by Annie West
‘I suppose you spent time there as a child.’ He’d have happy memories of it. Though the castello had belonged to her grandfather he’d left it empty—the perfect place for an adventurous boy to explore. The idea lessened the unnerving impact of Dario’s absorbed stare.
Dario shook his head. ‘I’ve never set foot inside, nor will I till it’s mine.’
‘But surely you lived somewhere close and—’
He swung round and his eyes, gleaming grey like the barrel of a gun, pinioned her. ‘Didn’t your grandfather tell you?’ He paused as if waiting for her to respond. The intensity of his stare grazed her skin.
‘No, I can see he didn’t.’ His brow puckered as he met her confused gaze. ‘Strange. I thought he’d revel in the story.’ Dario shrugged, turning towards the sea and the distant mainland. His broad shoulders hunched as if against a chill wind only he could feel.
Something about his stance made Alissa want to reach out to him, despite the danger he embodied. He looked so solitary. Like a man in pain. Even his skin seemed taut, stretched across the angles of his face.
‘I didn’t grow up here.’ He hefted a deep breath then another. His broad chest rose and fell but the tension in his corded muscles didn’t slacken. She felt its echo in her own rigid limbs. ‘I grew up over there, on the mainland.’
‘Your family left Sicily?’ That had never occurred to her. She knew Sicilians lived close to their roots, with generations staying in the same village. Her grandfather had only left because his nefarious practices made it too hot for him to stay. ‘They haven’t returned with you?’
‘My family?’ Dario’s mouth twisted in a grimace that tugged at something inside her. ‘I have no family. Not any more.’ He flung out an arm towards the brooding castle. ‘That is all I have left of my family.’
Alissa opened her mouth to question him, but didn’t get the chance as he swung round to face her. His eyes flashed with possessive fire.
‘The castello belongs to me by birth, by right, by tradition.’ His eyes narrowed and her pulse thundered as his hot gaze raked her. ‘Now it’s mine by marriage too.’
For a moment grey eyes meshed with blue, tension spiked between them like an arc of high-voltage energy. The air sizzled and her heart pounded.
Was he claiming the castello or her as well?
With a raw gasp Alissa spun round and stumbled up the path, uncaring what he thought of her sudden flight. He frightened her. He had the driven look of a man who didn’t mind what rules he broke as long as he won. The sort of man she’d learned to fear and despise.
Yet there was something else in his eyes, some strong emotion that squeezed her chest tight just at the tiny glimpse of his passion. Was it pain? Grief? Regret?
She shook her head. Why go to such lengths to acquire a place he’d never set foot in? This wasn’t about mere avarice, she understood that much at least. This was about something more fundamental.
What had he meant, that the castello was all he had of his family? Surely he exaggerated. She couldn’t imagine a Sicilian with no family. More, she felt a dull ache of distress at the idea of anyone deprived of family. Her grandfather had been appalling but her sister meant everything to her.
Alissa catapulted to a stop just inside the house, her mind reeling. Trepidation shivered through her as she remembered Dario’s steamy, proprietorial look. The look that curled her toes and stopped her breath.
She had an unnerving premonition her peaceful stay, safe from his attention, was going to end in calamity.
* * *
Alissa scooped the plastic bucket through wet sand and plonked it on the lopsided sandcastle. Giorgio’s little girls, Anna and Maria, crowed with delight when she lifted the bucket, leaving a perfect round turret. The toddlers clambered close, their hands full of shiny pebbles and shells, ready to decorate it.
‘Careful!’ Alissa grabbed one of the twins as she wobbled and lost her footing. ‘There you are, sweetheart.’ She sat Anna before her so she could reach the tower.
Their chortles made her smile, especially when Maria turned and draped strands of seaweed over Alissa’s hair.
‘A mermaid, am I?’
‘With that hair there’s no doubt about it.’ The deep voice rumbled out of nowhere, dragging her round to face the sea. Her breath slid out and for a moment she forgot to breathe.
‘Dar-yo, Dar-yo.’ The twins erupted into movement, wriggling to their feet with an urgency that spelled ruin for their sandcastle.
His stride was fluid. She watched the bunch and release of muscles in his chest, abdomen and long legs as he cleared the waves. He wore low-slung swim shorts that revealed the perfect interplay of sinew and muscle. Each tiny movement mesmerised her, as if she’d never seen a man before.
She’d never seen one like Dario.
From his water-slick coal-black hair to the perfection of his body and the grin he directed at the girls hurtling towards him, he was breathtaking. The glint of water on his flesh gilded him in the early-morning light. He looked like a sea god, powerful and potent. Alissa’s insides contracted in shivery delight just watching him.
Then he was on his knees, arms outstretched to the girls. ‘You’ll get wet,’ he warned, but they catapulted into his arms, babbling in excitement.
Alissa sat back on her heels, stunned, as she absorbed the sight of Dario, who’d manipulated her so remorselessly, laughing with the children. Obviously they knew him well. He understood their lisping baby talk far better than she.
She blinked, remembering his ice-cold enmity in Melbourne, the contemptuous tone as he’d spoken of her family. She’d never have believed him capable of such unfettered joy or such patience as she saw now as the girls draped him with seaweed and shells.
‘You must be a merman too,’ she whispered, unthinking.
Instantly dark grey eyes met hers and heat throbbed between them, blocking out the sound of the girls’ chatter. The world around her eclipsed into a void as the connection between them intensified. He hadn’t done anything but look at her, yet his potent attraction tugged at her.
Abruptly Alissa turned away and her tension eased a fraction. She stumbled to her feet, brushing sand away.
‘You’re not going swimming, are you? There are strong currents.’ His voice, with its husky edge, made her pause, but she didn’t meet his eyes.
‘No. I’ve just learned to wear a swimsuit when I’m here with the girls. I end up getting wet and sandy.’
Yet it wasn’t the fine grit that bothered her now, it was the sensation of his eyes roving over her body in her violet Lycra one-piece. The swimsuit covered everything that ought to be covered but it fitted like a second skin. Flames licked her body as his intense gaze scorched her.
She shook her hair so it fell across her breasts then grabbed her sarong and tied it high, letting the fabric drape round her. Still he watched. That should bother her. But what she felt as she met his stare was more like triumph, like excitement.
What was happening to her?
He knew. The glitter in his eyes, the tight, knowing curve of his lips told her he understood completely.
But it couldn’t be. It was impossible. She couldn’t be susceptible to a man who embodied everything she most hated. He was power-hungry, ruthless, selfish.
Except now, with the girls, his arms curved protectively around them, his head bent to their chatter, he seemed like a different man altogether. A man of gentle, teasing humour and tenderness. A man who, despite his gruelling work schedule and his mega-millions, still had time to know and play with his gardener’s young children. The sort who might even one day tempt her to shed her wariness and hurt and trust a man.
Dario was a puzzle. Whenever she thought she knew him he revealed a new facet that intrigued her.
‘Come,’ he said to the girls, getting to his feet and taking their hands, ‘Alissa is waiting.’
She couldn’t prevent the smile tugging her lips as she watched him: six feet plus of sheer masculin
e power, gently leading the chubby twins. There was seaweed in his hair and a large shell on the wide plane of one straight shoulder. A suspicious melting sensation squeezed her chest. Hurriedly she looked away, gathering buckets and spades.
‘It’s time we went. Breakfast will be ready.’
‘You breakfast with Giorgio and his wife?’
‘Do you object?’ They lived on his estate, where his word was no doubt law. She glanced at the cottage up the hill. The friendship she’d found here meant a lot since she was cut off from her sister and home. It was a delight to spend time with Giorgio’s family now and then and it felt good to help out, giving them a break from the girls’ restless energy since they had a newborn to care for.
‘If they wish to invite you into their home, that is a matter for them.’
Instantly defensive, Alissa thought she detected disapproval in his voice. Her spine stiffened and her chin lifted. For a few moments she’d forgotten his low opinion of her. Now that knowledge stabbed her through the middle.
‘Don’t let us hold you up.’ She gestured in the direction of his villa. ‘You’ve probably got early-morning meetings. I’ll see the girls home.’
He stood motionless so long she thought he’d ignore her dismissal. Finally he hunkered down beside the girls and said something in the local dialect that made them burst into giggles.
‘Enjoy your breakfast, Alissa.’ His husky, deep voice swirled around her, making her skin prickle with unwanted awareness. Then he turned and walked away along the beach, his stride easy and assured, owner of all he surveyed. Despite her best intentions she followed every step, avidly drinking in the superb picture he made.
Grimly she warned herself to be sensible.
So he liked children.
So he was gorgeous.
So his smile made her heart flip over.
He’d never smile like that at her. Dario and she were destined to be enemies.
Pity they were also man and wife.
CHAPTER SEVEN
DARIO WRENCHED THE tie from his throat and tossed it onto a chair. His cufflinks followed, then his shirt as he strode onto his private balcony. The sultry air was so still he could taste the impending storm on his tongue.
But it wasn’t the weather that got under his skin. He’d been unable to concentrate all day and had come home early. All because of Alissa. He’d taken in barely one word in ten at his meetings. His mind had been fixed on the woman who kept him awake night after night. His wife.
He couldn’t shake the images of her on the beach today. Skin lustrous as pearls. Hair seductive fire, spilling round her. Body all feminine curves, lusciously rounded at hips and breasts yet such a tiny waist.
More, he grappled with the shock of seeing her happy and carefree with Anna and Maria. He’d pegged her as a woman who’d have no time for children. Yet she’d been careful of them, joining their fun while keeping a watchful eye on them. Her pleasure had been genuine and the sight of her had stopped him in his tracks as he emerged from his swim.
His body had responded predictably to the picture she made: a sexy, gorgeous, half-naked woman in the role of nurturer. Grimly he’d realised nothing could appeal more to a man’s most basic instinct: to mate.
Meanwhile he struggled to adjust his assessment of her. This woman was more complex than he’d first thought. Dangerously complex. Something about her made him yearn for things he couldn’t quite grasp. Yearn for things other than the carefully orchestrated future he’d set as his goal a lifetime ago to fill the yawning void in his life.
He tunnelled a hand through his hair, noting the encroaching storm clouds. A flash of white out to sea snagged his attention. Someone was out on a sea kayak. Someone in a white shirt with dark red hair. Too far out, with this storm coming in so fast. The bay grew dangerous when the wind was up, a lethal trap for the unwary.
Seconds later Dario was racing to the beach.
* * *
Alissa clung to the kayak, straining to drag herself up. But the strength had seeped from her arms. They were like jelly. She’d ventured too far out, only realising it was time to turn around when the rumble of thunder alerted her to changing weather. She’d raced back as fast as she could, but she’d grown exhausted as she struggled against unfamiliar currents and the suddenly massive sea.
A freak wave had toppled her over. Now all she could do was hang on. Fear swamped her but she refused to give in to it, despite the lashing spray that bit her skin and the surge that tossed her like flotsam. So long as she held on she had a chance. But her numb fingers were loosening.
A movement made her yelp as something slid against her. Were there sharks? Panic swelled and she swallowed water, half submerged beneath the waves.
Something hard encircled her arm, biting into her frozen flesh. It pulled and she came up for air, spluttering and gasping. Her heart was ready to burst and her lungs worked like bellows to draw in oxygen.
Swearing. She heard swearing. In Italian. Her befuddled brain barely took that in before she was grabbed beneath the arms and hauled from the sea.
‘Hang on tight,’ a barely audible voice instructed over the roar of the sea.
Dario. She recognised that husky-edged growl, even through the sound of the storm. She felt warmth beneath her and realised she was lying across his legs. He’d climbed onto the kayak and dragged her up too.
Relief swelled as she clutched his solid body. She’d be safe now. She couldn’t imagine anything defeating him. If any man could battle the elements and win it was Dario. His determination, his sheer strength, would see them through. Besides, imagine his temper if she drowned before they inherited his precious castello!
It was the cessation of noise that roused her. The storm’s full-throated roar died to a muffled rumble. The needles of rain on her skin stopped abruptly. Alissa’s eyes fluttered open to an awareness of being held against something hot and solid. She nuzzled her head against her makeshift pillow and heard the steady thud of a heartbeat.
Dario! For a moment she allowed herself the luxury of sinking against him. Any longer would be dangerous.
‘You can put me down.’ Her voice cracked.
‘Why, so you can run off and do something equally stupid?’ he growled. His grip tightened. She looked up to see his chin jutting above her like the prow of a warship.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t realise how fast the storm was coming in.’ Remembered fear choked her throat and she bit her unsteady lip as he lowered her onto a fabric-covered surface. She blinked and looked around the gloomy interior. They were in the boat shed, jet skis and other craft stored around them. Alissa looked down to discover he’d sat her on a canvas day bed.
‘Here.’ Thick towelling draped her shoulders and strong hands rubbed her back, her hair, her arms. Slowly she felt the blood circulate, tingling through her body.
‘I’m sorry,’ she mumbled again. ‘I didn’t mean to put you in danger.’
‘Me!’ The towel was stripped away to reveal him full square before her, feet planted wide, like a warrior ready for battle. This warrior wore nothing but saturated boxer shorts and a gold watch. His chest heaved—with emotion, she suspected, rather than exertion. His glare could cut solid rock. Right now it sliced into her.
Alissa tugged the massive towel round her shoulders, her movements weak and uncoordinated after her desperate exertions. She tried not to feel intimidated by the blast of anger and undiluted testosterone he projected.
‘You’re worried about me?’ His voice rose incredulously. ‘Didn’t I say the bay had dangerous currents? Didn’t you see the storm approaching?’
She shook her head, feeling every kind of fool for putting herself in a situation where she needed rescuing. She’d been so distracted by thoughts of Dario, trying to make sense of the complex man and his motivations, she’d forgotten basic safety precautions like checking her distance from the shore.
‘I apologise.’
‘You apologise!’ His voice was like thunder, wel
ling around them. ‘You could have been killed.’ His hands were bulging fists, the muscles bunching ominously in his arms. ‘Do you have any notion how close you came to drowning?’
Alissa didn’t feel safe any more. The fury in his tone sparked recognition. A lifetime’s lessons in violence stiffened her sinews. She scented the anger on his skin and instinctively she slid along the day bed, out of his reach. She swung her legs to the floor and forced herself to stand. She swayed but held herself upright with one hand clutching the metal bed frame.
‘What are you doing, woman?’ His forehead pleated, dark brows jamming together. ‘Sit down before you fall!’
Dumbly she shook her head, her eyes never leaving his. She didn’t have the strength to run. All she could do was try to anticipate his first move.
He strode forward and fear clawed up through her chest. But instead of raising his hand he grabbed her and dragged her hard against his chest. His heart slammed a rough tattoo against hers as he lifted her off her feet.
‘You have to be the most obstinate, difficult woman—’
The accusation ended as he bent his head and took her mouth in a plundering, voracious kiss that drew her into a storm of unrepentant desire. He swallowed her instinctive protest, clasping her close to his slippery body.
Shock held her immobile. In that instant before she could gather her wits he vanquished her incipient protest as his mouth softened. Now his lips and tongue caressed, invited, tempted. One hand slid down to cup her bottom and draw her close to the hard urgency of his body.
Excitement shivered through her. Sweet desire. Need. Her exhaustion was forgotten as she drank in his kisses, returning them with an untutored fervour that would have astonished her if she’d been capable of thought.
Nothing was real but this. His body straining urgently against hers. His mouth an instrument of pleasure. She cupped his jaw in her hands and felt a thrill of delight as this powerful man shuddered against her.
* * *
What was he doing? From somewhere a shard of reason pierced his non-functioning brain.
Alissa suffered from shock and exposure. She’d almost lost her life in the sea. The damnable treacherous sea that had been his enemy for so long. It had stolen everything that mattered to him. Everyone.
