‘No. No problem.’
Unless you count an unhindered erection.
‘Sooo...’ she drawls, her eyebrows gesturing towards the pool house.
I give a tight smile and launch myself up and out. I watch the play of emotions flicker across her face, the way her eyes brazenly fall to my hardened length, and my ego takes a good, long stroke. I turn and walk away, unhurried, practically strutting as I enjoy her eyes on me and, hell, if my smile doesn’t relax and grow...
‘I take it you swim naked a lot?’ she calls after me.
I pause and turn my head just enough to see her. ‘What makes you say that?’
‘Your behind is as tanned as the rest of you.’
She runs her teeth over her bottom lip, her eyes locked on my arse, and my cock bucks. I shake my head and carry on my way. She’s right; I do bathe naked. But this, between us, this is wrong and it has to stop. Only, it’s fun, so much fun and, Gesù, when did I last find fun in anything?
Why does she have to be Faye? Why couldn’t she be some random person with no connections to my family? To the wedding that has to go off without a hitch, and certainly without me crossing a line with my sister’s best friend and the maid of honour.
Because, no matter how much I’m enjoying the anonymity and the desire, I know I need to fess up and be me.
I damn my own good conscience as I enter the pool house and take a fresh towel off the rack. If I were my cousin Dante I wouldn’t hesitate. In fact, I’d put money on him going all-in tomorrow when he sees her. She’s just his type: brunette, big blue eyes, a broad grin that rounds her cheeks and lights up her entire face.
Diavolo, she’s my type. Not that I ever considered having a type before.
I wrap the towel around my waist; it’s safer to have at least one proper layer between us. That robe of hers counts for nothing. It’s worse than her being naked, teasing over her curves and making me wish it were my hands upon her, tracing the same path, the same wet trails...
I grab a second towel for her more roughly than I need to and stride back out. Confess. Leave. Confess. Leave. Confess...
She’s standing before the bed, the said robe shifting in the light breeze, pulling taut against her tummy, her breasts. She twists her hair over one shoulder as though wringing it out, but I sense it has a more seductive purpose as it dips her chin and forces her to eye me from beneath her lashes, her smile all sultry.
‘Thank you,’ she says as I mutely offer her the towel.
My confession is on the tip of my tongue. I haven’t lied, as such. I am the owner, as of six months ago, when I bought the place to ensure Dani could get married here. Only, my sister doesn’t know that. No one does.
‘You’re welcome.’
She opens the towel up and starts scrunching at her hair. The move is hypnotic and sends wafts of her shampoo my way, mixed up with chlorine and the scents of Tuscany. It shouldn’t affect me like it does.
‘I’m sorry you found me like you did,’ she says softly. ‘It’s been a long day of travelling and I hadn’t planned on going for a swim. The urge just...’
She gives a cute little shrug and drops the towel on the bed, turning away from me, and before I realise what she’s doing the robe slips off her shoulders.
‘Think I’ll need to hang this out to dry,’ she says, letting it fall from her fingers to the bed. She’s an arm’s reach away, entirely naked, and as she eyes me over her shoulder I swallow, open my mouth to say something and close it again. Because all I want to say, all I want to do, has nothing to do with confessing that I’m Dani’s brother.
She bends forward, every movement drawn out, maximising what I get to see: the delicate frame of her shoulders, the line of her spine, the way her hips splay outwards and the valley of her arse, the gentle curves as they jut out to me...
Oh, Dio. I grip the knot in my towel tight.
She scoops up her own towel and straightens, turning to face me once more as she dabs her cheeks, her neck, her breasts, her stomach, her...
Cazzo.
I wet my lips and rake a hand through my hair.
‘It’s late,’ I rasp out. ‘We should...we should call it a night.’
Her lips quirk, her eyes flicking down and back up just as quickly. ‘You don’t look ready for bed yet.’
‘You’d be surprised.’ I’m so ready for bed...if I get to take her with me.
She pouts as she cocks her head to one side and runs the towel across her back, forcing her chest to thrust forward and her breasts to lift. I grip my towel tighter.
‘Look, as much as I want to...’
I can’t stop my eyes from lowering, from drinking her in, and she chooses that moment to step forward, her eyes on my obvious erection beneath the towel. ‘I can see how much you want to...’
‘But we really can’t.’
‘Are you spoken for?’
I frown. ‘Am I...what?’
‘A wife, a girlfriend?’
I laugh. It’s a bark, thanks to the top-to-toe tension holding me in place.
‘No, nothing like that.’
‘Then...what?’
I swallow. I don’t want to tell her. The moment I do, I know this is over. Which is as it should be, but...
‘Because I’m kind of a lady in need—a damsel in distress, if you like—and you’re...’ She drops her towel to the floor. ‘You’re my perfect fantasy.’
She steps closer and I’m too caught up in her spell to make her stop. I’m used to confident women, sexy women, women who go after what they want, when they want. But there’s something about how she says it, about what she says... A damsel in distress, a lady in need. Hardly strong, confident words, or maybe they’re more confident for the honesty they touch upon. I’m too intrigued not to probe. ‘What makes you a lady in need?’
She smiles, her fingers soft as they meet with my chest, and my gut contracts, my lungs scraping in air to fend off the frisson of excitement.
‘You see, I’ve not had...fun...’ Her lips part and I get a glimpse of a glistening pink tongue. ‘I’ve not had fun in far too long, and for seven days I am my best friend’s maid of honour. I aim to be perfectly behaved, doting, selfless.’
As do you, Rafael, remember...?
‘But tonight is my chance to let my hair down, and I can’t think of a better way to do it than...’ She steps closer, so close the air is filled with her scent. My chest is warmed by hers and her nipples brush ever so lightly against me. ‘Having some wicked fun with you.’
She closes the remaining gap, treating my erection to the unyielding pressure of her body. Her eyes lift to mine and I’m gone. Gone and pulling her against me, my mouth crushing hers. But she’s just as fierce, just as wanton. Her tongue plunders, twists and tastes. She’s all champagne, and something else, something that’s all her. I can’t stop this. I can’t.
She whimpers and it’s as though she’s repeating my state of mind back to me. Not that she could know how close I am to ending it. How close I am to losing it.
But you’re losing it with Faye Davenport. Your little sister’s best friend.
‘Cazzo.’ I grab her by the arms and wrench her away from me but as I do my towel hits the deck.
She gives a soft laugh. ‘You look better without it.’
I shake my head, fighting for clarity, anything to lift the lustful haze that is so determined to descend.
I press my forehead to hers and drag in a breath. ‘We can’t do this.’
‘So you keep saying...’
She brushes her lower body against me and I close my eyes, trying to concentrate on what I need to say.
‘I’m Rafael.’
‘Okay, Rafael, it’s nice to meet you. Now, can...?’ She frowns, and then her eyes widen just as swiftly, and her body stills. ‘Wait. The owner, Rafael. Not...not Dan
i’s older brother Rafael?’
‘Owner. Brother. One and the same.’
Her cheeks flush crimson and her eyes widen further. ‘No, no, no, no...’
She spins away, grabs her towel, her clothes, her sandals and clutches them all to her chest before spinning back to me, her head shaking. ‘And you didn’t think to say anything?’
What looks like a pair of silk shorts fall from her grasp and I fight the urge to bend for them, especially when it would only bring me closer to the delightfully pink nipples still so ripe and needy for me. I pin my eyes on her face and away from temptation, but she heaves in a breath, one that has them lifting, begging... She blows it out in a gust and ducks down, blindly reaching for the garment as her eyes stay fixed on mine, and she pats at the floor.
‘Hell, I knew you had issues.’ She grabs at the shorts and bolts upright again. ‘But I didn’t think a lack of manners would be one.’
Issues? What’s that supposed to mean?
‘Look, I’m sorry...’ I don’t get to finish. She’s already legging it away, her naked behind rippling and teasing me even as the panic rises. I wrap my towel around my waist and race after her.
‘Faye, wait.’
She spins on the spot, struggling to pull her own towel around her with all the other items in her grasp.
‘Let’s save it for tomorrow, hey?’ she blurts. ‘When we can be introduced properly...in clothes?’ She waves a hand between us, her eyes lingering slightly too long on my torso and her cheeks flushing more deeply when she realises it. ‘Goodnight, Rafael.’
And then she’s gone, and instead of cursing, instead of being relieved or feeling guilty, I have the most idiotic smile. I know it’s idiotic as I don’t recognise the feel of it. Much like the churning underway in my gut and the intense, unsated desire.
Is this what the next seven days have in store then? My testing family and a constant tease at every turn?
And, now that I’ve seen what’s underneath the clothes, now that I’ve witnessed her in full-on seductress mode, how do I rewind?
Cold showers. Cold showers at every opportunity, if that’s what it takes to keep this week focused on Faye... Dani, maledizione! Dani and Tyler!
No one else. Because, for once in my life, I won’t be the cold, heartless bastard my family think I am. I’ll be the proud and doting big brother.
You can still be that and have a bit of discreet fun on the side...
The smile makes a comeback.
CHAPTER THREE
‘HAVE YOU SEEN my mother, Faye?’
Dani comes racing into the breakfast room, straight for me, and I do a double-take. It’s only seven in the morning and I’d expected to be alone this early. Alone to get over my burning humiliation of last night and to bolster my confidence before the inevitable introduction to a certain god-like Italian.
Of all the people to choose to let loose with, it had to be the elusive brother. The elusive, seriously sexy, older brother.
The one who’s string of conquests Dani has often bemoaned to me. And last night it was my lips he’d been exercising that well-practised skill over... A sigh works its way up my throat, my head leaning off to the side as my lips softly curl.
‘Faye!’
Oh, God.
‘Sorry.’ I straighten sharply, blinking away the image of him naked, and clear my throat. ‘Your mother?’
I frown as I take in the sight of Dani up close. She’s frazzled. Her glossy black hair is tied back but sticking out at all angles and her face is devoid of make-up—very un-Dani. ‘What’s wrong?’
She shakes her head and scans the deserted room. There’s only one discreet staff member on hand at the breakfast bar; the room is ours.
‘I had a ranting text message from her, something about her bedroom being too tucked away, and then some comment about the size of her bed and having no man to fill it.’
She steals my coffee cup and takes a big gulp. ‘Sorry, babe, hope you don’t mind. I need the caffeine, or a mimosa might be more apt. I mean, this is my wedding week, right? I can drink this early if I want to!’
It all comes out in a frantic rush and I stand, taking the cup from her and placing it on the table, before holding her arms and forcing her to face me. ‘Breathe, honey. I will sort you out a mimosa.’
She gives me a weak smile. ‘You will?’
‘Yes. And I’ll go and find out what’s troubling your mother. You need to go back the way you came and cosy up with that gorgeous hubby-to-be. Leave the niggly things to me.’
‘Niggly? She’s more a giant pain in the—’
‘Dani.’
She gives me a cute little pout. ‘You sure?’
‘It’s what I’m here for. Now, go. I’ll see you get some drinks sent up to your room, pastries and all.’
Her eyes widen. ‘No, no pastries, not until after the wedding day; there isn’t a millimetre to spare in that dress.’
I roll my eyes. ‘You’re crazy! Excitement alone will burn through all that excess.’
Not to mention the super-loud extra-curricular activity too...
‘Rafael will help you.’
I start at her mention of his name, hot off the back of my extra-curricular thoughts.
‘He’s the fixer,’ she adds. ‘He sorts everything.’
Rafael, the fixer. Oh, yes, I imagine there are lots of things he could fix, my sex drought included. My insides spin as my cheeks flood with so much heat I swear I look sunburned.
‘You okay, Faye?’ She squints up at me. ‘You look like you’re having a hot flush.’
A hot flush...and then some. Thanks to the aforementioned fixer, my body is in overdrive, seeking out gratification for the heat he’s sparked. To feel that thrill again after so many years... Hell, who am I kidding? I’ve never felt a thrill that intense. I could blame it on my extended celibacy, only... I conjure up the fire in his eyes, the cut to his jaw, those lips... God, those lips.
‘Faye?’ She waves a hand in front of my face.
‘It is warm, isn’t it?’ I rush out, faking a smile. ‘So, you were saying, your brother...?’
She’s still squinting at me and I pretend not to notice.
‘Yeah...he’s around here somewhere, not that I can find him. Maybe he’s wandering the grounds...’ And then her eyes narrow even more. ‘Speaking of wandering, where did you disappear to in the middle of the night?’
My brows twitch up, my pulse too. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I heard you come back in the early hours. At least, I think it was your room. Yours is the closest.’
And it’s too close, much too close.
‘I couldn’t sleep. I went for a stroll to get some air and wind down...’
‘Sounds perfect.’
It was. Too perfect. And so wrong.
‘Well, if you see him, get him to lend a hand, won’t you? You really shouldn’t face one of my mother’s moods alone and, though he looks scary, he’s actually a doll.’
I laugh now, wholeheartedly. ‘A doll?’
‘Oh, yeah, totally. A heart of gold but a front that would send you running.’
‘Right, okay.’ I nod, letting this new version of the Italian god sink in. ‘Serious. Severe. Doll-like. I won’t be able to miss him.’
‘You won’t.’ She gives a little grimace. ‘But don’t fall for his charm either.’
I nod slowly, my smile too amused to hide. ‘Right, so he’s now serious, severe, doll-like but a total charmer. He’s quite the enigma.’
Dani gives me a wry smile. ‘Don’t tease. You know exactly what I mean, and consider yourself fully warned on that front.’
‘On what front?’ Maybe I shouldn’t play dumb, but right now I’m remembering just how susceptible I am to his particular brand of charm. And that was before he said much at all.
<
br /> ‘The whole charming the pants off any female he takes a fleeting fancy to.’
‘Oh, yes, that little trick.’ Only, last night I wasn’t wearing any pants to charm off...and neither was he. I swallow. ‘Consider me warned.’
‘Good, and anyway, Dante arrives today...’ Her smile is full of mischief now. ‘I have high hopes that my cousin will come to your aid no problem.’
‘Oh, God, Dani!’ I lower my voice as the eyes of the solitary staff member flick our way. ‘My sex drought isn’t your problem.’
‘No, but I would like to see it taken care of, and Dante is perfect hot fling material.’ She gives me a wink and a little nudge in the ribs. ‘It’s about time you put that hot bod to good use again.’
‘Dani.’
She laughs properly now, her eyes alive, her stress of seconds before momentarily gone. ‘Hey, I’m just looking out for my bestie. You have a week off work, a week to remember just how fun life can be if you relax a little, enjoy yourself... And, if my cousin can help with that, I’m all for it.’
‘I’m so glad you feel your wedding is a chance for me to get laid again.’
‘Well, what can I say?’ She plants her palm against her chest and bats her lashes at me innocently. ‘I’m nothing if not generous.’
I roll my eyes and shake my head at her, my laugh bubbling up and suppressing the nagging guilt for keeping last night’s encounter to myself. ‘So let me get this straight—Cousin Dante is permitted but older brother Rafael is...’
I can’t quite finish. I don’t even know what possessed me to ask. Liar.
‘Definitely not.’
‘Because?’
‘Because my darling brother leaves a trail of broken hearts in his wake and I don’t want yours to be next.’
‘Fair enough.’ Though my frown tells her just how odd I find it all. ‘And that’s not the case with Dante?’
‘Not at all. He’s...he’s just different.’ She waves a hand at me in dismissal. ‘You’ll see what I mean when you meet him.’
I shake my head even more. Dani is Dani. You’d think I’d be used to her by now, but she still manages to surprise me.
Our Little Secret Page 3