For Love Of Lorenzo
By Kate Hofman

Prologue
Ocean Breeze, Florida 
Late April 

“Yes? What is it?” Lorenzo Monferrato looked up irritably from the file he was reading.

Amber Wright, his personal assistant, was breathing fast, sounding apologetic. 
“I’ve just run up from the general office floor, Lorenzo—quicker than the elevator, for one floor. 
The mail room advised me a letter had come for you by courier, so I went down for it. 
It’s from Tampa Realty’s lawyer, marked Private & Confidential… I thought it might be the deed to that 
tract of Tarpon Springs land.” 

“Well, let’s see if you’re right.” Lorenzo quickly opened the envelope, unfolding the pages and 
flicking through them. “Yes, it is. Good.” He stuffed the pages back in the envelope, handing it to Amber. 
“Courier it to Marcella Mellis so she can do her legal stuff for me. 
And get Nick Thalassinos on the line, will you.”

“I’ll take it to Ms. Mellis’s office in my lunch break.” When she saw Lorenzo shrug, she went on. 
“Is Nick interested in developing the land to add to his Akropolis Hotel’s amenities?”

Lorenzo frowned. Amber was good at her work, but sometimes she tried to get more involved than he wanted 
her to be—guessing at his intentions. None of her business that he and Nick liked being partners when 
there was an unusual property to be developed. “Just get Nick for me.” 

Amber nodded, quickly leaving Lorenzo’s office, head down. Damn, she’s so oversensitive. 
Now I’ll have to apologize for being curt with her. He wished she would develop a slightly thicker skin… 
Or that he had a male P.A…

His desk phone buzzed. “Mr. Thalassinos for you.” Amber’s voice was very formal. He frowned, 
deciding to ignore her. 

“Nick, it’s Lorenzo. Tampa Realty’s lawyer sent the deed over to me. We’ve got that land.”

~That’s great. Wanna take a look at it, tomorrow?~

Lorenzo smiled. He enjoyed deals where Nick was his partner. “Okay. I’ve got the tentative plans drawn up. 
We can look at the property and mentally place the buildings…”

~Sounds good, Lorenzo. Can’t wait to see what you came up with…~ Evidently, Nick wasn’t busy and ready to chat. 
~Listen, how do you feel about making it a family trip? You know Nadine’s had bronchitis, 
and she’s slow to get her energy back. I was thinking she likes it so much at our condo in the Akropolis, 
I could take her—leave Matt and Irène with their nanny. I’ll reserve a suite for you in the hotel itself. 
D’you want just Lissa, or will she want to bring F-Felice?~

Lorenzo smiled ruefully. “Believe me, I want just Lissa, but… And you’re right, 
her name is Felice—we call her Fliss. You realize I had to name her for my mother. I was relieved when Lissa 
didn’t mind—I’d expected that she’d insist on her mother’s name—Zizi—being first, but…” 

~Lissa’s mother is not exactly the motherly type, from what Nadine says. 
No doubt you’ve discovered that for yourself…~

Lorenzo grinned. “I rejoice to say that, to date, I’ve never met her. Hearing about her was quite enough. 
When we 
invited her to our wedding, she was surfing on Oahu with a much younger boyfriend, and refused to curtail 
their time there.”

Nick whistled gently between his teeth. ~Lucky you, according to Nadine. Moreover, Zizi is an abbreviation, 
not a name.~

Lorenzo nodded. “That was going to be my point too—but I never had to make it. When I suggested Felice, 
Lissa nodded happily. ‘Fine,’ she said. When I suggested Zizi for Felice’s second name, 
she said she’d prefer it if we picked a name we both liked the sound of. So our daughter is Felice Ariadne.”

~Italian and Greek, nice. Well? Shall we make it a family trip or would you prefer a quick business visit?~

“Great idea, making it a family trip. I think Lissa will want to bring Fliss. She’s just two years old, 
and we’ve never left her overnight with her nanny. Would that put the crimp in your plan to 
bring Nadine and not the kids?”

There was a brief pause. Finally, Nick said, ~You do what you have to do, of course, Lorenzo. 
I’ll try to get Nadine to leave the kids at home. That way the trip will be relaxing for her.~

Lorenzo said ruefully, “I know what you mean—believe me, 
I’d like to get Lissa to go away with me for even a few days, just by ourselves. But she would worry about Fliss, 
so I might as well accept that she’ll want to bring her. I was thinking, since this will be a family trip, 
shall we leave the planning to our wives?”

~That’s probably a wise suggestion. I’ll ask Nadine to set it up with Lissa. Maybe when she hears that Nadine 
is coming without the kids, she’ll want to leave your daughter at home, too?~

Lorenzo grinned. “I live in hope.”

They disconnected, and Lorenzo got up from his chair, putting the file he’d been reading into his briefcase. 
He called, “Amber?”

She appeared instantly in the doorway. “Yes, Lorenzo?”

Nick and I are going to take a look at that land in Tarpon Springs—probably tomorrow or day after.”

Amber nodded. “For how many days should I pack?”

Lorenzo frowned, shaking his head. “I’m taking my wife and Fliss—it’ll be a family trip for Nick and me.”

Amber gazed at him, her expression stricken. “But you need me to take notes, check things…do things for you…”

Lorenzo shook his head again. “Not this time, Amber. You just hold the fort here. If I should need anything, 
I can call you, have you dig up the info and phone me back.”

Amber nodded—reluctantly, it seemed to him. “I guess that would work…” She gave Lorenzo an odd little smile. 
“I bet you’ll miss me—you’ve never gone on a field trip without me.” 

Lorenzo frowned. “Yes, I have. I handled that huge West Palm Beach development with my wife taking the notes, 
and so on.”

Dismayed on hearing that Lorenzo could do without her—she gazed at him, taking in his rangy height, 
his athlete’s shape—wide shoulders, narrow hips, long legs. And his handsome face—eyes dark as midnight, 
half-hidden by long, curling lashes—winged, silky brows—a straight nose with unexpectedly sensitive 
nostrils—a mouth to die for… And that slight cleft in his chin…. She hastily stopped daydreaming when 
she heard Lorenzo’s voice, several degrees cooler than usual. 

“You forget that my wife was P.A. to that Greek realty tycoon, Gianaris, in Manhattan. 
If I need anything on this trip, Lissa will again call on her old skills to help me out.”

“You’re saying she is more competent than I?” Deeply upset, Amber tossed her russet curls—her grey eyes 
suddenly bleak as slate. 

Lorenzo frowned. At times, Amber could be a right royal pest. “Don’t put words into my mouth, Amber. 
I’ve given you my decision. Don’t always try to change my mind or second-guess me. 
I can’t tell you how irritating that is.”

Amber seemed to shrink within herself where she stood. “I’m sorry. I was only thinking of you—how used you 
are to having me with you, doing things for you…”

“Yes, well, this time I’ll have to muddle through with my wife’s help.” He saw Amber take a deep breath, 
evidently ready to argue with him. A moment later, he saw her change her mind, exhaling slowly. 

“Yes, of course,” she said.

Chapter 1.

On arriving at their suite in the Akropolis Hotel, Lissa busied herself putting their clothes away. 
Lorenzo sat down on a sofa, his long, brown feet on the coffee table—waiting for Nick to come by. 
They would take a long and careful look at the land, and then have a relaxing week-end with their wives. 

He smiled, still amazed at his luck. His mother had called him shortly after he’d finished talking to Nick. 
Burying him under a flood of Italian, she finally paused to take a breath, ending up, 
~It’s ages since I’ve seen my little namesake. 
Why don’t you bring Lissa and Felice to see me tomorrow, for lunch? I’ll make your favorite…~

He’d smiled, genuinely pleased with the invitation which, unfortunately, he couldn’t accept.

“Mamma, I’d love to do that, but tomorrow Nick Thalassinos and I are going to look at a tract of land 
that interests us. Nick wants to bring Nadine, who is getting slowly better from an illness. 
I’d love to bring Lissa alone, but you know how she is about Fliss…Felice, I mean…” At the last moment, 
he remembered his mother frowned on their abbreviation of Felice’s name, which she invariably gave its 
proper Italian pronunciation, Feh-lee-cheh. 

~But dear Lorenzo, nothing is easier. Bring Felice to my house, or I could come to yours to look after her 
in her own, familiar surroundings. She’ll probably be happier there. I’ll give the nanny a much-needed rest 
from caring for my granddaughter. And you can take Lissa with you without a single concern about little Felice.~

“Mamma, that’s a wonderful idea! I’ll phone Lissa and…”

His mother interrupted him. ~Not over the phone, with that nosy secretary of yours butting into the call because, 
in her opinion, you’ve talked long enough with your wife. I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you again, 
you’d be better off replacing that girl and her moonstruck-calf-look with a male P.A. 
No, you go home a little early and talk to Lissa about it, figlio mio – my son. Just tell her that I won’t 
take No for an answer.~

Lorenzo smiled at the memory of how unexpectedly pleased Lissa had been with the prospect of a long week-end 
alone with him… 

The next morning, bright and early, his mother had appeared, ready to take care of Fliss—who had been delighted 
to see her Nonna. 

And he and Lissa were alone in this very comfortable suite—or at least they would be, once he and Nick had 
viewed that land. 

A cheerful rat-tat-tat at the door announced Nick’s arrival. Lorenzo got to his feet, slipping his loafers on. 
Detouring quickly to the bedroom, he kissed Lissa. “Shan’t be long, carissima,” he said. Lissa gave him 
an enchanted smile. She liked Italian endearments. He nodded to himself. He’d be glad to oblige. 

A moment later, the front door of their suite closed behind Lorenzo. 




****




When he returned, Lissa was waiting for him in the sitting room, a bottle of Pinot Grigio in an ice bucket 
and two glasses on the coffee table. 

“I thought you might be thirsty after tramping all over that land.” Her smile was radiant. 
“I’m so glad you’re back…” Lorenzo quickly went over to the sofa. Leaning on one knee beside her, 
he bent to kiss her soft, pink mouth, one hand sliding into her silky blonde hair—his midnight blue eyes 
drowning in the green of hers, her long lashes teasing his cheekbone. 

“Not as thirsty as I am for you, innamorata,” he whispered, pleased to see her eyes darkening to emerald 
in instant response to him. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted, he mused, letting her slide down on the sofa. 
Before covering her body with his, he gazed at her—her sensational figure—her elegant arms and 
hands—her long, shapely legs. Once she was beneath him, he deepened their kiss, elated to feel her meeting 
him like a flame—matching his blazing need of her with her own passion for him—the moment she felt his erection,
so huge, so hard, nudging her pelvis. He yielded to what she made him feel, the kiss becoming more explicit—his 
body moving in the rhythm of hers. 

He nipped gently at her full lower lip, instantly soothing with the tip of his tongue. 
Letting her feel his hunger for her, his tongue explored the depths of her mouth—doing a little dance with 
her tongue and returning again to licking and laving, seeking her taste, her essence—which never failed to 
send stabs of hot desire deep into his pelvis—sudden impassioned heat overwhelming them both. 

“Lissa…” he whispered. “Let’s not waste time here on the sofa. There’s a huge bed through that door… Come with me?”

In response, Lissa hugged herself more tightly to him, her hands roaming beneath his shirt—how had she managed to 
get that out of his chinos without his noticing?—and quickly surrendering to him. “I always come with you, Lorenzo,” 
she whispered, his name sounding like a caress.

He took his time sliding off her body, reluctant to remove his hands from her perfect breasts, which fit his palms 
so enticingly. At last, Lissa sat up, hugging herself to him again. “Carry me?” she whispered. 

“I was going to,” he assured her, sliding one arm around her slim, elegant back, his other arm beneath her knees, 
lifting her to his chest, waiting impatiently for her to turn her face toward him, so he could cover her mouth with 
his and carry her, kissing, to the bedroom—to the vast bed. 

He bent forward with her in his arms, taking the duvet between two fingers, dragging it to the foot of the bed. Slowly, 
he lowered her to the pink silk sheet covering the mattress. Silk sheets—I hope we don’t slide off the damn bed… 
He didn’t like silk or satin sheets—fine, silky cotton gave his knees a more reliable surface, allowing him to get 
a better grip on things. Things? Why don’t I say what I mean—a grip on Lissa. Dio! How I’ve missed this… 

The moment Lissa’s back touched the mattress, she slid over toward the centre of the bed, giving him space to lie down 
beside her—however brief the time he would spend not deeply connected to her…

“Lorenzo—this is so good…” she whispered, turning to him and reaching for him. 
He smiled—still the same delicious Lissa—when she was turned on, she spoke his name as if it were an endearment… 
He raised himself on one elbow— his other arm sliding around her back in an intense, 
blazing embrace—pulling her seemingly boneless body against his own. He sighed when he felt her breasts cushioning 
against his chest, her arms around his shoulders, heard her soft voice sigh, “Lorenzo, I want you so much…” 

“Let’s get naked, then. I hate feeling clothes when I want to feel your beautiful, tempting body.” 
His experienced hands were already stripping her dress down, catching her thong on the way, throwing her 
clothing beside the bed. “Give me a moment,” he asked, getting his chinos, briefs and shirt off amazingly quickly. 
“Ah, that’s better,” he sighed, bending over her, at last allowing himself the luxury of caressing her body 
with his own—his long, thick hardness seeking… 

He gasped when he felt her hand reach for him, placing the tip of his penis between the labia, her other hand 
caressing the swollen testes, finding the secret place just behind, exciting him unbearably. 

“Please—” she whispered.

He had intended making slow, unhurried love to her, but when he felt her hands on him, 
he knew this could not be leisurely. Later, he would take his time. Even so, he felt he should warn her… 
“Carissima—if we do this now, you may not be—” He felt her gripping his penis, 
holding its head firmly against her vagina, and he sighed in relief. She was drenched for him—just as she 
had always been, before Fliss’s birth… Evidently, she wouldn’t need the lengthy foreplay that had become 
habit once they had Fliss…

When he entered her in one fast, hard thrust, he went deep, deeper than ever before, she thought. 
There seemed to be more of him even than at other times. How could that be? She arched her back, 
offering herself to him for still deeper penetration. 

“Lorenzo—I want all of you,” she breathed.

“And you shall have all of me, just give me a moment…”

He lifted her pelvis higher, at last giving her everything. She gasped when she felt all of him filling her, 
stretching her farther than he ever had before. 

“Lorenzo,” she sighed against his mouth, “you’re all I’ve ever wanted—such a long time since we were this close…”

And who was responsible for that, he mused… Tightening his arms around her, he began an exotic rhythm for them 
that they hadn’t surrendered to for quite a while. He frowned, recalling. Too often, Lissa’s attention was 
divided between some snuffles on the baby monitor and our lovemaking…

Faster—deeper—until neither of them could think or say another word. All they could do was sense what the other 
was feeling. What she felt—with all of him inside her. What he felt, her silken depth stretching to take him, 
closing tightly around him, while they were united in the driving rhythm that invariably preceded a shared, 
shattering climax. 

Ah, there it was—an orgasm of cataclysmic proportions. He felt her clenching and relaxing fast and rhythmically 
around him, an expression of bliss on her beautiful face while she coaxed him ever deeper into her, and he 
could not hold back any longer. Sighing her name into her mouth, he felt again the surpassing rapture he had 
only ever felt with her as he spilled the hot flood of his seed into her. Spilled and spilled, filling the depth 
of her in one wild, wanton surge after another until at last he stilled.

When she felt him beginning to lift himself away from her, she clenched around him in protest. 
“No, Lorenzo, don’t leave me. Stay, stay.”

He smiled into her eyes. “I thought we might have a little pause for some wine, before we think of an encore. 
I intend to take my time, do a kissing tour of your beautiful body before I come even close to giving you what 
you will ask me for with increasing urgency…” When she frowned in protest, he grinned. 
“You always do, innamorata. And no one happier than I to hear you ask.” He tightened his embrace. 
“And I promise to stay as long as you want me.”

“You truly are Lorenzo the Magnificent,” she whispered. He smiled at her comparing him to the great Medici 
prince of 15th century Florence—an icon of the Italian Renaissance.

“You spoil me—please never stop…” she whispered, her voice husky with satiation.

He was amused to feel her arms tighten around his back. “Lorenzo—I don’t want us to get up… 
It feels so good being in bed, in your arms…”

“And no tiny voice on the baby monitor to take your attention away from me,” he whispered.

She gazed at him in dismay. “I do that?” When he nodded ruefully, she faltered, 
“You should’ve told me. I didn’t realize… A tiny, helpless baby, who can only cry to get attention… 
But I never meant it to take away from our times together. If I did, I hope you’ll forgive me…”

He smiled. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Fliss is no longer a tiny, helpless baby. 
She’s almost two years old.” 

To his surprise, tears flooded her eyes. Wanting to make her feel better, he suggested, 
“How would it be if we gave Nanny the monitor during the night? You can give her as much time off during 
the day as you want. Her usefulness to us is for the evenings—the nights.” 

He slipped his still somewhat hard penis slowly out of her body, amused to feel her instinctively clenching 
her intimate muscles around him—trying to keep him there. No, Lissa, not right now. He got out of bed. 
“I’ll get the wine. No need for us to go drink it in the sitting room.”

He could only be pleased with her elated smile. “Thank you, Lorenzo. That’ll be fantastic—drinking some wine 
with you here, in this wonderful bed.”

He bent to her, kissing her nose. “Shan’t be a moment. You keep my place.”

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For Love Of Lorenzo
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