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His intent gaze narrowed. ‘You must know that I will not do anything more to upset him.’
‘And I will not break his confidence without his permission, so we’re at an impasse—’
‘Have some wine,’ Rio suggested wryly, strolling over to the drinks cabinet and giving her a choice.
‘Rosé, but it won’t loosen my tongue,’ she warned him doggedly, but the extreme tension in her knees holding her stiff gave way a tad, reminding her that her meeting with Beppe and the walk had exhausted her.
‘Help me out here… I am trying to be civilised,’ Rio informed her.
‘There was nothing civilised about the way you stuffed me in your car,’ Ellie reminded him drily as she settled down on a sofa.
‘Per l’amor di Dio, I never said I was perfect, principessa.’
‘Why do you call me that?’ she demanded abruptly as he settled a moisture-beaded wine glass into her hand, momentarily standing so close to her that the scent of him assailed her: hot, musky male laced with a hint of spicy cologne. A very faint shiver ricocheted through her.
Rio grinned and it was an unexpectedly boyish grin of keen amusement. ‘Because the way you walk with your little superior nose in the air gives you that look. You remind me of the rich girls I used to watch when I was a penniless teenager. Oh, they looked at me, but they wouldn’t have dirtied their lily-white hands by touching me.’
‘I was never a rich girl,’ Ellie parried uncomfortably, studying him with grass-green eyes that were luminous in the filtered sunshine and alive with curiosity. ‘I grew up in my grandmother’s working-class home and there were no airs or graces there.’
‘Cio nonostante… Nonetheless you ooze that rich-girl quality of disdain,’ Rio told her with assurance. ‘And it sets my teeth on edge—’
‘Everything about me sets your teeth on edge,’ Ellie pointed out wryly while she wondered about his background, because she was surprised that he had ever been penniless and on the outside looking in at the more prosperous. ‘We annoy each other.’
‘Beppe,’ he reminded her darkly. ‘Talk.’
In a sudden movement, Ellie stood up again because he was making her feel trapped. She understood exactly where he was coming from but she couldn’t answer his questions. His godfather could have enlightened him and had chosen not to. Beppe’s silence spoke for him. Clearly he had no desire to admit to Rio that he had had an extramarital affair or that that liaison could have led to the conception of a child.
‘I don’t back down, Ellie,’ Rio murmured from close by and every skin cell in her body jumped at the knock-on effect of that deep accented drawl of his, goosebumps rising on her bare arms. ‘I won’t let you go until you fill in the blanks—’
‘Well, then, you’re going to be stuck with me!’ Ellie exclaimed in growing frustration. ‘Because I’m not going to talk—’
Rio removed the glass from her fingers and set it aside. ‘Maybe talking’s a total waste of time for us, principessa.’
‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’ Ellie demanded thinly even though she had a very good idea.
Rio scored a light forefinger across her compressed lower lip. ‘You’re pushing it defying me. I don’t have your patience—’
Ellie threw her head back, corkscrew curls tumbling across her pale brow, green eyes sharp with frustration and defensiveness. ‘Don’t touch me!’ she warned him curtly.
‘No, not a shred of patience,’ Rio asserted with hypnotic quietness, reaching for her with scorching dark golden eyes of sensual threat.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘I CAME INTO this house with you because I trusted you,’ Ellie declared starkly, twisting away.
‘No, you don’t. You don’t trust me,’ Rio assured her with grim amusement. ‘You most probably came into the house because you don’t like arguments in public and you are nervous of how far I would go to win.’
‘Well, doesn’t that just say it all about you?’ Ellie quipped.
‘You know nothing about me yet you still judge,’ Rio condemned.
Ellie stilled, disconcerted by that criticism, and Rio took advantage of her momentary abstraction. His arm curved to her spine and he yanked her close, bringing her up against the hard, unyielding strength of his lean, powerful body, and her hormones leapt as though he had electrified her. His mouth nibbled along the plump fullness of her lower lip and all of a sudden she couldn’t breathe for anticipation. Her lips parted for him, letting his tongue plunge deep, and an aching sweetness that drowned every thought rose from the very heart of her. Something in the furthest reaches of her brain was saying no, no, no, but all the rest of her was in open rebellion.
It was the kiss to end all kisses, fit to eradicate any previous kiss because no man had ever made Ellie’s head swim with a kiss before. She felt dizzy and delirious, utterly unlike herself, adrenalin charging through her veins and lighting her up as though she had crossed the finishing line of a race. Her fingers delved freely into his springy black hair, sheer delight at the freedom to touch him consuming her.
Overwhelmed by her response, Rio tensed, wondering when it would end and abandoning any plan to stage a slow seduction scene. He had never wanted any woman as he wanted Ellie Dixon. Need was already flaming through him like a burning torch. One hand at the shallow indentation of her spine, he ground against her, so hard, so ready, so overpoweringly hungry for the damp release of her body that he trembled. It didn’t make sense to him. Yes, she was a challenge, but no woman had ever come between Rio and his wits. He was in control, he was always in control, but this one time, he wasn’t. Shouldn’t that worry him? He shelved the question, too much lost in the moment to waste time considering the drawbacks and inconsistencies. He brought Ellie down on the sofa and kissed her with unashamed passion.
‘What are we…doing?’ Ellie mumbled through swollen lips as Rio whipped off her top, exposing the heavy-duty white lace confection she wore to confine the breasts that she considered to be too large. It was a stupid question and she knew it and the sight of her own almost bare flesh unnerved her and filled her with discomfiture.
