Our Little Secret

I roll my eyes. ‘You’re crazy! Excitement alone will burn through all that excess.’

Not to mention the super-loud extra-curricular activity too...

‘Rafael will help you.’

I start at her mention of his name, hot off the back of my extra-curricular thoughts.

‘He’s the fixer,’ she adds. ‘He sorts everything.’

Rafael, the fixer. Oh, yes, I imagine there are lots of things he could fix, my sex drought included. My insides spin as my cheeks flood with so much heat I swear I look sunburned.

‘You okay, Faye?’ She squints up at me. ‘You look like you’re having a hot flush.’

A hot flush...and then some. Thanks to the aforementioned fixer, my body is in overdrive, seeking out gratification for the heat he’s sparked. To feel that thrill again after so many years... Hell, who am I kidding? I’ve never felt a thrill that intense. I could blame it on my extended celibacy, only... I conjure up the fire in his eyes, the cut to his jaw, those lips... God, those lips.

‘Faye?’ She waves a hand in front of my face.

‘It is warm, isn’t it?’ I rush out, faking a smile. ‘So, you were saying, your brother...?’

She’s still squinting at me and I pretend not to notice.

‘Yeah...he’s around here somewhere, not that I can find him. Maybe he’s wandering the grounds...’ And then her eyes narrow even more. ‘Speaking of wandering, where did you disappear to in the middle of the night?’

My brows twitch up, my pulse too. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I heard you come back in the early hours. At least, I think it was your room. Yours is the closest.’

And it’s too close, much too close.

‘I couldn’t sleep. I went for a stroll to get some air and wind down...’

‘Sounds perfect.’

It was. Too perfect. And so wrong.

‘Well, if you see him, get him to lend a hand, won’t you? You really shouldn’t face one of my mother’s moods alone and, though he looks scary, he’s actually a doll.’

I laugh now, wholeheartedly. ‘A doll?’

‘Oh, yeah, totally. A heart of gold but a front that would send you running.’

‘Right, okay.’ I nod, letting this new version of the Italian god sink in. ‘Serious. Severe. Doll-like. I won’t be able to miss him.’

‘You won’t.’ She gives a little grimace. ‘But don’t fall for his charm either.’

I nod slowly, my smile too amused to hide. ‘Right, so he’s now serious, severe, doll-like but a total charmer. He’s quite the enigma.’

Dani gives me a wry smile. ‘Don’t tease. You know exactly what I mean, and consider yourself fully warned on that front.’

‘On what front?’ Maybe I shouldn’t play dumb, but right now I’m remembering just how susceptible I am to his particular brand of charm. And that was before he said much at all.

‘The whole charming the pants off any female he takes a fleeting fancy to.’

‘Oh, yes, that little trick.’ Only, last night I wasn’t wearing any pants to charm off...and neither was he. I swallow. ‘Consider me warned.’

‘Good, and anyway, Dante arrives today...’ Her smile is full of mischief now. ‘I have high hopes that my cousin will come to your aid no problem.’