“I sensed it,” he said.
She laughed. “For a moment, you had me believing you.” She sipped her champagne again, leaned toward him, and kissed him. “I believe you are in my debt,” she said.
“I suppose I am, at that,” he replied.
“I am not accustomed to waiting to be paid; and I always insist on interest.”
“That seems only fair.”
She stood up, reached behind her, and unzipped her dress. It fell at her feet, and she stepped out of it. She was wearing no bra, only stockings and a garter belt, with panties over them. She shucked off the panties and walked toward him.
He began to get up, but she pushed him back into a sitting position and straddled him. She pulled his head forward, and her scent filled his nostrils.
“First installment,” she said huskily.
Stone paid up. For a moment, he wondered what he was getting himself into. Then he stopped worrying about it.
37
T HE ROOM-SERVICE WAITER SET UP THE table, opened the two bottles of wine, and left. “Dinner’s ready,” Stone called toward the bathroom, where Dolce was repairing her makeup.
She came out of the bathroom, still having not dressed, and sat down at the table.
Stone tasted the wine, then poured it. “I believe,” he said, “this is the first time I’ve ever dined with a woman who was wearing only stockings, a garter belt, and high heels.”
She raised her glass to him. “To the first of many new experiences to come.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Stone replied, raising his glass. They began their dinner with a first course of pasta with a lobster sauce. “You are an extraordinarily beautiful woman,” he said.
“I know,” she replied. “I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but I’ve been told that often enough to know that it’s true. Perhaps it won’ always be, but…”
“Yes, it will,” Stone said. “When you finally get around to aging, many years from now, you will do it well.”
“Why don’t you take off the robe?” she asked. “I enjoy seeing you naked.”
“I’m afraid I’ll spill the pasta sauce,” he said. “It’s hot.”
“Coward.”
“Absolutely, where hot food and tender areas are concerned.”
“I suppose you’re right; I wouldn’t want you wounded.”
“Why do you want me any way at all?” he asked. “I’m not fishing for compliments; I’m just curious.”
“To begin with,” she said, “you are as beautiful as I am, in your way. Beautiful men are not exactly scarce, but beautiful, interesting men are. Why did you want me?”
“I didn’t know I had a choice.”
She laughed, a pleasant sound. “I suppose you didn’t. Are you put off by my assertiveness?”
“Did I seem put off?”
She laughed again. “No, not in the least. To continue, I liked what I’ve heard about you from Mary Ann over the years. Dino wouldn’t talk much, and he definitely wouldn’t introduce us.”
“I think Dino wanted to avoid complications.”
“It is un-Italian to avoid complications,” she said. “No, he just likes to keep his life, and his friends, as far from my father and me as possible. He disapproves of us.”