All the women were flashing him heated glances as Luca pushed his strong, tanned hands through his unruly hair—which only succeeded in tangling it all the more. ‘Something troubling you?’ he pressed. His eyes were worryingly intuitive.
‘No.’ Except for the ache in her heart, and the heat in her body, that said she wanted Luca Tebaldi—and that was a rocky road to nowhere. He only had to slant a look at her for her to know she was safer out of his way.
And she was making a really good job of that.
‘I should find Maria,’ she settled for, glancing around. ‘We walked into town together, and I think she’s with her friends.’ She craned her neck, staring vaguely into the crowd.
‘That’s right,’ Luca confirmed, resting one hard muscled forearm on the wall at the side of Jen’s head. ‘They’re making the finishing touches to the floats for the parade. Didn’t she tell you?’
He could hardly hide his satisfaction at catching her out, Jen noticed. ‘I didn’t know that. Thank you for telling me. I’ll go and find her—’
He didn’t move. Short of scrambling over him, there was no way past Luca. She was boxed in, in the doorway of a shop—and he was enjoying this. His dark eyes were amused. He liked having her exactly where he wanted her.
‘No problem. I’ll wait here,’ she said with a shrug to show she couldn’t care less. Leaning back against the door where she had a good view of the square, she settled in.
‘I’m not happy leaving you here on your own. I have a duty of care—’ Luca insisted.
‘Since when?’ she exclaimed.
‘Since you came to work for me.’
‘I work for your father,’ Jen said coolly.
‘It’s all in the family,’ Luca argued, his eyes firing at the thought of taking her on.
‘And you always get your own way?’ she said.
‘Always,’ he murmured. His black stare fixed on her lips.
As her heart went into overdrive, she moved around him. ‘I’m going to find Maria—’
‘No, you’re not,’ Luca said. ‘You’re going to dance with me.’
‘Am I?’
‘Yes, you are,’ he murmured.
‘But I don’t dance,’ she protested as he urged her out of the shadows in the direction of the dance floor. ‘I’ve got two left feet and I’m wearing flip-flops.’
‘So, kick them off,’ Luca said as a space on the crowded floor miraculously appeared for them.
People were staring, and she didn’t want to cause a scene. She gave Luca a frown, which only provoked him to raise a brow. Trying to remain immune to his machismo was hopeless, she concluded.
‘Dance,’ Luca commanded in a deep, husky voice.
‘Was that an order? I don’t see any hot coals,’ she countered.
He laughed and pulled her into his arms.
It felt so good...dangerously good, and she wanted, longed, ached to have him kiss her again.
‘Dance if you dare,’ he challenged softly in her ear.
‘Oh, I dare,’ she said.
Curving one of his faint, heart-stopping smiles, Luca ordered softly, ‘Prove it.’
‘All right. I will,’ she agreed, breaking free from his embrace.
‘Dance as if you have no boundaries...’
‘No problem,’ she said. Raising her arms above her head, she began to move to the music.
His senses roared as Jen began to dance as if she was dancing only for him. She stunned everyone into silence within the first few seconds, and not because she had suddenly become an expert, but because she oozed sensuality and showed no inhibition on the dance floor. The music gave her every excuse to use her body to the full, and she didn’t hold back. She was hotter than hell, and every man knew it. She was with him, which they also knew.
At the back of his mind the same doubt remained. This woman could act many parts, and one of those parts was a girl who had caused his brother to leave her everything. More women joined in, and he was aware of their dark, flashing eyes seeking his approval, but he was only interested in Jen, who was a priestess of cool, surrounded by her acolytes. Her full hips undulated invitingly, while her nipples strained against the front of her dress. Kissing her was emblazoned on his mind. He could remember exactly how her lips had felt beneath his, and how warm and soft and smooth her skin had felt beneath his hands. Her eyes beneath the kitten mask glittered invitingly with wicked promise, but was she even aware of the stir she was causing? He thought not. She was far too absorbed in the dance.
As the music gradually increased in both pace and volume, the dancers moved towards a wild finale. Jen’s sinuous dancing suggested she was available for pleasure, but her fierce, flashing eyes said not. It was a challenge he found irresistible.
* * *
She must be drunk on music and sunshine, Jen decided. She had never let herself go like this before. Conveniently, she blamed it on the feast day. Even her two left feet couldn’t prevent her from enjoying herself.
‘That’s enough!’
She gasped as Luca dragged her close, and stared up at him, frowning. ‘What’s got into you?’
‘I can’t bear it,’ he ground out, glaring at the other men.
Her vow to steer clear of him wasn’t going so well, Jen concluded as she struggled to break free. It didn’t help that she loved the pressure of his hard body against hers. ‘What is your problem?’ she demanded as Luca tightened his grip.
It was she who had the problem, Jen thought as Luca softened his grip and all she felt was regret. ‘I want to dance with you,’ he growled, keeping her rammed up hard against his body, where she could feel every inch of him in intimate detail. The thrust of his erection was all it took to blank her mind.
‘I don’t have a problem,’ he murmured with his mouth so close to her ear it tingled. ‘My only problem is you.’
She wanted him. She wanted this. She wanted to feel safe, close, and for his kisses and caresses to continue. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, knowing it was wrong—dangerous—could lead to more heartbreak—what did she know about lovemaking?
‘Don’t fight me, Jen,’ Luca murmured when she tried to pull away. ‘You’ll only lose—’
‘Fight you?’ If only she could win the bat
tle of wills inside her and fight him to remain safe, emotionally safe.
‘You’d better let me go,’ she said, feeling her power to resist him fading into nothingness.
‘Or else?’ Luca murmured as he took off his mask.
‘Or else I’ll have to fight you every step of the way.’
‘I look forward to it,’ he said.
The look in his eyes sent heat rushing through her. And then the music changed, slowed, and grew sultry. The plangent melody wound a cord around Jen’s heart, demanding she move in time with the music and with Luca.
As they began to sway together her hands seemed more sensitive as they rested on his chest. She could feel his heart beating beneath her fingertips, and it only took the smallest adjustment of her hands to bring her into contact with his naked skin. Once she’d touched him, she wanted to feel more of him—all of him, hot and hard against her—
No!
This was wrong. She had to shake herself out of the dream state. This was reality, not fantasy, and the danger of yielding to temptation could only lead to one place. Feeling her resistance, Luca released her. He stood staring down at her, his eyes full of questions.
Closing her eyes, she had to ask herself what she really wanted. The answer wasn’t long in coming. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Let’s dance.’
CHAPTER NINE
SHE MIGHT HAVE two left feet, but she could dance with Luca. When he held her in his arms, her body responded perfectly, as if it knew exactly what to do. Luca moved so well he made it easy for her. He was fully in command, and that thought led her mind down all sorts of dark alleys where there were no boundaries. She had never been so acutely aware of her body, or its potential for pleasure. Luca had her in his erotic net, and she was a willing captive, safe behind her mask.
‘Enough?’ he murmured.
There’s more? she thought.
Luca didn’t speak. His hands remained on her arms, and then one hand slid down to her wrist. He linked their fingers, joining them. It was the most intimate thing she’d ever known as he led her away from the dance floor, steering her through the crowd. He took her across the square where the din of the festival roared in her ears, to a narrow, shaded street at the end of which was the sea. With every step Jen had the sense of leaving her safe world behind and entering somewhere exciting and new, and she was eager to embrace what felt like the next stage of her life.