The Billionaire’s Prodigal Wife (Mackenna and Alessandro) novel Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Mackenna rolled her eyes and gave a shake of her head as she walked down the hall and slammed into the bathroom. She turned the hot spray on and stripped her clothing off. The one thing they did have in this apartment was hot water and plenty of it and it scalded her skin turning her a bright pink as she scrubbed a gauzy puff over her body, sudsy with a grapefruit scented gel.

She quickly washed her hair and then eyed her legs with a grimace. They definitely needed to be shaved but she was trying to hurry. The thought of being near her husband who had modeled himself and surrounded himself with models made her groan. She quickly pulled her lotion and disposable razor. She admitted suddenly having a monthly session at the spa where she was waxed and massaged was also a luxury she had missed.

Shaving her legs and armpits was a horrendous chore. Finally, she emerged from the steamy bathroom in a cloud of mist, snuggled in a thick robe Savannah had bought for her the Christmas before and her hair wound in a thin towel.

She crossed the hall and paused as she noticed Alessandro in her bedroom looking at the various items on her dresser. She decided to play it cool and moved to her hairdryer which had been tossed on her bed by Savannah, likely after she‘d borrowed it. She sat on the edge of the bed and towelled her hair off and then turned the hairdryer to its highest, hottest setting and flipped her head upside down between her knees and began the process of drying the long thick mass of hair.

She didn‘t look up as she felt Alessandro sit beside her on the bed but when his fingers curled around hers on the base of the hairdryer, she turned her head and he simply smiled and took the blower from her hand and pushed her head back so he could work his fingers through her hair.

He‘d never played with her hair before. She‘d always had it cut quite short, to her chin when she‘d been with him. It was at its current length purely for economical reasons, often opting to put the money she would have used for a hair cut into her savings account. Savannah trimmed her bangs and ends with a pair of surgical scissors monthly or so and her hair color was now her own except for the few blonde highlights Savannah put in her hair.

The highlights were remnants of the boxed color Savannah put in her own hair.

Now however as his long thin fingers massaged her scalp and then trailed through the silky tendrils of her hair her eyes closed and she sighed deeply. It was relaxing and stimulating

at the same time and the hot heat of her hairdryer was welcoming. She didn‘t protest when he pulled her into a sitting position and got her to sit on her knees on the carpeted floor between setting. Her eyes were heavy, and her body was lethargic as even after the humming of the machine stopped, he continued brushing the long tresses.

He smiled to himself when she stifled a yawn, and he tilted her head backwards and stole a kiss from her placid expression. ―You are exhausted His eyes were serious as they regarded her lazy expression.

―I‘ll be fine. I just need to get my second wind She started to get up, but he put his fingers on her lips. She scowled. ―You don‘t want me to get dressed up?.

He had planned to take her to an expensive dinner, woo her and remind her of all the good things they‘d once shared but as he stared at her, all he wanted was for her to rest and relax. He shook his head. ―No. I don‘t want you to He got up and pulled her to a standing position. He wrapped his arms around her middle and hugged her tight, pressing a long soft kiss to her forehead before he stepped away from her. He moved to her dresser, and she wrinkled her nose as he yanked out a tattered pair of sweatpants she‘d cut off at the knees and a tank top

and threw them on the bed. ―I think this is more your speed for tonight

―You don‘t want to go out to dinner?She suddenly felt her heart aching in a way she knew it shouldn‘t be.

―I don‘t think, in good conscience, I could drag you anywhere when it is obvious you haven‘t slept in some time He moved back to her and pressed yet another tender kiss, this time to her surprised lips and then stepped away.

She moved to the bed and picked up the clothing he‘d tossed for her and then to the door he‘d just disappeared through. She slipped her robe off and then pulled her sweats and the tank on, opting not to wear a bra on even though she knew probably should. Suddenly she heard the clicking of the front door and she raced to her window in time to see his feet passing

on the sidewalk in front of her bedroom window and she flung down on the side of the bed in disbelief.

That was it? He was gone. No good-bye? Was he coming back? She felt tears welling up in her eyes and wondered why she was crying, ―Because he left you dolt,‖ she berated herself

and flipped onto her back and pulled his shirt out from under her pillow and hugged it to her face. She lay there for a long time on the bed just holding his shirt and inhaling the tiny remaining scent of him. Then she sat up and saw Romeo eyeing her pitifully from the door of her room.

―Don‘t judge me, cat. I already know how pathetic I am but damn it, I‘m trying She lost

the direction of the kitchen. She‘d have to find something to eat since she wasn‘t going out now and she felt tears threatening again. It was exhaustion she told herself because she hadn‘t cried this much since she had first left Alessandro. She opened and closed the refrigerator four times before she decided there was nothing there, she wanted. She flung herself on a barstool and grimaced. Romeo howied at her for being annoying and she growled back.

She looked at the clock grimacing at the time. Her tummy was rumbling, and she was too tired to cook anything, not as if she could cook anything other than toast anyway. The sound of a key in the lock made her look up in surprise because it was just after six and Savannah was working until midnight. She walked cautiously to the door and then stared in surprise as Alessandro stepped into the space with his arms full. She instantly gravitated to the pizza boxes he carried, and he laughed at her.

―I didn‘t think you were coming back She was annoyed with herself for the pout in her voice.

―Well, I knew you were hungry, and I did promise you dinner He smiled at her as he held her key out. ―I hope you don‘t mind but I took these from the counter there, I didn‘t want to leave the door unlocked and I wanted to make sure I could get back in. I wasn‘t certain you wouldn‘t be asleep when I got back He lifted his attaché case over his shoulder and motioned for her to move ahead of him.

―It‘s probably more comfortable in the living room She led the way there. She saw the brown paper bag under his arm. ―Wine?.

―Yes. Tell me you at least have wine glasses He hadn‘t thought of it.

She giggled at his words. ―I‘m sure I can find something adequate She lifted the top of one of the boxes and inhaled deeply. ―Pesto, feta and peppers. You remembered

―I did He set his other parcels on a tattered armchair, ―And guess what‘s in the other box

She smiled softly. ―Sausage, tomatoes and portabella mushrooms She didn‘t need to look in the box to know the toppings on his pizza. It was his favorite.

―Good girl,‖ he returned her gentle smile, happy to know she remembered, ―Go find some glasses and I‘ll pop the cork on the Cabernet

―Okay She was deliriously happy, and she didn‘t know why. Just because he‘d come back, she supposed, but she knew she shouldn‘t feel this way. She was humming to herself as lost in her thoughts, she didn‘t hear Alessandro come in and he wrapped his arms around her waist and hummed the same song in her ear. He twirled her in his arms and danced her around

the tiny kitchen, singing softly to her and she was entranced by the melody. She‘d always loved when he sang to her and as he serenaded her, she felt her eyes watering again. He twirled her around and then pulled her into his arms. He held her close, one hand gripping hers to his chest and the other on his low back, pushing her hips to his as they waltzed around the room, slower now as his tune changed and his words became more impassioned as he sang to her of love and longing and she stared into his eyes.

When finally, his song came to a close they were barely moving and her free hand rested on his waist, under his jacket. She lifted her lips to his and he kissed her long and slowly and she sighed as he slipped his tongue along hers. She could taste the cigarette she knew he‘d had while he‘d been gone, and it tasted familiar and strong like home. He tasted like her home,

where she wanted to be and where she wanted to stay. His kiss grew deeper and more demanding, and she moaned with pleasure and then he was pulling away and smiling down at her.

―I thought we were feeding your appetite first He breathed against her lips.

―The pizza is probably getting cold,‖ she agreed but she didn‘t let him go. He just felt so good in her arms.

He reached past her and grabbed the wineglasses from the sink. ―Let‘s go have dinner

She nodded and let him lead her back to the living room. She sunk onto the sofa and lifted a box of pizza onto her lap. When she took a bite of a slice of her pizza, she gave a long happy sigh. ―This is so good

Alessandro stared at her. ―Mackenna, when is the last time you had pizza, good pizza?. ―We don‘t eat out much She admitted.

He kicked his feet up on an ottoman and pulled a slice of thin crust pizza to his lips. ―It‘s not a bad thing to not eat out much. I admit I miss being able to eat at home. I used to love when we had dinner at home

She laughed at him. ―Do you forget I can‘t cook? Good thing you had staff

―I‘d eat a thousand pieces of burnt toast and hundreds of undercooked runny eggs if it meant I had you home watching me gag on it He dropped his pizza slice on a napkin on the top of the box and poured their wine. He leaned forward and passed her a glass. He smiled as she took a long sip. ―Easy, Mackenna. You don‘t handle liquor well on a full belly let alone

She smiled at him and set the glass down. ―How do you know I haven‘t spent the last five years getting drunk every weekend?.

―Because you live here and so I‘m guessing drinking and partying on the weekends

didn‘t happen much

―Well, you‘re wrong She leaned back and took a nibble of her pizza. ―Savannah dated this woman for awhile who made her own wine as a hobby. She still sends us bottles all the time and its nasty stuff, but it works wonders when you‘ve had a horrid week and need to unwind. We work in a hospital, and it can be crazy, so we go out quite a bit to unwind She saw his jaw hanging open and she frowned. ―I don‘t do it all the time Alessandro but a few drinks, a night or two a month…‖

―No, I don‘t care if you drink. Did you just say Savannah dated a woman?.

―Oh, yeah, she‘s bisexual. No big deal She grimaced as she took another bite of her pizza. Why did people make such a big thing out of sexuality?

―Savannah, the doctor you live with is gay?. Alessandro left his wine glass on the table and his pizza sat on a napkin beside it. ―I asked you before if you had a lover. gales of laughter erupting from Mackenna had him pausing and his anger growing. ―You think this is funny?.

―Savannah is not my lover. I‘m not her type and she‘s not mine She was still laughing at his words. ―Although admit we often play it up as a couple when someone hits on us, and we are not interested. One time this guy kept hitting on me and so to make him go away, she told him we were lovers, and we did a full-on kiss on the mouth to make him leave. It almost worked until he asked if he could join. Then we just had the bouncer toss him ―She‘s not your lover?. he needed the confirmation.

―Nope She reached for a second slice of pizza. ―She has parts I don‘t want and is missing the parts I do At his raised eyebrows she laughed. ―Breasts and a penis She laughed harder as he choked on the bite of pizza he‘d just taken.

―When did you start talking so bluntly,‖ he asked curiously.

―I‘ve been living with a doctor for five years; she was in med school for a while, and I helped her study a lot. Now she‘s entering her fellowship, so it‘s been a ride. I‘m no longer embarrassed by anatomical wordings. I‘m not a twenty-year-old innocent any more Alessandro She knew he was remembering their wedding night when she‘d blushed furiously every time, he even mentioned getting naked.

refrigerator. She saw him pass by the door to the living room in the direction of her bedroom and when he came back, he was carrying a blanket and the pillow off her bed.