by Croft, Nina
He looked at her for a long moment. “I leaked the story to the press.”
It wasn’t what she was expecting, and she shook her head in bemusement. “I don’t understand, why would you do that? What could you possibly gain from it?”
“I wanted to get you away from London. I wanted to bring you here alone.”
“But why?”
“Think about it, cara. I’ll be outside.”
She waited until he left the room, shutting the door gently behind him, then she sank onto the bed. She should be angry; he was manipulating her again. But something superseded her anger—Luc had wanted to bring her here. Spend time alone with her. She’d wondered if he still wanted her that way. Oh, he had said so, but he had seemed so distant since the party, she was sure he hadn’t really forgiven her.
Now, he was all but admitting he wanted her. She could sense something unraveling inside her, some cold, hard lump. Jumping up, she peered out the French doors. The sun was low in the sky, glinting on the turquoise water of the pool, and all of a sudden, it finally sank in—she was in Italy, alone with Luc. It seemed impossible, but she knew she was going to make the most of this opportunity. She might not have forever, but she had now. Picking up the lavender sundress, she grabbed her toiletries bag and went for a shower.
When she came out on the terrace, the sun was setting, turning the sea to gold and red. Luc was nowhere in sight, and she wandered down toward the pool. It seemed to be balanced on the cliff’s edge, and she peered over. Below, at the foot of the cliff was a small cove, a horseshoe of golden sand, and it was here that she caught sight of Luc. He had also showered, his hair was damp, and he’d changed into a pair of loose drawstring trousers and a white linen shirt that hung open, the sleeves rolled up over tanned forearms. He sat on the sand staring out to sea, but something must have alerted him to her presence because he glanced up as she stood above him. He rose gracefully to his feet and turned to face her, desire flaring to life in his eyes.
Lia found the small path that led to the cove. She followed it down, kicking off her sandals as she came to the sand, finally coming to a halt in front of him.
He reached out and stroked a strand of her hair, which she had left hanging loose to her shoulders. “You look beautiful, Lia.”
She allowed her eyes to wander over him, the lean lines of his body, the stark beauty of his face. “So do you,” she said, and it was true.
He smiled. “Come and sit.”
Taking her by the hand, he led her close to where the sea met the land. He sank down and tugged her hand so she collapsed onto the warm, silky sand. He didn’t say a word for a while, and Lia sat in silence gazing out at the vast expanse of water, breathing in the salt tang of the air. There was something magical about the sea, and she allowed it to sooth her. What Luc had done was wrong. He had no right to try to manipulate her in any way, but the fact was, the outcome was such that she couldn’t stay angry. She was here, in this gorgeous place with Luc at her side, and for once, he seemed relaxed.
Lia allowed herself a few minutes to soak up the atmosphere then turned to Luc. “What do you want from me?”
He returned her gaze, his face free from expression so she had no clue what was going through his mind. “You know what I want. I want you.”
The time for pretense was over. “You didn’t have to go to all this bother. You must have known you could have me. I thought I made that embarrassingly clear the night of the party. So why bring me here?”
“I wanted to get away from London. This seemed like a good idea.”
She shook her head. “Forget about me for a moment. Didn’t you think about what that article would mean to Mike? What will it be like for him when he has to go back to school?”
“No, the truth is I didn’t, and for that I’m sorry. Look, Lia, I was wrong, but I’m used to going after what I want, and I wanted you.” He shook his head. “Besides, I honestly presumed it was common knowledge. You forget I was brought up in an environment where a criminal record was the norm, almost something to be proud of. I believed it was the same for you.”
“You never knew my mother,” she said bitterly. She sighed. “Let’s forget it. I’m here, and it’s beautiful. Let’s just forget what happened. But don’t do it again.”
He picked up her hand from where it lay on the sand. Raising it to his lips, he kissed the center of her palm. Her skin tingled where he touched it, and her blood started a slow, steady thump in her veins. She curled her fingers around the kiss as though she could hold it forever.
“Do you want to make love, Lia?”
His voice was low and dark and made her ears tingle. “What?” She was finding it hard to make sense of his words.
He raised her hand again and dropped light kisses on the sensitive skin of her wrist. Shivers of sensation ran through her.
“This time, I want your full agreement. I won’t be accused of seduction,” he said against her arm.
Oh God, the feel of his lips against her skin was amazing. Heat trickled through her body to pool in a warm, wet puddle at the base of her belly. She shook her head slightly, trying to get her brain to function through the waves of heated desire. “Too late,” she said, “I’m already seduced.”
“You’re sure you want this?”
She wanted to scream at him. Wasn’t it obvious she wanted it? She satisfied herself with a glare and an abrupt nod, and he laughed softly.
He stood up and reached out a hand. “Come on then.”
She stared up at him, looming above her. His shirt hung open, and the trousers hung low on his hips, baring his lean, flat belly, and below she could see his erection pushing at the material. Her mouth went dry, and she licked her lips. Taking his hand, she allowed him to pull her to her feet.
“Can’t we stay here?” she asked. “It’s so beautiful.”
He smiled. “Have you ever made love in the sand?”
She shook her head. “Have you? Forget I asked that, it’s none of my business who you bring here.”
“I’ve never brought a woman here before,” he said. “I told you I come here to be alone.”
Relief washed over her, and she reached out with an unsteady hand. The skin of his chest was like warm silk beneath her fingertips, and she trailed them down over the ridges of his ribs, flattened her hand over his taut stomach. At his sharp intake of breath, she gripped the material of his shirt and tugged him toward her. “Make love to me, Luc.”
He framed her face between his large hands, his thumbs stroking over her cheeks, then smoothing over her lower lip, dipping inside when her mouth opened slightly. She flicked her tongue against him, tasting him. His hands shifted to the back of her neck, burrowing in the long tangle of hair. He tilted her head and kissed her, his mouth warm and firm against hers, his tongue sliding into her mouth, stroking against hers, against her teeth, the sensitive roof of her mouth, until she whimpered in need.
He abandoned her lips to trail light kisses across her cheek, then nipped at her earlobe, breathed warm breath into her ear, and she groaned again. Panic stirred inside her, until he smiled down into her eyes. He plucked open the buttons that ran down the front of the sundress, slowly baring her skin.
Lia swayed toward him as the dress slipped down to her waist and the warm breeze played gently over her bare skin, teasing her taut nipples. Luc’s hands cupped her small breasts, and for a moment, Lia stopped breathing. The rough pads of his thumb stroked over the sensitive peaks, stirring them to immediate life, and her eyes fluttered closed. She stood perfectly still, savoring the sensations quivering through her body. He pinched one nipple between his thumb and finger, and the shock ran through her body like a jolt of electricity.
When she forced her eyes open, he was staring down at her, a small smile on his face. She frowned; she wanted him as affected as she was. Her hands were still gripping his shirt as though it could save her from falling. She released her hold and pressed both palms flat against his stomach. It was hard, the
skin hot and lightly furred with silky dark hair that formed a line leading down below the drawstring of the trousers. She rubbed her palms lightly against it, and his hands at her breasts went still. She didn’t quite have the courage to follow that trail. Instead, she slid her hands around his waist, then beneath the material and over his hard buttocks where the skin was satin smooth over rigid muscles. His palms glided down from her breasts, skimmed over her rib cage and around her back. He pulled her against him so the hard length of his entire body pressed against her.
He took a step back so he could tug at her dress, and it pooled at her ankles. She stepped out of it on trembling legs and stood before him, naked except for a white lace thong. As she watched, he shrugged out of his linen shirt and sank to his knees in front of her. He kissed the tip of one breast, licking at the stiffening point before moving lower to press his open mouth to the flat plain of her belly. Lia closed her eyes as she allowed the sensations to wash over her. He kissed the lace at the base of her belly, and the air was sucked out of her lungs. She gasped. He glanced up at the sound, his face fierce and intent, then he clasped a hand on her hips and slowly dragged the thong down over her long legs. He pulled her toward him, blew gently against the golden curls.
“You are so incredibly beautiful,” he said.
He kissed her there again, this time against her naked flesh, his tongue snaking out to lick between her thighs, and her knees gave out. Luc caught her as she fell, held her for a moment, carried them both backward so Lia sprawled full-length on top of him. He ran his hands down her back, over the swell of her buttocks, and Lia writhed against him.
His hands moved between them, loosening his pants, his muscles bunching as he raised himself up slightly in order to kick them off. Underneath, he was naked, huge, and hard.
Curling his hands around the back of her thighs, he shifted her on him so she straddled his hips, pulling her down. Lia lowered her face to him so he could kiss her with hard, urgent kisses as his hand moved between them to stroke her belly, between her thighs. One finger pushed easily inside her, and she gasped at the exquisite sensation. He shifted again, this time lifting her slightly, and she felt him there, poised at the heart of her. With one thrust, he was inside, filling her, possessing her.
She cried out, and he went still beneath her. “Okay?”
She tried to speak, but in the end nodded. He smiled, then flexed his hips, his eyes remaining fixed on her face. He moved slowly at first, then faster as the urgency increased. Lia felt his body moving under her, the sensations concentrated on that place between her thighs.
Stroke by stroke the feelings built within her, flickers of flame licking out from the point where his body joined with hers, until she was consumed by fire. Still it burned brighter until at last she exploded in a surge of sensation that pulsated through her whole body. She cried out as he continued to thrust within her, wringing more pleasure from her than she had thought possible. Finally, when she thought she could take no more, he stiffened, then cried out as his own climax overtook him.
Lia sank down against his chest, limp, sated. Breathing in the hot masculine scent of musk and sweat, she listened to the sound of his heart as its heavy beating slowed. His arms came around her and he held her close, wrapping her against him, neither of them moving for a long time.
The sun had vanished by the time Luc pulled her to her feet and brushed her down.
“I did warn you about the sand,” he said laughing slightly.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“I know the perfect way to clean you up.”
Lifting her easily in his strong arms, he strolled to the water’s edge, then waded in until the water lapped at her, washing the clinging sand from her body.
…
“What was it like in prison?” Lia asked. They were sitting entwined on one of the loungers by the pool, having come up in search of food. Night had fallen, but the moon had yet to rise.
“You don’t want to know, cara.”
“Yes, I do. I want to understand what you went through.”
He swirled the drink in his glass for a moment, staring at it. “I thought I was tough,” he said at last. “Then the cell doors closed that night, and I knew I wasn’t tough enough.”
Lia felt the tears spill over.
“You are so soft, cara,” he murmured, running the ball of his thumb down her cheek. “How did you ever get so soft?”
“I’m not soft.” She sniffed. “I can’t bear the thought of you in a place like that. You were only a boy.”
He smiled. “At eighteen, I hadn’t been a boy for years. Still, I would have been in trouble except for your old friend Harley.”
“Harley?”
He stroked the scar that ran down his cheek. “A lot of accidents can happen inside, and the man that put me there wanted me dead. I would have been if not for Harley. He was in doing a stretch at the time, GBH I think.”
“GBH? What’s that?”
He grinned. “Grievous bodily harm. Anyway, he looked out for me. And no, cara, I did not repay him in kind.”
Lia blushed, “I wasn’t…”
He cast her a look of disbelief and Lia smiled.
“You bought him the club.”
“Who told you that?”
“Maggie.”
He visibly relaxed. “I might have guessed.”
“And you set her up in business. You’re a nice man.”
Luc snorted in amusement. “No cara, I am not a nice man.”
“Well, I think you are.”
He put down his drink, plucked her glass from her fingers, and placed it next to his own. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her down so she lay beneath him. Then he kissed her.
Chapter Sixteen
“Would you like to go to the races, Lia?”
They were lying in bed. Luc had made love to her, and her body felt languid and replete. She thought about the question.
“Where? When? Why?”
He laughed. “In Rome. Today. And because I have a horse running.”
“A horse? You have a horse?”
“I have several. I inherited them from my grandfather. Now I keep them because I like to go to the races.”
She pulled herself up, dragging the sheet over her breasts. “Is it okay for us to go out?”
“I would think so. And much as I would like to, we can’t stay in seclusion forever.”
They had been on the island for over a week. Lia experienced the occasional pang of guilt when she thought about her job, but she thrust it to the back of her mind. She was falling in love. She accepted it now. She didn’t know what the future held, but she was certain that Luc felt something for her, and for the moment that had to be enough.
They took a helicopter ride to the racetrack. Lia had dressed in another of the outfits Maggie had chosen for her and she knew she looked good. Luc had even told her so. He was dressed in a perfectly cut silver-gray suit with a white silk shirt open at the throat, and he looked so damn hot. He touched her all the time, his hand at her waist as they walked or his arm around her shoulder as if he couldn’t bear to have her away from him. The day was warm and sunny, and Lia couldn’t conceive of anything going wrong. Many people approached them, but Luc dismissed them all politely but efficiently.
Luc’s horse won its race and they celebrated with champagne and strawberries. Everything was perfect, until Lia heard Luc swear softly. She glanced across to see a man approaching them. He came to a halt in front of Luc, and Lia studied him curiously. He appeared to be somewhere in his fifties, and he would have been handsome but for the furious scowl marring his features.
He spoke to Luc in rapid Italian that Lia had no hope of following. Luc had been teaching her, but this was too fast. Luc snapped a curt answer, and the man replied with another torrent of Italian.
Luc’s eyes were blank, but she could sense that he was on the point of losing his own temper. He waited until the man had finished, then replied in clipped t
ones. He finally nodded, slipped his arm around Lia’s waist, and led her away.
“Who was that?” Lia peeked over her shoulder to see the man still watching them through narrowed eyes.
“My mother’s husband.”
“He’s your stepfather?”
“Yes.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “She married him after she returned to Italy, but we really don’t have that sort of relationship. He was the lawyer she hired to get me out of prison. He overturned the case, but he never approved of me.”
“He seemed angry. What was he saying?”
“Nothing.”
“It didn’t sound like nothing.”
“It was nothing important. Nothing that should bother you. Come on, we’re leaving.”
He smiled at her, but for Lia the day was spoiled. She didn’t understand what was going on, and the fact that Luc wouldn’t explain increased her misgivings. Why had Luc’s stepfather been so angry? She knew they had been talking about her.
She’d spent the week ignoring the difficult questions she knew still existed between them, pushing unpleasant thoughts to the back of her mind, but they were still there. And the realization made her feel uneasy, as though things were fragile and could fall apart at any moment. A wave of panic threatened to topple her perfect dream world. She didn’t want it to end. She didn’t want to go back to real life.
A life without Luc.
…
Luc was distracted, almost distant, and that night his lovemaking held a hint of desperation she had never noticed before. The next morning, she woke to the sound of a helicopter landing. Luc was fully dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed. He took her hand.
“I have to go to Rome,” he said.
“What?” She sat up, pulling the sheet against her naked breasts. Her brain was befuddled from sleep. “Why? Can I come?”