Alicia didn’t know where she’d had the confidence to get off that bed so coolly, put on her skirt and leave the room without the awful shaking gripping her body. What had just happened to her…was so huge…that she couldn’t acknowledge it or dwell on it. She stood under the hot shower, letting the water sluice down over her skin. She didn’t even have the energy to wash her hair and had to keep twisting when the water hit a still too sensitive patch of skin. She remembered the feel of his hand on her scar, the vulnerability she’d felt, and hurriedly stopped that train of thought.
She couldn’t believe that he hadn’t thought of protection and, to be honest, she was surprised that she’d only thought of it in that split second at the door. He seemed like the kind of man who would be concerned about something so fundamental, especially when he’d been so adamant when she’d accused him of fathering Mel’s baby. He’d been certain, and only a man who protected himself would be that certain. Not that she’d given him the benefit of the doubt, of course, she had to concede.
And, had he seen her tears? Did he know that he’d moved her to tears with his body? Moved her to tears because she’d never experienced such pure, primal pleasure in her life? Because for the last year she’d cut off an emotional part of herself that she’d thought had been lost for ever. She’d had to, in order to survive.
But just now, here, this man had made her feel again. She remonstrated with herself, she’d wanted to feel alive again and now she didn’t know if she could take it. She’d played a game that she’d thought, stupidly, she’d be sophisticated enough to handle but it had shown her nothing but her weakness.
Alicia towelled herself quickly and then climbed under the covers of her bed. Her body still throbbed and pulsed in secret places. And, even though she’d just washed, the scent of him lingered.
Before she fell into a sleep of physical exhaustion, her head in turmoil, the lingering thought remained, How was it possible that this man, above any other had given her back something so precious? When another man, just like him, had taken it away…
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘I’VE booked everyone into a small boutique hotel for the next two weeks. It’s owned by a friend of mine from France. He would have been here to host us himself but he and his wife are having another baby any day now.’
‘You’re talking about Xavier Salgado-Lezille?’
Dante nodded at Derek O’Brien, who shook his head mock mournfully. ‘They had twins only a couple of years ago…’ He pretended to shudder and winked at Alicia who forced a smile. ‘I’m glad ours are all grown up, that’s all I can say.’
His wife laughed and rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t be scaring them, Derek. You are the quintessential doting father of four girls; you’re fooling no one.’
Then she said in an aside to Alicia, ‘All the girls are busy this summer working or getting ready for college; otherwise they’d be here in force to support us…’
Alicia murmured something polite and looked out of the window of the people carrier and swallowed an inexplicable lump in her throat, wishing she could tune out the conversation, hating feeling so emotional. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—meet Dante’s laser like gaze opposite her and wished she’d worn her sunglasses.
They were on the way to their Cape Town hotel which was in the trendy area of Camps Bay, near the beach. And she’d finally understood what Dante had been talking about when he’d mentioned the media interest—the airport in Milan had been mobbed. She’d even recognised the faces of the reporter and photographer who she had contacted that awful first night. And, when they’d arrived into Cape Town, another scrum had been waiting for them. She’d been too scared to do anything but cling on to Dante’s hand as he had guided them through the crush, ignoring questions. Alicia had felt as if they’d see through her in a second. That someone would call out, What on earth are you doing with her?
She could feel some of the tension ebbing away already as they passed through the pretty city, and she’d been so relieved to find them sharing Dante’s plane with Derek and chatty Patricia. But she knew there wouldn’t be much respite as he had said they would be sharing a room here. She’d managed to avoid any meaningful contact today but had caught Dante’s eye several times and, along with the inevitable heat flaring between them, had been a look—a look that said she wouldn’t escape.
As soon as they arrived, Alex, Dante’s assistant, appeared, apologized to Alicia and commandeered Dante for the rest of the day to set things up. Alicia faked her dismay and Dante gave her a very pointed look as he walked away. She breathed a huge sigh of relief and went to explore their suite. The luggage had been delivered already and Alicia shook her head wryly. This was what extreme wealth did. The suite was huge, with a deck balcony that looked out over the beautiful beaches of Camps Bay. It was simply stunning.
Alicia felt quite emotional as she took it in, thinking about the difference between here and where she’d been up until a few weeks ago.
She busied herself unpacking and decided a couple of hours later to go downstairs and check out the surroundings. She was standing at the reception desk waiting for a map when she heard a voice behind her and it sent shivers of recognition down her spine.
‘Well, well, well, if it isn’t little Alicia Parker. Isn’t the world the smallest place?’
Alicia turned around slowly. A tall woman stood behind her, long black glossy hair, an over-made-up face, hard blue eyes. Her stomach fell. Of all the places and all the people. She couldn’t even pretend to smile—what was the point? There was no love lost between them. As student nurses and then nurses together, this woman had fought a continuous battle with Alicia, whether it had been in exams or going for jobs.
Alicia had had to give up trying to be friendly and make her see that she wasn’t interested in being her number one competitor. And then, unbeknownst to Alicia until far too late, it had finally culminated in the ultimate competition—for a man—except in the end they’d both suffered equally.
‘Serena Cox.’
The woman smiled nastily and gestured to a small rotund man at the other end of the reception desk. ‘Serena Gore-Black now. I’m married to Jeremy.’
Alicia looked at the man fleetingly. She knew he was from Dante’s company in London. She’d exchanged pleasantries with him at Lake Como; they’d talked a bit about Melanie but Alicia had been careful not to mention Paolo and he seemed not to have heard anything. She couldn’t believe this twist of fateful coincidence; it was too cruel.
‘That’s…nice.’
‘And you’re here with?’
‘Dante D’Aquanni.’
Alicia got no satisfaction from the momentary flash of un-disguised envy in Serena’s eyes.
‘Really?’ Serena’s eyes did a once over, taking in Alicia’s understated, yet obviously expensive clothes. ‘You’ve done well for yourself, haven’t you?’
Alicia smiled tightly. ‘I really should be getting back—’
Serena’s husband came over to join them. He smiled at Alicia and she had to smile back. He seemed like a nice man, she thought again, apart from his wife.
‘Darling, I can’t believe I’ve run into Alicia Parker…or should I say D’Aquanni?’
Alicia turned puce. ‘No, it’s Parker.’ As if!
‘I’m sure it is.’ There was a gleam of triumph in Serena’s eyes. She looked at her husband. ‘We used to work together in the Royal a few years ago.’
Jeremy made a polite noise and Alicia fairly sagged back against the desk when they finally walked away. This was not good. Serena was a prize mischief-maker. And she knew far too much.
When Dante returned to the suite that evening, Alicia was ready and waiting for dinner. He barely cast her a quick glance as he shed his clothes on the way to the shower. She looked away hurriedly and went to stand out on the balcony. It was artfully secluded and kept private from prying eyes.
When she heard him emerge behind her she didn’t turn around, not wanting to see him getting dr
essed, but what was she going to do tonight? She felt panic rise. Because if he so much as looked at her she was going to find it hard to resist. A treacherous sexual tension had been building inside her all day, despite her head willing her body to behave.
Dante buttoned his shirt and looked at Alicia’s slim, taut back. The momentary memory of that scar just above her right buttock made him feel curiously protective. For a second. And then he quashed it. For all he knew, he told himself with something that felt like dogged obstinacy, it could just be a story…He hadn’t forgotten the way she’d so coolly laid herself bare for him just afterwards. It had jarred with him then, and jarred again now.
She wore a cream silk dress, it was tight fitting and ruched, emphasising her curves, and suddenly desire was heavy and potent in him. He wanted to stop dressing and go over there, take her hair down from its neat chignon, pull down that zip…His hands stilled for a second, desire coming close to winning out, but then he had to stop. They couldn’t. There would be plenty of time later.
Alicia felt Dante’s eyes boring into her back. She still fought against turning around, too scared to look, and then the spell was broken by his curt voice.
‘I’m ready, let’s go.’
She turned around and was glad to see him dressed. She walked in and picked up a wrap. His eyes drifted down from her face and over her body, which heated up with awful predictability.
‘Am I OK?’
‘You’ll do.’
Well, there was a backhanded compliment if ever there was one, she thought, bringing her back to earth with a bump.
They walked to the door and Dante was about to allow her to precede him when he stopped her and looked very pointedly at her feet. She looked down, confused, and saw that she’d forgotten to put her shoes on. He had her head in a complete tizzy.
‘Sorry…’ She blushed furiously and found them, wincing a little as she put them on. They were cream silk, a slightly darker shade than the dress, with little jewels on the front. Killer heels. And they hurt like hell. When she stood up Dante had to suck in a breath, they pushed everything out that was meant to tease and entice a man. Her bottom and her breasts. He’d never noticed before how erotic it could be to watch a woman put on shoes.
She walked carefully towards him and he shut the door again for a second. She looked at him warily, ‘What…? We’re going to be late.’
He pulled her in to him, the heels gave her added height, bringing her closer to his mouth.
Bending down and capturing her head with a hand in her hair, he kissed her. Alicia put her hand on his wrist and felt his pulse, his skin. His mouth moved over hers and all of last night’s passion and force came back instantly. She moaned, half in despair and half in heat-induced lust as she swayed in towards him and her mouth opened, and he took full advantage. Just as she’d feared, her iron-clad intentions were not so iron-clad in the forcefield of this man.
It was the burning feel of his arousal against her that woke her up and she pulled back with effort. She knew her eyes must be bright, her cheeks flushed. She felt hot and tingly all over.
‘Dante…I’m not going to sleep with you again. This wasn’t part of the arrangement.’ There was some kind of desperation in her voice. ‘Please. I’m just here as your hostess to make things look good.’
Dante shook his head, his eyes flashing. ‘The arrangement has changed. You’re here now as my partner in every sense of the word. Why would you want to deny yourself this?’ He placed a hand on her heart, just below her breasts; it was thumping out of control.
He shook his head again. ‘It’s just sex, cara—amazing sex. We don’t have to like each other…or respect each other in the morning.’
Inside, Alicia shrivelled up and died at his cynical words. At least Raul Carro had couched his desire in a fake haze of love. Dante pulled no punches and, in a way, she should be grateful for that, but still she was determined to hold out in whatever way possible, because she could not endure or cope with the kind of pleasure he could wring from her body again.
Tight-lipped, she reached past him and opened the door, stepping out into the corridor. He followed and looked at her back, walking away from him. It had been on the tip of his tongue a few minutes ago to say something about last night, about not using protection, but now he knew he couldn’t. He wasn’t ready to face up to that fact yet himself—that she’d made him so hot that he’d forgotten—and, if he explained, he didn’t want her to read anything into it. And she would. Because she was a gold-digger and arch manipulator.
So why did that sound a little hollow to his ears now? He took in her rigid profile as they descended in the lift and reached for her hand. She looked up at him warily and he had a sudden picture of her about to walk out of the door in bare feet. The expression in her eyes now and that made him feel very strange. The bell pinged and they walked out.
The few wives and partners and children had also arrived today but when they emerged out to the dining area—on a decked platform which was somehow amazingly suspended over the beach—Alicia was still taken aback. There now seemed to be way more people and children running around in between legs and feet. It was a far cry from the cosy, protected intimacy of Lake Como.
And, almost immediately, she caught Serena’s eye in the distance. The woman gave her another cold once-over and took in the man who still held her hand. Alicia’s tightened on his instinctively, as if to protect herself from harm. Dante looked down. ‘What is it?’
She looked up and shook her head. ‘Nothing…nothing.’
The dinner itself was somewhat chaotic but quite pleasant. Patricia came and found her and sat down as they had their coffee as people were breaking away from the table. ‘Well, my dear, quite a difference from last week, isn’t it?’
Alicia smiled and nodded. Some of the crowd had gone into the bar behind them, which was open at one end to the warm night air. With dim lighting and soft jazz playing, it was all very seductive. Alicia sighed deeply and, bizarrely, felt a little relaxed.
‘So, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you two meet?’ Patricia looked at Alicia with her intelligent and kind gaze.
Alicia felt such a fraud. She searched for some way to fudge the truth. ‘Well, it wasn’t exactly conventional.’
Patricia smiled a conspiratorial smile. ‘With a man like Dante I’m not surprised, my dear. He’s not exactly the conventional type, is he?’
Alicia’s eyes snagged on the man with deadly inevitability. He stood in the bar in a throng of people, proud and resplendent in dark trousers and a light shirt. No, he wasn’t. He was complex and hard, yet in bed, or when he kissed her…Her heart clenched so tight for a moment that she had to close her eyes briefly. She finally regained control and looked back at Patricia and shook her head. ‘No, he’s not.’
‘I’d like to tell you something, Alicia, and I’m sure Derek won’t mind…’
Alicia looked at her curiously, glad to have the focus taken off her and Dante.
‘If it wasn’t for this merger, Derek’s company might have folded.’
Alicia frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
Patricia shuddered slightly. ‘I mean that he almost went bankrupt. His company took a big hit in recent years with the downturn in the property market and he was too proud to accept help…’
She looked at Alicia and couldn’t hide the glimmer of moisture in her eyes. Alicia’s heart went out to her as she touched her arm. She automatically thought of their four daughters, the joviality that Derek obviously hid behind.
‘Derek helped Dante once a long time ago, gave him his first big contract, because he was too busy himself to take it on. And Dante’s never forgotten. Derek isn’t investing half of what Dante and Buchanen are in this merger, but Dante doesn’t care. He’s carrying the deficit. And, with this merger, he’s going to be able to give Derek back his company…’
Alicia reeled with that knowledge. ‘I had no idea.’
The older woman smiled a watery smil
e. ‘Oh, I’m not surprised, my dear. Dante would want to protect Derek’s reputation at all costs.’
Patricia laughed then. ‘Listen to me! Let’s go and join the men; some of those women are looking far too interested in Dante’s considerable charms and, while I don’t doubt he’s only got eyes for you, let’s not give them a chance to knock you off your pedestal.’
Alicia stood up, still reeling and thought hysterically, Knock her off her pedestal? She’d started out from near enough the gutter as far as Dante was concerned, so where would she have to fall to?
In love…
That stopped her in her tracks. And she only moved forward after a second—jerkily. No way. It couldn’t be possible.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
‘I’M GOING to go up to bed.’
Dante’s jaw clenched and for a moment he looked as if he was going to order her to stay. But then he just nodded.
‘Thank you.’
The fact that she’d thanked him, as if he were some kind of gaoler, rankled with him. She turned to go making her way through the crush, and Dante only registered then how pale her face had been, her features tight. He remembered her deep, heavy sleep that first night in the villa, the fact that she’d been shot…and a whole host of unwelcome feelings started to flood through him.
Alicia opened the door to the suite with unchecked relief. Her head throbbed mercilessly and she kicked off her shoes, gasping in pain as she did. Her heels were bleeding. She winced as she looked down. Haste made her clumsy; she wanted to be in bed and asleep by the time Dante came in. She couldn’t bear it if he touched her tonight, not after what had just sprung to life in her mind, her heart. Patricia’s words resounded in her head—the truth revealed of the depth of Dante’s loyalty to a friend in need.
Could she possibly, fatalistically, be falling in love with the man? And if she was, had none of the pain she’d endured with Raul Carro taught her anything?
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