A Proposal to Remember

He’d managed not to react when she’d announced that someone was still following her, but a nasty suspicion was growing in his mind.

‘Matt?’ He spoke in Italian, talking in a low voice as he briefly outlined the situation to the chief of security.

‘I’m staying here tonight.’ Carlo kept his eye on the bedroom door as he talked. ‘I’m on call from eight o’clock tomorrow morning, so I could get called into the hospital then, but if I do I’ll find some way of taking her with me. I don’t want her left alone.’

Having agreed a plan with Matt, he ended the conversation as quickly as possible, flicking the phone shut and slipping it back into his pocket.

If there was going to be trouble, at least they were prepared.

The bedroom door opened and as he glanced up, all thoughts of danger vanished from his mind.

In fact, all rational thought vanished from his mind.

Zan was standing in the doorway looking like something straight out of a bad boy’s dreams.

She was wearing skimpy briefs, sheer stockings that made her long legs shimmer temptingly and the highest heels he’d ever seen.

Struggling to breathe, he dragged his eyes upwards, past the smooth curve of her waist and the swell of her breasts to the blatant invitation in her green eyes.

‘Zan.’ His voice was a tortured croak and she smiled as she walked towards him, her legs endless as she closed the gap between them.

‘The other night I told you that we were going too fast.’ She sounded breathy and feminine and decidedly nervous. ‘I know you’ve been holding back, but you don’t need to any more. I didn’t know how to tell you…’

The draw of her smooth, creamy skin was too much, and he slid a hand around her waist, feeling the silky warmth of her skin under his fingers.

‘I think I get the message.’

She trembled slightly under his touch but her gaze didn’t falter. ‘I want you, Carlo—if you still want me, that is.’

What a question.

Carlo almost groaned aloud. Of course he wanted her, but he needed to talk to her first. He needed to tell her who he was.

‘Zan, I—’

He saw the uncertainty flicker in her eyes. ‘Have you changed your mind?’

Zan pressed closer and his senses were swamped by her. That special scent that drove him wild, the touch of her warm skin, the feel of her breath against his cheek.

‘I haven’t changed my mind, but—’

‘Good.’ She slid her small hands under his jumper and he shuddered as he felt her fingers slide over his skin.

Part of him jerked back to reality. He had to tell her who he was.

‘Zan, I just…’

‘What?’ Her voice was low and husky and she stood on tiptoe and licked at his lips in a provocative gesture that made every male hormone in his body work overtime.

He tried to capture her mouth, but she moved away with a tantalising smile that made him groan with frustration. She continued to tease him, pressing light, fluttery kisses against his mouth and cheek but dodging him when he tried to deepen the connection.

Then she tugged lightly at his jumper and he yanked it over his head and dropped it on the floor, aware that his erection was blatantly evident through the fabric of his jeans.

Her lips parted and her breathing shallow, Zan ran a finger through the dark hair on his chest, following the line downwards to where it vanished into the waistband of his jeans. She lifted her eyes to his, her gaze hot and inviting as her fingers dealt with the fastening and then the zip.

Still holding his gaze, she touched him intimately and he saw a hint of uncertainty in her eyes.

And he decided that it was time he took over.