by Joanne Rock
In that moment, Giselle felt all her adrenaline overload channel into a new, fierce protectiveness for Hugh. A desire to be there by his side to nurture him in countless countries. Instead of making love in the exotic ambiance of the Pleasure Parthenon, they could be a little wild in far flung foreign deserts and sultry jungles.
A group of young men passed on skateboards, whistling and shouting for them to get a room. Giselle didn’t care. Hugh didn’t even seem to notice. The man’s ability to focus was downright amazing. And truly gratifying when she happened to be at the center of all that intense attention.
Now to convince him she wanted this for both of them so he didn’t pull some altruistic macho crap like her brothers and decide to plant himself stateside anyway.
“It wouldn’t be just for you. I’ve thought about studying overseas before, I just never had the nerve. Now that I’ve proven to myself I can hold my own whether or not I’ve got Nico or one of my other brothers looking out for me, I feel ready to take on the world.” Her hands gravitated to his chest, slid up to his shoulders. “Although I have to say it would probably be more fun if you were there with me.”
Tenderness and heat mingled in his eyes. Maybe even a little awe.
“I love you, Giselle.” His voice rasped on the words as if he’d never used them before. “You’re damn right it will be more fun if we’re together. I can’t believe what a lucky bastard I am to have you, but if you come with me, I swear to you I’ll do everything I can to make you happy.”
Heart palpitations. Big time. All those close-to-the-surface emotions that ran in her family simmered over in the form of little happy tears in the corners of her eyes.
“You know, I think I could blather on for ten minutes and still not manage to say as much as you can in a handful of words.” She framed his face with her hands. “I love you, too, Hugh. And I’m not letting you leave South Beach without me.”
He cracked a smile, a rare occurrence for this man who usually distanced himself from emotions to observe. “After seeing you in action today, how can I argue?”
“That’s right. You don’t want to mess with me, Duncan.” She smiled through happy tears, Hugh’s face a watery blur. She couldn’t wait to pull him into her world of messy emotions, to experience so much joy with him.
“Your brother thought if I ever needed to go into some place really unstable that you might be persuaded to stay with family in Italy. Or this race-car driver brother of yours who apparently shows up in every corner of Europe. What do you think about that?”
“You talked to Nico about this?” She moved closer, hoping the time for talk was almost over.
“I think his words were something to the effect of me being a dumb-ass if I didn’t snag you while I had the chance.”
“My brothers have their moments.” She smiled. Sniffed away her tears. “And to answer your question, I could definitely be persuaded to pull occasional stints in Naples. I have relatives who can cook me into a corner with one hand tied behind their backs.” Leaning closer, she arched up on her toes to whisper. “Besides, I think we’ve got the phone sex thing down pretty well now. We should be okay if we have to be apart a few days at a time.”
Hugh’s response was immediate and deliciously obvious against her belly. He flexed his fingers into her hips, molding her to him. “The phone sex is definitely good. Those calls of yours might be the death of me.”
“Then you’d better make sure you stock up on the real thing before you take off for parts unknown.” She toyed with the strap of her tank top, nudged it closer to the edge of her shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to be the death of you.”
“The real thing?” Hugh’s gaze ran up and down the length of the street. Searching. “Maybe we’d better find your brother’s truck and get the hell out of here so we can start stocking up right now.”
“Since when are you an impatient man?” She pointed out the black pickup a few cars down.
Wasting no time, Hugh tugged her with him. Right by his side. “Since I met a hot-as-a-pistol chef determined to seduce me with frosting.” He unlocked the door and levered it open, his green gaze smoldering and steamy and so full of love she wondered how she hadn’t seen it before. “Hop in, lady, and I’ll take you for the ride of your life.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7058-3
GIRL GONE WILD
Copyright © 2004 by Joanne Rock.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.eHarlequin.com
*Single in South Beach