Scent of a Woman by Joanne Rock Page B

shoulders.

    “Why?” Adam barked through the speaker. “Are we even close to the Villa Borghese?”

    “Yes, but the road is closed off here by the polizia and I’m afraid it will not open for some time. It looks like there must have been trouble at the Galleria Borghese because all the streets around there have been closed.”

    Straightening her dress, Danielle peered out her window to orient herself.

    “We can walk to the park from here. Or we can proceed straight to the Coliseum and see what we find along the way.” She had been to the Villa de Borghese twice as a girl. Her mother loved to visit art galleries of all kinds, and believed the Italian masterpieces were the best in the world. Danielle didn’t care where she and Adam went today as long as they spent time together.

    After those heated moments in his lap, she looked forward to returning to the ship.

    “How far is it?” Adam called to the driver, working on his shirt buttons. Outside, pedestrians walked past on the sidewalk near the closed street.

    “A few blocks. No more.” The driver launched into directions in broken English, but Danielle was already mapping the route in her mind.

    “I know where it is,” Danielle said. “Follow me.”

    She opened the car door on the side opposite him, not waiting for the driver to come around.

    “Danielle, wait.”

    She heard Adam’s voice behind her, but she wanted fresh air and a moment to steel herself before she fell into his arms again. She wasn’t usually this bold with any man, but she’d been cautious for so long that something inside her seemed to rebel this week, clamoring for her to run wild.

    Italian men were notorious flirts and they whistled their appreciation as she walked by. Unswayed by any man’s attentions save Adam’s, she shook out the shrug she’d discarded earlier and used it to protect her bare shoulders from the sun. The day had turned warm and humid, the city alive with scents of garlic and strong coffee, and a hint of the Tiber River nearby.

    After he paid the driver, Adam caught up to her, his tie still undone around his neck. That note of disarray sent a thrill through her, reminding her that they would be shedding far more than his tie tonight.

    When he reached her, he pulled her against him, his hands firm around her waist.

    “I’m not letting you five feet from me in a strange city with packs of wolves prowling the streets.” He eyed a pair of young men who edged past them, clearly not appreciating the extra attention she received.

    The thought pleased her more than it should.

    “You are jealous of strangers when only you get to take me home with you?” She couldn’t resist reminding him what awaited them.

    He muttered something under his breath, but she felt the vibration beneath her hands, resting on his chest.

    “Until then, we’re sightseeing, damn it.” Turning her in his arms, he didn’t chase her through the streets of Rome so much as propel her, and that turned out to be every bit as exciting.

    The day was improving by the minute.

     

    H OURS LATER they returned to the ship and the privacy of Adam’s suite. The car ride back to the port had required incredible restraint from both of them. All afternoon they’d savored the sights and sounds of Rome, but the pleasures of the Eternal City had almost lost out to the thrill of anticipation Danielle felt at the thought of being along with Adam tonight.

    “Danielle.” He spoke her name with a reverence that made her knees weak as he locked the door behind them. His penthouse suite was more lavish than hers, and chills chased up her spine as she acknowledged she was completely in his hands tonight. The lights in the room were on a dim, soothing setting. Wine and fruit had been delivered to the room earlier and now sat on a cocktail table near a chaise longue. The ice in the ice bucket hadn’t melted so much as a drop.

    All day it had been that way. Adam had commanded attention and good