Tricia had been visiting Camogli, had Capri not spoken about her son? That would seem strange, considering.

    “You do not believe me. I can see it in your eyes. May I sit here?”

    I nodded feebly and shuffled over so he could sit and I could face him. I did not know if I liked a man who could read me so readily. It was quite unnerving knowing someone knew what you were thinking before you voiced it. It was as though he was snooping around in my head and I suddenly felt invaded. If it was anything I prised above all else, was the sanctity of my thoughts. Those were things that could not be taken from me no matter what else was stolen.

    “I met Tricia the first time tonight. For the first few years my mother spoke about this woman, Tricia Mantle, I was living in England. For the past couple of years, I started a business in Paris. Besides, I travel a great deal at the moment. This would be the first time that I am here the same time she is.”

    “Oh.” I felt like a fool. “I’m sorry. It’s just that on the beach she didn’t know who you were and I figured she would know you since her and Capri seemed such close friends.”

    “No need to be sorry. Even if my mother had spoken about me, she probably introduced me as Dragon.” He spoke so softly it was almost like a breath.

    My gaze fell to his lips and I found myself wondering what would happen should I just reach in and brush those luscious lips with my own. I jerked away when I caught myself and rubbed a hand over my face.

    “I do not bite, Macy. I promise. I only seek conversation.”

    “It’s not that.” I lied. “What would you like to talk about?”

    He smirked.

    My breath caught in my throat.

    “I am going to go out on a limb and say that talking about why I see fear in your eyes each time you look at me is off limits. How about you tell me a little about yourself?”

    “There isn’t much to tell.” I turned from him. “I’m a mother.”

    “A wife, I assume?”

    “Not any more,” I whispered. There—I said it. It was out in the universe and no matter how much I wanted to take it back, I couldn’t. It felt like saying that I was no longer Kevin’s wife made it true. The admission felt like I was speaking something dirty and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I wasn’t sure if we were divorced yet for I had a chance to give Martin a call. It was pretty much a done deal since Kevin wanted Sharon and me gone. I took a deep breath and lifted my eyes to the dark spot where the ocean should be and stared.

    “This may sound harsh, but I am happy you’re no longer married,” he said.

    I felt his breath against my ear and I shivered. I didn’t jerk away, though for it felt so good. A little intimacy after so long felt like heaven. “Why is that?” I managed.

    “I have travelled a lot, Macy, and I have met more women than I can count. But I have never met anyone like you.”

    “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

    “No. I do not speak just to hear myself or because I love the sound of my voice. I speak the truth. There is something so exotic and breathtaking about you…the way the moon glows off your dark skin, the look in your eyes when you are wondering should you kiss me or not.”

    “Egotistic, much?”

    “I saw the way your eyes trailed over my lips, Macy. Do you deny it?”

    What could I say? I could lie. He was so close, I could scarcely think. Each time I turned to him and inhaled his scent being carried on the air, filling my body, it drove me to dizziness. I couldn’t deny it and on the same breathe I would never admit it. I couldn’t. I refused to go there again with Kevin or Draco. My heart was on the mend and I could not risk it getting broken again.

    “I fear I must let my intentions known,” Draco said. He moved mouth from side to side so that his breath caressed my ear, my neck and behind my ear. “I have every intention of having you by my side, in my arms—in my bed.”

    “You’re full of yourself.” I drew away reluctantly.

    “No—just determined.”

    Macy Hines has the perfect marriage, a beautiful, Manga drawing teenage daughter and she lives in a town filled the perfect stepford wives—that is until her life takes on a dramatic turn. Her husband leaves her for a younger woman, her daughter hates her, she becomes best friends with vodka and the community she had been so involved with suddenly turn their backs on her. After trying desperately to put her life back together and failing miserably, Macy decides to take her best friend’s offer of an all expense paid trip to Italy for all three of them in order to breathe and work out her issues. At this rate, it feels like it will take a miracle to save her. Draco De Luca is at that age where he’s looking for a woman to spend the rest of his life with, and so far he hasn’t been having much luck. That is until he visits his mother’s house for a dinner and meets an ebony goddess with sad brown eyes. But her past demons are getting in the way—she has been damaged, and now he has to decide if he has to let her go to be whole again, or should he help?