A Night of Royal Consequences

by Susan Stephens

  ‘I’ll take my chances.’ Luca’s stare was long and steady. ‘By the time I’ve finished, you won’t have a stitch of clothing on,’ he promised.

  She shrugged, pretending indifference, but her heart was banging in her chest. ‘If you’d rather not?’

  ‘Oh, I’d rather,’ he said with a look that made her body flame with lust.

  She toed off her trainers, wishing she’d dressed for the Arctic and had more clothes to remove. Luca was in serious danger of winning this game. How would such an experienced man judge her when he saw her naked? But it was exciting and fun, and every bit the adventure she’d dreamed about...the adventure she wouldn’t be telling the Browns about.

  She should have known he’d go commando. He’d lowered his zipper and allowed his shorts to slide down his lean frame. Currently, they were hanging on his thighs. Reaching down, he pushed them the rest of the way and, stepping out of them, he stood in front of her, unconcerned. ‘You still have some way to go,’ he commented.

  She would not look down. ‘My rules state—’ She gasped as Luca yanked her close.

  ‘Your rules count for nothing,’ he assured her in a seductive growl as he nuzzled his stubble-roughened face against her neck.

  ‘Oh—’ Breath shot from her lungs. She couldn’t help but rub her body against his in the hunt for more contact between them, but Luca held her firmly away.

  ‘Not so fast,’ he said, all control, while she was a gasping mass of arousal. ‘I can see I have some training to do.’

  ‘Please,’ she said, making his eyes flare with amusement.

  ‘Nice bra,’ he commented as he deftly removed it.

  Now that was definitely going to give him the wrong idea. She’d chosen something frivolous for Italy. It had seemed such fun at the time. And safe. When she had been shopping in a brightly lit department store with not a single good-looking man around, the flimsy bra and thong had seemed harmless. The brand was quite exclusive, meant for show rather than practicality. Designer lingerie in bright pink silk chiffon bordered with palest aquamarine lace was hardly Callie’s usual choice. She was more of a sensible white cotton type. She could only imagine what Luca was thinking.

  ‘You’re beautiful,’ he murmured, reassuring and disarming her all in one breath.

  ‘No, I’m not.’

  ‘I guess there’s only one way to convince you,’ he said, laughing softly.

  He drew her closer, inch by inch, and then he kissed her. And this was not a teasing brush of his lips, but something more that drew emotion out of her, until she was happy and sad, excited and confused, all at once. She was happy to be here with him, and sad because she knew it couldn’t last. He excited her. Her body was going crazy for more—which he knew. And she was apprehensive too, in case she got this terribly wrong. There were so many ways she could get this wrong.

  ‘Stop,’ Luca murmured against her mouth. ‘Stop thinking and just allow yourself to feel for once. Go with your instincts, Callie.’

  Her instincts were telling her to rub herself shamelessly against him, to part her legs and find relief as quickly as she could for the throbbing ache of frustration that he’d put there. And she had mightily encouraged, Callie conceded. She wanted this badly. Even more than that, she wanted the connection between them to last, but she had to face facts: Luca was an itinerant worker, as was she, and so they’d both move on.

  He kissed away her doubts as he lowered her slowly to the ground. Stretching out his length against hers on the cool swathe of grass, he made sure that the world faded away, leaving just the two of them to kiss and explore each other. It was as if time stood still. Water still bubbled nearby, and a light breeze still ruffled the leaves overhead, but they were in another world where her senses were totally absorbed in Luca’s warm, clean man scent, and the feel of his powerful body against hers. His chest was shaded with just the right amount of dark hair that rasped against her nipples as he moved. She was filled with desire for him, and only felt a moment of apprehension when he reached into the pocket of his discarded shorts and she heard a foil rip. She was glad he had the good sense to protect them both, because she had no intention of pulling back. She had no regrets. None.

  When he dipped his head to suckle her mind exploded with sensation. Moving her head on the cushioned earth, she bucked her hips repeatedly, involuntarily, responding to the hungry demands of her body. In the grip of sexual hunger, she reached for his shoulders and held on tightly, as if she were drowning and Luca was her rock. She had stifle a gasp of excitement when he moved over her. The weight of him against her thighs was new to her, and a little frightening. She had to tell herself that this was what she wanted, and that nothing was going to stop her now, nothing.

  ‘I’m right here,’ he soothed as if he could sense her apprehension.

  ‘Don’t I know it?’ she joked half-heartedly.

  ‘Seriously. Stop worrying. I would never hurt you.’

  She stared into his eyes and saw the truth behind his statement. It was as if that had opened the floodgates to hunger, to curiosity, which left her fierce with passion, as well as uncertain as to what Luca was used to. Goodness knew, her experience was limited, to say the least. She was on a journey of discovery, Callie consoled herself, and this was an adventure that would carve a memory so deep she would never forget this moment, or this man.

  Luca whispered against her mouth, ‘Trust me, Callie,’ and then his hands worked their magic and she was lost.

  ‘Oh...that’s...’

  ‘Good?’ he suggested in a low, amused murmur.

  Her answer was a series of soft, rhythmical sighs. ‘Better than good,’ she managed to gasp.

  ‘More?’ he suggested.

  The hands cupping her buttocks were so much bigger than hers, and his skilful fingers could work all sorts of wickedness.

  ‘Would you like me to touch you here?’

  His tone was low and compelling. ‘So much,’ she admitted, sucking in a shaking breath.

  One of Luca’s slightly roughened finger pads was all it took to send her mindless with excitement. He knew exactly what to do. He started stroking steadily, rhythmically, applying the right amount of pressure at just the right speed.

  ‘Good?’

  Was she supposed to answer? She daren’t speak. She was frightened of losing control.

  ‘Would you like me to tip you over the edge?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’

  ‘Yes, you are.’

  Staring into Luca’s laughing eyes, she knew he was right.

  He kissed her as he explored her, a shallow invasion at first with a single finger, and then deeper, with one, two, and finally three fingers. ‘You’re so ready,’ he commented with approval.

  She rocked her body in time to the steady thrust of Luca’s hand. It wasn’t as good, or as immediate as when he attended to her achingly sensitive little nub. It was a different feeling, and one just as compelling in its way. It made her want him to lodge deep inside her. The urge to be one with him was overwhelming.

  Nudging her thighs apart with his, he continued to touch her in the way that took her mind off everything else. The delicious sensation of having him enclose her buttocks in his big, warm hands while he touched her lightly at the apex of her thighs was startlingly good. He found new ways to tease her, moving his body up and down until she was so aroused he could slide in easily, but then he pulled out again, provoking her more than ever. ‘Don’t stop!’ she exclaimed with frustration.

  He ignored this plea and continued to tease her. Wild for him, she begged for more in words she’d never used before.

  ‘Like this?’ Luca suggested in a low growl.

  She gasped with shock when he sank deep. For a moment she didn’t know if she liked it or not. He was very slow and very careful, but that only gave her chance to realise how much he stretched her. Every nerve ending she possessed leapt instantly to attention. The sensation was sudden and complete. She couldn’t think, she could only f
eel. ‘Yes,’ she sighed, moving with him.

  Luca maintained a dependable rhythm, taking her to the edge and over, and he still moved intuitively, steadily, to make sure that her ride of pleasure continued for the longest possible time. She might have screamed. She might have called his name. She only knew that by the time she quietened her throat was sore, and with a gasp she collapsed back against the grass.

  ‘And we’re only just getting started,’ Luca promised with amusement.

  Still lodged deep, he began to move again, persuasively and gently to take account of her slowly recovering body. He kept up this sensitive buffeting until the fire gripped her again and she wound her legs tightly around his waist as he thrust deep. She didn’t wait to be tipped over the edge this time, but worked her hips with his, falling fast and hard, while Luca held her firmly in place so she received the full benefit of each deep, firm stroke.

  ‘Greedy,’ he approved as she gasped for breath.

  ‘You make me greedy.’ Luca was still hard. She was still hungry. She reached for him and he took her again.

  Callie was unique in his experience. It was as if they’d been lovers for years, but could enjoy the first, furious appetite that came with discovery of someone special. Not only could she match him, she fired him like no other. He was driven by the primitive urge to imprint himself on her body, her mind, and her memory. Pinning her down beneath him with her arms above her head, he thrust firmly to the hilt. She growled, and bucked towards him, as hungry as she had ever been. She was wild and abandoned, as he’d imagined Callie would be once he discovered what lay beneath her carefully cultivated shell. When they were still again, she turned towards him, as slowly as if her bones had turned to lead. Smiling, she managed groggily, ‘You’re amazing.’

  ‘And so are you,’ he replied softly.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THEY BATHED IN the stream, seemingly unaware of the chill of the water, and dried off on the bank next to each other, kissing and staring into each other’s eyes. Luca seemed surprised when she insisted she would go home on one of the staff buses, but she wasn’t ready to spend the night with him. She needed to clear her head and come to terms with the fact that this might have been a life-changing experience, but it had no future.

  Let this be, she thought as Luca smiled against her mouth before kissing her. Let it remain shiny and special. Allow nothing to taint it. She had those same thoughts when she boarded the bus, but by the time she walked into the hotel lobby her mood had changed, mainly because the concierge was waiting for her, and he looked worried to death.

  ‘Thank goodness, Signorina Smith. This came for you.’

  She looked at the envelope he was holding out. It was obviously urgent. She ripped it open and started reading. There was some confusion about her room at the bed and breakfast. She had intended to move hotels tomorrow, but now it seemed her room at the B & B was no longer available. Crumpling the note in her hand, she frowned as she wondered what to do next. She couldn’t afford to stay on here.

  ‘Signorina Smith?’

  The concierge was hovering anxiously. ‘Yes?’

  ‘Forgive my intrusion, but I can see how concerned you are. Please don’t be worried. The manager at the establishment you had hoped to move to left that note for you. He has informed us of a problem, and so it is arranged that you continue to stay here.’

  Callie’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. ‘I’m afraid I can’t afford to stay here,’ she admitted frankly. The concierge looked as embarrassed as she felt and this wasn’t his fault. ‘I’d love to stay on,’ she added warmly. ‘Everyone’s been so kind to me, but I need to find somewhere cheaper. Maybe you can help?’

  ‘Please, signorina,’ the concierge implored, shifting uncomfortably from polished shoe to polished shoe. ‘There will be no charge. You have been let down. This is a matter of local pride. The management of this hotel and the staff who care for you will be insulted if you offer payment.’

  ‘And I’ll be insulted if I don’t,’ Callie said bluntly. ‘I really can’t stay on if I don’t pay my way.’

  ‘The cost of your room has been covered.’

  She swung around in surprise. ‘Luca! Are you following me?’

  ‘Yes,’ he admitted.

  ‘What do you know about this?’ she demanded. Luca, tousled and magnificent, couldn’t have looked more incongruous in the sleek, polished surroundings of the five-star hotel. She had to curb a smile as she glanced down at her clothes, and then at his. They both looked exactly what they were, labourers from the fields, which was another reason for decamping to another, much plainer establishment. Not that her body could have cared less what Luca was wearing. As far as her body was concerned, Luca looked better naked, anyway.

  A million and one feelings flooded through her as they stared at each other. ‘Are you responsible for this?’ she asked, holding out the letter. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the concierge, who’d returned to his booth, looking more anxious than ever. Something was definitely going on. Luca knew Marco. Had they pulled strings between them so that she would have to stay with Luca? She refused to be manipulated, especially by Luca.

  ‘I couldn’t help overhearing that you were having difficulties,’ he began.

  She bit her tongue and decided to wait to see what he said next. When he shrugged and smiled, threatening to weaken her resolve, she said, ‘I don’t suppose you know anything about my mysterious benefactor, or the fact that the hotel is refusing to charge me?’

  He raised a brow. ‘Don’t you like it here?’

  ‘That’s not the point,’ she insisted. It hadn’t escaped her notice that Luca was speaking as calmly as if he were a tour operator dealing with a quibbling client, rather than a controlling alpha male who seemed to think that everything and everyone should run to his prescription. He might have quite literally swept her off her feet at the party, but post-party common sense had had time to set in.

  ‘My only concern is that you have somewhere comfortable to stay,’ he insisted.

  She bristled. ‘Well, thank you, but I’m quite capable of making my own arrangements.’

  ‘They had a burst pipe at the small establishment where you booked a room,’ Luca explained while the concierge nodded vehemently. ‘Marco alerted me to this, and the concierge was only trying to help.’

  ‘How did Marco know I was planning to move to the B & B?’ she asked suspiciously.

  ‘I’m sorry, Callie, but you can’t live in a small town like this and not know what’s going on.’

  ‘So Marco told you?’ How could she have been so dim?

  ‘Stay on at the hotel,’ Luca offered, as if he were the owner of the sumptuous building. ‘You’ll be closer to the lemon groves here.’ He shot her a questioning look. ‘That’s if you intend to continue working on the Prince’s estate.’

  ‘Of course I do,’ Callie confirmed. She loved it on the Prince’s estate, and was nowhere near ready to leave yet.

  ‘So, come back with me.’

  Luca was waiting at the lobby door, as if it were all a done deal. Did he mean go back to the party with him? Or did Luca have something different in mind? She had paid for the hotel until tomorrow, and packing could wait until the morning. Meanwhile...adventure beckoned!

  More adventure? Why not? Luca was everything virile and masculine, drawing her deeper into the adventure she’d always dreamed about. ‘Thank you for your concern,’ she said, knowing she needed time to think more than ever now. ‘And, thank you,’ she added to the concierge as she walked away.

  * * *

  Callie avoided him the next day. His pride was piqued. However, everyone broke for lunch in the afternoon and congregated at the cookhouse. She was there, and they nodded to each other as they stood in line.

  ‘Luca.’

  Her greeting was cool. She hadn’t appreciated his interference at the hotel, he gathered. He was hot from the fields, and hot for Callie, who had spent the morning in an air-conditione
d facility the size of an aircraft hangar. Small, neat and clean, she slammed into his senses in her prim little buttoned-up blouse. Her denim shorts were short and they displayed her legs to perfection, as well as a suggestion of the curve of the bottom he’d caressed last night. That was all he needed before an afternoon’s work.

  ‘Excuse me, please,’ she said politely, waiting with her loaded tray to move past him.

  The urge to ruffle those smooth feathers and make her wild with passion again was more than a passing thought. Weighing up the bandana he wore tied around his head to keep his crazy hair under control, she moved on to scrutinise the ancient top skimming his waist, though was careful not to look any lower. He took charge of her tray. Her gaze settled on his hands, and then his wrists, which were banded with leather studded with semi-precious stones, collected for him by the children of Fabrizio so he wouldn’t forget them while he was away. ‘I can manage, thank you,’ she said, trying to take the tray off him.

  ‘I’m sure you can,’ he agreed, ‘but sometimes it’s good to let people help you.’

  Her brow pleated in thought as if she’d heard this somewhere before.

  ‘Are you staying on at the hotel, or have you found somewhere else to stay?’ he enquired lightly as he carried her tray to the table where Anita was waiting for Callie to join her.

  ‘Is that why you’re here? To question me?’ Callie probed with a penetrating look.

  For a moment he couldn’t decide whether to shrug off her question or throw her over his shoulder like the caveman she thought him. He did know one thing. The tension between them couldn’t be sustained.

  ‘See you later,’ he said, turning to go.

  ‘Not if I see you first,’ she called teasingly after him.

  A little frustration would do them both good, he decided. Ignoring the buzz of interest that accompanied him to the door, he saluted the chefs and left the cookhouse.

  * * *

  Infuriating man! How was it possible to feel so aroused, and yet control the impulse to jump on Luca and ravish him in front of everyone? Which was probably exactly how he expected her to feel. The tension in the cookhouse had been high, and made worse because people were obviously trying hard not to stare at them. She had tried to start a conversation with Anita, but couldn’t concentrate and kept losing her train of thought.