‘The hard part’s over.’
A little stunned that he’d recognised her fear of heights when she thought she’d hidden it so well, Ava held still long enough for him to unhook and free her. She wanted to slap away the hand he offered, but falling flat on her face wouldn’t be a good look, so she took the assistance he proffered and concentrated on disembarking.
She wasn’t sure how it happened, but in stepping down she pitched forward. He caught her, and she was suddenly very conscious of her soft breasts pressed up against his hard chest. A memory of the last time they’d been this close flamed to mind. His hands settled on her hips. Her legs did a little wobble.
‘The hotel here is owned by a friend of mine,’ he was saying.
She tried to wriggle free, but it only provided friction between them. Friction she didn’t need! His mouth felt far too close to her ear.
‘We relax, enjoy the amenities, you tell me about yourself and we go from there, si?’
Go where? What was he talking about? She trembled as one of his hands drifted to her waist, tightened.
He drew back, his eyes intent on hers.
‘Seven years is a long time, Ava. We have a lot of catching up to do.’
Ava’s heart stuttered to a halt.
What was he saying? Was he saying what she thought he was saying?
She gave a little gasp. What was he doing with his hand? Somehow her shirt had come a little adrift of her pants and his rough, broad fingers slid underneath. She felt the firm press of his large dry palm shaping the indent of her waist and the flare of her hip under her waistband. Lightly stroking. His long fingers stretched higher over her ribs and Ava caught her breath, her breasts swelling, her nipples tightening with anticipation.
‘Stop it!’ she hissed. But she wasn’t quite sure who she was addressing, and there was a suspicious lack of force behind it.
Two men were coming up the slope to the helipad from the gardens, their voices intruding, and with a powerfully intent look Gianluca released her and turned away to deal with them as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. When everything had just happened to her.
She heard him issuing instructions in Italian, something about their luggage, and realised she was still just standing where he’d left her, with her shirt adrift, gazing stupidly after him.
‘Oh, good grief,’ she muttered, and rapidly began stuffing the hem of her shirt into her waistband, mortified. What was she doing, letting him feel her up like a teenage girl? Where was her dignity?
She walked up to him and stopped a good metre away, arms folded. ‘What do you think you’re playing at, Benedetti?’
He looked her up and down, as if everything about her amused him, but she saw he was noticing where a little of her shirt still hung loose. She tucked it in fast with her free hand, aware she hadn’t exactly been fighting him off.
‘Glad to see the flight hasn’t dented your charm, cara,’ he observed with a bit of a smile. ‘But next time you throw yourself into my arms give me fair warning and I’ll try to arrange it so we don’t have an audience.’
Ava’s gaze shot to the men dealing with their luggage.
‘I did not throw myself at you,’ she hissed.
But he was already heading down the steps.
‘I thought the idea was to get from A to B as efficiently as possible,’ she called after him.
‘This is most efficient. I conduct a little business; you enjoy a little down time; we keep each other company.’
‘Company?’
He shrugged those wide shoulders.
‘My brother—’ she began, hurrying to keep up with his long strides.
‘Twenty-four hours ago you cared so little for your brother you refused to answer his phone calls.’
Ava stared at his back in horror. ‘How do you know that?’
‘What is more, you never had any intention of seeing him. I cannot help but wonder, cara, if this sudden overwhelming need to rush to his side has more to do with spending time with me.’
Ava almost choked.
‘And, as I have already told you...’ He stopped and she almost ran into his back. As he turned around she backed up. ‘I am most happy to accommodate you.’
‘Accommodate me?’
‘My English...’ He shrugged, but she caught the amusement lurking in those golden eyes.
His English was bloody perfect, she thought, feeling hot all over.
She followed him out of the hot sun into a southern coastal garden, with a wide, sandy path underfoot, narrowing as it wound down through the trees. But Ava was too focussed on the lean, muscular physique of the man in front of her to pay it much mind.
From his attitude he clearly expected her to fall into line with his wants and needs. Keep him company! She eyed his lean, muscular physique resentfully.