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‘So, the car—has it gone down well?’ Her father turned to Alessandro and within minutes they were immersed in conversation. One she would normally relish hearing, but she needed to put space between her and Alessandro, cool things down. Maybe now it was time to mingle with potential buyers, do what she’d come here for.
* * *
Alessandro watched as Charlie talked animatedly with other people about the car, about its performance, and he recalled how well she’d driven it. She was more than qualified to sing its praises but it wasn’t the drive, however fast, he was remembering. It was the kiss. Holding her in his arms and feeling her body against his.
Just a few guests lingered now, along with the racing drivers she’d been talking to earlier. Had she given them the same hints she’d given him? The way they hung on her every word certainly suggested as much.
An unknown need to be territorial made him stand as close to her as possible, but just doing so infused him once more with sizzling need. ‘Thank you, gentlemen,’ he said firmly, ignoring the way she shot him a startled glance. ‘Any more questions you may have can be directed to my office.’
The remaining guests left, animated discussion of speed and performance trailing in their wake, but Alessandro watched Charlie as she leant back against the wing of the car, her red dress so perfect a match she almost became one with the slumbering beast.
Heat scorched through him as he remembered her earlier words and he undid his tie, letting it hang down, and pulled loose his top buttons. He’d never been so suffocated by desire before, had never experienced this continuous aching need.
He wanted her with a ferocious need, his promise to Seb becoming lost in the mists of heady desire. He should turn and walk away. To have kissed her at the test track had been so wrong. It had unlocked a thirst that needed quenching. Did she feel the same?
He looked at her and her eyes met his, darkening by the second. She smiled, a shy seductive smile that made his pulse leap. Instantly, he closed the distance between them, taking her in his arms and claiming her lips. She tasted better than ever; the anticipation of the last few hours had been worth the wait.
He caressed her cheek as he deepened the kiss, her response setting fire to his senses so instantly there was only one way to put out the flames now. Her skin was so soft and as his fingers caressed her bare throat he felt the wild pump of her pulse.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, her breasts pressing against his chest, and he moved her back against the car, pressing into her as heady lust robbed him of all thought.
‘Sandro,’ she murmured against his lips, pushing him almost too far.
It was all he could do to stop himself ripping the red dress from her, wanting to reveal her glorious body to his hungry gaze. Somewhere on the periphery sense prevailed.
This couldn’t happen here and if he didn’t stop kissing her there was a very real probability that it would. He pulled back from her, seeing her thick dark lashes flutter open to reveal eyes swirling with passion. ‘My car is outside.’
Would she remember her covert promise to him that the night was still young? Her kiss certainly suggested as much, but did she want him enough to put all their differences aside for one night?
Shyly she looked up at him, a small sexy smile lifting her lips. Then, without further words, he took her hand and led her away from the car, through the brightly lit room where the hotel staff had started to clear up.
Movement caught his eye and he glanced over to see a photographer at a table, packing away his camera. Alessandro scrunched his eyes in suspicion, then, as her hand touched his arm, bringing her so close again, he dismissed the idea. He had far more important things to worry about than a rogue photographer.
He looked down into her upturned face as they stepped out into the warmth of the night, her smile reaching her eyes. ‘It has been a very successful night,’ she said as the car stopped outside the door.
‘One I hope will continue in the same way.’
Demurely she looked down as he opened the car door. Once inside the car, he pulled her close against him, her head resting on his shoulder as if they’d known each other for ever. He didn’t want to kiss her now. He didn’t trust himself to be able to stop if things got heated. No, this was going to be played out in the comfort of his bedroom, where nothing and nobody could disturb them.
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHARLIE LIFTED THE front of her dress with one hand, the other still firmly in Alessandro’s as they made their way up the marble staircase to his apartment. It was late and she should be tired. Last night she’d hardly slept and this evening she’d enjoyed the champagne just a little too much, but every sense in her body was on high alert.
