‘What makes you think I need one?’ she asked with indignation.
She turned out to be a strong swimmer, and he let her win the first leg of their race, but when they turned for shore he swam around her, diving beneath her and teasing her, as he would have teased Raoul. They arrived at the shore together, laughing as they waded through the surf.
‘You’re good,’ she said.
‘So are you,’ he conceded.
‘I enjoyed that.’
‘So did I.’ More than she knew.
‘Did you bring a towel?’
‘No.’
‘Me neither. We’d better run,’ she said. ‘It’s the only way to get dry.’ And she was off, shrieking with excitement—until she tripped. Fortunately, he was there to catch hold of her, and he steadied her in his arms. She felt so good and warm and soft beneath his hands.
Moments passed, and then a few more as they stared at each other.
‘What?’ he demanded. Dipping his head, he brought his face close enough to stare into her eyes. She lifted her chin so their mouths were almost touching.
Accepting the invitation, he brushed his lips against hers. There was a long moment when Jen exhaled raggedly and he held his breath. She was so young, too young—he should stop this right now.
‘Thank you,’ she said, stepping back.
For the kiss? he wondered dryly. ‘My pleasure,’ he said with absolute accuracy.
To hell with this!
Grabbing her close, he kissed her again, and this time it wasn’t a brush of his lips against hers, but a kiss between a man and a woman who wanted each other. It wasn’t chaste and it wasn’t restrained. With one hand in the small of Jen’s back, he bound her to him as he lashed his fingers through her hair to bring her closer still. Their tongues clashed as she clung to him. He tasted her, and inhaled her sweet wildflower scent as he imprinted the feel of her warm body on his hands.
Sounds of need poured from her throat, as if all the emotion she’d bottled up for years had come pouring out. The same went for him. Touch, taste, scent and longing, his senses were fully engaged, and in overdrive. Jen’s level of hunger surprised him. He had to remind himself that she was vulnerable, and her emotions were raw, but even that didn’t work, and he allowed her to press herself against him, move against him, rub against him, until he was almost going mad, while she clung to him as if her life depended on it.
Only the urge to take things through to their final conclusion fired a sufficient warning in his head.
‘Take another swim—cool off,’ he recommended, pulling away.
She stood, visibly trembling, her eyes shooting daggers at him, but she said nothing in reply.
‘There won’t be any work today—it’s a holiday,’ he explained. ‘Take your time. Enjoy the water. Why not?’ he asked when she frowned.
‘You might be here on holiday,’ she began.
‘The entire island is on holiday. There’ll be plenty of time for you to do your work. Today everyone’s in town celebrating, including me. And you,’ he added firmly. ‘We’re both going to cut loose for a few hours.’
‘Cut loose?’ she said.
I’ve felt your hunger, and I’ve seen it, he thought. ‘I’ve seen you dance at the casino, so I know you haven’t forgotten how to enjoy yourself.’
Her cheeks blazed red at the memory, and then she licked her lips, still swollen from his kisses, and her eyes darkened, but not with embarrassment, he thought.
‘Will we be going to town together?’ she asked.
‘I’ll see you there. I’ve got things to do first. You’ll have to wait for me,’ he murmured, teasing her with a curving smile.
‘Oh, I can wait,’ she said coolly.
‘Good. Enjoy the water,’ he added as he headed back to the house.
CHAPTER EIGHT
SHE SWAM AND SWAM, but nothing helped to erase the fact that Luca had kissed her, and she had kissed him back. Her lips still felt sensitive. His kisses were indescribable: power, pleasure and promise combined, like nothing she’d ever experienced before. And now her body just wouldn’t come down again. Even the chilly surf was no help at all. She had to stop thinking about it, but how? Luca could have anyone he wanted. He could have seduced her on the spot. She must never put herself in such a compromising position again.
Her body disagreed, and ached for him. It didn’t matter how many times she reminded herself that she was here to work, and that at best she was a moment’s distraction for Luca, she couldn’t forget the look on his face just before he’d kissed her, that dark fire in his eyes, or how she’d felt when he had...
She almost choked on the thought, and managed to swallow a great gulp of water, but at least it shook her round. Work might be out of the question today, but the sun was shining and it was a special day on the island, and she had the whole day ahead of her. She just had to forget about Luca.
Forget Luca?
She’d avoid him in town, Jen planned as she waded through the shallows. She’d go to town with Maria, and stay with her all day. Simple.
She ran back to the guest house, basking in the heat of the sun. She loved Sicily already. There was such a sense of freedom here, and anything seemed possible. Standing on the top of the cliff, she turned full circle with her arms outstretched. She had never felt better, or more alive.
Luca’s kiss was the reason.
Luca’s kiss was just one of those crazy things, she argued with her overly romantic inner voice. It would never happen again. She was hardly bedmate material for a sophisticated billionaire. Luca had acted on impulse as she had. It didn’t mean anything beyond the fact that their emotions had been in tune for a few seconds. Those emotions had been locked up for a long time, so the consequences had been unexpected for both of them, she suspected.
She could excuse those kisses away all she liked, but they still made her feel as if she’d found her wings.
* * *
Just the idea of a very special feast day sounded decadent, Jen thought as she approached the town with Maria. Luca’s friendly housekeeper had been kind enough to lend Jen a few pieces of costume, including a mask, so she wouldn’t feel left out.
Decadent? She’d had no idea, Jen concluded when they drew close enough to hear the noise of the crowd and the clash of the competing bands. She didn’t feel out of place in her mask, as everyone was wearing elaborate costumes, and some were quite revealing. Decadence was key, obviously. Catching sight of herself in a shop window, Jen smiled to herself, concluding that with her neat little sundress and pussycat mask she looked more like an escapee from a Beatrix Potter story, which wasn’t quite the result she’d been aiming for, but if Maria was okay with it, then so was she.
All age groups were represented in town, and the dancing on the improvised dance floor in the square was already wild and furious. Some of the couples made it seem like the prelude to a fertility rite from some earlier and more dissolute age. She envied them their abandon. The music was infectious, and even her clumsy feet were itching to dance.
She paused in the shadow of a doorway to watch, while Maria went on ahead to join her friends. She felt safe and anonymous in the shadows—except for her red hair, which, even though she’d bundled it on top of her head in the messiest up-do this side of hedge, still stood out in a sea of dark flashing eyes and flowing ebony locks.
‘Why, Signorina Sanderson, imagine seeing you here—’
Jen’s heart turned over. The sexy drawl was unmistakeable. She warned herself to act cool, though her lips seemed to grow more sensitive just having Luca close by. Her body heated up and her heart started racing, which went against everything she had determined she would be around him.
‘Oh, hello,’ she said coolly.
She turned and her heart rocketed off the scale. In a black brigand’s mask, Luca looked like more like a dark angel than a respectable billionaire. With his flashing black eyes and thick, wavy hair, and the stubble that had scraped her face so recently...
There weren’t many men who could play dress-up and look as hard and as sexy as Luca Tebaldi. Banged-up jeans and a casual shirt with the sleeves rolled up looked so good on him. He only had to ease onto one tight hip for her world to start moving really slowly. Who would want to rush through a moment like that? His forearms were impossibly powerful. Tanned and dusted with just the right amount of jet-black hair. She could so easily imagine them banded around her. When he planted one fist on the door above her head she even thought the black leather wristband on his wrist was sexy. It was a band on a wrist, and the wrist led to a hand, she told herself sensibly. The feast day must have her in its grip, Jen concluded.
‘Would you like to dance?’
‘Dance?’ She gave him a look. ‘Have you seen me dance?’
‘I have, as it happens—at the club,’ he reminded her, humour glittering darkly in his eyes. ‘You were great.’
‘I was lousy.’
‘With me you’ll be better. It’s not so hard,’ he said when she pulled a face. ‘I’ll lead. You follow—’
‘You think?’
He laughed.
‘Oh, well, I guess that’s why everyone’s here,’ she said, glancing around to hide the fact that she wanted to dance with him more than anything. She could still feel his arms around her, and remembered how great it felt to be the focus of his interest.
‘It’s just a dance, Jen. I’d hate you to feel left out.’
‘I’m sure you would,’ she agreed with a lift of her brow. ‘Don’t worry about me. I’m fine watching from here. Or maybe over there,’ she amended, staring across the square in the interest of trying to put some safety space between them.
‘Would you like me to escort you?’ Luca asked.
All the women were flashing him heated glances as Luca pushed his strong, tanned hands through his unruly hair—which only succeeded in tangling it all the more. ‘Something troubling you?’ he pressed. His eyes were worryingly intuitive.
‘No.’ Except for the ache in her heart, and the heat in her body, that said she wanted Luca Tebaldi—and that was a rocky road to nowhere. He only had to slant a look at her for her to know she was safer out of his way.
And she was making a really good job of that.
‘I should find Maria,’ she settled for, glancing around. ‘We walked into town together, and I think she’s with her friends.’ She craned her neck, staring vaguely into the crowd.
‘That’s right,’ Luca confirmed, resting one hard muscled forearm on the wall at the side of Jen’s head. ‘They’re making the finishing touches to the floats for the parade. Didn’t she tell you?’
He could hardly hide his satisfaction at catching her out, Jen noticed. ‘I didn’t know that. Thank you for telling me. I’ll go and find her—’
He didn’t move. Short of scrambling over him, there was no way past Luca. She was boxed in, in the doorway of a shop—and he was enjoying this. His dark eyes were amused. He liked having her exactly where he wanted her.
‘No problem. I’ll wait here,’ she said with a shrug to show she couldn’t care less. Leaning back against the door where she had a good view of the square, she settled in.
‘I’m not happy leaving you here on your own. I have a duty of care—’ Luca insisted.
‘Since when?’ she exclaimed.
‘Since you came to work for me.’
‘I work for your father,’ Jen said coolly.
‘It’s all in the family,’ Luca argued, his eyes firing at the thought of taking her on.
‘And you always get your own way?’ she said.
‘Always,’ he murmured. His black stare fixed on her lips.
As her heart went into overdrive, she moved around him. ‘I’m going to find Maria—’
‘No, you’re not,’ Luca said. ‘You’re going to dance with me.’
‘Am I?’
‘Yes, you are,’ he murmured.
‘But I don’t dance,’ she protested as he urged her out of the shadows in the direction of the dance floor. ‘I’ve got two left feet and I’m wearing flip-flops.’
‘So, kick them off,’ Luca said as a space on the crowded floor miraculously appeared for them.
People were staring, and she didn’t want to cause a scene. She gave Luca a frown, which only provoked him to raise a brow. Trying to remain immune to his machismo was hopeless, she concluded.
‘Dance,’ Luca commanded in a deep, husky voice.
‘Was that an order? I don’t see any hot coals,’ she countered.
He laughed and pulled her into his arms.
It felt so good...dangerously good, and she wanted, longed, ached to have him kiss her again.
‘Dance if you dare,’ he challenged softly in her ear.
‘Oh, I dare,’ she said.
Curving one of his faint, heart-stopping smiles, Luca ordered softly, ‘Prove it.’
‘All right. I will,’ she agreed, breaking free from his embrace.
‘Dance as if you have no boundaries...’
‘No problem,’ she said. Raising her arms above her head, she began to move to the music.
His senses roared as Jen began to dance as if she was dancing only for him. She stunned everyone into silence within the first few seconds, and not because she had suddenly become an expert, but because she oozed sensuality and showed no inhibition on the dance floor. The music gave her every excuse to use her body to the full, and she didn’t hold back. She was hotter than hell, and every man knew it. She was with him, which they also knew.
At the back of his mind the same doubt remained. This woman could act many parts, and one of those parts was a girl who had caused his brother to leave her everything. More women joined in, and he was aware of their dark, flashing eyes seeking his approval, but he was only interested in Jen, who was a priestess of cool, surrounded by her acolytes. Her full hips undulated invitingly, while her nipples strained against the front of her dress. Kissing her was emblazoned on his mind. He could remember exactly how her lips had felt beneath his, and how warm and soft and smooth her skin had felt beneath his hands. Her eyes beneath the kitten mask glittered invitingly with wicked promise, but was she even aware of the stir she was causing? He thought not. She was far too absorbed in the dance.
As the music gradually increased in both pace and volume, the dancers moved towards a wild finale. Jen’s sinuous dancing suggested she was available for pleasure, but her fierce, flashing eyes said not. It was a challenge he found irresistible.
* * *
She must be drunk on music and sunshine, Jen decided. She had never let herself go like this before. Conveniently, she blamed it on the feast day. Even her two left feet couldn’t prevent her from enjoying herself.
‘That’s enough!’
She gasped as Luca dragged her close, and stared up at him, frowning. ‘What’s got into you?’
‘I can’t bear it,’ he ground out, glaring at the other men.
Her vow to steer clear of him wasn’t going so well, Jen concluded as she struggled to break free. It didn’t help that she loved the pressure of his hard body against hers. ‘What is your problem?’ she demanded as Luca tightened his grip.
It was she who had the problem, Jen thought as Luca softened his grip and all she felt was regret. ‘I want to dance with you,’ he growled, keeping her rammed up hard against his body, where she could feel every inch of him in intimate detail. The thrust of his erection was all it took to blank her mind.
‘I don’t have a problem,’ he murmured with his mouth so close to her ear it tingled. ‘My only problem is you.’
She wanted him. She wanted this. She wanted to feel safe, close, and for his kisses and caresses to continue. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, knowing it was wrong—dangerous—could lead to more heartbreak—what did she know about lovemaking?
‘Don’t fight me, Jen,’ Luca murmured when she tried to pull away. ‘You’ll only lose—’
‘Fight you?’ If only she could win the bat
tle of wills inside her and fight him to remain safe, emotionally safe.
‘You’d better let me go,’ she said, feeling her power to resist him fading into nothingness.
‘Or else?’ Luca murmured as he took off his mask.
‘Or else I’ll have to fight you every step of the way.’
‘I look forward to it,’ he said.
The look in his eyes sent heat rushing through her. And then the music changed, slowed, and grew sultry. The plangent melody wound a cord around Jen’s heart, demanding she move in time with the music and with Luca.
As they began to sway together her hands seemed more sensitive as they rested on his chest. She could feel his heart beating beneath her fingertips, and it only took the smallest adjustment of her hands to bring her into contact with his naked skin. Once she’d touched him, she wanted to feel more of him—all of him, hot and hard against her—
No!
This was wrong. She had to shake herself out of the dream state. This was reality, not fantasy, and the danger of yielding to temptation could only lead to one place. Feeling her resistance, Luca released her. He stood staring down at her, his eyes full of questions.
Closing her eyes, she had to ask herself what she really wanted. The answer wasn’t long in coming. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Let’s dance.’
CHAPTER NINE
SHE MIGHT HAVE two left feet, but she could dance with Luca. When he held her in his arms, her body responded perfectly, as if it knew exactly what to do. Luca moved so well he made it easy for her. He was fully in command, and that thought led her mind down all sorts of dark alleys where there were no boundaries. She had never been so acutely aware of her body, or its potential for pleasure. Luca had her in his erotic net, and she was a willing captive, safe behind her mask.
‘Enough?’ he murmured.
There’s more? she thought.
Luca didn’t speak. His hands remained on her arms, and then one hand slid down to her wrist. He linked their fingers, joining them. It was the most intimate thing she’d ever known as he led her away from the dance floor, steering her through the crowd. He took her across the square where the din of the festival roared in her ears, to a narrow, shaded street at the end of which was the sea. With every step Jen had the sense of leaving her safe world behind and entering somewhere exciting and new, and she was eager to embrace what felt like the next stage of her life.
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