YOU RAT ~~~~

Valentina POV

We heard the helicopter before we saw it. “I cannot fucking believe it,” Dimitri murmured as the sleek black helicopter approached the yacht.

“Who is that?” But even as I asked the question, I knew. I knew. He was here, though for what reason I couldn’t say. Dimitri and I hadn’t done anything wrong and I hadn’t tried to escape.

“Come on.” Dimitri stood and held out his hand to help me up. We walked to the front, toward the helipad, and waited for the helicopter to touch down.

Rafael emerged first, all rugged windswept Italian beauty, but then he turned to help another guest climb out. Katarzyna. Despite my best efforts to remain unaffected, my stomach knotted painfully.

I had a sinking feeling that knot was jealousy, which was absolutely unacceptable. There was no need to complicate this situation with a reality-show level of unnecessary drama. I was merely upset that our private day had been ruined by the man I least wanted to see.

Liar, Dressed in a gauzy see-through wrap, Katarzyna clung to his arm as they approached. Rafael was still dressed in his usual suit. Did the man ever wear anything else? I couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but I could feel the weight of his stare on me.

“Ciao!” Katarzyna said brightly as she leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Hope you don’t mind that we’ve come to join you.”

Dimitri frowned at his father, not saying anything, so I forced a smile for the other woman. “Not at all. It’s not like the boat isn’t big enough for everyone.”

Dimitri asked his father for a word, so the two of them moved aside and began speaking rapid Italian. I could tell Dimitri was angry, but Rafael ’s expression was unreadable.

“I hate when they do that,” Katarzyna said. “Let’s go get some drinks and sit by the pool.” She walked through the yacht as if she’d been here a hundred times before, which I supposed she had. The crew all seemed to know her as she waved at them. I followed, unsure why I didn’t like her when she’d done absolutely nothing wrong to me. I vowed to get along today even if I couldn’t stop thinking about her in bed with Ravazzani.

When we reached the pool area, she whipped off her cover up revealing a body that models in Milan would kill for. Long limbs, a flat stomach, and no cellulite or extra flab to speak of. Has she eaten a single carb since puberty? Stop being so petty. What is wrong with you?

“Your suit is gorgeous.” I gestured to her black one piece with cutouts on the side.

“Thank you. It’s La Perla. A gift from Rafael .” A sour taste in my mouth made it hard to speak. “How nice.”

“Yours is nice too. You can never go wrong with a plain bikini. Let’s get drinks. Alex makes the best margaritas.” Alex? I stretched out on my deck chair and tried not to feel intimidated.

After all, I might have years of dealing with Katarzyna ahead of me. Depressed at the thought, I tilted my face toward the sun and pretended I was alone. A few minutes later Dimitri returned and retook the chair beside me.

“Ciao, Katarzyna. Come va?”

“Good. What about you, Dimitri ? Are you behaving today?” She smirked like she had a secret, but her attention was diverted when a crew member arrived for drink orders. Dimitri scowled and stared at the water, so I nudged his leg with my foot.

When he looked at me, I sent him a questioning glance. He leaned over and said quietly, “My father was worried that I would take advantage of you out here. That I would anticipate the wedding night.”

My jaw fell open. “You’ve got to be joking.”

“I wish I were.”

“Aw, you two are adorable,” Katarzyna said, pointing at me and Dimitri .

“I can’t wait until the wedding. I have already picked out my dress.” That sickening feeling returned in the pit of my stomach and I reached for my melted mai tai. It was then that movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, and all the air left my lungs in a rush.

Clad in only small white swim trunks, Rafael walked toward us, the rest of his incredible body on full display for the first time. Muscles roped across a lean frame covered by golden skin, while wide shoulders sat atop a broad chest decorated with the perfect amount of dark hair. His stomach was trim, his legs long. He moved gracefully, confidently, the king of everything around him, the bulge between his legs shifting with every step.

I WAS DECEASED. It was too much. My heart was pounding like I’d just run a race, and thank God I was already sitting down. As it was, I shifted on my deck chair, feeling a rush of heat all over that had nothing to do with the sun. I swear his gaze dipped to my breasts, and when I glanced down I could see why. My nipples were poking through the thin fabric of my suit. I swallowed and focused on my drink.

“There you are,” Katarzyna cooed at Rafael . “I was just telling Tina and Dimitri how adorable they are.” He lowered himself to the open deck chair, mouth flat and unforgiving. “Were you?”

Katarzyna grabbed the sun tan lotion off the table and crawled onto his chair. “Let me put some lotion on your back, baby.”

Rafael didn’t argue, merely leaned forward and made room for her behind him. I swore he looked directly at me the entire time Katarzyna slathered his body with slick lotion, her hands rubbing it into his skin like it was a life-saving antidote. Envy crawled its way into my throat. I had to force my eyes elsewhere, or risk saying or doing something really stupid.

“I’m going swimming,” Dimitri announced, then stepped to the side of the yacht and dove off into the water. Nice. We weren’t even married yet and he’d already abandoned me. Wait, yet? What was I thinking? I would never marry Dimitri . I would escape Italy and I would never see the Ravazzanis again.

Closing my eyes, I tilted my face to the sun and tried to block out everything else in my life. I was on a beautiful ship in the most beautiful place in the world. Who knew when the opportunity would arise again once I left Siderno?

“Valentina ,” Ravazzani snapped. “When was the last time you put on lotion?” The first words he spoke to me today were about my suntan? “I’m good,” I said without opening my eyes.

“That was not what I asked.” I lifted my sunglasses to pin him with an annoyed stare. “Why do you care?”

That apparently wasn’t the right answer because his face darkened as his body went still. Even Katarzyna appeared shocked. “I care,” he said, “because I do not want you sunburned for the wedding.” Everything inside me longed to scream and throw things at him, but I would lose in any fight with this man for now.

So I dropped my sunglasses back in place and closed my eyes again. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Do as I say or…..” He didn’t finish because crew members arrived with our drinks, margaritas for Katarzyna, Dimitri , and me, white wine for Ravazzani. I ignored the other couple while Katarzyna chatted on, though I noticed his responses were limited to only one or two words.

Why did she put up with him? He couldn’t be that good in bed. Please. You know he’s a god in bed. Ugh. I couldn’t start imagining it, not here. Not ever. Dimitri finally returned and shook like a dog, raining water down on me. I yelped, the cold droplets surprising me, and tried to push him away. “You rat!”

Katarzyna chuckled. “See? Cute,” she said and draped her arms over Ravazzani’s shoulders. I hated watching them together. I had no claim on him and I definitely hated him for trapping me in Italy yet I wanted to slap Katarzyna’s hands off his body. How in the hell did that make any sense?

Standing, I pushed Dimitri over the side of the boat in retaliation. He hit the water with a splash and came up sputtering. I smirked down at him. "That’s what you get, Dimitri.”

He grinned. “Come swim with me again.”

“Fine but first promise not to pull me under any more.”

“Te lo prometto.” I sprinted toward the end of the platform and jumped into the water.