The Italian's Wife

At the door, Rio draped the gorgeous coat round her shoulders. That

personal attention made her feel ten feet tall. At the same hour just

two nights back she had been walking the city streets, cold and scared,

and already that seemed a lifetime ago, she conceded, sobered by that

reflection. Yet the world she was now inhabiting felt far less real to

her than the one she had so recently left behind. But then, it was Rio's

world, not hers.

That fleeting kiss that had set her on fire earlier had only been a

tease, Holly told herself. He was a very sexy guy and he had been

flirting with her, that was all. Settling back into the limo, she

thought about her son. Timmie, who was not high-class enough to arm at

being Timothy, was her real world, along with bedsits, creepy landlords

and deadend, boring jobs, she reminded herself doggedly.

But still she found herself watching Rio, storing up images for the

future. It wasn't just his sleek, dark good-looks, his innate elegance

and grace; he had an incredible aura of

62

self-assurance that made her feel safe. It was a challenge to credit

that anything could go wrong while he was around. Was it possible to

fall in love so fast? Well, whether it was or not, she would have to get

over her silly notions. Cocooned in her glorious fake-fur, she took

advantage of the shifting play of light and shadow as the limo travelled

through the quiet streets to study him from all angles in search of a

physical flaw. But he defeated her. He remained drop-dead gorgeous and

no mistake.

'You don't need to restrict yourself to just looking. You can touch as

well, cara? Rio murmured in indolent invitation.

In sharp bewilderment, Holly froze. Agonised hot colour flooded her

face. He might as well have stripped her naked and turned her out in

front of an amused audience. Beneath the appraisal of those glittering

golden eyes that saw far too much for her comfort she felt like a

butterfly caught on a pin. He knew how he could make her feel but she

had never made a physical advance to a man and she was not about to

break that habit, she told herself fiercely, her small hands closing in

on themselves. She had enough problems; she had made enough mistakes.

Diving into bed for a casual one-night stand with Rio Lombardi would be

the ultimate of mistakes. Not only would she fail to deliver what he

expected, but she would also despise herself for being so cheap afterwards.

'Is that why you gave me the fairy-tale day out?' Holly heard herself

accuse.

In the flickering lights, his lean, strong face clenched. 'Of course not.'

'But you got a kick out of dressing me up like some toy doll, trying to

make me fit the blueprint of what presumably you like.' Holly was

fighting so hard to keep the sob rising inside her from surfacing that

her voice shook. 'But I'm

still me, and I may not be anything that special, but if Jeff taught me

anything he taught me that I need to have more respect for myself.'

'Right now, I do not want to hear about your abusive boyfriend,' Rio

responded with sizzling bite. 'But, believe me, I've never had to bribe

a woman into my bed!'

Holly did believe him, but she also knew that if she spoke again she

would start crying and make an even bigger fool of herself. When the

limo arrived at the house she jumped out, practically raced past Ezio

and was indoors and up the stairs most probably before Rio had even made

his own front step. Out of breath she went straight into Timmie's room

and crept over to his cot. Her son was sound asleep, little face flushed

and peaceful. Tomorrow she was going out to look for a job, and she

would tackle the Social Security office again. Tomorrow was the

beginning of another day.

Under the shower, she let her pent-up tears flow. How could she have

been tempted? But then, how could she not have been? She was mesmerised

by Rio Lombardi. It had been a magical day and she shouldn't have taken

offence, for she had not objected to being kissed. Rio was no different

from any other single oversexed male: he was programmed by his hormones

to take advantage of willing women. If only she had had the wit to

respond with a light-hearted negative, rather than getting upset and

preaching and condemning. The memory of her own clumsy lack of tact made

her cringe.

She slid into the silky white nightie she had worn the night before.

Taken from the bag of clothing Ezio had given her, the garment was about

a size too small in the bosom department, and rather revealing, but then

she wasn't planning to walk down the street in it. She got into bed and

tossed and turned for ages while telling herself that it was

64

hunger that was keeping her awake. Then she heard a faint cry from

Timmie's room and scrambled out of bed to check on him.

Timmie was still asleep. She straightened his bedding and assured

herself that he was breathing normally and not too warm. Maybe he had

had a bad dream. Slipping out of his room again, she stopped dead at the

sight of Rio standing in the corridor, wearing only a pair of black

boxer shorts.

65

'I heard Timothy crying...is he OK?' Rio prompted.

'Yes, he's still asleep,' Holly told him in a rush.

His ebony hair was tousled, his strong jawline blue-shadowed and his

eyes were bright in his lean, bronzed face. He looked like a very sexy

buccaneer, all elemental male and rippling muscles. Welded to the spot,

Holly gazed at him, her soft lips parting. If she had found it

impossible not to stare when he was clothed, she was even more

challenged to deny that temptation when he was half-naked. And, although

she knew she should not be looking and she was embarrassed by her own

fascination, she couldn't stop.

Her heartbeat felt as if it was thumping in her constricted throat. He

was magnificent. Her dilated gaze ran from his wide, smooth brown

shoulders down over the black curls liberally sprinkling his muscular

torso to his tight, flat stomach, and about there, where the band of his

boxer shorts encircled his lean hips and challenged all further

curiosity, Holly stopped dead in horror at herself.

Eyes shimmering hot gold, Rio strolled closer and, barefoot as he was,

he made hardly a sound. The quiet had become a silence that buzzed, a

silence alive with dangerous vibrations. Rio dealt her a slow-burning

smile of appreciation. Only then did it occur to Holly that her scanty

nightdress was scarcely adequate covering in which to parade herself

before any red-blooded male. Her cheeks burning fierily, she raised her

arms and began to fold them protectively over herself.

66

'Equal rights, cara.' Rio snapped long fingers round her wrists and held

her still for a lingering physical appraisal.

Her breath snarled up in her throat, for she knew what he was seeing,

her full breasts shamelessly delineated by the sheer, tight bodice. She

felt the burn of her own mortification right down to the soles of her

feet and was duly punished.

Rio made a husky sound low and deep in his throat. He just reached for

her, hauling her up to him, his lean hands curving round her hips to

crush her feminine mound into connection with the full, hard force of

his arousal as he lifted her up against him.

'I hope you're in the mood to satisfy one very hungry guy, bella mia,'

Rio growled before he brought his mouth crashing down on hers with

devouring heat.

It was their first true kiss and it blew Holly away. Crushed to the hard

male strength of his big, powerful physique, she was conscious of his

virility with every fibre of her being. His mouth was hard and hot and

carnal and nobody had ever kissed her that way before. Prying her soft