knew she was powerless to resist. The kiss deepened immediately, the tidal wave of sensation kicking in again until the pleasure was so strong she couldn’t feel her feet any more, didn’t know which way up she was. With his lips moulded against her own, firm and tight, yet silky and persuasive, their hot possession left no room for doubt or thought of any kind, and she could do nothing but let herself be pulled into the swirling abyss, dragged under by the current, left gasping for air. It was suffocating. It was drowning. And it was impossible to fight.
She wanted him! And even though a quiet voice told her to be careful, warned her of the consequences, a much louder one was screaming at her to do this. To let go, to live for the moment. That if she didn’t, she would regret it. The sort of regret that would stay with her for the rest of her life.
Breaking away from the kiss, she felt for his hand, tipping her head to look up at him, still needing that final confirmation. And there it was. With his pupils dilated until his eyes were almost black, Harper had her proof. She could see that he was hanging onto the very last threads of his control and that was all she needed to know. He wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him. And that was the most empowering feeling ever.
‘Let’s go.’ With a confidence that surprised her, she tugged on his hand, leading him out of the dining room. But by the time they had reached the echoing hallway, Vieri was beside her, one arm around her waist, hurrying them both up the long flight of stairs as if the very devil were on their heels. They flew down the corridor together until they reached their bedroom door.
Or at least the bedroom that they supposedly shared. In fact, as far as Harper knew, Vieri had never so much as set foot in there. True to his word, from day one he had found himself another room in the castello, Harper didn’t know where. She had told herself she didn’t care. So she alone had used this bedroom, slept in the ornate ‘marriage’ bed, dressed in front of the fancy gilt mirror. And even though she had told herself it was a relief, that the last thing she had wanted was the awkwardness of sharing a room with Vieri and all the mixed emotions that would have stirred up, in truth it had only made her feel more alone.
But tonight all that was going to change. Opening the door, Vieri pulled her in behind him but the sight that met Harper’s eyes stopped her in her tracks. The bedroom had been filled with candles, burning low now that several hours had passed. In the flickering light, Harper could see a trail of rose petals leading to the bed, the four posts of which had been decorated with winter foliage and long-stemmed red roses, twisting up and around and over the canopy, giving it a wonderful, Sleeping-Beauty-like quality.
‘It seems the wedding planners have been busy.’ She gave a light laugh, intended to show that she knew this ridiculously romantic setting had no real heart behind it, had nothing to do with Vieri.
‘So it would seem.’ He looked around him, puzzled.
‘I think we can probably guess whose idea this was.’ She raised her eyebrows, giving Vieri a neutral smile.
‘Alfonso!’ They spoke his name together.
With a low laugh Vieri took hold of her hand and navigated them along the path of petals towards the bed. ‘He is completely shameless. He will stop at nothing to bring us together.’
‘I know.’ They sat down together on the bed, Harper’s heart banging loud enough to wake the entire castello as she looked at their hands clasped together in Vieri’s lap, thought of where they might soon travel. ‘And it seems he has succeeded.’
‘Yes.’ The air between them thickened, vibrating with desire. With his fingers stroking against her palm, Harper felt her eyelids close, her whole body tingle with erotic awareness.
‘You want this?’ His breath whispered softly against her face.
‘I want this, Vieri.’
She had never wanted anything so much in her entire life. It was an all-consuming yearning that obliterated all doubt, took all reason and turned it into so much dust. The need for him to be hers, to possess her, as no man ever had, was so strong, so overwhelming, that it didn’t matter that she knew they had no future together. Tomorrow didn’t matter. Hell, an hour’s time didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Vieri took her in his arms and made love to her right now.
Opening her eyes, she gazed at the chiselled features of his handsome face, registering the slash of heat beneath the olive skin, the determined set of his jaw showing his restraint, the way he was holding back. But most of all she saw the swirling depths of desire in his eyes; she saw how much he wanted her. And that was all she needed.
Her hands flew to his chest, rapidly unbuttoning his waistcoat and pushing it over his shoulders before pulling his tie undone. She moved to start on the buttons of his shirt but Vieri took over, sweeping her effortlessly from the bed and setting her onto the floor where his hot gaze swept over her, scorching her flesh from head to toe. Kicking off her shoes, Harper stood on tiptoe to reach for him, linking her arms behind his head, suddenly aware of the difference in their heights, how very tall he was. But feeling for her hands, Vieri released their grasp and took her arms above her head, so that her breasts tugged upwards. Their eyes met.
‘Stay like that.’ It was a hoarse demand, a whisper of promise.
Bending down, he took hold of the hem of her dress, bunching the slippery fabric in his hands and starting to lift it up, revealing her ankles, then her calves. As he rose to standing he took the dress with him until it had slithered past her bottom and her waist and, with a final flourish, like a triumphant matador, he pulled it up and over her head.
‘Molto bella.’ Tossing the dress to one side, Vieri took a moment to look at her, his eyes travelling hungrily over the white silk stockings, the matching panties, and then to her breasts, naked and heavy with need. But Harper felt no shyness as his gaze raked over her, no embarrassment or awkwardness. Instead his intense gaze empowered her, made her feel beautiful, as if she could do anything. She tingled with a glorious heat that spread to every cell in her body, finding its way to her core where it burned hot and bright and insistent.
Only when his eyes alighted on the scar that arced down one side of her belly did she falter, her arm instinctively moving to cover it. But Vieri lifted her hand, running his finger tenderly along the fine ridge of the scar tissue.
‘What’s this?’
‘A kidney transplant. Years ago, when I was sixteen.’ She spoke quickly, hoping that would be explanation enough.
‘You needed a kidney transplant?’
‘No, not me, Leah. I was the donor.’
‘Cristo, Harper.’ Vieri moved his hands to her shoulders, bringing her closer to him. ‘Has your entire life been dedicated to saving others?’
‘Pretty much.’ Harper pulled back to look into his eyes.
‘And now?’
‘Not now. Trust me, Vieri, this...’ She moved provocatively against him. ‘This is just for me.’
‘For us.’
‘Yes,’ she corrected herself. ‘For us.’
With a slow, sinful smile, Vieri reached to release the pins in her hair and Harper shook her head so that the loose curls tumbled over her shoulders, over her naked breasts.
‘You look...’ he swallowed hard ‘...incredible.’
His
