Turning over in bed, she groaned in disbelief at how susceptible she’d been to his hard body and magnetic charisma. Santa Maria, she’d been all but putty in his hands.
Luckily, the fresh air and the long drive back had hammered some sense into her. The moment they’d returned, she’d bidden him a curt boa noite, left him standing in the hallway and retreated as fast as her sore feet would carry her.
And she intended to carry on like that. She might not know what his end game was, but she refused to be a willing participant in his campaign.
The last thing she wanted to do was to fall for another manipulator like Constantine.
She was here only because she had no choice but she didn’t intend to idle away her time in this house. Theo expected her to stay here for three months, which meant whatever he had planned was not to be executed immediately. Perhaps she could convince him to change his mind in that time.
Yeah, and fairy tales really did come true…
Or she could find out exactly what his intentions were.
She’d seen the look in his eyes when he spoke about her father. Whatever vendetta he’d planned, he intended to see it through.
Helplessly, she rolled over in bed and her eyes lit on the bedside clock. She jerked upright and threw the sheet aside. She might not have anywhere to be on this Saturday morning but lazing about in bed past ten o’clock wasn’t her style.
She jumped into the shower, shampooed her hair and washed her body with quick, regimented movement ingrained in her from her time at the Swiss boarding school her father had sent her to just to impress his friends.
Leaving her damp hair to dry naturally, she pulled on an aqua-coloured sundress and slipped her feet into low-heeled thongs. Smoothing her favourite sunscreen moisturiser over her face and arms, she left her room and headed downstairs.
Teresa was crossing the hallway carrying a cafetière of freshly made coffee and indicated for Inez to follow her.
She led her out to the terrace that overlooked the immense square infinity pool. Light danced off the water but her attention was caught and held by the man seated at the cast iron oval breakfast table.
His white short-sleeved polo shirt did amazing things to his eyes and olive-toned skin. And loose green shorts exposed solid thighs and lightly hair-sprinkled legs that made her mouth dry before flooding with moisture that threatened to choke her.
‘Bom dia, anjo. Are you going to stand there all morning?’ he mocked.
She forced her legs to move and took the chair he indicated to his right.
‘Coffee?’ he asked, his voice deep and low.
‘Yes, please.’ Her voice had grown husky and emerged barely above a whisper.
He nodded to Teresa who smiled, filled her cup then made herself scarce.
Inez sipped the hot brew just as a delaying tactic so she didn’t have to look at him.
So far she’d seen Theo in formal evening wear and smart casual and each look had threatened to knock her sideways. But seeing him now, with so much of his vibrant olive skin on show, threatened to topple her completely. She took another hasty sip and choked as the liquid scalded her mouth.
Grabbing the napkin to stop herself from dribbling like an idiot, she looked up and caught his mocking smile. ‘You’d rather blister yourself than converse with me?’
She swallowed and fought to present a passable smile. ‘Of course not. I was just enjoying the…view.’ She indicated beyond his shoulder, where the garden extended beyond the pool and sloped down to the sandy white beach and sparkling ocean.
With a disbelieving smile, he picked up the paper next to his plate and shook it out. ‘If you say so—’
Her horrified gasp made him lower the newspaper. ‘Something wrong?’
‘Is that a picture of us?’ she demanded through a severely constricted throat. The question was redundant because the picture taking up the whole of the front page was printed in vivid Technicolor.
He’d already seen it, of course, so he didn’t bother to glance where her appalled gaze was riveted. ‘Yes. Fresh off the morning press.’
‘Meu deus!’ She reached out and snatched the broadsheet out of his grasp. It was even worse up close. ‘It looks as if…as if—’ Disbelief caught in her throat, eating the rest of her words.