One-Click Buy: November Harlequin Presents

by Susan Stephens

  ‘Shall I kiss you?’ he suggested, brushing her lips with his mouth. ‘Would you like that, Carrie?’

  ‘Do you expect me to answer that?’

  He deepened the kiss slowly, barely touching her with his hands. She was so comfortable on her grassy bed and the light was gentle. The only sound disturbing them was the call of the turtle doves and even that was muted. But as she lay safe in Nico’s arms, Carrie shivered as if a dark cloud passed over them. Making love in the open air was exciting, but not without risk of discovery, and the fact that Nico knew no boundaries frightened her.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  NICO GAVE Carrie no time to think before catching her to him and kissing her deeply, pressing her to the ground with renewed urgency. It was an urgency that infected them both. Wrapping her arms around him, she drew him closer still, loving the warm, firm touch of him beneath her hands, and very soon she was drowning in that warmth and in Nico’s clean, familiar scent. ‘Are you sure no one will see us?’

  ‘They might hear us…In fact, there’s a good chance they will.’

  ‘I’m being serious, Nico,’ Carrie warned him.

  ‘You can make as much noise as you like,’ he promised her.

  ‘What makes you think I want to?’

  ‘I know you do…I know you will…’

  He smiled against her mouth, and she was lost from that moment on. Her mind knew nothing but Nico…Nico’s scent, his touch, his voice…He was going to make love to her; this time Nico was really going to make love to her.

  But then he surprised her, as he always could, pulling back, holding her at arm’s length to smile his irresistible smile into her eyes. ‘I’ve just thought of something.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘This is your chance to walk naked through the water like a nymph. You wouldn’t miss out on that, would you?’

  ‘The cold water,’ Carrie reminded him, staring at the tranquil surface of the lake. ‘After you…’ She should have known better. Nico didn’t hesitate. Stripped naked in seconds, he turned away from her and dived in.

  ‘Take your clothes off and join me,’ he challenged, treading water.

  Carrie gazed around anxiously. She followed him tentatively, arms crossed against her body. As she had expected the water was freezing. It was all or nothing. Ducking her head beneath the surface, she rose up, spluttering and exclaiming with shock, before launching herself into a vigorous breaststroke.

  Nico didn’t seem to notice how cold the water was as he sculled lazily by her side. His powerful arms sliced through the water with no effort at all and, when they reached the shallows, he reached out and pulled her to him. ‘That’s far enough,’ he said, putting his hands round her waist to hold her close to him.

  Their lips were touching as he lifted her and her legs were weightless. Before she knew it they were wrapped around his waist.

  The water was her pillow and as she leaned back she gasped as Nico sank deep inside her. Did sensation come any more extreme than this? The chill of the water surrounding her and the heat of Nico inside her….

  The lake undulated around them as they began to move. It cooled them and supported them as they became lost in the grip of pleasure, wrapped in each other’s arms. And when she was exhausted Nico carried her back to shore. Laying her gently on the ground, he made this pledge against her lips: ‘Next time in bed, Carrie.’ And then he laughed softly as if that in itself would be an adventure.

  ‘Do you think?’ Carrie murmured sleepily. She had never felt so content, or so relaxed. And it was all because she felt secure and certain that Nico had changed. He had changed for all of them, but especially for his child.

  They spent the whole night together. And in bed, as Nico pointed out to Carrie with amusement…

  When she woke it was to find Nico with his face turned towards her on the pillows. Smiling drowsily, she sighed with contentment as he laced his fingers through her hair and allowed it to fall in a shimmering cascade around her shoulders.

  ‘I love you so much,’ she murmured, reaching for him. Linking her arms around his neck, she drew him close, but was disappointed to feel him already restless. ‘Can’t we spend the whole day in bed?’ she begged seductively.

  ‘Another time, bellissima…’

  The way Nico spoke to her broke the mood in tiny pieces. In a rush all of Carrie’s insecurities returned. Nico didn’t love her. He loved his mouse, the cute little pet in his mind that was always there at his beck and call. To think anything else was crazy.

  But even pride wasn’t enough to stop her asking him, ‘Can’t you stay a bit longer?’ She badly needed a cuddle, some reassurance…But then she remembered his brother, Max, and the concern that had brought Nico racing to his brother’s side. ‘I’m sorry, I had forgotten—’

  ‘Forgotten what?’ he said, leaning up on one elbow to stare down at her.

  ‘I’d forgotten your brother Max.’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ he said, relaxing down again. For barely a minute.

  Carrie was sitting up in bed when Nico returned back from the shower. ‘I’ll see you later?’ She wanted an answer. The shadow that had been hovering over them the previous evening seemed to have settled on the room.

  ‘Of course you will,’ Nico said distractedly, easing riding breeches over his muscular thighs.

  ‘Are you going riding today?’ A silly question, but she hoped to prompt him into saying more.

  Nico’s reply was a faint smile.

  ‘Stay safe.’

  ‘You know I will,’ he said with his usual confidence. And then he came to her side to say goodbye, but he only dropped a kiss on his fingers and placed them on her lips.

  ‘You’re not planning to take any risks, are you?’ She couldn’t stop herself and was already braced to receive his impatient stare.

  ‘No.’

  What made him glance at her belly? He looked so tense she didn’t know if she could believe him. Reaching up, she stroked his face. The stubble was so rough and black even now when he’d just had a shave. It made him look dangerous and tough, and the knowledge that he liked to test himself made dread rise like bile in her throat. ‘Nico, what are you planning?’

  ‘Planning?’

  He refused to answer that and took hold of her hand instead. Bringing it to his lips, he kissed her fingertips, but she could tell that he was distracted. In his mind he had already left her, Carrie realised.

  She had wondered about all the flags and bunting strung from the castle battlements. When Princess Laura explained the reason for them Carrie’s earlier sense of dread increased. They were in honour of the Palio, the annual horse race through the old city. Men with loyalties to different ancient families gathered to pit themselves and their horses against each other. It was both exciting and dangerous to watch, Princess Laura had said, and so they would stand on the ramparts where they were certain to be safe from flying hooves.

  Apparently, the racetrack circled the main square and then wove through the narrow streets, which gave the crowds a grandstand view. The riders took far too many risks, Princess Laura had told her, because there was a lot at stake. The reward for the winner was nothing more than an old flag, but the real prize was honour and for that, men would risk their lives, she’d added with an accepting shrug.

  Nico’s was an ancient family, Carrie thought anxiously, the most ancient of all the families in Niroli. But, surely, he wouldn’t be involved? She had asked the princess, who had dismissed the idea out of hand, saying she would never allow a son of hers to take part in the Palio; it was far too dangerous.

  That had been the cue for Carrie’s heart to thump with alarm, and now she was alone in her room she could think of nothing else. How many years had it been since Nico had obeyed a direct order from his mother? She had almost worn a hole in the rug fretting about him. He had been wearing riding breeches when he had left her; what was she supposed to think? And how could he take part in such a dangerous race when he knew he was soon to be a fa
ther?

  He wouldn’t, Carrie assured herself. Nico might not love her sufficiently to tell her where he was going, but he would never take part in the Palio now he had discovered he had a child on the way.

  She was overcome with relief when he returned unexpectedly and followed him to the bathroom, watching him like a hawk as he sluiced his face, trying to detect the smallest clue that might point to him preparing for the race. But then she remembered that danger was commonplace for Nico and there would be no clues.

  ‘I’m sorry, am I intruding on your afternoon?’ he demanded mockingly when she hovered anxiously at his side.

  ‘Just tell me you wouldn’t—’

  ‘Wouldn’t what?’ Nico cut across her. His voice was muffled as he dried his face.

  ‘You wouldn’t expose yourself to danger?’

  Straightening up, he tossed the towel over the rail. ‘I’m not the one who’s pregnant, Carrie. I don’t have to sit with my feet up all day—’

  ‘And neither do I, Nico. And you know that’s not what I am talking about.’

  ‘What are you talking about? What’s on your mind, Carrie?’

  ‘Are you going to race in the Palio?’

  ‘And if I am?’

  ‘And if I don’t want you to?’ She was forced to move back as he moved past her into the bedroom.

  ‘I’d say you’d have to rethink.’

  His manner frightened her. ‘Is that why you brought me back to Niroli, Nico…to watch you kill yourself?’

  ‘I came back to Niroli for my brother; the race is an incidental—’

  ‘An incidental?’ Carrie interrupted. ‘Like me? Like your baby? Or do we come even lower down in the pecking order than the race?’

  ‘Carrie, stop this,’ he snapped.

  She shrugged him off when he tried to take hold of her. ‘I think you’re in love with danger. I think it’s the only thing you do love. And that makes me wonder, Nico, what small part of your heart is left for me and how much for your baby—’

  ‘Now you’re overreacting and being ridiculous—’

  ‘Am I? Is it ridiculous to love someone as much as I love you?’

  ‘It’s only a horse race—’

  ‘A dangerous horse race!’ She cut across him. ‘A horse race like no other!’

  ‘You have been doing your homework.’

  ‘Don’t mock me and don’t turn away from me!’ Chasing after him, she grabbed his sleeve before he reached the door. ‘I love you, Nico…Please don’t do this…’ His arm was stiff and unresponsive beneath her hand; his face no less so.

  ‘I’m not ten years old, Carrie.’ He snatched his arm from her grasp. ‘Stay out of things you don’t understand. The Palio is a matter of national pride—’

  ‘The Palio is a battle of testosterone!’

  ‘Spoken like a woman—’

  ‘Spoken like the mother of your child! The mother who wants a father for her child…’ It was pointless trying to reason with him, Carrie realised. ‘You haven’t changed, at all, have you, Nico?’

  ‘I’m sorry if I disappoint you—’

  ‘Just don’t expect to find me on the sidelines, cheering you on.’

  ‘I don’t expect anything of you,’ he assured her. ‘That way I can never be disappointed.’

  Carrie went cold. Nico had just made it plain that her love meant nothing to him. There was no point trying to stop him as he turned and walked away.

  The old city had come alive with banners and bands and sideshows and food stalls. Carrie had never seen anything like it before. She had slipped away from the palace after making her excuses to Princess Laura, telling a small lie, saying the heat was too much for her and she was retiring to her room.

  The heat? That was the least of it. Her heart was thundering above the noise of the crowd and all she could think about was finding Nico. It didn’t matter how little he thought of her, she had to try and stop him risking his life.

  One of the footmen had told her that Nico would be in the old town by now. The boy had smiled broadly as he’d told her, as if hinting at some extraordinary exploit. That was all she had needed to fuel her anxiety. She had returned to her room right away and slipped into a summer dress, because she knew the heat inside the walled town would be stifling. She was going to find out where the race started from and if Nico was there she would beg him, if she had to, not to take part.

  When she reached the centre there was a fever in the air adding to the impression that this was a modern-day gladiatorial race without all the usual regulations and safeguards for the jockeys. She couldn’t let Nico ride….

  Carrie could smell the horses before she saw them. She could smell the acrid stench of their sweat, mixed with hot leather and the sweet smell of fear.

  Squeezing her way between some food stalls, she managed to push her way to the front of the crowd. People had gathered around a group of nervy thoroughbreds that had been contained in a small roped-off area. Handlers clung on desperately to bridles and lead ropes as the horses bucked and shimmied around the small ring. And then she realised it was a bareback race, the most dangerous race of all.

  But Nico wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Turning back, Carrie had to force her way through the crowd. She went back into the vast square in which the race would be run. It sloped inwards like the hub of a great wheel and was paved with slippery stones that made every step treacherous. How much more so for a horse’s hooves? More specifically for the hooves of Nico’s horse? The thought of him travelling the dangerous route at breakneck speed brought on a fresh wave of panic.

  She could see the track was being covered in sand, which would offer the horses some protection, but it was narrow and had turns so sharp she could only imagine the jockeys would have to wheel their horses around at right angles. And there surely wasn’t room for two horses to race side by side…Standing on tiptoe, Carrie tried to see over the crowd. She hadn’t come this far to be beaten now. She might not speak Nirolian, but a person’s name was universal…

  ‘Nico Fierezza?’ An elderly woman turned to face Carrie as she shouted out Nico’s name. The old lady nodded with approval. ‘I know him. Nico Fierezza is riding for my family.’

  Carrie’s heart contracted with fear and then reason kicked in. ‘Your family?’ Surely, that couldn’t be right? The old lady was from the countryside where they still wore traditional dress. It seemed unlikely she could be a relative of Nico’s.

  ‘Yes, for my family,’ the woman insisted proudly, tapping her chest. ‘We have never won the Palio, but Nico has offered to ride for us today and Nico will win.’

  Carrie was too full of emotion to speak for a moment. Nico was so much better and so much worse than she thought him. ‘Do you know where I can find him?’

  ‘Yes, of course, he will be at the starting rope now. He will be there for my family,’ the old lady said again with great pride.

  ‘Can I go to him?’

  As the woman looked at Carrie her face softened. ‘You will be my guest,’ she said. ‘But we will wait for him at the winning post. We will be the first to greet him when he rides over the line.’

  ‘Oh, no, I must see him now…’ But the old lady didn’t hear her, and the next thing Carrie knew she was being shepherded along. She tried again, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of church bells tolling. It seemed that every bell in Niroli had started up in competition with her.

  ‘The bells won’t stop until the race begins,’ the old lady yelled in Carrie’s ear. ‘The bells are ringing because the horses in the race are being blessed.’

  ‘In the churches?’ Carrie looked at her in astonishment.

  ‘In many churches, all over the city.’ The woman beamed. ‘And now you and I shall go to my family’s quarters.’

  ‘Oh, no, I…’ Carrie didn’t want to go anywhere but to Nico, but the woman insisted on dragging her along and was in no mood to listen.

  When they arrived Carrie was relieved to find that the ‘quarters’ of
each family was simply a place in the square marked by a flag. Tables at least forty yards long were lined up and each of them was loaded with food and jugs of wine.

  ‘This is our rehearsal for the victory celebration,’ the elderly woman told her now, seeing Carrie’s curiosity as she stared at the people already eating and drinking. ‘The Palio is blood, noise and hysteria, for which we need plenty of fuel.’

  As she cackled her approval Carrie blenched. She had seen the track with its hair-raising turns. She had come to accept that she couldn’t change Nico, and maybe she shouldn’t try, but this was far too dangerous.

  ‘Jockeys have been known to be killed…horses, too…’

  ‘Killed…’ Where was he? Carrie wondered in an agony of concern as the old lady continued her litany of doom. Nico had to pull out of the race. He had to…She stared around desperately. There seemed to be more people than ever in the square, and Princess Laura had explained that more than thirty thousand would crowd into the city that day.

  Carrie was sure they were all here now, pressing in on her. A wave of nausea swept over her…a warning. The heat was stifling. And on top of that there was the raging inferno of competition. The noise, the barely suppressed violence…Carrie could identify the rival families by the different colours they wore, and the atmosphere was growing more aggressive by the minute. She was jostled as some members of the crowd started heckling, while their opponents cheered their favourites…But Nico…where was Nico?

  Heated words were exchanged right next to her as several jockeys rode past. Carrie’s heart was thundering with fear. She should never have done this; emotion could turn so quickly to blows. But she was trapped in the crowd, trapped by desperation to find Nico before it was too late. Determined to keep her baby safe, she squeezed her way through to a quieter spot behind some barriers. She could see the riders streaming past…But she couldn’t see Nico…She shivered to see the expression on the faces of the men. They all looked the same, like tough, hard, fighting men who would show each other no mercy.