Читать книгу Summer Surrender: Capelli's Captive Virgin / Italian Boss, Proud Miss Prim / The Italian's One-Night Love-Child - Кэтти Уильямс, Susan Stephens, Cathy Williams - Страница 9

LINDSAY stared at her reflection in despair.

When she’d returned to the villa to find the wardrobe stocked with a wide selection of summery clothes, she’d been relieved and grateful.

Reluctant though she’d been to admit as much to Alessio, she was boiling and had been finding her skirt scratchy and uncomfortable in the shimmering Caribbean heat.

Relief had turned to amazement as she’d examined the contents of her new wardrobe more closely.

Unaccustomed to such a degree of luxury, she was woman enough to feel a flare of excitement as she’d rifled through the dresses on the rail and sifted her way through beautifully folded tops and cardigans, all separated by tissue paper to minimise creasing. And it hadn’t just been clothes. There were shoes, all in her size, bags, accessories and a basket heaped with a selection of exclusive make-up, all new and still in the packaging.

But her laughter had faded as soon as she’d realised that none of the clothes was what she would have chosen. It was true that neither of the two skirts she had with her was suitable for a week on a Caribbean Island. For a start they were just too hot and, yes, she’d be the first to agree that they were also too formal.

But there was informal and then there was—romantic. Romantic and sexy. And the entire wardrobe that had been provided for her seemed to fall into that category. She’d spent half an hour rifling through the rail over and over again, searching for something that said ‘work in a warm climate’. But everything in front of her just seemed to shriek ‘take me, take me’.

The options had either been too short, too fitted, too low cut, or too dressy.

One dress in particular had caught her attention and she’d looked at it in despair, knowing that only an extremely sexually confident woman would dare to wear strapless, scarlet silk.

She certainly wasn’t that woman.

Which was why, in the end, she’d opted for the turquoise dress.

It shimmered in the light and had clearly been lovingly created by some top designer with seduction in mind.

It wasn’t quite as terrifying as the wicked scarlet dress, but it still made her feel uncomfortable.

How could she possibly join a man like Alessio Capelli for dinner wearing something like this?

It was asking for trouble.

For a start it was semi-transparent, presumably designed to be worn over glamorous underwear on an intimate occasion. Or possibly over a swimsuit, by someone so wealthy that shockingly expensive silk could be regarded as beachwear.

The rest of the wardrobe was much the same. Brightly coloured tops, beach dresses, long floating skirts—everything achingly feminine and designed for an ultra-romantic holiday.

But she wasn’t on holiday.

And knowing Alessio Capelli—knowing his ego and his arrogance—if she wore these clothes, he’d take it as a sign that she wanted to take their relationship a step further.

It was incredibly generous of him to have provided her with a suitable wardrobe, but—

Her eyes narrowed as a sudden thought struck her.

Generous? Was he being generous? Or was he testing her in some way?

Remembering the way he’d teased her, she suddenly realised that it was far more likely that there was a deeper, darker reason for the choice of clothes.

Angry with herself for being so naïve, she glared at her reflection in the mirror.

This wasn’t generosity on his part.

He wanted her to feel uncomfortable.

He wanted her out of her depth.

Apparently he found the unfortunate chemistry between them entertaining and he didn’t bother to pretend otherwise. But nor was he allowing her to pretend. He was upfront and straight about the attraction.

And she was honest enough with herself to admit that she was on dangerous ground. Alessio wasn’t a man that women could easily ignore. He was, quite simply, the most devastatingly attractive man she’d ever met. Sinfully handsome, he had a way of looking at a woman that made her think of nothing but sex.

And it wasn’t just looks. If it had been, perhaps she would have found him easier to resist, but his sharp intelligence made him stimulating company and she was finding it impossible to forget how kind he’d been to her on the plane when she’d been ill.

That kindness had been all the more surprising given his reputation.

If she was honest, the chemistry between them was starting to terrify her.

She, of all people, knew the dangers of that degree of chemistry—she knew just how easy it was to confuse overwhelming physical attraction with something deeper. And yet, even knowing that, her body still hummed and simmered and responded to the lazy, suggestive glint in his eyes.

And she didn’t want that. Dear God, she really, really didn’t want that.

She’d seen where that could lead.

Feeling intensely vulnerable and incredibly alone, Lindsay sank down on the edge of the bed and forced herself to do something that she never usually allowed herself to do.

She thought about her childhood.

Instead of blocking out those memories, she allowed them to filter through to her brain. What started as a trickle became a flood, and for a brief, horrible moment she was a little girl again, curled up in her tiny bed with her younger sister asleep in her arms. And she was listening to the sounds through the wall. Those sounds.

The sounds she hated.

The sounds that meant that her father would be coming back home for a while. ‘It’s all right, Lindsay, we’ll be a family again. Everything is going to be different now.’

Breathing rapidly, Lindsay rose to her feet, slamming the lid back down on her thoughts, appalled at how quickly she could regress from competent professional to needy child.

She was well aware of how vulnerable the needy child was. Look at Ruby. There was no doubt in her mind that her mixed up little sister flitted from one relationship to another because she was looking for the love and security she hadn’t had as a child.

Impatient with herself, Lindsay paced barefoot into the bathroom.

But she wasn’t going to do that.

Sex wasn’t love.

Sex wasn’t security.

Sex was just—well, sex.

Turning on the taps, she leaned over the washbasin, filled her palms with cold water and splashed her face as if washing her face might also wash away the memories that she’d conjured up.

It had only been a brief glimpse, but it was enough.

Enough to strengthen her resolve.

With the cool water came a feeling of calm and she blotted her face with a towel and stared in the mirror.

It didn’t matter what dress she chose to wear. It wasn’t going to make a difference to who she was or how she’d chosen to live her life. She was never, ever going to let sexual chemistry cloud her judgment.

Never. It just wasn’t going to happen. No matter how sexy the man. No matter what the temptation.

Having seen first-hand the devastation that such a relationship caused, there was no way she was going to make that mistake herself. And wearing a sexy dress and a pair of gorgeous shoes wasn’t going to change that.

She made decisions with her head and her brain, not with her body.

It didn’t matter that she was in paradise with a dangerously sexy man and a wardrobe to die for.

She was still using her brain. She was still in charge of her decisions.

She could wear any one of those sexy dresses and it wouldn’t make a difference to the outcome of the evening.

‘Let’s see which one of us suffers most, Alessio Capelli,’ she murmured under her breath as she selected a lip gloss from the basket of make-up that had been left for her use. Removing it from its packaging, she applied it to her lips and stared at herself with satisfaction.

Clothes and make-up didn’t dictate your choices in life.

She could be naked and she’d still be able to resist Alessio Capelli because that was what she wanted to do.

It was all about choices and she knew which choice she was going to make.

Alessio strolled up to the open door of the villa and paused, stunned by the vision that confronted him.

The door was open and he watched transfixed as Lindsay—

a vastly different Lindsay—twisted her hair into a knot and fastened it with a clasp made from a seashell.

Her slender form shimmered in turquoise silk, an exotic vision of femininity. His gaze lingered on the curve of her bottom and he felt an instantaneous surge of lust.

‘Well—’ without waiting for an invitation, he strolled into the living room ‘—you clearly didn’t have a problem finding something to wear in the wardrobe.’

And he’d expected her to. In fact he’d prepared himself for protests. But there was no protest. Instead she appeared almost serene.

‘Why would I have had a problem?’ Tilting her head, she checked her reflection in the mirror, as composed and controlled as ever. ‘It’s incredibly generous of you to lend me so many beautiful things. Thank you, Alessio.’ With a smile that appeared genuine, she slid her feet into a pair of sparkling jewelled shoes with heels so high that walking should have been impossible.

Scanning the length of her legs, Alessio was forced to admit that, yet again, Lindsay Lockheart had surprised him. He hadn’t expected a positive reaction to the wardrobe he’d provided. He’d instructed the staff to select glamorous clothes, designed to accommodate the needs of a relaxed woman on a beach holiday.

Lindsay wasn’t anyone’s idea of a relaxed woman.

Knowing what he knew about her desire to control every aspect of her life, he was astonished that she’d apparently embraced someone else’s choice of clothes—particularly when those clothes were a dramatic departure from her normal choice of dress. He had a strong suspicion that dressing in a boring and businesslike fashion was all part of her desperate urge to control her surroundings and the way everyone reacted to her. That being the case, he would have expected her to be uncomfortable parted from her crisp white shirt and her safe navy skirt. Instead she was reacting to her new look with decidedly feminine enjoyment.

Far from rejecting the clothes, she seemed to be revelling in them.

His experienced eye noted the subtle touches of make-up that drew attention to her soft, lush mouth and her smooth creamy skin.

And then something in her eyes caught his attention—a cool unspoken challenge that was at odds with a woman who was dressing up purely for pleasure.

And he knew then that she wasn’t relaxed.

He smiled to himself, deriving a certain satisfaction from the fact that he’d read her correctly after all. She wasn’t at all relaxed. But she was determined that he wouldn’t know it.

So why was she wearing the clothes?

Why wasn’t she standing in front of him demanding that he find her a navy linen suit or something else designed to extinguish the last burning embers of a man’s libido?

‘Has your client arrived?’ Still focusing on her reflection, she pushed a few wisps of blonde hair away from her face.

‘Not yet.’

‘Clearly he has money to burn.’ Lindsay turned to face him. ‘I’m sure you’ll charge him for your time, whether he turns up or not.’

‘Of course.’

They were sustaining a conversation and yet an entirely different form of communication was simmering beneath the surface of cool civility. With his skill at reading women, Alessio noted the slight flush in her cheeks that had nothing to do with the application of make-up and the darkening of her eyes.

Dealing with his own burn of lust, he wondered how long they were going to play this game.

‘I still haven’t managed to contact Ruby.’

He had a feeling she’d raised the subject of her sister purely to remind him of the reason she was here.

‘That doesn’t surprise me. If she wanted you to know where she is, she would have told you.’

Alessio felt the vicious tug of lust deep in his loins because she looked truly beautiful and something about the way she was looking at him drove every rational thought from his head.

‘Something wrong, Alessio?’ She raised an eyebrow and he smiled in response, well aware that she’d won that round.

Suffer, her eyes were saying and he almost laughed because he was suffering and he was completely sure that she knew it.

For a brief moment he contemplated backing her against the enormous bed and removing the dress he’d paid for, but he knew that such an unsubtle approach would just give her opportunity to reject him.

So instead he satisfied himself with a long, lazy look at her.

The colour of the dress was perfect for her skin and hair; turquoise shot with strands of blue and green, the dress fell from tiny beaded straps and was cut to display the tempting dip between her breasts. Alessio’s appreciative gaze lingered on the hollow cleft and he heard her sharp intake of breath.

‘Do you think you could remove your eyes from my cleavage?’

He smiled. ‘Why would I want to do that? You look spectacular.’

‘Thank you.’ She accepted the compliment in a businesslike fashion and walked briskly towards the door. Only once she’d created a safe distance between them, did she turn. ‘Are you coming?’

Alessio strolled towards her and tucked her hand into the crook of his arm, feeling a flicker of satisfaction as he felt her initial resistance.

He knew that she was nowhere near as cool and indifferent as she was pretending to be.

But instead of withdrawing or arguing, she simply smiled again. ‘I’m looking forward to dinner. What are the local delicacies?’

You are, my beauty, Alessio thought, steering her through a lush tropical garden and down onto the silky white sand. You’re going to be my starter, main course and dessert.

Lindsay sat down at the table, trying not to show how disconcerted she was that they were dining alone on the private beach in front of the villa.

‘This is nice,’ she lied. Silver cutlery glinted in the late evening sunlight, a bunch of colourful tropical blooms formed the centrepiece of the table and several candles flickered in the gentle breeze. With the soft sound of the sea licking the shore, it was idyllic, romantic and totally inappropriate for their relationship. The clothes had been bad enough, but this—

This was the setting for seduction, not business. For lovers, not colleagues.

Another test?

Was he putting her through this on purpose?

She cast what she hoped was a casual glance in his direction, but he was as cool and controlled as ever, his handsome face revealing absolutely nothing of his thoughts. Instead he watched her with those dark eyes that she suspected saw far too much.

‘I would have thought you would have preferred to dine in the restaurant.’ Pleased with how relaxed she sounded, she reached for the cocktail.

‘We could have dined in the Beach Club, but this is more—intimate …’ he paused and the word hung in the air between them, heating the atmosphere and raising the tension ‘… and I know you’re a real fan of intimacy, Lindsay.’

‘Absolutely.’ But not with him. The last thing she wanted or needed was intimacy with Alessio Capelli.

‘You seem a little tense.’

Tense? Tense?

Her entire body was being overtaken by a ferocious sexual awareness and the feeling totally unsettled her. She really, really didn’t want to feel like this. ‘Why would I be tense? Who could possibly be tense in a place like this?’ Nervously looking for something to do with her hands, she leaned forward to help herself to a canapé and saw his eyes drift down to her cleavage.

Immediately she sat back in her chair, her skin heating as he gave a soft smile.

‘You don’t like the look of the canapés? I can instruct the staff to bring a different selection.’

‘Not at all. I decided to save myself for the main course.’ Hoping desperately that the staff would serve her, Lindsay struggled with the urge to glance down and check she was decent. She badly wanted to haul her dress up to her neck. It was one thing to be full of bravado when she was staring at her reflection in the mirror, and quite another to maintain that feeling when confronted by a man of Alessio’s sophistication and experience.

She suspected that he was playing with her and his next action confirmed it.

A faint smile on his hard mouth, he reached forward and selected a canapé for himself. ‘I find that the right taste on the palate actually increases the appetite.’ With a slow, deliberate flick of his tongue, he devoured the tiny pastry. ‘Sort of culinary foreplay.’

Her heart was thumping hard. ‘So you even think about sex when you eat.’

‘Sex and food are closely related. Each requires the full involvement of the senses and each satisfies a basic human need.’

Lindsay was desperately conscious of the slow build of warmth low in her pelvis and suddenly she was angry with him—angry with him for making her feel this way.

Obviously he thought that the clothes and the setting would guarantee the outcome he wanted.

Well, she was about to show him how wrong he was about her.

‘Those canapés do look delicious,’ she said sweetly. ‘Maybe I will try one after all.’ She leaned forward again and this time she made no attempt to prevent her dress from offering what she was sure was a generous glimpse of cleavage.

Without once glancing in his direction, she nibbled at the corner of a pastry and then gave a soft moan and licked her lips. ‘That,’ she murmured softly, ‘tastes absolutely sublime.’ Closing her eyes, she slowly slid the rest of the morsel between her lips and chewed slowly. Then she opened her eyes and looked straight at him, challenge in her gaze.

His eyes were black and deadly and held hers for a long, disturbing moment. His long, bronzed fingers toyed idly with the stem of his wineglass and she felt a wicked, delicious curl of excitement low in her belly as the tension between them rocketed to the point of explosion.

‘You look warm, Alessio.’ Her voice calm and steady, she reached for the refreshing cocktail that had been placed by her plate. ‘Is something wrong?’

His eyes held hers for a long, pulsing moment and when he finally spoke his voice was husky with the sizzling tension that was bubbling up between them. ‘I hope you know what you’re doing.’

‘What am I doing? Simply enjoying the food and the surroundings.’ And proving to herself that she was in control. That she could resist this man. ‘Presumably that’s what you intended when you set this up. Or did you have something else in mind, Alessio?’

‘You’re playing with fire, tesoro,’ he warned softly, ‘and you’re going to be burned.’

‘Fire is perfectly safe as long as you know how to handle it.’

His gaze didn’t shift from hers. ‘Perhaps that depends on the heat of the flame.’

Sure of herself—proud of herself—Lindsay smiled. ‘You’re hot, Alessio,’ she said calmly, ‘but you’re not that hot.’

‘No? So why can’t you stop thinking about sex? Why are you sitting there trying to wipe out images of the two of us together in that enormous canopied bed?’

She gave a tiny gasp, but there was no emotion in his cool gaze, just a glimmer of masculine satisfaction that showed her that, no matter how hard she tried to shift the balance, he still had the upper hand.

‘Your misplaced degree of confidence in yourself must mean that you’re often disappointed.’

‘I’ll tell you whether I’m disappointed when you’re naked underneath me and I’m deep inside you.’

‘I can’t believe you just said that.’ Lindsay rose to her feet, knocking her drink over in the process.

With supersonic reflexes, a lean, bronzed hand shot out and caught the glass, preventing a spillage.

‘What can’t you believe? The fact that I thought it? Or the fact that I said it?’ Suddenly he had the upper hand again and she lifted a hand to her throat, feeling her pulse racing under the tips of her fingers.

His words had created a vivid image that she couldn’t dismiss from her head. An image she’d been trying hard not to look at.

‘For a supposedly highly intelligent male, you’re extremely narrow-minded.’

‘I’m honest. I’m telling you what I’m thinking. Sit down, Lindsay. You’ve been goading me all evening. You can’t expect me not to respond.’

‘Not every man is as obsessed with sex as you.’

He lifted an eyebrow. ‘Lindsay, I’m a normal, red-blooded male with a healthy sex drive. I’ve never denied that. You’ve been sucking your fingers, moaning with pleasure and flashing your gorgeous breasts at me for the last half hour. What did you expect?’

‘I expected the reaction I got.’ She sat back down, her gaze wary. ‘Which just goes to show that despite your intelligence, you think with your hormones and not your brain. Which in turn explains why you’ve never sustained a relationship outside the bedroom.’

‘I’ve never sustained a relationship outside the bedroom because that’s been my choice.’

‘What are you afraid of, Alessio?’ If she hadn’t been watching carefully she might have missed his reaction because it was swiftly controlled.

Controlled, but definitely there.

‘Do I look afraid?’

‘I think you’ve learned to hide how you feel. You’re afraid you won’t be able to control your emotions, so you make sure that you don’t engage them.’ Why, oh, why, had she ever thought she’d be able to cope with this man? ‘We’re very different, Alessio. Just accept it.’

‘I accept that we’re different. It’s the differences that excite me.’ His voice was silky soft and seductive. ‘I think we’d be hot in bed. And you think it too, don’t you, Lindsay? That’s why you’re fighting it every step of the way. This chemistry between us is so powerful that you’re afraid you’re being sucked in. You want to be in control, but even while you’re reaching for your drink you’re wondering how it’s going to feel when I finally kiss you.’

Her mouth was so dry she could barely form the words. ‘You’re not going to kiss me.’

‘I am.’ He dropped his gaze to her mouth, his tone faintly apologetic. ‘When I want something, I have to have it. It’s part of my personality.’

Lindsay reached for her drink. ‘You could talk to a trained counsellor about that. You might find that a course of cognitive behavioural therapy might help.’

‘I find it’s simpler just to take what I want.’ He gave a careless shrug of his broad shoulders. ‘It’s going to happen, Lindsay. Stop fighting it.’

Lindsay carefully put down her drink. Her hand was shaking so much it was that or spill it.

Before she could respond, the several waiters arrived with a tempting platter heaped with fresh seafood, bowls of salad and hot crusty bread.

As the food was served she was aware of Alessio watching her. Could he see? Could he see that her fingers shook when she picked up her fork? Could he see that she was in turmoil?

When they were alone again, she lifted her head and looked him in the eye, banishing visions of his bronzed, naked body covering hers. ‘I’m prepared to perform whatever tasks you expected of Ruby. I’m quite sure that providing you with bedroom entertainment wasn’t one of them.’

‘There has never been any chemistry between us.’

‘And that’s all it takes to establish a relationship from your point of view? Chemistry?’ Her laugh was tinged with derision. ‘That’s deep, Alessio. I’m sure your past encounters have been extremely—satisfying.’

‘I make sure that they are.’

‘I’m not talking about sexual satisfaction. I’m talking about something far deeper and more long lasting than that.’ There was a cooling breeze from the sea but she still felt desperately hot. ‘You’re an intelligent man. Surely you demand more from a woman than the ability to simply lie down in your bed.’

‘Absolutely.’ Alessio didn’t shift his eyes from her face. ‘I demand a great deal more than that. And I’m sure you’ll deliver.’

Was it her or had the temperature on the beach suddenly gone up? ‘You shouldn’t reduce every relationship to the physical.’

‘You shouldn’t dismiss sexual satisfaction until you’ve tried it.’

‘What makes you think I haven’t?’

‘Because you’re inexperienced.’

‘You know nothing about my private life. Nor do I intend to discuss it with you.’

‘Lindsay—’ his tone was gentle ‘—you’ve been teasing and tempting me since the moment I arrived at your villa this evening. I don’t know whether you’re trying to prove something to yourself, but only someone very inexperienced would play those sorts of games with someone like me.’

‘I’m not playing games.’

‘I haven’t quite worked out if you’re a virgin or not,’ he murmured, his strong fingers closing around the stem of his glass. ‘You’re certainly a bit old to be a virgin, but if you’ve had sex with anyone before, then I’m guessing that it was an instantly forgettable experience. And at this precise moment you’re feeling very, very unsettled because you know that sex with me would be a completely unforgettable experience.’

Finally she lifted her head and looked at him. ‘You’re so arrogant.’

‘You know we’ll be good together, but you’re afraid to admit it.’

‘That isn’t what’s happening here at all! I’m not denying that you’re attractive, of course you are. Nor am I denying that there’s a certain—’ she swallowed ‘—chemistry between us. But the reason I’m not acting on it has nothing to do with fear. It’s a choice, Alessio. You and I have nothing in common, nothing on which to base a good relationship. Anything between us would be over in a flash.’

‘I generally find that I can maintain my performance for little longer than a “flash”,’ he purred and she gave a murmur of exasperation.

‘Alessio, please.’ For some reason it suddenly seemed desperate that she make him understand. ‘I will not allow myself to make huge decisions based on something as fleeting as chemistry.’

‘It wouldn’t be fleeting.’ Dark lashes shielded his gaze. ‘I’d want you again and again, in every conceivable position.’

Her limbs weak and her heart pounding, Lindsay stood up and dropped her napkin on the table. Why had she ever thought she could beat him at his own game? ‘Sex without love is an extremely unsatisfying form of entertainment. I’m not interested.’

‘I’ve never left a woman unsatisfied in my life.’

‘All right, you win.’ She lifted a hand in a gesture of supplication, so desperately unsettled by their verbal exchange that she knew she needed to escape. ‘Enough. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m here in place of my sister. If you want me to do any legal work for you, then please knock on my door.’

And, please, don’t let it be any time soon.