Bought: Destitute Yet Defiant

How could he possibly know what she wanted when she had no idea herself?

The sudden dive of her stomach had nothing to do with the movement of the helicopter.

‘I didn’t mean—I was just—’

‘I know what you were doing. I know far more than you think I do.’ He slipped his hand under her chin and turned her face to his. ‘And the pretence ends now.’

‘There is no pretence, Silvio, I’m—’

‘Relax. If you look below you now you can see Mount Etna,’ he interrupted her, ignoring her agitation. ‘She is much like a woman. When she’s in a bad mood she grumbles and spits fire.’

Desperately aware of him, Jessie dragged her eyes from his and stared down at the flanks of the volcano but even the wild beauty of the landscape couldn’t distract her. ‘At least tell me where we’re going.’

‘To a beach that you can only reach from the air’ was all he would say, and Jessica gasped when she finally spotted the horseshoe of perfect white sand beneath them.

‘That’s where we’re going? How are we going to land?’

‘Safely,’ Silvio purred, casting an amused smile towards his pilot, ‘or he’s fired.’

Jessie gripped the edge of her seat as the grinning pilot lowered the plane onto the sand, his blades dangerously close to the cliffs that gave the beach its privacy. It was a breathtakingly daring piece of flying and she wondered if she was going to end her days in a mangled heap of wreckage.

It was only when Silvio gently uncurled her fingers from the seat that she realised they’d landed safely. ‘Move. He can only stay here for a few seconds.’

Jessie stumbled onto the soft, white sand and he pulled her against him as the helicopter rose into the air and left them alone. As the helicopter became a speck in the distance, Silvio led her to the far side of the beach where the steep cliffs created an oasis of shade. Then he opened a bag that he’d removed from the helicopter, threw a soft blanket onto the sand and handed her a package.

‘This is for you.’ Without waiting for her response, he stripped off his shirt and dropped it onto the blanket with a characteristic lack of inhibition.

Still clutching the small parcel, Jessie stared dry-mouthed at his bronzed, muscular torso. His stomach was flat, his shoulders wide and his chest shadowed with dark hair that seemed to accentuate his masculinity.

He had an incredible physique and suddenly she remembered what he’d said about foreplay.

Apparently oblivious to her scrutiny, his hand dropped to his zip and Jessie dragged her eyes away from his bronzed abdomen and stared at the sea, trying to ignore the dangerous warmth low in her pelvis.

What was he doing?

After what she’d said to him last night she hadn’t expected him to speak to her again. She certainly hadn’t expected him to maroon them on the equivalent of a desert island.

‘What is this place?’ She stared straight forward but her shoulders tensed as she heard the slide of his zip and the tantalising rustle of fabric. ‘Where are we?’

‘It’s my private bolt-hole. Somewhere no one else can join us. We’re alone.’

A thrill of excitement shot through her and Jessie shivered as his strong, confident hands curled over her shoulders.

‘You need to relax,’ he said evenly, massaging her skin slowly. ‘You’re extremely tense.’

Of course she was tense.

‘Silvio, there are things I really have to say to you—’

‘You said them last night. Don’t forget sunscreen.’ Flashing her a disturbingly attractive smile, he passed her a tube and Jessie glared at him in frustration.

‘I want to talk!’

‘Relax,’ he said softly. ‘We have all day. We don’t have to rush anything. Open the package, Jessie.’

Frustrated with him, her hands shaking, Jessie put down the sun cream and opened the

package, staring at the minuscule gold bikini in disbelief. ‘You have to be joking. And you thought my dress was indecent…’