Hunger for Love

ALESSIA Battaglia adjusted her veil. The light gauze caressed the delicate skin of her neck like a lover's soft kiss. She closed her eyes; she could almost feel it. She hadn't been able to forget his warm lips on her bare skin and his firm, masculine hand on her waist. He opened his eyes and bent down to adjust the buckles of his white satin shoes. She remembered then her lover's hands on her ankle and how he'd removed her high-heeled shoes until she was naked in front of him, naked for the first time in front of a man. But she hadn't had time for her nerves to get the better of her. The heat and desire between them had completely dominated her, dominated them both. After so many years of fantasizing about that... She swallowed and picked up the bouquet of red roses he'd left on the chair. She looked at it and ran her fingers through the velvety petals. It was a sensation that brought back another wave of memories, and she thought about what it had been like to have her lover's mouth on her breast while she clutched tightly to his dark hair. –Alessia? She turned around and saw that it was her wedding planner calling her from the doorway. -Yeah? "It's time," the woman reminded him. Alessia nodded and headed for the door. Her heels clacked on the marble floor of the basilica. She left the room where she had dressed and went to the spacious vestibule. It was already empty. All the guests were in the church, waiting for the ceremony to begin. He let out a long sigh that echoed off the walls of the room. He then began walking toward the sanctuary and noticed the murals painted on the walls on either side of the door. He paused for a second, hoping to find some peace in the biblical scenes depicted in those murals. His eyes fell on a painting of a garden. In the center, Eve was giving Adam the apple. He then remembered a conversation that was engraved in his heart. "Please. Just one night," she had told him. –Just one, my dear ? –That's all I can give you. A fiery, passionate kiss had transported her in that instant to a place she'd never been before. It had been unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. It had been far better than any fantasy. She gasped at the memory of that moment and turned away from the mural, heading toward the small antechamber before entering the sanctuary. Her father stood there, very elegant in his tailored suit. Antonioni Battaglia looked like a respectable citizen, even though everyone knew he wasn't. And this wedding, so traditional and pompous, was going to be just another way to assert his power. A power he hoped to see increased by the Corretti family's fortune and status. It was the only reason she was in this situation. "You look so much like your mother!" he said when he saw her. She wondered if there was any truth in those words or if it had simply seemed like the right thing to say at such a moment. Her father had never shown her affection or tenderness. He hadn't seemed capable of harboring such feelings. "Thank you," she replied, looking down at her bouquet. "This is what's best for the family," his father reminded him. It was something she already knew. This wedding was key to securing her siblings' future, and she had been the one who had taken care of them since her mother died giving birth to her fifth child. Pietro, Giana, Marco, and Eva were the most important people in her life, and she was willing to sacrifice herself to ensure their future was good.