The Count's Prize

by Christina Hollis

  Dismissing a footman who offered to help, he lifted a plate from the nearest stack of delicate china and handed it to her himself.

  ‘You’ve barely touched your champagne. Shall I get you a soft drink instead?’

  ‘No, this is wonderful.’ Josie took a sip, but he could tell it was just for the look of the thing. Her attention was riveted on him.

  She is making real progress, he thought, watching her expand beneath the warmth of his gaze like a beautiful butterfly emerging from a chrysalis. There was a glow of confidence about her tonight that she usually only wore while working. Dario had never given much thought to her hair before, but now he had to fight the urge to reach out and touch it all the time. Instead of being scraped back in a formidably efficient ponytail, it was arranged in a glorious confection which seemed spun from barley sugar. Her lovely dress left her arms and most of her shoulders bare, and he could see the tan line left by the short sleeves of the simple tops she usually wore. Wherever her skin had been exposed to the Tuscan sun, the past few days had toasted it to light gold. He found the contrast delicious. Her legs never normally saw the light of day when hidden by her working uniform of white T-shirt and overalls, and he looked down to see if they were pale, too. The room was warm and, as far as Dario was concerned, it was getting warmer by the second.

  ‘I’m so sorry I messed you about over your invitation, Dario,’ she murmured. ‘I haven’t enjoyed a party so much for … well, ever!’

  Dario smiled away her apology. He liked the way her breath was coming in nervous little laughs tonight. The chandeliers high above threw dancing shadows as she moved, accentuating the tempting depths of her cleavage. The fine material of her dress showed him something else. The rise of her nipples was so blatantly obvious through the silk of her bodice, Dario could forgive her anything. And, now she was with him, he felt more relaxed than he could remember.

  In contrast, Josie couldn’t stand still. Once she had made up her mind to think only of enjoying herself, it was as if her body had woken up from a long hibernation. The nearness of Dario sent sparks fizzing up and down her spine. Although more guests were arriving at the buffet all the time, she was only aware of him and every movement he made—offering her first choice of all the delicious dishes on display, or half turning to talk to someone beside him. She felt almost too shy to look at him directly, but that hardly mattered. His slightest movement sent the delicate notes of his vanilla and spice aftershave wandering through the air between them. His fine, capable hands moved briefly into her line of vision now and again as he reached for something to pass to one of his guests. Polite and attentive, he kept every conversation light and easy. Josie was glad—she could hardly think of a thing to say. The sound of his voice was like deep water, tempting her to go closer than might be safe. And then …

  And then, in the crush of people around the buffet table, they were jostled together. Josie felt his hand go to her bare shoulder, steadying her. Her head jerked around, but she found her automatic challenge calmed by one of Dario’s special smiles. The feel of his body pressed against hers made Josie blush, and not in anger.

  ‘I always assumed that life in a grand castello like this would be very prim and proper,’ she managed to say, then gasped as he slyly glided his hand down over her back until it found a resting place at her waist. At the loss of his touch, it was all Josie could do to suppress a moan of disappointment.

  Desire left her feeling light-headed. The room suddenly felt very hot. She rode this wave of warmth and waited to be engulfed by another embarrassing blush. Then she realised something else was happening to her body. Heat wasn’t only travelling upwards. It was circling in a liquid coil of excitement, centred on a part of her body that had always been more trouble than it was worth in the past. Tonight, it made her feel spectacular. There was barely a whisper of a gap between her body and Dario’s. Only the decency of their clothes stood between the subtle friction of his skin against hers. Josie’s lips parted. She felt a little gasp escape. It wasn’t loud enough for anyone else to hear, but Dario noticed. She smiled at him—a tentative look from beneath her eyelashes, but he understood. His bland expression dissolved and his eyes blazed with desire before he smiled, slowly.

  ‘You sound hot, Josie,’ he said in a low voice. ‘When we’ve chosen our food, why don’t we take it somewhere a little cooler?’ … and more private, was the assumption.

  This was about much more than simply relaxing. Josie knew it would be so easy to say yes to Dario—but so dangerous. She could hardly wait to experience the luxury of his kisses again, although she knew that would be just the beginning. She could not expect a man like him to be satisfied with a single kiss—and, with a certainty that scared her, Josie knew she wanted more than that, too. Since Andy had abandoned her she had resisted every other attempt to sweet-talk her into bed, but tonight was different. Dario was unique.

  ‘That would be good,’ she said slowly.

  He raised his eyebrows. ‘Is that all?’

  ‘For the moment.’ She adjusted her corsage of orchids. ‘You have all your other guests to satisfy first, don’t forget.’ The double meaning was deliberate, and both she and Dario knew it.

  ‘I’ve spoken to everyone else already and they’re mingling quite happily. So, as it’s my special night, it’s time I found something to satisfy me.’ The blatant hunger in his eyes made her mouth go dry and her breath catch. Suddenly it was impossible to tear her eyes from his and for a long moment they simply stood, gazes locked, while the rest of the world seemed to melt away.

  Josie felt as though she were falling down Alice’s rabbit hole, as though after tonight she’d emerge a whole new person. Feeling suddenly overwhelmed at what that might mean, she wrenched her eyes away and concentrated on the canapés, helping herself to a couple of tiny lobster crostini. She took a deep breath, determined to change the subject.

  ‘This really is the most wonderful party, Dario.’

  ‘I thought you weren’t keen on parties,’ he said slyly.

  ‘True, yet I’ve never in my life been to something as opulent as this.’

  ‘Then you’re glad you came?’

  ‘Definitely. It’s the best party I’ve ever been to. Well, unless you count my birthdays!’

  ‘Oh, so you do indulge yourself sometimes, then?’

  She laughed. ‘Not really. It’s just something my mum has always done for me, every year for as long as I can remember. She makes a cake just big enough for the two of us, supposedly in secret, and we splash out on a takeaway—someone else does the cooking, and there’s no washing-up. A bit like this—only about a thousand times smaller!’ she joked.

  ‘It must be wonderful to have someone think so much of you that they do that for you every year.’

  ‘You’d swap all this for that?’ She laughed.

  ‘Yes. I would.’

  She looked at him, incredulous, and noticed a trace of wistfulness in his expression.

  ‘You’re not telling me you’ve never been given a birthday party?’

  ‘No, I never have.’

  ‘Not even when you were tiny?’

  He shook his head.

  ‘Dario, that’s awful!’

  ‘It was the same for Antonia.’ He shrugged off her concern.

  ‘No wonder she used to love to party all night, every chance she got.’

  He smiled wryly. ‘I think it was certainly part of it. How did you cope, sharing a flat?’

  ‘When I’d had enough, I used to go and stay at Andy’s—when he was my fiancé. Obviously, that stopped when …’ Josie paused in surprise. The normal dull stab of pain hadn’t come when she’d mentioned Andy’s name. Perhaps, on this glittering evening, with this beautiful man, she could leave the past behind. She remembered what Dario had said: foolish man, not to see what he had. Just for a moment, she felt it might have been true.

  ‘Don’t think of him now.’ Dario reached out and brushed a strand of shining hair behind her ear.
>
  ‘No! I want to tell you.’

  Suddenly, she wanted Dario to know her sad little story, as though in saying it, she would be free.

  ‘Andy didn’t just cheat, you see. He’d been having an affair for a while, and it turned out quite a few members of the faculty had known all about it. I found out he had been putting it around that I was … That he wasn’t getting.’ She blushed and went silent.

  ‘I’m sorry. I had no idea,’ Dario said grimly.

  ‘I’m still surprised Antonia hasn’t told you all about this,’ she said, looking at him acutely as she moved away from the table. Dario shadowed her closely.

  ‘I may have practically raised my little sister single-handed, but that doesn’t mean we discuss each other’s friends.’ He guided Josie away from the crowds.

  She twitched a shoulder, relieved. ‘Maybe I’ve now just become too suspicious of everyone’s motives!’

  ‘Suspicious? How could anyone ever be suspicious of me?’ Dario rocked back on his heels with mock-injured innocence. ‘I have no secrets. Everything I do is completely transparent. With me, what you see is what you get.’ The corner of his mouth twitched wryly, belying his words.

  ‘I’m not so sure about that,’ said Josie, remembering the way he had clammed up on her that first day, when she’d suggested there might be skeletons in his past.

  ‘Then take my word for it. Work aside, are you enjoying your stay here?’ he said as they strolled along.

  ‘I’m loving every minute,’ Josie said. Walking along beside Dario, through a beautiful Italian castle, she was living her most exotic fantasy. ‘It’s all wonderful—far beyond anything I’ve experienced before.’ She shook her head in wonder until the diamond drops of her borrowed earrings tinkled.

  Dario looked down at her, his eyes dark and thoughtful. He knew he could take her, that tonight she was his. Yet suddenly he found himself wanting more from her than just her body. He wanted her to know more of him, to show her something of himself—something more intimate even than the kisses they’d shared. Impulsively, he said, ‘Let me show you what I’ve been working on today.’

  Lifting her plate and glass from her hands, he put them on the nearest wide stone windowsill. Then he gravely offered her his arm. With a thrill of daring, Josie put her hand into the crook of his elbow. With a smile of triumph, he led her out through the quadrangle, beneath the boughs of the ancient apricot tree towards the privacy of his artist’s studio.

  CHAPTER NINE

  ‘WOW! So this is what you get up to!’ Josie breathed as Dario opened the door to a small modern office unit, discreetly sited away from the castello.

  Dario had real artistic skill. She could see that before she crossed the threshold of the building. His work was everywhere. Bright abstracts and stylized still-life studies hung from the walls, stood on easels or leaned against shelves neatly lined with equipment. His eye for composition was obvious, he had a free and easy way with media of all types and a real feeling for colour.

  ‘You’ll never see it all from there.’

  He put his arm lightly around her shoulder to draw her inside. At first Josie was distracted by the warmth of his touch, but then her curiosity got the better of her. She moved away to inspect a Rothko-inspired piece waiting to be finished off.

  ‘You could do this professionally, Dario.’

  ‘Yes, but I’m not going to. You, on the other hand, really could do something with your talent.’

  ‘And the equipment you sent me. In all the excitement, I forgot to thank you for it.’ Turning to him, she rose on tiptoe and spontaneously kissed him on the cheek. ‘Thank you, Dario.’

  ‘You’re very welcome,’ he said warmly. This evening was turning out to be a revelation on so many levels. Not even Tamara or other women like her, in his bed or out of it, could make him feel so alive. Josie had attracted him from the first moment he’d seen her. Those reckless moments in the clearing had been wonderful while they’d lasted, but coming out with Arietta’s name had wrecked everything. He had been working through an emotional hangover since then, unable to expose himself again. And then Josie had appeared at his party. Not only that, but she had made it very clear that she was here to enjoy everything he had to offer. Everything.

  His chest tightened and his breathing became shallow. His heart was pounding, but this time it was more measured than at the picnic. When he looked at Josie tonight, he felt no trace of betraying his past. Arietta would never leave him, but he wouldn’t allow her memory to intrude this time. Tonight, he felt transformed. A weight he hadn’t realised he had been carrying fell away from his shoulders. It freed him to enjoy Josie’s company, and anything else that she might suggest.

  ‘It’s a beautiful evening,’ he said, his voice husky with anticipation. ‘We don’t want to waste it stuck in here. Why don’t we take advantage of it?’

  And each other, he thought as they stepped out into the warm, dark night. She looked so lovely he was almost afraid to touch her, for fear she might break.

  He took her hand and squeezed it. In response, she moved in close to him. The evening was so peaceful, he could hear his own pulse and knew Arietta was slipping away from him with every heartbeat. He could not forget her completely—but she would never again cast such a long shadow over his life. With a pang of guilt mixed with relief, he realised that was a good thing. It was something else he could celebrate with Josie tonight.

  She was gazing up at the night sky. He escorted her away from his studio, taking care to make his movements casual and unforced so as not to alarm her and break the spell.

  The evening was alive as they strolled across the castello’s inner courtyard. Crickets chirruped and the breeze brought the fragrance of wild honeysuckle whispering in from beyond the high walls surrounding them. Then the sounds of an orchestra filtered through the warm evening air.

  ‘You have a band?’

  ‘Not personally.’ Dario smiled. ‘They’re hired for the evening. Listen—I love this tune, don’t you?’

  Before Josie knew it, she was in his arms.

  Words weren’t needed. The feel of his hand spreading protectively over the small of her back and his fingers lacing into hers was enough. Rocking gently, he danced her slowly around the courtyard. Taut with nerves, Josie followed his lead.

  ‘Relax.’

  He dropped his head so that it nestled against her shoulder. She could feel his breath moving in delicate ripples over her bare skin. The feel of it and the softness of his hair brushing her cheek was enough to release a shudder of longing from her body.

  ‘I knew you’d like this song.’

  ‘It’s … incredible.’

  ‘You deserve nothing less, Josie,’ he murmured.

  ‘I don’t know about that.’

  ‘Stop it—you always do yourself down! You’ve already achieved so much in your life, climbed so high, and all on your own. Tonight, you should enjoy being the most beautiful star of them all.’

  Josie giggled nervously. He leaned back a little so he could search her expression.

  ‘Why laugh? There’s nothing funny about that.’

  ‘You’re right. I shouldn’t have done it. It’s just that … it’s been a very long time since anyone said anything like that to me.’

  ‘Then “anyone” has been most remiss.’

  ‘There hasn’t been an “anyone”. Not since Andy left me,’ she murmured, adding silently to herself, and I won’t want anyone else now I’ve had your arms around me, Dario.

  She couldn’t say that out loud. It would sound too lonely and needy.

  ‘It sounds like your Andy was a bastard.’

  Josie shook her head ruefully. ‘No. He was just a man with ambition. We met on the same course at university and found we had the same aims and the same dreams. At first we shared everything with each other, and planned for the future. I blamed him so much for cheating on me, but maybe … maybe we never loved each other properly. Not like—’ Not like how I’m s
tarting to feel about you, she almost said, before snapping her mouth closed to block the words. This giddy feeling wasn’t love! It was probably just sheer relief that she was forgiving Andy, and happiness at the beauty of the night.

  ‘You’re a loyal woman not to bad-mouth him in public.’

  ‘Oh, don’t talk to me about loyalty.’ She groaned. ‘My mother still cooks Sunday lunch for two every weekend, just in case my father walks back through the door. I tell her that’s hardly likely after ten years, but she brings a whole new meaning to the word “faithful”.’

  Dario’s arm tightened around her. ‘So your father walked out, and your fiancé abandoned you …?’ His voice sounded light, but underneath he was seething with anger at the two men who had dared to treat Josie so callously. ‘It’s a wonder you trust any men at all.’

  ‘I don’t—which is why I’m not harbouring any illusions about you, Dario!’

  She forced a laugh. In response, he drew her so closely in to the shelter of his body she felt a chuckle emanate from deep within him. It felt so wonderful the last remnants of her self-control began shredding away beneath the gentle movements of their dance. She stopped still, knowing she had to stop now if she was ever going to, and pulled away from his embrace, but as slowly as possible. She couldn’t bear to lose contact with him until the very last moment. Knowing she was about to lose control, she made a last effort to resist.

  ‘Thank you for a truly magical evening, Dario.’

  ‘The pleasure was all mine.’ He trailed his hands down her bare arms, reluctant to finally let her go until the last moment. Gazing at her through the dusky light, he suddenly noticed something and tutted. ‘I’m afraid our dance didn’t do your corsage much good.’