LITMIR.BIZ

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struggled for breath. “Don’t worry. You’ve made me see the light. You and Francesco aren’t that different after all. After he disappeared from my life, he sent his goodbye in a letter rather than face me. You flew off and left it to my father to do the honors. What is it about some attractive men? They seem to possess every quality except the one most vital.”

      A white ring appeared around his lips. She was pleased to see he wasn’t completely impervious to her judgment of him. “Don’t worry. Keep all your secrets! I’m leaving.” She started to get up.

      “No, Alessandra—you want the truth of everything, so I’ll tell you. I never planned to, but since you’ve come all this way, I can’t handle seeing you in this kind of pain. No one deserves an explanation more than you do.”

      “Go on.”

      “Where your aunt is concerned, we only talked business for a moment. The main thrust dealt with you.”

      “Me?”

      Rini nodded slowly. “She loves you.”

      “I love her, too, but what does that have to do with anything?”

      “She wanted clarification and asked to know what happened when I met Dea.”

      The moment he’d spoken, she stirred in the chair and averted her eyes. “I—I can’t believe she brought up something that was none of her business.” Her voice faltered. “Mother must have said something.” After a long pause she said, “How uncomfortable that had to be for you.”

      “Not uncomfortable. I found it refreshing. You’re a lot like her, you know. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was your mother.”

      Alessandra’s head lifted. She blinked. “You’re kidding—”

      “Not at all. You and your aunt have a sense of fair play I admire very much. It’s clear you both want the best for everyone. I told her nothing happened. Guido’s father asked us to dance with the models he’d introduced us to. I had one dance with Dea, then she left. That was it. After my explanation, your aunt wanted to know my intentions toward you.”

      Alessandra shot out of the chair. “She had no right! I don’t see how she could have asked you that when we hardly know each other!”

      He stared up at her. “That’s not true, Alessandra. Your aunt told me you’ve never taken a man to meet her before and what we had was something special. Naturally she’s aware you’ve been showing me around for your father.”

      “So?”

      “She realizes we would have learned a great deal about each other already.”

      “Well yes, but—”

      “Her concern for both you and Dea is commendable,” he interrupted. “So I had to be brutally honest and tell her that I didn’t feel a connection to her. Since you and I met under the most innocent and extraordinary circumstances, she demanded to know if I felt a connection to you.”

      Alessandra paled.

      “Don’t you want to know what I said?”

      “It’s none of my business,” she whispered.

      “That’s not an answer and you know it.”

      She turned away.

      “I told her that my attraction to you was immediate and has been growing out of control.” Her groan resounded in the air. “You feel it, too. I know you do. Out of loyalty to both her nieces, your aunt vetted me to make sure I wasn’t using you to gain access to the legacy.”

      “That’s absurd. I would never have thought that about you.”

      “But it’s a mercenary world. She knew how hurt you were years ago and wanted to protect you.”

      “So you withdrew the proposal to prove to my family you had no ulterior motive? That’s why you walked away from me?” Her voice rang out.

      Instead of answering her, he reached for her and drew her over to the swing, pulling her down on his lap. “Look at me, Alessandra.”

      She shook her head. “I’m afraid to.”

      “Because you know I want to kiss you. The other morning while we were on the sea floor uncovering the mouth on that head, I was reminded of you. When I kissed you on the boat, I was half out of my mind with desire. My motives are ulterior, but intensely personal.”

      “No, Rini. We mustn’t. Not out here where Bianca can see us.”

      “I must, bellissima.”

      He curved his hand against the side of her face and turned it toward him. Obeying blind need, he covered her trembling mouth with his own. She tried to elude him, but he drove his kisses deeper and deeper until her little cry allowed him the access he craved. Maybe he was dreaming because she slowly began returning his kisses with a heart-stopping hunger that caused him to forget everything except the heavenly woman in his arms.

      His hands roved over her back and shoulders while they gave and took pleasure from each other’s mouths. He felt her fingers slide up his neck into his hair. Every touch fed the fire enveloping him.

      “Alessandra,” he moaned. “I can’t get enough of you. Do you have any idea how much I want you?”

      “I want you, too,” she confessed, covering his face with kisses.

      “During the dive I was dying to grasp your hips and pull you into a secret cave where we could make love for months on end.”

      “Our wet suits would have presented a problem.”

      “But not now.” He eased her down on the swing, where he had the freedom to look at her to his heart’s content while he kissed the living daylights out of her.

      Rini had never known this kind of all-consuming desire before. The way she responded to him let him know something earthshaking had happened to her, too. She’d already had one love affair in her life, but it had been a long time ago. He was thankful it hadn’t worked out because he was convinced she’d been reserved for him.

      But what if she couldn’t handle what he needed to tell her? He kissed her nose and eyelids. Before things went any further, she deserved to know the whole truth about him. Though terrified of her reaction, he couldn’t stop now.

      “You’re the most divine creature this man has ever met. Since your aunt wanted to know my intentions toward you, it’s only fair I tell you something about me first.”

      “You don’t have to do this, Rini. You don’t owe me anything. Please. I never dreamed my aunt would get personal with you like that.”

      “I’m glad she did. It woke me up to something I’ve been unwilling to face for years.”

      Her anxious eyes searched his. “What do you mean?”

      “I’ve remained a bachelor for a reason.”

      “If you’re allergic to marriage, you’re not the only man. Until my father met Mother, he decided he’d always be single.”

      “That hasn’t been my problem. In truth I’ve never gotten to the point in my adult life when I needed to state my intentions. But with you, it has become necessary.”

      She lifted a hand to caress his jaw. “Why?”

      He kissed her succulent lips. “You’re not just any female I happen to have met. I’m not talking about the fact that you were born titled from both sides of your illustrious families. This is something that affects you as a woman. Don’t you know you’re head and shoulders above any woman I’ve ever known? Your pure honesty demands the same from me.”

      “Papà said my aunt was impressed with your honesty.” She shivered. “What honesty is that? If your intention is to frighten me, you’re doing a good job.”

      “Frighten might not

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