dripping water over her trainers. ‘I’m Sienna,’ she’d blurted out, mortified when he’d run his eyes over her faded jeans and tee shirt. All her clothes had been years old but she hadn’t had money to buy new, fashionable stuff like the other girls she’d known at school. Her tee shirt had been too tight, and because it had been a hot day she hadn’t bothered to wear a bra.
To her horror she had felt her nipples harden, but when she’d hurriedly crossed her arms in front of her she had seen a gleam in Nico’s eyes that had sent a delicious shiver through her. It had been the first time in her life that she’d felt desire, and in that instant she had become aware of her femininity.
‘My name is Domenico, but my friends call me Nico,’ he’d told her.
‘I know, sir.’ She’d suddenly remembered her lowly position and his exalted one. One day he would inherit Sethbury Hall and the title of Viscount Mandeville when his grandfather died.
He had laughed. ‘I very much hope you will call me Nico, Si-enna.’ Even the way he’d said her name had been sexy. ‘You can’t have wet feet for the rest of the day. Take off your shoes and we’ll sit in the garden while they dry. You can tell me why a girl as beautiful as you is working here.’
She had been seduced by Nico’s easy charm and his self-assurance that even back then had sat lightly on his broad shoulders. He had kissed her for the first time that same afternoon while they were sitting in the shade of a lilac tree covered with heavenly scented purple spires. Later she had walked home on air and even her father’s drunken bad temper couldn’t burst her bubble. She’d been in love with a handsome prince who she’d been sure would make all her dreams come true.
Right now, Nico looked as dangerous as the wicked wolf beloved of so many fairy tales. Time shifted to the present and Sienna found herself looking into the glittering gaze of her ex-husband. He was moving purposefully across the dance floor towards her, accompanied by the new Mrs De Conti.
‘Let’s swap. I don’t want to be accused of monopolising your delightful bride,’ he said to Danny, skilfully executing the change of partners before Sienna had time to object.
He swept her across the dance floor so fast that her head spun and her feet barely touched the floor. When she tried to ease away from him, he clamped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him so that her breasts were crushed against his chest.
‘What are you doing?’ she muttered, struggling to speak with her face pressed against his shirt front. She could see the shadow of his dark chest hairs beneath the fine white silk. The heat of his body was melting her insides.
‘I could ask you the same question,’ he said in a terse voice, and when she glanced up at his face she realised that he was furious. ‘Did you come to Danny’s wedding to cause trouble?’
She was mystified. ‘What do you mean by trouble? What have I done?’
‘Did you give any thought to Danny’s new bride while you were flirting with him in front of the wedding guests?’
‘I was not flirting...’
‘You were all over him like a rash. Dio, you’ve got every male in the marquee panting over you. Why embarrass Victoria like that? Was it to prove that you can have any man you want, including my ass of a brother?’
Sienna sucked in a sharp breath, her temper rising to meet Nico’s. ‘You asked me to come to the reception,’ she snapped. ‘It’s ridiculous to make me out as some sort of man-eater. No one here is interested in me.’
‘I don’t believe you are unaware of the effect you have on men.’
‘I only have an effect on you.’ The words spilled from her mouth before she realised what she had said.
Nico tensed and stared at her, and the hunger in his eyes both excited and appalled her. He was her ex-husband and whatever there had been between them had died a long time ago, she reminded herself. So why did he make her feel dizzy and disconnected from reality?
She was barely aware of the other people on the dance floor. There was just Nico filling her vision and swamping her senses. He was even more dangerously handsome and charismatic than her memory of him but she was determined not to fall under his spell again.
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