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  Yet it had progressed into more then mere friendship, Lily owned, reflecting on just how much more.

  Was it real? Or simply a passing convenient flirtation that filled a gap in his life?

  And how could she know?

  She had little idea what drove her, other than an instinctive need to discover if Alessandro was another James…a man who hid his true colours so well, she hadn’t detected anything amiss during their relationship.

  Trust needed to be earned and how could she be totally sure if she didn’t test it?

  ‘I think we each need some space.’

  Alessandro’s eyes darkened. ‘Your reason being?’

  There was a need to go on, now that she’d begun. ‘I don’t do casual relationships.’

  ‘Is that what you think this is?’

  She met his dark gaze fearlessly. ‘Isn’t it?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Not just physical lust?’

  ‘You consider physical lust to be a detriment?’

  His voice was silky…almost dangerous. No. How could she, when her body came alive at the very thought of him…and sang with emotional reaction, as it did now, whenever his image filled her mind? As it did almost every waking minute of the day…and night.

  It was madness, a madness she could ill afford if she wanted to retain a measure of common sense.

  ‘Your body quivers with reaction every time I look at you,’ Alessandro essayed quietly. ‘The pulse at the base of your throat quickens its beat. You tremble at my touch, and when we make love, you gift me everything. Your heart…your soul.’

  The unvarnished truth, yet she couldn’t admit it. ‘We have sex.’

  ‘We make love,’ he corrected, and saw her chin tilt in defiant bravado.

  ‘There’s a difference?’

  If she imagined to make him angry, the attempt didn’t succeed.

  ‘That doesn’t even qualify an answer.’

  Lily indicated a gesture that encompassed them both. ‘This—’ she trailed, at a loss ‘—has happened too fast.’

  ‘And you consider that’s a bad thing?’

  Dear heaven. ‘I had known James for almost a year before we became engaged. For months he shared my home, my bed,’ she said with innate honesty. ‘I believed he loved me…’ She met his gaze with unwaveringly solemnity. ‘As he’s proven, I didn’t know him at all.’

  ‘You would compare me with him?’ Alessandro demanded silkily.

  Two men…as different as chalk from cheese. ‘No.’

  ‘Did you love him?

  ‘I thought so.’

  ‘Only thought, Liliana?’

  Sensation spiralled through her body, as it always did when he chose to voice her birth name.

  She searched his dark eyes in an attempt to determine something…anything, from his expression, and failed miserably. He’d had years of experience in acquiring an impenetrable mask, while she was an open book.

  ‘James wanted an easy ride to what he perceived to be a charmed life. I was a young woman with a sizable inheritance, a successful business, a beautiful family home in an elite suburb.’ She attempted a seemingly careless shrug. ‘He played his part well.’

  Alessandro resisted the need to pull her close and take her mouth with his own. There was more, and it needed to be dealt with before they could move forward.

  ‘Is that what you think I’m doing?’ he ventured quietly. ‘Playing a part?’

  Please, God…no. The touch of his mouth on her own, his hands on her body, the heart-wrenching emotions they both shared, the way she responded to him…and his response.

  It couldn’t be merely a practised act…could it?

  He framed her face with his hands. ‘My only need…is you. Everything you are. All of it. Your smile, the way your eyes light up when you look at me. The love you gift me with such generosity…’ He lightly brushed her lips in a fleeting kiss. ‘You take my breath away.’

  The temptation to move in close, wind her arms around his neck and take his mouth with her own was uppermost…and she almost succumbed. Almost.

  Her eyes held his…wide, fearless. ‘What are you suggesting, Alessandro?’

  ‘Sharing my life, my ring on your finger, the mother of the children I hope we’ll have.’

  Her mouth opened, but no sound emerged. Was it possible to be stunned into silence? Certainly at that precise moment there were no sensible words she could summon.

  Marriage?

  Lily swallowed the sudden lump that seemed to have risen in her throat. ‘You can’t be serious,’ she managed at last, and glimpsed his slight smile.

  ‘Liliana,’ Alessandro chided gently, and glimpsed the soft tide of pink colour in her cheeks as he caught a host of vivid memories pass fleetingly across her expressive features.

  Tangled limbs as they each sought to gift erotic pleasure to vulnerable curves and hollows. The soft intake of breath, the pent-up groan as sensual delight soared towards its peak. Hearts beating fast as they became lost in each other.

  The sense of rightness in what they shared. The knowledge it could never be like this with anyone else…ever. Special, infinite.

  ‘How can you make that kind of commitment after so few weeks?’ she queried in a voice that held a mesh of shock and disbelief.

  ‘Easily,’ Alessandro stated, and watched her eyes flare with uncertainty.

  Dear heaven. She needed time to get her head around this. Spontaneity was fine in some aspects of life…but marriage?

  Yet there was a part of her that wanted to leap into his arms and say yes. To accept all he offered without thought or question.

  She almost did…and knew he recognized the complexity of her emotions. Knew, on a subliminal level, that if he reached for her now, she’d be his.

  Except, while he read her, he was also aware the next move had to be hers.

  A consummate strategy, and a risk, but one he was willing to take.

  ‘You have a week,’ Alessandro said quietly, and saw her eyes coalesce from dark brown to almost ebony.

  ‘And then?’

  He took his time before responding. ‘I’ll come and get you.’

  Ohmygod. The colour leeched from her cheeks, and, unbidden, the words tumbled forth without coherent thought. ‘And if I choose to seek you out?’

  His eyes speared her own, dark and impossibly unfathomable. ‘You know how to find me.’

  Yes, she did.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  SLEEP proved elusive, and Lily rose next morning with the firm resolve to keep occupied, and work became a panacea as she beseeched the restaurant manager to allow her every shift available.

  For four days and nights she worked tirelessly, taking only customary breaks, only to drive to her apartment, shower and fall into bed…then rise to do it all over again.

  It didn’t help. Nothing helped. And she still tossed and turned most of every night.

  Each morning she recognized the ever-increasing dark circles beneath eyes heavy with lack of sleep, and used cosmetics to disguise them.

  It was Hannah who took action in pulling Lily to one side at the end of an evening shift.

  ‘Coffee. Then you tell me what the hell is going on with you.’

  ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘Uh-huh. Sure you are. There’s a café a few doors down the street. Let’s go.’

  Seated, two lattes delivered to the table, Hannah pushed a container holding sugar tubes towards Lily, and leaned forward. ‘Spill.’

  ‘James has returned to Australia.’ It was a place to start.

  ‘Good riddance to a totally forgettable man.’

  Amen to that.

  ‘Alessandro?’

  When Lily said nothing, Hannah pushed her latte to one side. ‘The way he looks at you sends shivers down my spine. In a good way,’ she added. ‘What’s the problem?’

  Me, Lily admitted silently. I’m the problem. Because I’m afraid to reach for the one thing I want. Apprehensive that I might be maki
ng a mistake. As I did with James.

  Yet with each waking hour it was becoming increasingly apparent how much she longed for Alessandro’s touch. To feel his hands on her body, his mouth… Oh, God. She was becoming more of an emotional wreck with every passing day.

  Even Sophia, when she telephoned, kept a silent counsel, choosing not to mention Alessandro’s name, and Lily had never felt so distressingly confused in her life.

  Which was crazy. She could stop this emotional see-saw with one phone call.

  So why don’t you take control and do it?

  ‘Nothing I can’t handle,’ Lily declared as she reached for her coffee, and sipped the delicious brew. ‘Thanks.’

  She bore Hannah’s searching look, and offered a warm smile. The first genuine one she’d managed in days.

  ‘Hey, did I just miss something here?’

  ‘Not a thing,’ she said gently, gathering her bag and extracting the necessary euros to cover their coffee. ‘My treat. I insist.’

  ‘You’ve made a decision,’ Hannah essayed with satisfaction.

  ‘Yes, I have.’

  ‘Good.’ Hannah collected her belongings and stood. ‘Let’s go.’

  Together they walked to where their cars were parked, bade each other goodnight, then Lily fired the ignition and set the route leading to her apartment.

  A shower worked wonders, and for the first time in several nights she slept like a baby, woke refreshed, and requested a change to the lunch shift in order to finish mid-afternoon.

  Her plan was simple, and she chose her clothes carefully, worked the busy lunch shift, then drove to the stylish building housing Alessandro’s suite of offices. Parking was a problem, and took longer than anticipated, causing concern as she rode a lift to the designated floor.

  What if he was in a meeting? Consulting with an important client? Worse, what if he wasn’t in his office at all?

  The lift slid to a halt and she emerged into an elegant foyer, noted Del Marco Industries on a pair of wide glass doors directly in front of her, then she took a steadying breath and crossed into the stylish reception area where she was greeted with polite interest.

  ‘Signor Alessandro del Marco,’ Lily managed with equal politeness.

  ‘Signor del Marco is in conference.’

  ‘Could you inform his PA that Liliana Parisi wishes to speak with him when he’s free?’

  There was a flicker of recognition, momentary and easily missed if Lily hadn’t chanced to catch it.

  ‘Of course.’ The receptionist turned to her console, pressed a button, spoke quietly, then deactivated the call. ‘Christina will show you to Signor del Marco’s private lounge.’

  Within minutes a perfectly groomed young woman appeared, introduced herself, and bade Lily accompany her along a spacious hallway to a comfortably furnished room.

  ‘Please take a seat. Signor del Marco will be with you soon. Can I offer you some refreshment? Coffee, tea…something cool?’

  ‘Thank you. I’m fine.’

  ‘There is a selection of magazines if you’d care to peruse them.’

  It was easy to incline her head and proffer a smile.

  Christina offered a compact electronic call device. ‘If you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact me.’

  Then Lily was alone.

  How soon was soon? Did it matter?

  She’d skim through the pages of a magazine or three, and attempt to ignore the onset of nerves playing havoc with her equilibrium.

  The minutes crept by with seeming slowness as she turned page after page and barely registered a word or photograph.

  One magazine, two and she was about to select a third when a door opened and Alessandro entered the lounge.

  His eyes locked with her own as she rose to her feet and took a few steps towards him.

  The look in his eyes almost brought her undone, and she offered him a tremulous smile as he crossed the lounge to meet her.

  Alessandro didn’t say a word, everything he felt for her was clearly evident. Love, in all its many facets, and caring.

  For her…only her.

  He lowered his head and brushed his lips to her own, felt their slight quiver, and lifted his hands to cradle her face.

  For what seemed an age he savoured her mouth, tracing its outline, gently delving in to taste the sweet moistness as she met his persuasive tongue with her own.

  Then she lifted her arms, linked her hands behind his neck and held on as he deepened the kiss to something so incredibly passionate she lost sense of time and place.

  For there was only the man, the strength of his powerful body imprinted against her own, the hard length of his arousal a potent force as he slid an arm down her back and held her close against the cradle of his hips.

  It seemed an age before he eased the pressure and pressed his lips to the tip of her nose, her temple, then trailed light kisses along the edge of her jaw to gently tease the soft fullness of her lips before lifting his head a fraction to look deeply into her eyes.

  ‘What took you so long?’

  ‘Foolishness,’ Lily owned, and ran the tip of her tongue over her swollen lips, saw his eyes flare, and she laid the palm of her hand against his cheek. ‘Reasons I managed to convince myself were valid.’

  ‘And they were not?’

  It was time for honesty, with nothing withheld. ‘I believed love needed time to grow from initial attraction to something…more. Not hit like a bolt of lightning and send my world spinning on its axis.’

  Alessandro’s mouth curved into a musing smile, parted, only for her to press his lips closed.

  ‘After a disastrous relationship with James, I didn’t want to have anything to do with men. But there you were,’ she continued quietly. ‘A constant in my life. At first I imagined it was out of a form of duty to Sophia. And I could appreciate that. Except it took an unexpected turn, and it was easy to confuse my emotions with good sex.’ Very good sex, she amended silently. Oh, go for broke…and accord it off the Richter scale.

  Lily paused, searching his features as she wordlessly begged him to understand.

  ‘You think I didn’t comprehend your uncertainty?’ he queried gently.

  Yes, he had, she perceived, setting the pace, not allowing it to stall. A superb strategist who knew her better than she knew herself.

  ‘I love you.’ Simple words that had been so difficult to recognize and accept, yet heartfelt and true.

  ‘Grazie di Dio.’ Husky emotion clouded his voice as he claimed her mouth in a breathtaking kiss that rendered her breathless.

  When he lifted his head, it was all she could do to look at him with tear-drenched eyes, and he smoothed a thumb gently beneath a lower lid where moisture threatened to spill.

  ‘Liliana,’ Alessandro chided gently as tears overflowed and tracked slowly down each cheek. ‘You are my life.’ He traced the twin rivulets and dispensed with them. ‘You have my love. My heart.’

  Lily wanted to cry and laugh, both at the same time. Instead, she lifted shaky fingers to each cheek, only to have him capture each and press his lips to the dampness.

  ‘Let’s get out of here, hmm?’

  Lily offered a shaky smile. ‘Are you done for the day?’

  ‘The office…yes.’ He pressed his mouth gently against her own. ‘With you…no.’ He curved an arm over her shoulders as he indicated the door.

  Together they traversed the corridor, and as they reached Reception Alessandro extended a smile, acknowledged the receptionist and led Lily towards the bank of lifts.

  When an electronic cubicle arrived he drew her inside, pressed the basement garage indicator, then he spared her a gleaming look as he lifted her hand to his lips.

  If flesh and bones could melt, hers certainly felt as if they did.

  This, everything she shared with this man was beyond price. All she could ever want.

  It was true that occasionally fate chose to gift an opportunity. Something very special.

  A gift
she’d almost refused.

  Because she couldn’t conceive taking a leap of faith, believing what was in her heart…the very depths of her soul.

  Alessandro’s car rested in its reserved parking bay, and Lily took the passenger seat as Alessandro slid in behind the wheel.

  Traffic was heavy, chaotic, and progress was slow, Consequently it took a while to reach the street that housed his apartment building, then he eased to a halt adjacent the main entrance.

  Alessandro emerged from the car and crossed to where she stood, his eyes dark with passion as he drew her close.

  ‘Thank you.’ The words were slightly husky…yet heartfelt.

  ‘For what, specifically?’ he probed gently.

  ‘Everything,’ Lily said simply. Caring. Love.

  Nothing in his life held more meaning…nothing except this woman who’d dispensed with his seemingly impenetrable defences and taken hold of his heart. As no other could in this lifetime.

  There was little recollection who moved first, only the fact his arms wrapped around her slender form and his mouth took possession of her own in a long hungry kiss that became all-consuming, primitive, urgent.

  Close, so close…the hard imprint of his body melding with her own as they became lost in each other. Aware of increasing need, and the desire for more…so much more.

  Skin on skin, the freedom to savour, suckle…gift the ultimate in sensual pleasure.

  Somehow she managed to pull back a little, and a faint hiccup of laughter rose from her throat as she bracketed his jaw with hands that shook a little.

  ‘We’re standing in the street,’ Lily offered quietly. ‘Making out in plain sight.’

  Dark eyes gleamed intently above her own. ‘Not a good idea?’

  He was teasing her, and she reciprocated by slowly running the tip of her tongue over her passion-swollen lower lip…and saw his eyes flare. ‘I can think of a better one.’ She pulled his head down to hers and whispered a few words in his ear.

  Alessandro released a husky laugh in response, swept an arm beneath her thighs as he lifted her into his arms and strode to the front entrance, cleared Security and gained entry into the foyer.