by Maggie Cox
‘You don’t believe in taking risks, then?’
‘You came here to talk to me about my tenancy, Signor Carrera... Don’t you think we’d better just get on with that?’ Endeavouring to sound firm, she felt wary of him seeing her as potentially weak and taking advantage.
Allowing his gaze to roam leisurely over the disconcertingly lovely features before him, Bastian realised that something that should have been easy—that he dealt with as a matter of course in his business life—suddenly felt tiresomely difficult.
Mulling over what she might have meant when she’d confessed that her life had been rather difficult lately and things had made her lose faith in her ability, he quickly ran his mind through the gamut of possibilities. Had she been bereaved? Was she recovering from an accident or an illness? Or had she lost her money in one of those deplorable financial scams?
Then it dawned on him.
She’d been recently divorced, his father had said. No doubt her confidence had been shaken by her marriage not working out. It must have been harder still if she’d really loved the man...
Because the idea disturbed him more than it ought, he steered his thoughts back to the matter in hand and said firmly, ‘Very well, then. We will talk business. Regrettably, my father and I need you to vacate the property as soon as possible, signora, and we will gladly compensate you in order for you to do that. As you have already been advised, we will even find you similar suitable accommodation in the area.’
Lily rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms as if she was feeling cold. His heart thudded at the thought of a very particular way of warming her. It had been a long time since he’d felt so attracted to a woman, and the fact that he did so now, with this woman, would turn out to be a major inconvenience should he succumb to it.
‘Do you really expect me to agree to leave just like that?’ she demanded, tucking a long strand of hair turned golden by the sun behind her ear. ‘I have rights too, you know.’
‘Of course you do. That’s why we have made you a very good offer to help you agree to go. You will not be out of pocket, or left to find alternative accommodation on your own.’ Taking a deep breath in, Bastian felt oddly ill at ease as he garnered himself to say what he had to say next. ‘If you do not agree to leave, I’m afraid we may have to resort to having the authorities evict you.’
Immediately she pushed to her feet. Bastian saw her upper lip quiver and a vivid rose tint spread over her cheeks.
It made him feel like an absolute louse that he’d put her in such an untenable position. Never before had the necessity to do such a thing in the name of business overly disturbed him. From early on in his career he’d learned that he couldn’t please everyone, that sometimes it was necessary to stick to his guns in order to get what he wanted. But it perturbed him that he was going to disappoint her.
‘You would really do that? Do you honestly think that’s fair?’
Lifting a broad, hard-muscled shoulder and dropping it again, he aimed to keep his tone matter-of-fact and not resort to getting into a disagreeable confrontation. He was well aware that on rare occasions heightened emotions could get the better of him.
‘We gave you plenty of notice.’ Standing up, he drove his hand exasperatedly through his hair. ‘Surely that was enough?’
‘It wasn’t...it isn’t.’
Determined to let him know she was no pushover, Lily stood her ground. Bastian Carrera wasn’t going to treat her as though she was some meek little lamb whose needs weren’t important and get away with it! Other people had treated her in such a cavalier fashion before and she wouldn’t tolerate it.
Memories came of being mocked at school for being shy and awkward and refusing to be part of any clique—it had singled her out to the class bullies. Their cruel taunts and efforts to exclude her from school activities had made her feel even more isolated and alone than she’d already felt at home. Hers had not been a loving household. But the pain of what she’d endured then made her even more determined to stand up to her landlord now.
‘How would you like to be ousted from your place of residence as though you don’t matter? As if your needs are inconsequential?’ Her tone rang with temper. ‘People like me clearly don’t matter to you so long as you get what you want, do they?’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘You know very well what I mean. It’s obvious you believe my needs are nowhere near as important as your own. I’m just an ordinary woman, trying to make her living in the best way I can, and I won’t be dictated to by a man who thinks he’s superior just because he’s inherited wealth and land and doesn’t have to depend on anyone for the fundamental things in life...like a home!’
‘You think I don’t appreciate what I have? That I take my good fortune for granted?’ Bastian’s glance was steely. ‘You have no idea how wrong you are. I work as hard as—if not harder than—any of my employees who need to put food on the table for their families because that’s what I learned from my father. His example taught me that a business is only as good as the people who run it—that we have to value those who work for us and let them know their contribution is essential to the success and wellbeing of us all.’
The passion in his voice made Lily realise how much her comment had got to him. She knew she’d sounded accusing and jealous of his good fortune and she hadn’t meant to convey that at all. That wasn’t the way she felt. All she wanted was to be treated fairly and not to be pushed aside like some annoying inconvenience.
‘I didn’t say that you took anything for granted. I take pride in working hard myself. It’s just that...’
Disturbingly, she somehow found herself face to face with him, and she tried hard not to be distracted by his arresting presence for long enough to finish speaking her mind and let him know how furious she was at what appeared to be his distinct lack of understanding in her case.
‘Couldn’t this necessity of yours to turn over the land to more organic olive groves wait a while longer? At least until the agreed length of my tenancy expires? Can’t you at least think about it?’
Breathing hard, she felt the uncomfortable sensation of sticky perspiration breaking out on her skin, making her feel damp. It was a particularly hot day, but the external temperature wasn’t the only reason for the enervating heat that had descended on her...
It was Bastian Carrera himself.
When he didn’t immediately reply she added lamely, ‘Honestly...you make me so angry.’
His smile was wry—taunting, almost. The fury he’d displayed just now had suddenly dissipated. Yet the residue of that heightened emotion seemed to be unaccountably turning into something far more threatening.
When she glanced back into those haunting, dark eyes of his she saw they were unapologetically sensuous.
‘That is just the kind of thing a lover would say.’
‘What are you talking about?’
She was too flustered to understand how or why events had taken a sudden one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, but they had. However, deep inside she did know.
The tangible tension between them that was now electrifyingly real had simply had to find an outlet.
As if to confirm it, the Italian’s warm, slightly callused hand was suddenly on the back of her neck as he brought his face down to hers. There was no time to think about anything other than the urgent feelings that shockingly made her ache to know him in the most intimate way, to touch and explore him and see if he echoed her hunger.
When his lips voraciously descended on hers, to all but devour them, Lily had her answer. The uncontainable passion he expressed made her heart pound and her blood thicken with the viscosity of molasses. And, whilst her trembling hands held on to the banks of his shoulders as if they would never let go, he murmured something in husky-voiced Italian and slid his hot silken tongue into her mouth.
She groaned with ple
asure. As the kiss became even more erotic it was as if the combustible route they were on was only going to lead to one destination...
As their insatiable contact deepened and grew hotter Lily’s knees gave way, and the short sharp breaths she released against his mouth sounded almost agonised.
Bastian instinctively caught her round the waist to stop her from falling and effortlessly lifted her into his arms. Then he turned and carefully lowered her onto the sofa. Lily’s heart beat like a war drum inside her chest. But it didn’t make her question the wisdom of what she was doing. Her senses were so captivated by the tantalising aroma of him, how he smelled and how he felt, that she knew it was already too late to turn back.
She was hypnotised beyond recall.
With held breath, she watched him hurriedly strip off his shirt. Before he came back to her she had a tantalising glimpse of sleek, tanned musculature that was everything a woman would dream of in a man. His silken toned biceps were like steel ropes beneath his skin, and he had a dusting of inviting ebony hair on his chest. With his deeply assessing brown eyes and a charisma second to none, Lily already knew he was impossible to resist.
Delving into the back pocket of his jeans, she saw him take out something and unzip his fly. In a wave of mercurial heat she realised he was going to protect himself. It shocked her that she hadn’t thought of the need to do the same—but then she was scarcely familiar with such a necessity, was she?
As he positioned himself astride her, his weight pressed her down into the sofa. She heard the leather crackle and settle. Staring up, she knew her gaze was helplessly fixed on him.
Even the simplest of words were hard to summon right then. All thought and sense of time was suspended. Bastian was nipping at her mouth and kissing her forehead, cheeks and eyelids in turn, before pushing her dress up to her middle and caressing her slim torso. His mouth captured hers in a commanding sexy kiss and she felt his hands tug her dress up even higher. When he expertly undid her cream-coloured bra to release her small pert breasts, she gasped.
The sultry air that played against her bare skin had an immediate effect on her. It made her feel like a whole other woman.
Never in her life had Lily behaved so wantonly. But she had always known it would take a very special man to free her desires—a man who would give credence to his senses and wouldn’t be afraid to express them.
Just a second later the Italian lowered his head to take a burgeoning nipple inside his mouth. When he grazed his teeth against her tender skin Lily moaned low and drove her hands into his hair to hold him there. It was the most erotic combination of pleasure and pain she’d ever experienced and she didn’t want it to end.
He lifted his head and a lock of hair fell across his forehead. Meeting her aroused gaze, he spoke with a gravelly husk as he asked, ‘Signora, will you let me take you?’
Her answer was an unequivocal whispered, ‘Yes...oh, yes...’
Reaching down to her panties, he eased them down over her hips and discarded them. Laying his hands against her silken thighs, he pressed them apart. In less than a heartbeat he’d eased himself deep inside her.
A sharp pain made her wince momentarily and catch her breath, but the discomfort very quickly subsided. It was as if she’d been waiting for him all her life. He was hard and hot and everything she’d wanted and yearned for but hadn’t known just how much until the very moment he claimed her.
Both the revelation and the visceral nature of the experience stunned her.
Bastian, too, was taken aback. His gaze was resting on her as though he couldn’t quite believe what was happening.
‘Sei incredibile,’ he murmured.
No more was said as their bodies started to move in the timeless motion that lovers the world over intuitively knew, and Lily instinctively wrapped her slender legs round his lean taut middle the better to accommodate him.
There was no thought of regret whatsoever.
How could she possibly regret something as amazing and sublime as this?
He had said she was incredible, but she would say the same about him—and more.
Never before had Bastian felt so turned on or so sexually hungry, as if he would go out of his mind if he didn’t have her. Recalling that he’d mocked his father when he’d asked if Lily had put him under a spell, he now knew she had done exactly that to him.
She was utterly exquisite, with her silky soft skin, her long-lashed green eyes and hot, tight centre, and he hadn’t missed the fact that she’d been a little too tight when he’d first taken possession. It had surprised him. Maybe the sexual intimacy between her and her ex hadn’t worked out?
But all that was forgotten as he sensed her come undone. The muscles in his arms bunched harder as he held himself still, pausing to give her time to enjoy the release. It appeared as though she was utterly overwhelmed by the experience—as if she’d never encountered a similar response with a man before.
Bastian couldn’t deny that the idea filled him with a surge of undeniable male pride. He was still entranced by the seductive sounds she’d made as he’d pleasured her, and this couldn’t help but heighten his desire. But any further thoughts vanished as the very palpable need in him to attain his own culmination grew undeniably urgent.
‘Look at me,’ he commanded.
Lily complied, her green eyes shimmering like crystal, her beautiful golden hair spread out on the cushions behind her. He thrust hard as his craving grew ever more demanding, and when it reached its crescendo she held him as he cried out.
Gasping to get his breath, he fell against her. He could honestly attest that he had never had such mind-blowing sex with a woman before. They seemed to have the most inexplicable connection despite having only just met.
When he raised his head again, to study her face, he was shocked to find that her eyes were swimming with tears. What did that mean?
Carefully disengaging himself, he deftly changed places wth her and pulled her firmly into his arms. In the aftermath of this extraordinary and unexpected spontaneous event his heart was racing as it had never raced before.
Concerned, he gently asked, ‘Why do you cry, mia dolce? Did I hurt you?’
‘No, you didn’t. I don’t know why I’m crying.’
Her soft whisper was as delicate as gossamer, and surprisingly she touched her hand to his cheek. Unable to resist taking it captive, he turned over the slender palm and touched his lips to her skin as though it was something infinitely precious.
What was the matter with him? He was behaving as though he had little control over his actions and that had to cause alarm. Lily’s fire had burned him more than he’d thought possible...
CHAPTER TWO
‘YOU HAVE TO LEAVE.’
His lover’s voice was suddenly unequivocally firm. Even as she spoke Lily was getting to her feet, tidying her disarrayed hair and straightening her dishevelled clothing. She even reached down inside her dress to pull out the bra he’d undone and despatched it into a pocket.
It was hard to deal with the knowledge of her being naked under the cheerful striped dress without wanting her all over again. Bastian knew a powerful urge to insist she came back to him and continued what they’d started to his satisfaction. But he knew he didn’t dare do any such thing. It would be like pouring fuel on a fire that already threatened to get out of control.
If nothing else he needed time to take stock, time to...
Rising to his feet, he dealt with the condom. Then he zipped up his jeans and snatched up his cambric shirt from the floor. Quickly pulling it on, he dragged his hand through his hair and turned to survey his companion.
‘We haven’t finished discussing your tenancy,’ he declared, uneasy with the subject because of what had just occurred.
‘You think I’ve forgotten that you want me out?’ she answered testily.
‘No. I didn’t m
ean that.’ Deliberately, he softened his tone. It was impossible to stay angry and frustrated with her when the woman had just taken him to heaven and back.
‘But you still want me to vacate earlier than I should and—and—’ Visibly squaring her shoulders, she stared back at him. ‘Like I said, I have rights, and I’ll explore just what they are with a solicitor if I have to. You’re not going to get rid of me quite so easily, signor.’
Of all the things she might have said, he’d never expected that. In truth, he had to admit that he admired her for taking such a stance.
‘Look, all I want to say is that I’m willing to come at things differently and give you a bit more leeway in the matter.’
‘What?’
Knowing he had stupidly let his guard down, after being careful about his dealings with women for so long, Bastian felt he had no one to blame for this awkward situation but himself.
Rubbing his hand round his jaw, he told her, ‘I mean you don’t have to leave straight away. I’ve been unexpectedly invited to go to Brazil on business, and I anticipate I’ll be gone for at least six weeks. In light of that, I’ve decided you can stay here until I return. When I get back we can review the situation. Is that more agreeable to you?’
‘I won’t deny having a bit more time to think about things and make some plans would be better.’
‘Good. Then the matter is settled.’
‘What about planting the new olive groves?’
‘That, too, can be postponed until I get back.’
‘I see...’
His beautiful tenant was stroking her hands up and down her arms as if they were chilled but, having just become personally acquainted with her warm embrace, he could attest to them being anything but cold when she’d wrapped them around him.
‘Did what happened between us just now cause you to change your mind, Signor Carrera?’
‘You can at least call me Bastian.’
On hearing his invitation, Lily immediately coloured. She knew that their being on first-name terms wasn’t going to make their situation any simpler.
