There was no subtlety. As he slammed her against his hard warmth and his towel hit the floor he made no attempt to retrieve it.
* * *
Katie’s senses had sharpened in the darkness to the point where she could smell the water on Rigo. She pressed against him, believing she was someone else—someone flawless, bold and hungry. She might be falling deeper into the rabbit hole and leaving reality behind—and maybe she should try to pull things back, but she didn’t want to, and her body wouldn’t cooperate, anyway. It was swollen with need, moist and ready, and so instead of pulling away from Rigo, she raised her face to his.
‘Needs are nothing to be ashamed of, Katie. Even I have them. I understand you, Katie,’ he assured her. ‘I know everything you feel.’
In that case he’d be ready to catch her when her legs buckled. Did he have any idea how hungry she was for this—how desperate for his touch? Did he know where and exactly how she wanted him to touch her? Her eyes were shut. She was barely breathing. She was suspended in an erotic net, and was totally unprepared when he pulled away.
The ache morphed into real physical pain. It took her a moment to realise Rigo’s actions were so fluid he hadn’t left her, but was kneeling on the hard tiles in front of her.
‘No.’ Her voice clearly said yes. As he lifted her skirt she clutched his shoulders for support.
‘Yes,’ Rigo murmured, burying his face.
An excited whimper ripped the silence as she unashamedly edged her legs apart. She was greedy for sensation, for experience, for him. Having taken the first step, she was ready to fly.
‘Relax, worried signorina,’ Rigo murmured, ‘there’s no rush.’
She could hear him smiling in the darkness.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HER HEART WAS pounding so hard she couldn’t breathe. Her wildest fantasy was coming true. Held firmly by Rigo, she was trapped, not by his grasp, but by her own overwhelming need. She didn’t move, couldn’t move, because she didn’t want to. She craved fulfilment and satisfaction and a door into that world that had always been closed to her. She wanted everything Rigo was prepared to give her. She wanted to climax—and not once, but many times. She wanted this erotic dream to last forever and for reality to fade away. Closing her eyes, she bathed in darkness where there were no scars and only sensation registered. Consequences? What were they?
She sighed with disappointment as he started to stand up, but he took his time as if imbibing her scent on the way up. It thrilled her—aroused her even more. His face was only millimetres distant from her own, and her body was crying out for more contact between them. Swinging her into his arms, he lowered her down onto one of the recliners facing the pool, where silence enveloped them.
She blinked as he switched on the lamp by the chair.
‘I want to see you come—’
‘No.’ She wasn’t ready for that.
‘Yes,’ he argued steadily.
She was painfully self-conscious as he pressed her back against the cushions.
‘Relax,’ he said.
She was out of the dream and back to reality. This was embarrassing and wrong. She would regret it in the morning.
In the time it took to think that, he had pushed her skirt back to her waist, removed her underwear and lifted her legs to rest them on his shoulders.
She was completely exposed. Cool air brushed her most heated self as Rigo cupped her bottom in warm, strong hands, and instead of pulling away she settled down. Moments later he found her with his tongue and with his lips and with his fingers, rough stubble scratching the insides of her thighs, pleasure and pain intermingling. She hit a wall of pleasure and that wall gave way, drawing her deeper into a world of the senses where reality could not intrude. She bucked wildly. He held her in place. She screamed with abandon as he tipped her into the abyss, and while she was moaning with amazed contentment he kept her safe in his arms until the last flicker of sensation had subsided.
‘Greedy girl,’ he murmured.
With some satisfied sounds she was ready to fall silent. Language was a civilised pursuit and there was nothing civilised about her feelings for him. She was spent, exhausted, satiated—
And then she noticed the fire in Rigo’s eyes. He was neither spent, exhausted nor satiated.
She jerked away as a hot stream of panic filled her. He didn’t attempt to follow as she clambered awkwardly away from him. ‘I’m sorry—’
‘So am I. What are you ashamed of, Katie?’
‘Nothing.’ She spoke too fast and Rigo’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. ‘Sorry,’ she said again, backing away. ‘I don’t know what I was thinking—’
‘That we were two consenting adults, maybe?’ he suggested in a voice that was calm while the expression in his eyes was anything but.
And who could blame him? Katie thought. She had led him to this point and then pulled away. ‘I know what you must think of me—’
‘You have no idea,’ he assured her. Springing lightly to his feet, he collected his robe from the back of a chair and shrugged it on, belting it securely. ‘So, Signorina Prim?’ His voice had lost all warmth. ‘What do you hope to get out of this?’
Rigo’s expression frightened her. ‘Nothing.’
‘Nothing? So you haven’t been leading me on in the hope of landing a greater prize?’
He wasn’t talking to her, she felt instinctively, but to the woman who had taken his father from him, and to the many women who saw Rigo as the ultimate prize. ‘No, of course I haven’t been leading you on. Rigo, you’re upset—you’re not thinking straight—’
‘Don’t mistake me for one of your hard-luck causes—’ dipping down, he scooped up her underwear from the floor. ‘—and don’t forget these.’
He threw them at her, only for her to fumble and drop the dainty briefs she had bought in Rome.
‘Pick them up,’ he snarled. ‘You might need them when you identify your next target.’
And with that he turned his back on her and stalked away.
* * *
He took the private staircase from the leisure suite to his rooms. The episode with Katie Bannister had sickened him. He knew who and what she was, just as he knew himself. This will, this so-called legacy, had undermined the man he had become and had left him feeling tainted by everything he had vowed to leave behind. Seeing his childhood home desecrated had done exactly what Katie said. It had rocked his world and he wasn’t thinking straight.
Shouldering his way through the door, he entered his room pacing and didn’t stop until he had reasoned his motives through on every point. He had encountered just about every ruse to capture his interest and reel him in and was always on his guard. Katie had reaped the whirlwind. Her appetite was undeniable, but when he weighed that appetite against her naïvety, or the shock on her face when she realised the road they were on led to penetrative sex, he knew she was innocent. So she had splurged on some decorative underwear. Did he begrudge her even that small luxury?
Anger, regret and frustration had coagulated into one ugly mass, he concluded. Seeing the palazzo brought to ruin hadn’t just shaken him to his foundations, it had filled him with unnatural energy—or just plain fury, maybe. Whatever the cause, he had needed an outlet for that energy and had chosen badly. He should have stuck to swimming, he mused, smiling bleakly. He could never give Katie Bannister what she wanted and deserved, which was a loving husband and babies, a home, romance, a happy-ever-after ending. Thanks to him she had lost her innocence tonight. But perhaps it would keep her safe from men with fewer scruples than he.
Stripping off his clothes, he took a long, cold shower before swinging naked into bed. He wasn’t going anywhere. He was staying until this mess was sorted out. As Katie hoped, he had embraced his legacy. He would take a negative and make it positive. He would drink f
rom Carlo’s poisoned chalice—but Principe Arrigo Ruggiero Farnese would not be making any more mistakes.
He woke at dawn after a restless night. One face had held sway in his mind, but she would hate him now. He turned his thoughts to practical matters he could do something about and went straight to examine the north tower, where he found the roof caved in. But it could be fixed. Having survived centuries, the old place would stand a few more knocks before it surrendered.
It wouldn’t be easy to restore the palazzo, he concluded after further investigation, and it would take many years and a lot of money. Money he had, and he had the determination to set it right. He would oversee this project personally. He’d handled many major building works in the past, but they had been investments for his money rather than his heart. He consulted with architects who sent teams in, but he wasn’t prepared to do that here. He would be the main point of contact. He couldn’t allow anyone to interfere with the palazzo who didn’t remember it as he did.
Swinging across a beam, he dropped lightly to the floor. It was time to persuade Katie Bannister to stay. He needed her clear thinking and organisational skills. She could coordinate the various teams—if she had the courage to stay after what had happened last night.
He went to the window in his room and pushed the rotten frame with the heel of his hand until it yielded. He had to breathe some fresh air. He looked down, searching for Katie. Something told him she’d be outside. Birds were singing—the sun was shining; it was Katie’s kind of morning. Resting his hands on the cool stone, he looked in vain. Pulling back, he felt the wear of time. Like everything else the stonework required expert attention. He would ask her to find the best team of stonemasons to begin work right away—if she still worked for him.
She must work for him.
Last night he had been infected by a maelstrom of emotion, but today he could see clearly that it was an assistant he needed, not a lover. And if Signorina Bannister didn’t work out he could always sack her like the rest. Meanwhile, he’d take a shower and get rid of this dust.
* * *
Last night the choice had seemed clear. She was going home. She had proved conclusively she wasn’t cut out for this any more than she was cut out for her dead-end job in Yorkshire. Her encounter with Rigo had proved to be the worst humiliation of her life.
But the best sex.
Better than anything she could dream up, Katie conceded. But deeply humiliating; she’d never get past it. And as for Rigo? Trying to imagine what he must think of her made her shudder.
But, when she came down to breakfast and discovered a new mood of optimism sweeping the staff, she immediately put her own feelings on the back burner.
‘You have to stay,’ the housekeeper protested when Katie explained she was leaving. ‘It’s such a lovely morning,’ the older woman pressed her. ‘The best of the year so far.’ And then the clincher. ‘We have cleaned the outdoor swimming pool especially for you.’
Bare skin. Scars. More humiliation. ‘But I don’t—’
One of the maids stepped forward. ‘We are about the same size, signorina,’ she said shyly, ‘and I have a new swimming costume I have never worn.’
As the young girl held it out to her Katie knew she couldn’t refuse.
‘You’d be quite alone, signorina,’ the housekeeper quickly reassured her. ‘I’ll make sure everyone is kept away—’
‘You’re very kind—’
‘And you’re the first person to come here and give us hope,’ the woman told her frankly.
Was she going to show her weakness now? She had to be strong for these people all the time, not just selectively.
‘It would be such a shame to waste the day,’ the maid said as the housekeeper nodded agreement.
The damaged skin on Katie’s back tightened, but she would feel more than shame if she refused this kind gesture. ‘If...if I was alone—’
‘You have my word on it,’ the housekeeper assured her.
* * *
The cool water felt like satin on her heated skin, and as sunshine warmed her shoulders any remaining cares she had floated away. This was the first time since the fire that she had stripped off outside the privacy of her own home and she was surprised to find the costume the young maid had lent her fitted her so well. She had Rigo’s staff to thank for making this possible.
Submerging her face in the fresh, clean water, Katie basked in the unaccustomed luxury of having a whole swimming pool to herself. And what a swimming pool it was—if she had thought the palazzo’s leisure complex was like something out of a film, this outdoor pool was far more beautiful. Stern Doric columns marked the perimeter, while mosaics tempted her to look beneath the water to where a kaleidoscope of images told a story of ancient Rome, complete with gladiators and graceful beauties clad in flattering flowing robes. I want one of those glorious gowns, Katie thought, buying into the dream. She was beginning to believe she could forget anything swimming here.
* * *
The housekeeper had opened the shutters and folded them back, allowing him a clear view of the gardens and swimming pool. Drawn by the particular brilliance of the sunlight that day, he walked over to the window after his shower and stared out. His gaze was immediately drawn to the activity in the pool, where someone was preparing to dive in...
Katie...
She had already been swimming and her hair was slicked back. Her honey-blush skin gleamed like an impossibly perfect sculpture in the brilliant light. She had surprised him once again. He had always suspected she was concealing a stunning figure beneath her dowdy clothes—just how stunning had eluded him, he realised now. He already knew her legs were beautiful, but... A whisper from last night intruded on his thoughts. Could he forget? He had to forget—he had a pressing need for a PA and she’d make a great PA. But with her hair drawn back and her elegant profile raised towards the sky, there was no doubt she was one of the loveliest sights he had ever seen. He remembered their first telephone conversation, when her sexy voice had revealed so much about her. You could hear beauty in a voice. Why she dressed down almost to the point of disguise was Katie’s business, but he couldn’t deny he was curious. Pulling away from the window, he stretched his limbs. Even an hour without activity was an hour too long for him. He was restless with last night playing on his mind again. Katie’s responses to him...her soft whimpers...her tremulous, yet passionate plunge into abandonment and pleasure—
Maybe a swim was what he needed too.
* * *
‘No, Rigo, no...’
He stopped dead in his tracks. He had only walked halfway down the pool, but she was recoiling from him as if he meant her harm. The last thing he had intended was to frighten Katie, but the moment she caught sight of him she had catapulted out of the pool and now she was stumbling backwards with a towel clutched tightly to her chest.
‘I didn’t see you, Rigo,’ she gasped.
Was he such a terrifying sight? It was certainly terror in her eyes. He took a step back with his hands raised, signalling his intention to come no closer. Still she backed away. If she didn’t stop soon she’d fall over the sunbed—
He breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the bed behind her knees and stopped, but now she was feeling awkwardly behind her for a wrap she’d left there earlier, and only he could see she was in real danger of tumbling into the pool.
‘No! Stay back!’ she shouted in alarm when he moved to save her.
‘What the hell’s wrong with you? I’m not going to touch you.’
Ever again, he added silently. If this was Katie Bannister’s reaction to him, imagine if they’d had sex.
None of this made sense. She’d seen him naked. She’d held him. He’d let her go without once trying to stop her. He was respectably attired this morning in swimming shorts with a towel slung around his neck. He couldn
’t understand her bizarre behaviour and was growing increasingly resentful. But still her safety was uppermost in his mind. ‘Stay where you are before you fall in. I’m going to reach for your robe,’ he told her firmly, ‘while you don’t move a single muscle. Do you understand me?’
He wasn’t even sure she could hear him, so he put his promise into action, moving slowly and deliberately. ‘And now I’m going to hand it to you.’
Part of him said this was ridiculous, while another part of him was too busy seeking an answer to the mystery to walk away. Katie, meanwhile, remained stock-still, staring at him in wide-eyed dread.
He held out her wrap at arm’s length. She took it from him. Dragging it on, she belted it tightly, tweaking the edges as if not a single part of her could be on view.
Had last night done this to her? He would never forgive himself if that was the case, though he could fathom no reason why it should. She had been a willing partner all along, up to the point where a natural conclusion was facing them both, and then, because she for whatever reason had drawn back, he had let her go.
‘When you’ve showered and dressed I’d like to see you in the library,’ he said evenly. ‘Anyone will tell you where that is. Say, twenty minutes—half an hour?’ His look also added, if you still work for me? But he didn’t labour the point.
He didn’t stop walking until he reached the entrance to the palazzo, when he turned to see Katie still standing where he’d left her. He wondered if he would ever forget the look on her face. You would have thought she had been in danger of her life.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
WHEN RIGO LEFT her at the poolside it took her a long time to settle, mentally and physically. Since the fire she had longed to be invisible and had almost achieved that goal—until this trip to Rome, when Rigo had forced her to face reality again. Deep down, she was grateful to him. There was still such a lot of life to be lived. Even before the fire her appearance had placed her in the pigeonhole marked good girl, plain girl, quiet girl, studious girl, which did nothing to douse the fires inside her. Last night Rigo had been right to point out she had needs like everyone else. Her needs were exactly the same as all the pretty, vivacious girls with great figures and unblemished skin.
Taming the Last AcostaItalian Boss, Proud Miss Prim Page 29