by Mary Lyons
And, quite honestly, she told herself with a grin as she turned on the shower, what did fixing him a simple breakfast matter when compared to their wonderful night of utter bliss? And the fact that he was clearly intending to stay here, with her, for at least the rest of today was enough to set her heart positively fizzing with joy.
Caught up in the whirlwind of what appeared to be Antonio’s idea of how to conduct a shopping expedition, Gina found herself feeling totally dazed by the time they returned to the car.
Driving around the town of Ipswich, situated on the banks of the River Orwell, he’d been particularly interested in viewing the ancient buildings of the old East Anglian town.
‘I was too busy, yesterday, to appreciate the local architecture,’ he’d explained, insisting on stopping the car, in the middle of the busy Saturday traffic, to admire the highly ornate plasterwork on some of the old houses.
‘Well, it may be interesting. But I think we’re going to be arrested any minute if we don’t get out of here,’ she’d told him, flinching at the noise of angry horns and bellows of rage from the other vehicles jammed in the narrow street behind them.
Hurriedly directing him to the car park in the centre of the town, near the Butter Market, she’d found herself being dragged around the various shops and boutiques at what seemed the speed of light. However, it had given her an opportunity to pop into a supermarket and stock up with some basic groceries.
Antonio’s idea of ‘shopping’, together with his imperious manner—and, she suspected, his outstanding good looks—seemed to bring assistants running at the double in practically every shop they entered. And while he might not be the easiest customer to deal with he sure as heck was a fast one!
‘Are you certain that you’ve done enough shopping for one day?’ she queried sarcastically now, as they loaded what seemed like a mountain of bags on to the back seat of the car.
‘Possibly not—but that will have to do,’ he said, merely grinning at the heavy irony in her voice as he settled into the driver’s seat, impatiently drumming his fingers on the wheel as he waited for her to do up her seat belt. ‘Do you spend much of your life shopping?’
‘Good heavens, no!’ she muttered, wrestling with the thick webbing, whose buckle was obstinately refusing to fit into its slot. ‘I’m one of those freaks of nature who absolutely loathes having to trail around shops. As far as I’m concerned it’s total purgatory—and an amazing waste of time.’
He laughed, switching on the engine, as she at last succeeded in fixing her seat belt, and drawing the vehicle out into the heavy Saturday morning traffic.
‘If that is so, you must be the only woman of my acquaintance, my dear Gina, who does not spend at least half her life in a shopping arcade!’
However, once they’d arrived back at Bradgate Manor, it seemed that Antonio had programmed the rest of the day as firmly as he’d arranged their trip to Ipswich. And Gina, who was used to making her own decisions, was amazed to find herself meekly agreeing to his plans.
Having noted, on the day of his arrival, the presence of an elderly mare in the stable next to Pegasus, he had nodded understandingly when she’d explained that she kept the old horse specifically as a companion for the other animal.
And so, on their return from town, he imperiously decided that they would saddle up the two horses and take them out for a short ride through the bridle paths of the surrounding countryside. But of course, as she might have guessed, Antonio had no intention of allowing her to ride Pegasus.
‘This old mare is far more suitable for you,’ he said firmly, merely grinning at the scowl on her face as he gave her a quick lift up into the saddle.
‘I don’t see why I can’t ride my own horse, for heaven’s sake!’ she grumbled as he sprang lightly up on to the back of the larger animal.
‘Because, my darling, I cannot face the prospect of nearly having a heart attack, like I did on my arrival! And if this large brute thinks that he’s going to be able to bolt back to his stable with me on his back—he’s going to find that he’s very much mistaken! And you must admit,’ he added with a laugh, ‘I am far too tall to ride the mare. With my feet practically on the ground, I would look a fool, no?’
‘Fair enough,’ she agreed. Although, gazing at the tall figure sitting so confidently astride the large horse, wearing a casual short-sleeved light blue shirt and a pair of tight blue jeans which he’d purchased earlier this morning, Gina found herself thinking that he looked totally magnificent—and even more sexually attractive than ever as he cantered off down the lane in front of her.
As they rode happily together through the fields and woods surrounding the village, Gina honestly couldn’t remember when she’d ever felt quite so happy. It seemed difficult to comprehend that it was only two days ago that Antonio had suddenly turned up out of the blue. However strange it might seem, it really did feel as if he’d been there for ever.
Primarily, of course, they seemed to have so much to talk about. And, then again, they had so much in common. Since they’d both lost their parents when young, and had been raised by elderly grandparents, he clearly understood her recollection of times in the past when she’d been incredibly lonely, despite the loving care and attention of her grandparents.
‘I was luckier than you, my dear Gina, since I had two younger sisters as companions,’ he mused quietly as they dismounted from their horses to enable her to show him around the ancient village church. ‘But, since I was the eldest child by some years, I can well understand the problems you faced.’
And, of course, as he talked about taking over the running of the business following his uncle’s death, she realised that they also shared a very strong bond—of having been raised by families intimately involved in the wine trade.
‘I know what you mean,’ she murmured reflectively. ‘Although our backgrounds are very different, of course, there are some important aspects which we have in common.’
‘Indeed there are!’ His eyes gleamed with amusement. ‘The fact that we both find shopping a boring occupation is undoubtedly one of them. And let us not forget one or two others—such as our extraordinary compatibility in bed, for instance, not to mention…’
‘Oh—for heaven’s sake!’ she muttered, her lips curving into a slightly embarrassed grin. She wasn’t used to discussing such matters so openly and freely, and couldn’t seem to prevent a deep flush rising up over her pale cheeks.
‘Ah, querida! I love teasing you. You rise to the bait every time!’ He grinned as they remounted their horses. ‘Where to now?’
‘I thought we’d go down this part of the main road, and then through a gate over there,’ she said, raising a hand to point it out to him. ‘It’s the entrance to an old bridle path leading back to the Manor, and will give us a chance for a good gallop before reaching home.’
‘Bueno.’ He nodded, leading the way down the road in front of her.
Just as he was leaning down to open the gate Gina became aware of the sound of a large limousine approaching them. However, after making sure that she drew her horse on to the verge, she was ignoring the approaching vehicle when she heard someone calling out her name. Turning around in the saddle, she immediately recognised the huge and very grand, if decidedly ancient, Rolls Royce.
‘Hello, darling! It’s a lovely day for a ride, isn’t it?’ her godmother, Joyce Frazer, called out through the open window at the rear of the vehicle, before imperiously instructing her chauffeur to halt the car.
‘Yes, it’s a glorious day,’ Gina agreed, walking her horse up to the vehicle as the chauffeur came around to open the door, allowing her godmother to step out into the road.
‘Well…you’re certainly looking very well, darling,’ Joyce told her, before turning her eyes towards Antonio, who, having opened the gate, was clearly waiting for Gina to join him.
‘Good heavens!’ the older woman exclaimed, her eyes widening as she viewed the tall figure sitting astride his horse some yards away. �
��What an extraordinarily handsome man,’ she added with a slight laugh. ‘Where on earth did you find him?’
‘He…er…he’s been staying at the Manor for a few days. He is over here from Spain. On business,’ Gina mumbled, bitterly aware of a flush spreading up over her cheeks beneath the amused, shrewd gaze of her godmother.
‘Well…I clearly mustn’t interrupt any “business” discussions,’ Joyce murmured, her eyes twinkling with laughter. ‘But I shall expect you to come and see me next week, and tell me all about this new friend of yours,’ she said, getting back in the car and ordering her chauffeur to drive on.
Just my luck! Gina told herself gloomily as she rode back to join Antonio.
She knew that when she next saw Joyce, her godmother would have the whole story out of her—in five seconds flat! And Gina hadn’t cared for the way the chauffeur had been following their exchange with some considerable interest.
He’ll be down the pub, telling his mates—and then the whole village will know all about it! That was the trouble with country life. Everyone knew everyone else’s business!
However, after telling Antonio that she’d just been talking to her godmother—and making a mental note to keep well out of Joyce’s way for as long as possible—she did her best to put the whole incident out of her mind. It was a lovely day, and she was having far too much fun to worry about providing fodder for local gossip.
Indeed, by the time they returned to the house Gina thought that very far from being a stranger with whom she’d only been briefly acquainted in the past, Antonio now seemed an old and best friend whom she’d known all her life.
Which was why she hadn’t the slightest hesitation in rapping him quickly over the knuckles with her wooden spoon when she caught him dipping a finger into the cucumber and dill sauce!
‘Cut that out!’ she told him with mock severity, moving the bowl out of his reach.
Clearly if she didn’t keep a beady eye on him there’d be no sauce to go with the cold trout, which she’d cooked earlier, while he’d been having breakfast.
‘Kindly remember,’ she added sternly, ‘There’s no sampling of the food in my kitchen!’
‘Umm…it tastes delicious,’ he grinned at her. ‘What are we having after the trout?’
‘Oh, Lord—I don’t know.’ She shrugged. ‘Will cheese do?’
‘Cheese, yes. But what else?’
Putting her hands on her hips, Gina surveyed him with mock severity. ‘Don’t you ever think of anything other than food?’
‘But, yes—of course I do!’ He gave a low rumble of sensual laughter. ‘I think of making love to you. And then maybe some food. And then I think of making love to you again!’
‘Honestly! You’re hopeless,’ she muttered with a grin, turning back to continue whipping up the sauce.
But it was proving to be extremely difficult to concentrate on the job in hand. Her whole mind…her whole being…seemed caught up in the strong attraction he had for her, her mind filled with memories of the wild, totally mind-blowing way they’d made love, both last night and this morning. But…was it merely sex? Or did her feeling about him lie much deeper than that?
With her errant mind filled with images of their naked bodies lying entwined together, she wasn’t able to prevent a flush rising up over her cheeks as he slipped his arms around her waist. As he pulled her back against his tall figure, she was left in doubt of his arousal as his hands swept up to firmly cup her full breasts.
‘You see?’ he breathed, lowering his dark head to press his lips to her neck. ‘I cannot resist you, my darling—or your delicious food,’ he added, holding her strongly clasped to him with one hand while reaching forward to dip his finger in the sauce once again.
‘OK—that’s it!’ She laughed, breaking away from his embrace to hand him a white china bowl. ‘Out of my kitchen—and don’t come back until that bowl is full of strawberries from the kitchen garden.’
‘Ah—no querida…’
‘Go on! Shoo!’ she told him firmly, laughingly pushing his reluctant figure towards the kitchen door. ‘I’ve got some more cooking to do, and I still haven’t had time to go upstairs and change out of these jodhpurs. So—off with you! Right now!’
‘You’re a hard woman, Gina,’ he groaned dramatically as he opened the door.
‘Absolutamente!’ she agreed with a wide grin. ‘And if a certain man of my acquaintance doesn’t do as he’s told, any idea of lunch—or making love, for that matter—will be strictly off the menu!’
Antonio might be an impatient man, and, she suspected, potentially difficult and tricky to live with, but you had to hand it to him, Gina told herself as the light lunch she’d prepared came to its end, he was certainly a pleasure to cook for.
Clearly interested in the combination of different herbs in the sauce, he’d taken an appreciative and lively interest in the various dishes which had been placed in front of him. Even that good old English standby, fresh strawberries and cream.
And he was looking very tasty, too, she thought, her eyes drifting over his short-sleeved shirt, open at the neck to display the curly black hairs at the base of his throat…before almost laughing out loud at just how much she seemed to have changed over the past few days.
Before his sudden reappearance in her life she’d never have dreamed of referring to any man in such a way. And yet…well, there was no getting away from the fact that when he was anywhere near her she could feel herself positively fizzing with excitement.
Despite trying to keep a clear mind, she couldn’t seem to think of anything other than the delights and pleasures of his hard, muscular body. In fact, she appeared to be totally enslaved by the rampant, highly potent aura of raw sex appeal which seemed to ooze from every pore of his impressively handsome figure.
And then, recalling the question she’d asked herself earlier, in the kitchen, she realised with a shock that it seemed she really had fallen in love with Antonio.
Not the fairy-tale version of love, which had so consumed her much younger, adolescent self. No, the fact was that they were currently ‘in lust’, and practically unable to keep their hands off each other. And, most surprisingly of all, this was definitely not the way she’d ever expected to feel when truly in love with another human being.
It seemed to consist of a total certainty that Antonio was the one man for her. And that this fully mature, deep, emotional response had always been waiting for her, just out of sight, for a very long time. Ever since she’d first set eyes on him, all those years ago.
‘Gina…?’
‘Oh, sorry—I was daydreaming,’ she muttered, before quickly making a determined effort to try and pull herself together.
Rising from her chair, she began stacking their plates on the sideboard before their removal to the kitchen. ‘Would you like some coffee?’
‘No,’ he murmured, after a quick glance down at the thin gold watch on his wrist. ‘No—I think it is now time for us to have a siesta!’
‘A siesta?’ She gazed at him in surprise. ‘But we don’t have a rest after lunch here in England.’
‘That is clearly a great mistake,’ he announced with a wolfish grin as he rose from the table, adamantly refusing to let her wash up the dishes. ‘Unlike myself—they can wait!’ he added firmly, walking slowly towards her.
Once again, the sharp, insistent tug of sexual awareness seemed to be causing havoc with her nervous system. It was as if she was paralysed. Incapable of movement. Trapped by the gleam of those glittering dark eyes and unable to tear her gaze away from the sensual curve of his mouth as he came to a halt beside her.
‘I prefer your hair to flow free…’ he murmured, sliding a warm hand around the back of her neck while he removed the combs pinning the heavy knot to the crown of her head.
Shivering helplessly as he slowly ran his long, tanned fingers through the rippling stream of her pale blonde hair, she could feel his hands sliding down her back, pressing her firmly up against him as he l
owered his dark head, brushing his lips gently over her brow, before trailing them slowly down to the corner of her quivering mouth. So slowly that she was breathless and trembling, as if in the grip of a fever, before he eventually possessed her lips with a force and passion which swiftly drove her almost frantic with desire.
Was this really her true self? Gina wondered bemusedly as she felt his hands swiftly sliding her light cotton skirt up over her thighs. Had she really become this wanton creature, exulting in her power to arouse him as he gripped her tightly and lifted her up against him? Utterly shameless as she coiled her arms about his neck, winding her legs about his hips and revelling in the exciting movements of his tall body as he carried her upstairs to the bedroom.
‘And don’t tell me this is not a good idea…’ he growled, setting her lightly down on her feet.
‘I wouldn’t dream of it!’ she gasped.
‘Bueno!’ He gave a deep, husky grunt of laughter, before impatiently pulling her towards him and once more possessing her lips in a kiss of devastating intensity.
It seemed as if they were both firmly in the grip of the same madness, feverishly stripping the clothes from one another before sinking down on to the bed in a wild tangle of arms and legs, totally overcome by a primitive force that was clearly beyond their control.
And then…then there was no more time to think, as she found herself going up in flames, moaning feverishly as their raw and untamed, overpowering hunger and need for one another drove her almost to the edge of sanity, before he buried himself deep inside her, the hard, pulsating rhythm gradually building to a violent explosion as they merged to become one entity in a wild, ecstatic torrent of passion and desire.
Much later, lying warm and drowsily replete, Gina put out a hand to touch Antonio—only to find that he was no longer in the bed beside her.