The Sicilian's Defiant Virgin

by Susan Stephens

  ‘You look worried,’ he said, glancing across. ‘Do you want me to turn around?’

  ‘I’d be mad to let you, when this is such a good career move,’ she admitted frankly. ‘Your father’s collection is reputed to be second to none.’

  ‘When it comes to hoarding, he does have the edge,’ Luca agreed with irony.

  ‘If that’s all this trip is about—’

  ‘What else would it be about?’

  His brief glance plumbed deep, and her heart raced in response. ‘I have no idea.’ But if Luca thought that because she didn’t have a fancy degree, or some proud family name, she wasn’t clued up when it came to tricky situations, he was wrong. She might be inexperienced, but she had worked at the club long enough to know trouble when it came looking for her.

  ‘I can still take you back,’ he offered, slowing the car as he prepared to take the slip road off the motorway. ‘I’ll just keep going around the roundabout until you make up your mind—’

  ‘My mind is made up.’ Having him think that she was indecisive and weak was the last thing she wanted, professionally, or personally. She would see this through, and with all flags flying. ‘I’m coming with you.’

  ‘Good. We’ll talk more on the plane,’ he promised.

  She was counting on it.

  Luca relaxed. She didn’t. How could she? Lyddie would have loved an adventure like this, Jen reminded herself. Her effervescent sister would have dived straight in, regardless of potential pitfalls. Jen had always been more circumspect in her approach, and had committed herself to something that still didn’t quite ring true. To add to her concerns, she’d indulged in plenty of fantasies involving journeys to exotic shores with handsome men, but in reality she hadn’t travelled out of London more than half a dozen times, and now she was going to Sicily with a man who was practically a stranger? It would be more of a tribute to Lyddie to seize this opportunity, rather than scuttle back to the auction house with her tail between her legs, she concluded. Plus, practical experience counted towards her degree, and it would never get better than this.

  ‘By the way, where is the Emperor’s Diamond?’

  ‘Safe in the cargo hold of my jet.’

  She had entered a billionaire’s world, where anything and everything was possible, even spiriting away a priceless jewel into the hold of Luca’s jet.

  ‘I hope you’re not frowning because you’re worried about flying in the same jet as the cursed stone?’

  ‘I don’t believe in superstition,’ Jen said frankly. ‘I hope you don’t?’

  ‘I only deal in hard, cold facts,’ Luca assured her.

  This forthright Jen was as attractive to him as the Jen he’d first seen in a bunny suit—almost, Luca allowed with amusement. He was like a youth with a hard-on. Each time he thought he’d got the measure of Jen, she proved he’d underestimated her. It would take quite a stretch to imagine his brother having an affair with Jen, which reassured his male pride. Raoul had liked everything just so, and Jen was a little too much off the wall for Raoul, as Luca’s brief glimpse into her colourful home had shown him. Quiet and circumspect at work, a glimpse into her private life had been enough to tell him that Jen was a homemaker, however individual that home might be. Like her off-duty dress sense, her style was quirky, and in a world of bland sameness he liked that. He liked her. She was refreshing. Jen didn’t follow trends, she set her own. But Raoul had liked everything easy, and Jen was hardly that. Sexually, she intrigued him. Was she as experienced as her assurance implied? His best guess was no. With her milky skin, red-gold hair and clear green eyes, she was certainly siren material, but Jen wasn’t even remotely self-conscious about her looks. She had an alluring innocence beneath her quirky shell, and she challenged him, when no one challenged him. He liked that too.

  Having turned into the airfield, he headed for the jet, and drew up alongside the steps. It was only now that Jen the bold, the wary, the unpredictable, the woman who had won his brother’s trust when he had lost it, now hesitated with her knuckles turning white on the door handle.

  ‘My take on the Emperor’s Diamond is this,’ she said with a slight shake in her voice.

  He guessed she was playing for time. ‘Go on,’ he prompted, settling back. They had a little time to play with before his take-off slot became non-negotiable.

  ‘I think it’s considered unlucky because those who own it have too much, and they still want more, but for all the wrong reasons.’

  That was exactly what he had always thought. Amassing more and more wealth and treasures had been the only thing his father had cared for, and Luca had always believed his father’s coldness had hastened his mother’s death. Now he thought his father’s bitterness had grown over the years because he had loved Luca’s mother, but hadn’t known how to show it, and when he’d lost her his father had been lost too. Jen had made him think of things he hadn’t thought about for years, and when she stared at him now he felt that clear green stare like a dart that refused to settle for anything less than the truth. ‘It’s an interesting theory,’ he said.

  ‘It’s a fact,’ she argued. ‘There’s nothing wrong with the Emperor’s Diamond. It’s people’s lives that need adjusting. The gemstone is flawless and beautiful, and maybe some of those who come into contact with it are striving for that same perfection, but they’re bound to be disappointed, because life is always more complicated than that.’

  He gave her a long, amused look. ‘Are you ready to go now you’ve got that off your chest?’

  She gathered herself, and said, ‘Yes, I am.’

  ‘You’re really invested in the work you do,’ he observed as he helped her out of the car. ‘Passionate, some might say.’

  ‘They’d be right. I might not be fully qualified yet, but I’m good at what I do. It runs in the family. My mother was a highly respected gemologist, and I’ve been studying minerals and precious stones since I was old enough to read, and not because I had to, but because I wanted to.’

  Just as she had determined to be the best when Lyddie died. The type of grief Jen had experienced, had demanded nothing less than positive action, otherwise she’d have given up, and that would have been an insult to her sister’s memory.

  She turned to Luca at the foot of the steps. ‘When can I expect to return to the UK?’

  ‘As soon as you’ve finished your work.’

  Jen stared up to where the flight attendant was waiting for them. This was the moment when she had to take a final step into the future, or turn around and go back.

  The luxurious cabin was arranged like a comfortable living room. Jen would lack for nothing, Luca determined. The smoother her stay, the more chance he had of Jen opening up to him so he could understand his brother’s motives in leaving everything he possessed to her.

  ‘What about my clothes—props for the exhibition?’ she asked him as she gazed around her sumptuous surroundings, her eyes wide with wonder.

  ‘My people followed the instructions of your chairman where supplies for the exhibition are concerned,’ he reassured her, ‘but if you do need anything else, you only have to ask. You can use the phone in the arm rest of your seat to check the inventory with my PA.’ Reaching in front of her, he picked up the phone and punched in a number. ‘This puts you straight through to Shirley. She’s totally unflappable—’

  She would need to be, Jen thought, if she was dealing with Luca on a daily basis. Shirley’s nerves would need to be armour-plated.

  Luca held out the phone and she took hold of it, but he didn’t let go. For just a few moments cool plastic connected them, and the temptation to slide her hand just a little further until her fingertips touched his was all too real. As was leaning into his big, powerful body, instead of pulling away, as she should.

  ‘Don’t limit your request to things for the exhibition,’ Luca added as the phone line connected. ‘You can ask Shirley for anything you like.’

  Could Shirley supply something to calm her heart when Luc
a was around?

  Was it wrong to feel like this—breasts so heavy they felt super-sensitive each time Luca’s dark gaze landed on her face? It was a relief to hear the cool tones of his PA, which, just for a few moments, allowed her to concentrate on something other than Luca.

  CHAPTER SIX

  AS SOON AS they were airborne Luca dismissed the flight attendant and poured the coffee himself.

  ‘Somehow I imagined you flying the jet,’ Jen admitted as he settled down facing her in another of the hugely comfortable kidskin seats.

  ‘And normally I would be, but I’d rather talk to you.’

  ‘Really?’ Her heart fluttered as she took a sip of coffee.

  ‘Really.’ A smile hovered around Luca’s mouth. He settled back. ‘Tell me something about you, Jen. You said you and Raoul were drawn to each other...?’

  ‘Your brother was at the casino almost every day, so it was hard not to speak to him. I grew to like him a lot. I tried to tell him he should stay away, though it wasn’t any of my business. Not that I didn’t want to see him, but losing as Raoul did couldn’t have been good for anyone, no matter how wealthy they were.’

  ‘He didn’t listen to you?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘I’m glad you tried. It’s a relief to know my brother had someone to talk to.’

  Jen exhaled slowly as she thought back. ‘Raoul was worried, because he always lost so heavily. He started off by saying that one day his luck would change, but then I think he stopped believing. I told him it was a mug’s game, and begged him to take a break from the casino, but he said he couldn’t, because it had become all about seeing me. I knew that was an excuse, but still—’

  ‘Seeing you?’ Luca pressed, frowning.

  ‘Not like that,’ Jen exclaimed, guessing Luca thought she’d had an affair with his brother. ‘Because I understood him, but even so, I couldn’t help him.’

  Lost in regret, she fell silent for a while. ‘Raoul still mourned his mother,’ she said at last. ‘You must too,’ she added softly. ‘Raoul said that’s why you threw yourself into your business. He said you couldn’t bear to stop working, because then grief overwhelmed you. He said it was the same with his gambling, and that if it hadn’t been for me—’

  ‘Yes?’ Luca prompted.

  ‘I don’t flatter myself that I could have done anything more to help Raoul. I look back and ask myself if I could have done something to help him reconnect with you.’ She shook her head.

  ‘You and I both,’ Luca said grimly, ‘but I doubt either of us could have helped Raoul. My mother won’t come back, and my father will never change. That was something both of us had to get used to, and Raoul never could.’

  She sucked a sharp breath in when Luca leaned forward to take hold of her hands. His touch was strong and comforting, and also extremely disturbing.

  ‘You were kind to my brother when you had your own grief to deal with,’ he said, staring intently into her eyes. ‘You lost your parents, and then your sister, but you still reached out to Raoul, and I must thank you for that.’

  ‘There’s no need to thank me,’ she said, removing her hands from his before his touch addled her brain. ‘I needed Raoul as much as he needed me. My sister had been dead more than a year when we first met, but the wound was as raw as if it had only been yesterday. We helped each other through. But what about you?’

  ‘What about me?’ Luca asked with faint amusement.

  ‘You’re still grieving, and you’ve no one to turn to. You’ve tried and failed to win your father’s affection—’

  ‘I don’t need anyone’s affection,’ he said sharply.

  ‘It must be lonely in your ivory tower.’

  ‘My ivory tower?’ he repeated with an edge of irony. ‘Is that how you see me?’’

  ‘You’re defensive,’ she countered, ‘That’s why I make allowances for you.’

  ‘You make allowances for me?’ His stare scorched her.

  ‘When Lyddie died I thought I’d never get over it, but I knew I had to try. Raoul wouldn’t want your life to grind to a halt, any more than Lyddie would want me to waste my life grieving for her.’

  ‘My life hasn’t ground to a halt,’ he protested.

  ‘And yet you can spare time to act as courier to a precious stone your father won’t even see, in the company of a woman you hardly know.’

  ‘You’re very suspicious,’ he said, settling back.

  ‘And you’re not?’ she parried. ‘And as for my suspicions—wouldn’t you be suspicious? You tell me your father doesn’t need another precious stone, and I can’t see why he needs an exhibition. If he’s a typical hoarder the last thing he wants to do is share.’

  ‘Maybe he doesn’t want these things, and I do?’ Luca suggested. ‘Maybe I have other plans for my father’s gemstones.’

  ‘I’m sure you do,’ Jen agreed. ‘And I do know we’re both grieving, and maybe we always will, but if I had one wish it would be that you could be straight with me.’

  ‘If you’re having second thoughts, you should have had them at that roundabout.’

  ‘I’m not a quitter. I prefer to face my demons. I don’t run away from them.’

  ‘I hope you’re not suggesting I do?’ Luca commented with a sideways smile.

  ‘Not at all,’ Jen insisted. ‘You’re on a mission. I just don’t know what that mission is, and I wish you’d tell me.’

  ‘You’ve got a great imagination.’

  ‘And I’m not stupid,’ Jen said quietly.

  ‘I never thought for one moment that you were. If anything,’ he admitted dryly, ‘the experiences you’ve had have only honed your powers of perception.’

  She wondered what he meant by the double-edged compliment and shrugged. ‘I’d rather have missed out on those lessons.’

  ‘Me too,’ Luca admitted.

  His rueful smile tempted Jen to believe she was overreacting, and there was no conspiracy to lure her to Sicily, where she would only be doing her job. Having managed to convince herself, she felt as if the world seemed a brighter, kinder place.

  * * *

  Sicily! Jen couldn’t have been more excited, or more wary of what might lie ahead as Luca escorted her down the steps of his jet

  ‘Welcome to my homeland.’

  ‘I’m thrilled to be here,’ she said honestly.

  The jet had landed on the Tebaldis’ private island, which was a small, green outcrop of land, set like a jewel in an aquamarine sea a small way off the coast of Sicily, according to Jen’s research. The airstrip was close to the sea. She could hear the rush of the surf, even from the steps of the plane. It was pitch black beyond the brilliantly lit airstrip, apart from the neat arrivals hall with its welcoming glow issuing from every window. The sky was like a carpet of black velvet overhead, littered with stars. The moon was a beacon that cast a steady light, hinting at rolling hills and forests beyond the airport. It was so warm she could discard her wrap. She stuffed it in her bag and turned her face skywards. She could smell more than aviation fuel in the air. Ozone cut through it on a sharp, cool breeze, and quite suddenly she felt incredibly optimistic. Why not, when she was here to do the job she loved?

  ‘What do you think of it so far?’ Luca asked, making her body quiver with awareness of him as he came to stand close.

  ‘From what I can see of it?’ she suggested dryly.

  ‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ he said, staring up at the starlit sky. ‘I’d forgotten just how beautiful.’

  ‘No light pollution,’ she said matter-of-factly to fight off the tingling of a body that was wondering how it would feel to be wrapped in his arms.

  ‘I thought you were the romantic one?’ he said.

  ‘Me? No,’ she protested. They were just a few inches apart, and Luca’s deep, husky tone had run straight through her body, setting up all sorts of delicious tingles, and it was all too easy to imagine the brush of his warm breath on her neck. ‘But you do have a very beautiful is
land home—I looked it up on the Web.’

  He laughed. ‘You’re such a pragmatist.’

  ‘Definitely,’ Jen agreed. ‘Talking of which, when will I get to see your father’s collection?’

  ‘You’re very eager.’

  ‘Why wouldn’t I be keen when I’m here to do the job I love?’ She’d heard the edge of cynicism in his voice, and she refused to be judged guilty of something when she didn’t know what that something was.

  As Luca indicated the limousine waiting for them Jen determined that when she finished her work, she would return to London with her moral slate as clean as when she left the city. But when the driver pulled away from the kerb, that silent declaration faltered. Luca was sitting so close. Here’s hoping I don’t live to regret this, she thought as Luca settled back in his seat, his long, sprawled legs almost touching hers.

  ‘So, what time tomorrow?’ she asked as the limousine slowed outside what Luca had just explained was just one of several guest cottages on the family compound.

  ‘Tomorrow?’ he queried.

  ‘Well, it’s too late for supper now,’ she pointed out. He didn’t seem pleased about that. Perhaps he had imagined she’d spend the night with him.

  ‘Spent, already?’ he mocked.

  ‘I want to be fresh for tomorrow’s work,’ she countered, trying not to think about Luca’s lips very gently brushing hers—and the rest.

  ‘Tomorrow morning, early,’ he agreed.

  She pressed her lips together to blot out all thoughts of kisses as she frowned. ‘Fine,’ she said. ‘But what’s your idea of early?’

  ‘Breakfast at six?’

  Jen didn’t even blink. ‘I’ll make breakfast, if you like, and then we can set off together to view the gems?’ She glanced towards the cottage, where the housekeeper had opened the front door to reveal a warm and welcoming glow inside the quaint stone building. ‘And then you can treat me to supper tomorrow night.’