prefer you not to touch me,' she said at last with what she
gauged to be the right amount of ice in her voice.
'Why not?' he said, sounding faintly amused. 'There are no cameras
or gaping crowds of avid clothes buyers here for you to pamper and
perfume your body for, and yet your skin feels like silk and smells
of sun-warmed roses. As your sole audience, I'd thought it might
have been for my benefit.'
'Well, it isn't,' she replied stonily, hating herself for the faint
involuntary blush that was creeping up. under her skin at his words.
Jan, she thought rather bitterly, would never have blushed no matter
how personal the compliment might have been.
He laughed softly, but there was a faintly curious expression in his
eyes, as if her reaction had bewildered him, and she tensed slightly.
She certainly didn't want to arouse any suspicions about her identity
now at this stage in the game. Even now it might not be too late for
him to track down Mario and Jan and prevent their marriage.
She made herself relax back against the cushions, smile a little
even.
'I'm a creature of habit,' she said, forcing herself to speak lightly. 'I
assumed the perfumes and lotions were there to be used. Was I
wrong?'
'On the contrary, cara.' He laced his fingers behind his head and
leaned back, very much at his ease, the tawny eyes almost
slumbrous as they studied her. 'I hope my choice of wardrobe for
you was—adequate?' His gaze came to rest on the deeply slashed
neckline of the skimpy waistcoat.
Juliet lifted a casual shoulder as if oblivious of his regard. 'I'll
manage. After all, it won't be for very long, will it?'
'Who knows?' he murmured. 'Perhaps the charms of Roccaforte will
appeal to you so much that you will decide to extend your stay.'
The charms of Roccaforte or its owner? she asked herself silently,
her temper flaring under the sting of his arrogant presumption.
'I doubt it,' she said coolly. 'You can't imagine that I would willingly
spend any more time in your company than necessary, signore?'
He laughed, apparently unmoved by the hostility in her tone. 'You
would be surprised at the lengths to which my imagination can take
me, bella. Although at times it does require a little practical
assistance.'
Before she could anticipate his intention, he leaned forward and
unfastened the top button of her waistcoat. 'I'm sure that was what
the designer intended,' he added, his voice wickedly amused.
Her immediate impulse was to refasten the errant button and hide
once again that provocative view of the shadowy cleft between her
breasts that it afforded, but again she was forced to hesitate. Such
an action would once more be uncharacteristic of Jan, she was
forced to admit to herself. That kind of teasing byplay would be
second nature to her. She wouldn't be sitting, her back ramrod-stiff,
her cheeks flaming, every unsteady pulse beat in her body
reminding her of the way his fingers had rested momentarily against
the softness of her skin.
This is madness, she told herself flatly. She'd been kissed
before;—held, touched, so why had this man the power to inculcate
such a response from such a fleeting' contact? It didn't make sense.
All she knew was this desperate, almost searing consciousness of
his close proximity and the havoc it was playing with her logic, her
reason, even her sense of decency. She even found herself
wondering what it would be like if he kissed her—if that firm mouth
would lose the slight sneer it wore so often and soften into
tenderness just before it descended on hers...
With a desperate effort she tore herself away from the danger of
that particular reverie.
'Don't fight so hard against your instincts, cara,' the mocking voice
at her side advised her coolly. 'Mario is lost to you anyway, so there
is nothing to be gained in withholding your body from me.' He
reached out a hand and took her stiffly averted chin, forcing her
head round so that she was facing him.
gauged to be the right amount of ice in her voice.
'Why not?' he said, sounding faintly amused. 'There are no cameras
or gaping crowds of avid clothes buyers here for you to pamper and
perfume your body for, and yet your skin feels like silk and smells
of sun-warmed roses. As your sole audience, I'd thought it might
have been for my benefit.'
'Well, it isn't,' she replied stonily, hating herself for the faint
involuntary blush that was creeping up. under her skin at his words.
Jan, she thought rather bitterly, would never have blushed no matter
how personal the compliment might have been.
He laughed softly, but there was a faintly curious expression in his
eyes, as if her reaction had bewildered him, and she tensed slightly.
She certainly didn't want to arouse any suspicions about her identity
now at this stage in the game. Even now it might not be too late for
him to track down Mario and Jan and prevent their marriage.
She made herself relax back against the cushions, smile a little
even.
'I'm a creature of habit,' she said, forcing herself to speak lightly. 'I
assumed the perfumes and lotions were there to be used. Was I
wrong?'
'On the contrary, cara.' He laced his fingers behind his head and
leaned back, very much at his ease, the tawny eyes almost
slumbrous as they studied her. 'I hope my choice of wardrobe for
you was—adequate?' His gaze came to rest on the deeply slashed
neckline of the skimpy waistcoat.
Juliet lifted a casual shoulder as if oblivious of his regard. 'I'll
manage. After all, it won't be for very long, will it?'
'Who knows?' he murmured. 'Perhaps the charms of Roccaforte will
appeal to you so much that you will decide to extend your stay.'
The charms of Roccaforte or its owner? she asked herself silently,
her temper flaring under the sting of his arrogant presumption.
'I doubt it,' she said coolly. 'You can't imagine that I would willingly
spend any more time in your company than necessary, signore?'
He laughed, apparently unmoved by the hostility in her tone. 'You
would be surprised at the lengths to which my imagination can take
me, bella. Although at times it does require a little practical
assistance.'
Before she could anticipate his intention, he leaned forward and
unfastened the top button of her waistcoat. 'I'm sure that was what
the designer intended,' he added, his voice wickedly amused.
Her immediate impulse was to refasten the errant button and hide
once again that provocative view of the shadowy cleft between her
breasts that it afforded, but again she was forced to hesitate. Such
an action would once more be uncharacteristic of Jan, she was
forced to admit to herself. That kind of teasing byplay would be
second nature to her. She wouldn't be sitting, her back ramrod-stiff,
her cheeks flaming, every unsteady pulse beat in her body
reminding her of the way his fingers had rested momentarily against
the softness of her skin.
This is madness, she told herself flatly. She'd been kissed
before;—held, touched, so why had this man the power to inculcate
such a response from such a fleeting' contact? It didn't make sense.
All she knew was this desperate, almost searing consciousness of
his close proximity and the havoc it was playing with her logic, her
reason, even her sense of decency. She even found herself
wondering what it would be like if he kissed her—if that firm mouth
would lose the slight sneer it wore so often and soften into
tenderness just before it descended on hers...
With a desperate effort she tore herself away from the danger of
that particular reverie.
'Don't fight so hard against your instincts, cara,' the mocking voice
at her side advised her coolly. 'Mario is lost to you anyway, so there
is nothing to be gained in withholding your body from me.' He
reached out a hand and took her stiffly averted chin, forcing her
head round so that she was facing him.
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