Lessons Learned

publisher’s money,” she said quickly, as she put the broken box into the basket. “He’s glad to waste it. Thrilled.”
    He paused for a moment, then shook his head. “No, no, I can’t do it.” But when he started to reach into the basket, Juliet moved and blocked his way.
    “Carlo, if you break open another package, we’re going to be arrested.”
    “Better to go to jail than to buy mushrooms that will do me no good in the morning.”
    She grinned at him and stood firm. “No, it’s not.”
    He ran a fingertip over her lips before she could react. “For you then, but against my better judgment.”
    “ Grazie. Do you have everything now?”
    His gaze followed the path his finger had traced just as slowly. “No.”
    “Well, what next?”
    He stepped closer and because she hadn’t expected it, she found herself trapped between him and the grocery cart. “Tonight is for first lessons,” he murmured then ran his hands along either side of her face.
    She should laugh. Juliet told herself it was ludicrous that he’d make a pass at her under the bright lights of the vegetable section of an all-night market. Carlo Franconi, a man who’d made seduction as much an art as his cooking wouldn’t choose such a foolish setting.
    But she saw what was in his eyes, and she didn’t laugh.
    Some women, he thought as he felt her skin soft and warm under his hands, were made to be taught slowly. Very slowly. Some women were born knowing; others were born wondering.
    With Juliet, he would take time and care because he understood. Or thought he did.
    She didn’t resist, but her lips had parted in surprise. He touched his to hers gently, not in question, but with patience. Her eyes had already given him the answer.
    He didn’t hurry. It didn’t matter to him where they were, that the lights were bright and the music manufactured. It only mattered that he explore the tastes that waited for him. So he tasted again, without pressure. And again.
    She found she was bracing herself against the cart with her fingers wrapped around the metal. Why didn’t she walk away? Why didn’t she just brush him aside and stalk out of the store? He wasn’t holding her there. On her face his hands were light, clever but not insistent. She could move. She could go. She should.
    She didn’t.
    His thumbs trailed under her chin, tracing there. He felt the pulse, rapid and jerky, and kept his hold easy. He meant to keep it so, but even he hadn’t guessed her taste would be so unique.
    Neither of them knew who took the next step. Perhaps they took it together. His mouth wasn’t so light on hers any longer, nor was hers so passive. They met, triumphantly, and clung.
    Her fingers weren’t wrapped around the cart now, but gripping his shoulders, holding him closer. Their bodies fit. Perfectly. It should have warned her. Giving without thought was something she never did, until now. In giving, she took, but she never thought to balance the ledger.
    His mouth was warm, full. His hands never left her face, but they were firm now. She couldn’t have walked away so easily. She wouldn’t have walked away at all.
    He’d thought he had known everything there was to expect from a woman—fire, ice, temptation. But a lesson was being taught to both. Had he ever felt this warmth before? This kind of sweetness? No, because if he had, he’d remember. No tastes, no sensations ever experienced were forgotten.
    He knew what it was to desire a woman—many women—but he hadn’t known what it was to crave. For a moment, he filled himself with the sensation. He wouldn’t forget.
    But he knew that a cautious man takes a step back and a second breath before he steps off a cliff. With a murmur in his own language, he did.
    Shaken, Juliet gripped the cart again for balance. Cursing herself for an idiot, she waited for her breath to even out.
    “Very nice,” Carlo said quietly and ran a finger along her cheek. “Very nice, Juliet.”
    An eighties woman, she reminded herself as her heart thudded. Strong, independent, sophisticated. “I’m so glad you approve.”
    He took her hand before she could slam the cart down the aisle. Her skin was still warm, he noted, her pulse still unsteady. If they’d been alone… Perhaps it was best this way. For now. “It isn’t a matter of approval, cara mia, but of appreciation.”
    “From now on, just appreciate me for my work, okay?” A jerk, and she freed herself of him and shoved the cart away. Without regard