The Sicilian's Innocent Mistress

It was also slightly disconcerting that, in some areas at least, Luc seemed to be able to read her mind.

She only hoped he wasn’t as knowledgeable concerning her increasing physical awareness of him…

‘You’re quite right,’ she told him briskly as she straightened. ‘It was a totally ridiculous thought.’

What did this woman want from him? Luc fumed inwardly as they helped themselves to the array of food.

He was already behaving completely out of character by pursuing Darci in this relentless way. Especially after her verbal put-downs and the deliberate way she had left him waiting at the table for her at Garstang’s for over half an hour, before telephoning the restaurant to let him know she wasn’t coming after all.

If any other woman had done something like that to him—

But Darci wasn’t just any woman, he realised reluctantly, and, as she had told him repeatedly, neither was she in the least impressed by who or what he was.

She looked like a mermaid, sitting there on the blanket with her legs tucked beneath her and all that beautiful red hair flowing silkily about her shoulders and down over her breasts and spine.

A red-haired siren probably more aptly described her, he corrected himself frowningly—Darci was certainly a lure that he didn’t seem able to resist!

‘What’s Luc short for?’

He blinked, focusing on her question with effort, his eyes narrowing warily as he saw the teasing smile playing about her lips. Lips that were bare of gloss today, and all the more temptingly sensual in their naturally pouting pink state.

Dammit, couldn’t he think of anything other than how each individual part of this woman’s body attracted him? How the whole nearly drove him to distraction?

‘Luciano,’ he supplied.

‘Oh.’ She nodded.

‘Why?’ he enquired shrewdly, as she continued to repress what he was sure was a smile.

She widened innocent green eyes. ‘It had occurred to me that Lucifer seemed more apt, that’s all,’ she confessed.

The rebel angel.

The fallen angel.

‘Oh, lighten up, Luc!’ Darci laughed openly as he scowled at the realisation. ‘Don’t you know when you’re being teased?’ she chided him lightly.

In truth, the only people who usually dared to tease him were Wolf and Cesare. But that was because one of them was his brother and the other his cousin. It was a complete novelty to have a woman treat him with the same disregard, the same familiarity, that they did.

And, seconds ago, hadn’t he been considering Darci as a siren, a woman who lured men to their destruction?

‘Ha-ha, very funny,’ he said, in a decidedly unamused voice.

She had enjoyed herself, Darci realised half an hour later, as they packed the remains of their food back into the picnic basket.

Luc, after his show of pride at being teased, had set himself out to be an entertaining luncheon companion, regaling her with amusing stories and anecdotes about people she had only ever seen on the big or small screen. Not derisive or hurtful stories, simply ones that had made her laugh at the ridiculousness of some of the demands of the world those people were forced to inhabit. That Luc inhabited, too.

‘Mmm, this is nice,’ Luc groaned with pleasure, as he lay down on the blanket with his head resting on her bent knees. ‘Are you comfortable like this?’ He turned to quirk one brow questioningly.

Comfortable, yes.

Relaxed, no.

How could she possibly relax with the warmth of Luc’s head against her thighs? With all that silky gold hair splayed across her skirt, making her fingers itch to reach out and touch it?

She wanted to touch all of him, she realised achingly as her gaze travelled over the wide expanse of his chest, the taut flatness of his stomach, the leanly muscled power of his thighs and long legs….

‘Darci…?’

She raised heavy lids to look at his face, recognising the same power in those beautifully chiselled features. His high cheekbones, his nose, long and straight, his mouth—that erotically tempting mouth—curved into a sensuous smile.

Luc could feel Darci’s tension—see and feel the heat of her gaze on him. Flames seemed to leap in those green depths as he turned and moved slowly, inch by inch, up her body, feeling an increase in her anticipation as her legs straightened and she fell back against the blanket. Luc took the opportunity to move completely over her. Her arms came up about his neck and she pulled his head down and he claimed her lips with his. Soft, sensual lips. Demanding lips, that claimed, possessed, with the same hunger that coursed through him.