either side of her head, his eyes hot and smouldering as his hard aroused body pressed her down on the mattress.
Even if her hands were free, Eliza knew she wouldn’t have had the strength of will to push him away. Her lower body was on fire, aching with the need to feel him inside her. He released one of her hands so he could rip away the sheet that was covering her, his hungry gaze moving over her like a burning flame.
His mouth swooped down and covered hers in a searing kiss, his tongue driving through to meet hers in a crazy, lustful, frenzied dance. Her breasts swelled beneath the solid press of his chest, her nipples going to hard little peaks as they rubbed against him.
He reached across her to find a condom in the bedside cabinet drawer but he didn’t take his mouth off hers to do it. He kissed her relentlessly, passionately, drawing from her the sort of shamelessly wanton response she’d only ever experienced with him. She used her teeth like a female tiger in heat, biting and nipping and tugging at his lower lip, teasing him with little flicks of her tongue against his, shivering in delight when he did the same back to her.
Once the condom was on he entered her with a thick, surging thrust that made her gasp out loud. There was nothing slow and languid about his lovemaking. It was a breathtakingly fast and furious ride to the summit of pleasure. She felt the pressure building so quickly it was like a pressure cooker about to explode. Her body needed only the slightest bit of extra encouragement from his fingers to send her over the edge into a tumultuous release that made her head spin along with her senses.
But he wasn’t stopping things there.
Before she had even caught her breath he flipped her over on her stomach, straddling her from behind, those strong hands of his on her hips as he thrust deep and hard, again and again until she was shivering with pleasure both inside and out.
There was something so wickedly primal and earthy about this dominant position. She felt as if he was taming her, subduing her even as he pleasured her. She heard his breathing rate increase as he fought for control, the grip on her hips almost painful as he thrust above her.
She raised her bottom just a fraction and the change of friction set off an explosion of feeling that shuddered through her like an earthquake: tremor after tremor, aftershock after aftershock, until finally she came out the other side, totally spent and limbless.
His hands tightened on her hips to hold her steady as he came. She felt every spasm of his body. She heard those harsh, utterly male groans of ecstasy that delighted her so much.
Did he experience the same rush of pleasure with the other women he slept with? Was it foolish of her to think she was somehow special? That what he experienced with her was completely different than with anyone else? That the sensational heat of their physical connection was the real reason he had brought her back into his life, not just as a fill-in nanny for his daughter?
Leo turned her back over and looked at her for a long moment. It wasn’t easy to read his expression. Was he, like her, trying to disguise how deeply affected he was by what they had both shared? ‘I want you to promise me something.’
Eliza moistened her kiss-swollen lips. ‘What?’
‘If we go to London next week, there is to be no physical contact with your fiancé.’
His sudden change in mood was jarring to say the least. But then, what had she been expecting him to say?
‘What are you going to do?’ she asked. ‘Keep me under lock and key?’
A flinty element entered his gaze as it held hers. ‘I am not having you go from my bed to his and back again. Do I make myself clear?’
She resented him thinking she would do such a thing, even though she knew it was perverse of her to blame him given she hadn’t told him the truth about her situation. She wondered if she should just tell him. Maybe he would understand her painful dilemma much more than she gave him credit for. Sure, she’d left it a bit late, but she might be able to make him understand how terribly conflicted she felt.
‘Leo…there’s something you need to know about Ewan—’
‘I don’t even want you to speak his name in my presence,’ he said. ‘I will not share you with him or anyone. I’ve paid for your time and I will not be short-changed or cuckolded.’ He got off the bed and picked up his track pants and roughly pulled them back up over his hips.
Her pride finally came to her rescue. She swung her legs off the bed and, with scant regard for her nakedness, stalked over to where he was standing and poked her index finger into the middle of his chest like a probe. ‘How dare you tell me who I can and can’t speak about in your presence?’ she said. ‘I don’t care how much money you pay me. I will not be ordered about by you.’
His eyes glittered as he stared her down. ‘You will do as I say or suffer the consequences.’
She curled her lip at him. ‘Is that supposed to scare me? Because, if so, it doesn’t.’ It did, but she wasn’t going to admit that.
His mouth was a thin line of ruthless determination. ‘You want a job to go back to at the end of the summer break? Then think very carefully about your behaviour. One word from me and your career as a teacher will be well and truly over.’
Outrage made her splutter. ‘You can’t do that!’
His hardened look said he could and he would. ‘I’ll see you when I get back.’
IT WAS ALMOST a week before Eliza saw Leo again. Apparently the project he had in Paris had developed some issues and he needed to be on site to handle the difficulties. She had no doubt his work was demanding and time consuming, but in this instance she wondered if he had deliberately taken himself out of the picture to regroup. He didn’t speak to her for long each time he called—just long enough for her to give him updates on what Alessandra was doing. The conversations were stiff and formal, just like a powerful employer to a very low-ranked employee. It riled her deeply, but she was nearly always with Alessandra when he called so she had no recourse. She had considered calling him when Alessandra was in bed asleep but had always talked herself out of it out of stubborn and wilful pride.
Alessandra clearly missed her father being around, but she seemed to accept he had to go away to work from time to time. Eliza enjoyed being with the little girl, even though at times it was challenging to think of ways to help her become more independent. Some days Alessandra was more motivated than others. But it was lovely to have the one on one time with her after coming from a busy classroom where she had to juggle so many children’s educational and social needs.
Tatiana, the orientation and mobility teacher, came for another session and was thrilled to see how Alessandra had improved over the week. To Eliza it had seemed such painfully slow progress, but Tatiana reassured her that Alessandra was doing far better than other vision-impaired children her age.
The one challenge that Eliza was particularly keen to attempt was taking Alessandra for a walk outside the villa or even down to one of the cafés in Positano. She had spoken to Marella about it in passing, but while the housekeeper thought it was a great idea, she had reservations over what Leo would say.
‘Why don’t you ask him about it when he next calls?’ Marella said.
Eliza
