Chapter Ten.

"Sir your drink." The air attendant stood before him as he slowly opened his eyes and saw the drink stretched to him. He collected it and the air hostess left him almost immediately.

The sound of his jet blended with his thoughts as he sipped slowly, his lip resting on the rim of the fancy glass.

Closing his eyes again he thought about her. Alison, he had her more on his mind these days.

Its been three days, three days without seeing her and he was starting to feel an ache.

Dropping the drink on its holder, he brought out his phone and scrolled through his contacts.

He stared at the number he saved as Aly.

He never dared to call her, would she pick up. Would she be mad?

She might wonder how he got her number?

Of course, her file helped him, but he had a feeling this wasn't her personal number.

What was the harm in trying? It might be or it might not. There is only one way of finding out.

Calling her.

A part of him told him a little bickering between them is more than enough to fill up the emptiness he attributed to loneliness.

During these past few days, his unnecessary restlessness has been a thing of a bother, but he had never attributed it to her, he filled up his days with works but nights were the major issues. His reflection mostly centred on her, her long smooth flowing hair, her nice laughter, and beautiful smile, seeing her glassy green orbs before he sleeps.

Until now, during the nights he would stare at the moon and recall their little moments under the stars.

There was something about Alison that made her special. A force between them that created a magnetic effect.

Something that repels them but draws them even closer.

He tried to tell himself that having thoughts about a lady he only met for two days doesn't mean anything she was charming, magnetic, and beautiful.

She was attractive enough to cause any man a restless night, he thought back to her lush dark flowing hair during the breeze at the R

riverside and the fiery heat that emanated from him each time he brushed her or held her close.

He relaxed more into his seat, enjoying the view of the blue sea from his jet window. He wondered what this official trip to his home country would bring him. He hoped it would help in distracting him from Alison.

Leonardo Adriano was from a powerful family in Italy, his father married an American woman, something the family never approved of.

His grandfather owned a huge grape farm for wine production. His brother inherited it last year and was burdened with all the responsibilities of being the CEO of one of the world's prestigious wine brands.

When his father Davis married his mother the family head his grandfather disapproved of it and stripped his father of all his inheritance.

Before he got married to Beatrice, Leonardo's mother, Davis Adriano was married to the daughter of an Italian business mogul but divorced her five years after the marriage. They bore a son together named Edward the older half-brother of Leonardo and the heir of the Adriano wines.

Last year Grandfather died and the company was officially handed to Edward. Last week Edward sent out an official invite for a business proposal to his brother.

Presently Leonardo was on his jet heading to Italy to meet his brother, his half-brother, the brother he had a huge fight with which attributed more to their strained relationship.

Leonardo was always made to stand behind the shadow of his brother as his Grandfather made sure to remind him always that he was not a full-blooded Italian and therefore was not regarded to be a full Adriano and his mother was a woman his dear father pitied and got married to.

Edward has always been the leading son, when his mother died Edward came to live with them and this troubled Leonardo more. There was always a placed importance when handling both kids, Leonardo who was a hearty child with a naughty smile on his face Edward was quite the opposite.

He has always been taught strong men don't smile and gaining fame and power was more important than any other thing.

His father then made a very important move and decided to relocate to the states when Leonardo turned ten, he also wanted to take Edward with him because Edward's mother was no more she no longer had custody of Edward anymore and her family didn't press on the case.

Leonardo saw the need in his father to make Edward know more of his immediate family and grow up with them.

Once again it was foiled by Grandfather who demanded that Edward was going to stay with him in Italy to learn more about the company and the grapevine.

It led to a huge fight over the custody of Edward but in the end, Grandfather won.

Edward only visited once every month and when he turned seventeen he stopped coming to visit America.

When Leonardo turned fifteen, his mother died from cancer, he saw Edward last when he came for the funeral.

He was all grown up with a stoic appearance just like Grandfather and was intimidating.

Leonardo learnt from a very little age not to be intimidated by his brother as they fought almost all the time, he wondered why he suddenly wanted to do business with him.

He recalled how his grandfather despised his father effort to start a hotel and resort business, saying he was deviating from the family business.

While Leonardo received more derogatory comments when he announced he wanted to become a chef, he started taking interest in cooking whenever his mother cooked in the kitchen of the first hotel his Dad built. They lacked the labour force at that time since there was a need for more investors. His father struggled with finances in the earlier stages of his hotel, mother offered her support by filling in the position of a chef, well her food helped in bringing in more guests.

While the workload became a bit too much for her, he remembered helping her cook in the kitchen and serving the guest.

When she died the next year he vowed to uphold her legacy and began on his passion to become a chef. He helped his father and they built the popular Adriano hotel which has an incorporated restaurant headed by Leonardo in each branch in the world.

He became a popular figure and a world-class chef, the last two years he decided he would like to start his restaurant, not a joined enterprise with his father.

Since he got a personal invite from the CEO of Adriano wine enterprise wanting to have an important business meeting with him, he wondered what the meeting would be detailed on.

In the meantime, he was eager to meet his cousin Isabella and a few of his old friends.

He wished Alison was also here, maybe one day he might bring her to the farm and teach her how to ride a horse around the vast farm, and probably have a romantic dinner with her under the naked night with his face nuzzled into her sweet-smelling hair.

He closed his eyes further and imagined her throwing her head back in laughter at his joke, after dinner they might run around the farm falling on their back with him on her.

She would smile so lovingly at him and he imagined staring deep into her eyes and felt drawn by the magnetic effect of her green hues, with soft moon rays cascading down on her skin.

He inched his face closer and sighted the same desire in her eyes for him. He felt the raw intensity, he felt it and he needed it, she licked her lips in the process wetting it and that was all it takes for him to claim her. He smashed his lip against her's. Loving the symphony of their movement, he inched further into her mouth loving every bit of it, her hands dug further into his hair.

Ruffling it in the process, he felt the desire in her touch, the want in her kiss. His desire burnt him through, he only recognized the need in his blood the need to claim her his.

"Please fasten your seatbelt and prepare for landing." A feminine voice broke into his thoughts as he slowly opened his eyes and saw an air attendant coming towards him, "Sir please strap in your seat belt we would be landing soon."

As she left, he bore more into his thought and realised he just fantasised about Alison.

He fantasized about kissing her, even though they were a hundred and one warning blaring signs in his head to stop such inappropriate thoughts. It made him realise his supposed friendship was a charade to mask the feelings he was starting to have for her.