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At the door, Rio draped the gorgeous coat round her shoulders. That
personal attention made her feel ten feet tall. At the same hour just
two nights back she had been walking the city streets, cold and scared,
and already that seemed a lifetime ago, she conceded, sobered by that
reflection. Yet the world she was now inhabiting felt far less real to
her than the one she had so recently left behind. But then, it was Rio's
world, not hers.
That fleeting kiss that had set her on fire earlier had only been a
tease, Holly told herself. He was a very sexy guy and he had been
flirting with her, that was all. Settling back into the limo, she
thought about her son. Timmie, who was not high-class enough to arm at
being Timothy, was her real world, along with bedsits, creepy landlords
and deadend, boring jobs, she reminded herself doggedly.
But still she found herself watching Rio, storing up images for the
future. It wasn't just his sleek, dark good-looks, his innate elegance
and grace; he had an incredible aura of
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self-assurance that made her feel safe. It was a challenge to credit
that anything could go wrong while he was around. Was it possible to
fall in love so fast? Well, whether it was or not, she would have to get
over her silly notions. Cocooned in her glorious fake-fur, she took
advantage of the shifting play of light and shadow as the limo travelled
through the quiet streets to study him from all angles in search of a
physical flaw. But he defeated her. He remained drop-dead gorgeous and
no mistake.
'You don't need to restrict yourself to just looking. You can touch as
well, cara? Rio murmured in indolent invitation.
In sharp bewilderment, Holly froze. Agonised hot colour flooded her
face. He might as well have stripped her naked and turned her out in
front of an amused audience. Beneath the appraisal of those glittering
golden eyes that saw far too much for her comfort she felt like a
butterfly caught on a pin. He knew how he could make her feel but she
had never made a physical advance to a man and she was not about to
break that habit, she told herself fiercely, her small hands closing in
on themselves. She had enough problems; she had made enough mistakes.
Diving into bed for a casual one-night stand with Rio Lombardi would be
the ultimate of mistakes. Not only would she fail to deliver what he
expected, but she would also despise herself for being so cheap afterwards.
'Is that why you gave me the fairy-tale day out?' Holly heard herself
accuse.
In the flickering lights, his lean, strong face clenched. 'Of course not.'
'But you got a kick out of dressing me up like some toy doll, trying to
make me fit the blueprint of what presumably you like.' Holly was
fighting so hard to keep the sob rising inside her from surfacing that
her voice shook. 'But I'm
still me, and I may not be anything that special, but if Jeff taught me
anything he taught me that I need to have more respect for myself.'
'Right now, I do not want to hear about your abusive boyfriend,' Rio
responded with sizzling bite. 'But, believe me, I've never had to bribe
a woman into my bed!'
Holly did believe him, but she also knew that if she spoke again she
would start crying and make an even bigger fool of herself. When the
limo arrived at the house she jumped out, practically raced past Ezio
and was indoors and up the stairs most probably before Rio had even made
his own front step. Out of breath she went straight into Timmie's room
and crept over to his cot. Her son was sound asleep, little face flushed
and peaceful. Tomorrow she was going out to look for a job, and she
would tackle the Social Security office again. Tomorrow was the
beginning of another day.
Under the shower, she let her pent-up tears flow. How could she have
been tempted? But then, how could she not have been? She was mesmerised
by Rio Lombardi. It had been a magical day and she shouldn't have taken
offence, for she had not objected to being kissed. Rio was no different
from any other single oversexed male: he was programmed by his hormones
to take advantage of willing women. If only she had had the wit to
respond with a light-hearted negative, rather than getting upset and
preaching and condemning. The memory of her own clumsy lack of tact made
her cringe.
She slid into the silky white nightie she had worn the night before.
Taken from the bag of clothing Ezio had given her, the garment was about
a size too small in the bosom department, and rather revealing, but then
she wasn't planning to walk down the street in it. She got into bed and
tossed and turned for ages while telling herself that it was
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hunger that was keeping her awake. Then she heard a faint cry from
Timmie's room and scrambled out of bed to check on him.
Timmie was still asleep. She straightened his bedding and assured
herself that he was breathing normally and not too warm. Maybe he had
had a bad dream. Slipping out of his room again, she stopped dead at the
sight of Rio standing in the corridor, wearing only a pair of black
boxer shorts.
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'I heard Timothy crying...is he OK?' Rio prompted.
'Yes, he's still asleep,' Holly told him in a rush.
His ebony hair was tousled, his strong jawline blue-shadowed and his
eyes were bright in his lean, bronzed face. He looked like a very sexy
buccaneer, all elemental male and rippling muscles. Welded to the spot,
Holly gazed at him, her soft lips parting. If she had found it
impossible not to stare when he was clothed, she was even more
challenged to deny that temptation when he was half-naked. And, although
she knew she should not be looking and she was embarrassed by her own
fascination, she couldn't stop.
Her heartbeat felt as if it was thumping in her constricted throat. He
was magnificent. Her dilated gaze ran from his wide, smooth brown
shoulders down over the black curls liberally sprinkling his muscular
torso to his tight, flat stomach, and about there, where the band of his
boxer shorts encircled his lean hips and challenged all further
curiosity, Holly stopped dead in horror at herself.
Eyes shimmering hot gold, Rio strolled closer and, barefoot as he was,
he made hardly a sound. The quiet had become a silence that buzzed, a
silence alive with dangerous vibrations. Rio dealt her a slow-burning
smile of appreciation. Only then did it occur to Holly that her scanty
nightdress was scarcely adequate covering in which to parade herself
before any red-blooded male. Her cheeks burning fierily, she raised her
arms and began to fold them protectively over herself.
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'Equal rights, cara.' Rio snapped long fingers round her wrists and held
her still for a lingering physical appraisal.
Her breath snarled up in her throat, for she knew what he was seeing,
her full breasts shamelessly delineated by the sheer, tight bodice. She
felt the burn of her own mortification right down to the soles of her
feet and was duly punished.
Rio made a husky sound low and deep in his throat. He just reached for
her, hauling her up to him, his lean hands curving round her hips to
crush her feminine mound into connection with the full, hard force of
his arousal as he lifted her up against him.
'I hope you're in the mood to satisfy one very hungry guy, bella mia,'
Rio growled before he brought his mouth crashing down on hers with
devouring heat.
It was their first true kiss and it blew Holly away. Crushed to the hard
male strength of his big, powerful physique, she was conscious of his
virility with every fibre of her being. His mouth was hard and hot and
carnal and nobody had ever kissed her that way before. Prying her soft
