The Legend of de Marco

Rocco prowled closer and Gracie gulped. He looked dangerous. She could see a muscle throb in his jaw.

‘For the umpteenth time, she was not my fiancée. And the company that sent the serving dress made an error on the size. I think you’ll find that these will be a perfect fit, and if you don’t put them on I will dress you myself.’

Gracie stuck up her chin. ‘You don’t scare me, you know.’

For a second he didn’t react, and then Rocco laughed out loud, head thrown back. He looked back at her, eyes glinting and took her breath away.

‘I know,’ he said, with a peculiar quality to his voice. ‘Believe me, you’re the only one.’

When Rocco had walked out to let Gracie dress, she sucked in a deep quivery breath. The intensity of their lovemaking was still making her feel rawly vulnerable. She cursed herself for her reaction just now. The last thing she needed was that far too probing brain of his investigating why he pushed her buttons. She explored the bags of clothes and saw that they were the right size. Rocco had thought of everything—even make-up.

Reluctantly she packed away her own jeans and shabby shirt and, feeling like a fraud, dressed in a silk shirt, tailored lightweight linen trousers and flat shoes, and tried not to like how amazing the expensive fabrics felt against her skin.

A little later Gracie was sitting back in her seat with the belt buckled, barely able to contain her excitement as the plane descended through stormy-looking clouds into Bangkok.

The plane suddenly dipped and Gracie gripped her seat, looking at Rocco with panic. ‘What was that?’

‘Turbulence. It’s rainy season in Bangkok, so it’ll be stormy, but the rain is warm.’

‘Warm?’ Gracie knew she must sound ridiculous, but Rocco was reaching across the aisle for her.

‘Come here,’ he said throatily.

She scrambled out of her seat, more nervous than she cared to admit, and he swapped seats so that she could sit beside him at the window. She looked at him. ‘But you won’t be able to see.’

He gave her a funny look before replying, ‘I’ve seen it before. It’s your first time.’

Gracie finally tore her eyes away and looked down. They were just breaking through the clouds and she gasped in awe at the land below. ‘It’s so green. I never thought it would be so green!’

Rocco had his arms around her and his head close to hers. ‘It’s a mixture of jungle and paddy fields … rice paddies. It’s quite a lush country—especially in the rainy season.’

Gracie was shaking her head in awe, drinking it in. She could see a huge distinctively shaped temple right in the middle of a field, with tiny stick insect people walking back and forth. ‘It’s so beautiful.’

Rocco’s voice was amused. ‘You haven’t even seen it yet. Not properly.’

She turned her head. ‘Will there be time … I mean, to look around?’

Rocco felt that tightness in his chest as he looked into those brown gold-flecked eyes. He nodded. ‘Sure. We can go to the Grand Palace, and see some other things too.’

Impulsively Gracie pressed a kiss to Rocco’s mouth, and then turned away quickly before he could see the surge of emotion she was feeling on her face.

Gracie was still reeling from the terror of her first plane landing and the intensity of the damp heat when they’d walked out of the plane about thirty minutes ago. The sheer force of heat had hit her and instantly made her feel as overdressed as someone in a ski-suit.

Rocco had looked at her when they’d got into the back of a gloriously air-conditioned car, arched a brow and drawled laconically, ‘I told you so.’

Even in the space of those few minutes between plane and car Gracie’s shirt had begun sticking to her and her hair had started frizzing up. Rocco looked as unfazed as ever, and Gracie stuck her tongue out at him. ‘Does nothing ever affect you?’

Rocco’s face went serious and his eyes darkened as he drawled, ‘You do a pretty good job of affecting me.’

Gracie tore her gaze from Rocco’s with an effort. She was still freaked out by how quickly she lost control arou

nd him. Luckily they were soon smack-bang in the middle of Bangkok, and that sucked up all her attention.

The roads were wide, and tall skyscrapers pierced grey skies. It was all at once hectic and modern and ancient. Huge billboards written in a fascinating script showed pictures of gorgeous Thai families. Horns were screeching and there seemed to be a million mopeds, some of them carrying what looked like entire families. Serene-looking women were perched on the back seat, side-saddle-style, with babies in laps and helmets over their veils. Gracie’s eyes were huge as she took it all in.

She pointed at something. ‘What are they?’

Rocco followed her gaze and said, ‘They’re called Tuk-Tuks. They’re motorised rickshaws used as taxis.’