LITMIR.BIZ

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didn’t stop you treading on mine.’ Both men turned to look at Harper, who was stifling a giggle.

      Vieri glared at her. She was drunk; she had to be. ‘You, young lady, need some fresh air.’ Loosening his arm, he took hold of Harper’s hand. ‘We are leaving.’

      He started to weave his way out of the ballroom, keeping Harper’s hand in a firm grip as he negotiated a path through the noisy throng of people, ignoring all attempts to stop them from leaving. They made their way down a corridor, Harper’s shoes clicking on the flagstoned floor as she hurried to keep up with him, until they reached an ancient oak-panelled door, and, sliding the heavy iron bolt across, Vieri ushered them out into a secluded courtyard. It was quiet and dark out here, the music from the ballroom reduced to little more than a dull thud. High castle walls on all four sides protected them from the breeze but the air was still cold and Vieri felt Harper shiver beside him.

      ‘Here.’ Shrugging off his jacket, he draped it over her shoulders. ‘So...’ He held her at arm’s length. ‘How much have you had to drink?’

      ‘I don’t know.’ She tipped her chin. ‘I wasn’t counting. How much have you had?’

      ‘For your information I am stone-cold sober.’

      ‘Really?’ Her nose wrinkled. ‘How boring.’ Shrugging off his jacket, she tried to give it back to him. ‘I don’t need this. I am used to properly cold winters. Where I come from this would be considered positively balmy.’

      ‘Well, from where I come from it isn’t and I’m not letting you get hypothermia.’ He positioned the jacket over her shoulders again.

      ‘What is it with you, bossing me around all the time?’ Without waiting for an answer, Harper took a few steps away and twirled herself around, holding the lapels of the jacket across her chest. ‘But thank you for bringing me here. I have actually had a lovely evening.’

      He’d noticed. Vieri ground down on his jaw. But if she was baiting him, he refused to bite. ‘It’s Alfonso you should be thanking. It was his idea.’

      ‘Then I will, the next time we visit. He is such a lovely man. And so generous. Everyone here thinks the world of him.’

      ‘Yes.’ Vieri’s voice sounded gruff in the dim light. ‘I know.’

      ‘It is so sad to think that he is dying.’ She turned mournful wide eyes in his direction.

      ‘Everyone has to die eventually.’

      ‘I guess.’ Vieri watched as she moved to the centre of the courtyard, throwing back her head and looking up into the sky. ‘When my mother died, Leah and I were told that she had become a star in the sky. We didn’t really believe it, even then.’ She paused, staring intently upwards. ‘But on a starlit night like tonight I still find myself wondering which one she might be. Silly, I know.’

      ‘That’s not silly.’ Vieri quietly closed the gap between them, coming to stand next to her. ‘It’s a way of remembering her.’ There was a beat of silence. ‘How old were you, when she died?’

      ‘Twelve.’ Harper turned to look at him.

      ‘And it was an accident with a shotgun, you say?’

      ‘Yes.’ Her voice was very small.

      ‘What happened?’ Suddenly Vieri found he wanted to know the details. To try and understand the event that had so obviously shaped this young woman’s life.

      ‘My father was away one night, helping out on a neighbouring estate.’ Vieri could see the effort it took for Harper to talk about this, even now, years after the event. ‘My mother heard a disturbance, someone trying to poach the birds, so she took the shotgun to try and scare them off. It was dark, she wasn’t used to handling a gun, she tripped...’

      ‘I’m sorry.’ Vieri held her gaze. ‘That must have been very hard for you all.’

      ‘Yep.’ Harper touched the slender column of her throat. ‘Pretty tough. She died trying to protect a few birds that were going to end up getting shot anyway. Ironic when you think about it. And Dad never forgave himself. He was convinced it was his fault.’

      And she had been left to pick up the pieces. She didn’t say as much, but as Vieri studied Harper’s proud silhouette in the dim light it was plain to see—the care and compassion, the responsibility, that sat so heavily on her slender shoulders. It was clear that she would do anything for her family, even if, as he strongly suspected, they didn’t appreciate her. He wondered if her father and sister had any idea how lucky they were to have her, to have a family at all, in fact. But if they were guilty of taking her for granted, where did that leave him? He was using her entirely for his own gain. It was an uncomfortable thought.

      ‘Anyway...’ she gave him a forced smile ‘...that’s enough talk about sad things for one night. What I’d really like to do is dance.’ She looked at him boldly. ‘With you, I mean.’

      Vieri shook his head. ‘We’re not going back in there.’

      ‘Who said anything about going inside?’ Removing his jacket, she held it at arm’s length. ‘We can dance here, under the stars.’ The jacket was dropped theatrically to the ground.

      ‘Harper...’

      ‘Come on, it will be fun.’

      Suddenly she was advancing towards him, holding out her arms invitingly. Too invitingly. The scarlet dress glowed in the dim light, the sheer fabric of the bodice pulling tight around the swell of her breasts as she closed the gap between them, positioning herself in front of him like a defiant temptress. It was a lethal combination and suddenly Vieri understood why red meant danger. A danger that increased tenfold as she slid her arms around his neck.

      He managed to resist for all of two seconds. But then suddenly his arms were around her waist, and he was drawing her into his body, her bare flesh tantalisingly cold beneath his hot hands. They began to sway, Harper’s softly sensual body leaning into his as their feet moved beneath them to the barely audible strains of music coming from inside.

      Vieri closed his eyes, just for a moment. This felt good. Too good. He was already guilty of using Harper; he could not let himself take advantage of her any further. But as his hands strayed lightly over the ruched fabric of that firm little behind it was so hard to hold back. His body was already defying him, reacting wildly to the feel of her luscious body against his, the scent of her hair, the small but erotic movement as she swayed in his arms. As the tightening in his groin intensified, with supreme effort Vieri forced himself to stop.

      ‘That’s enough.’ His words were harsher than he had intended, and he saw Harper’s eyes widen as he roughly moved to hold her at arm’s length. He meant to apologise but before he had the chance Harper had launched into an attack.

      ‘Okay, fine, I get the message.’ Smoothing down the fabric over her hips, she turned to glare at him. ‘Heaven forbid that we should actually start to enjoy ourselves.’

      ‘I think you have enjoyed yourself quite enough for one evening.’

      ‘And you haven’t, I suppose? Apart from when you took the time to glare at me, of course.’

      ‘I’m surprised you noticed. You seemed to be far too busy throwing yourself at every available man.’

      ‘Perhaps if you had paid me a bit more attention I wouldn’t have needed to throw myself at anyone.’ She drew in a sharp breath that pushed her breasts seductively upwards. ‘You were the one who said we needed to put on a convincing performance and yet within minutes of arriving you were swanning off with your gaggle of female admirers.’

      ‘I was merely engaging in the normal rules of social etiquette.’

      ‘Well perhaps you should have spent more time engaging with the person you are actually engaged to.’

      ‘I would have done, if I could have got a look in.’

      ‘You

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