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When he said, ‘The flowers on Allegra’s grave?’ Cara’s brain couldn’t figure what he meant for a few seconds. She looked up helplessly, in thrall to the way her body was reacting, and then finally his words sank in. But she was having a hard time focusing, with the feel of his hand on her chin and the fact that he was so close she could smell his tantalising scent.
She spoke, but it felt like a struggle, and a dart of apprehension went through her. Was he angry that she’d gone to such an intensely private place? That thought made her voice husky, slightly defensive. ‘I like going up there. It’s peaceful…but if you’d prefer I didn’t—’
He shook his head abruptly, a curious light in his eyes. ‘No. Thank you. It was nice to see them there.’
His proximity was too much all of a sudden, and there was a new charge in the air around them. Cara stepped back.
‘You mentioned the kind of place you’d like to see when we were on the Emerald Coast. There’s somewhere near here. A friend’s place…we’ll eat there tonight.’
‘Oh, no,’ Cara blustered. ‘We don’t have to go anywhere…’
But Vicenzo just took her by the arm and led her back inside, Doppo following faithfully.
‘Yes, we do. It’s casual, so don’t worry about dressing up…’
That evening when Cara came into the front hall she felt jittery and jumpy. She told herself fiercely that this wasn’t a date. She knew that the only reason she was still here was because there was the unresolved issue of the debt—but perhaps now she could convince Vicenzo to let her go to find work and start paying him back? She ignored the dull pain in the middle of her chest as she thought about making a bid for freedom…but she knew she couldn’t stand much more of Vicenzo looking at her the way he had done earlier, as if he was really seeing her for the first time.
And then her mind ground to a halt as Vicenzo appeared at the front door, in low-slung jeans and a thin grey long-sleeved top that lovingly hinted at every defined muscle in his chest. He held one motorcycle helmet in one hand and another in the other hand.
His eyes raked her up and down, taking in her faded jeans and black sleeveless silk shirt with a high neck. Flat black ballet pumps. Her hair was down, golden red strands coiling over one shoulder like the lick of flame against the shirt. She carried a cardigan over one arm, and Vicenzo didn’t think he’d seen anyone as sexy as she looked right then. Yet the black of the shirt made him feel as if he wanted to march her out to the nearest boutique and dress her in the vibrant colours that would so suit her colouring.
But she was not a lover, dressing to seduce and entice, even though she was effortlessly arousing him more than he cared to admit. She was his wife, and a whole tangled history still lay between them, revelations or no revelations. And beyond all that was desire, urgent and more powerful than before, beating through his entire body.
Cara watched as Vicenzo handed her the smaller of the helmets and gestured for her to come outside, to where a huge, powerful motorbike sat waiting.
‘Have you ever ridden on a motorbike before?’
Cara shook her head, her eyes wide as she took in its elegant lines. Excitement licked through her, along with relief that they weren’t going in a car or the Jeep.
‘How do we—? I mean, how do I get on…?’
She watched as Vicenzo lifted one leg over and sat in the cradle of the bike, the material of his jeans stretching tight over hard thigh muscles. The sight was so unbelievably erotic that Cara’s legs turned to jelly. He held out a hand for her and she stepped forward, feeling inexplicably as if she were crossing a line in the sand when she felt him close his hand around hers. He held her hand and put his other one on her waist.
‘Just lift your leg over there, at the back.’
She did as he said and found herself straddling the bike, the design of the seat making her slip down tight against him. ‘Sorry,’ she muttered, blushing furiously as she tried to back away.
He put a hand on her thigh and it stopped Cara dead, the feel of his palm against her making her throb in response. ‘Stay where you are. It’s meant to be like that.’
Cara gulped. She couldn’t be any closer to him if she climbed into his jeans.
After she’d put on her helmet, and Vicenzo had turned back to make sure she had it on securely, she could feel his torso tight against her belly. It was all she could do to stay breathing. Then, after putting on his own helmet, Vicenzo took both her hands and brought them round his waist. She could feel his taut belly muscles move as he leant forward to turn on the bike, and as he lifted slightly to push down on the pedal.
He said to her, ‘Now, just lean into me and hold on tight.’
Then with a muted roar of the throttle they were off. Cara’s hands clenched tight around Vicenzo instinctively, as she had the initial fear of falling off, but as they came out of the gates, up the small road and turned onto the main coast road she started to relax. For a while she fought the way she found herself leaning into Vicenzo’s back so intimately, but in the end she had to give up and give in to it.
The road they were racing along ran right along the coast, and the view was so spectacular as the sun dipped lower and lower on the horizon that Cara’s breath was taken even before the wind whipped it away. It was such an unutterably exhilarating experience that Cara was trying to savour each second, taking in the view, the way Vicenzo’s body dipped and swayed with the road, the powerful engine beneath them.
About ten minutes later they came to a look out point at the side of the road. Vicenzo pulled in and stopped the bike, taking off his helmet. He pointed things out to Cara on the horizon, and back along the coast which stretched out behind them. The setting sun was streaking the clear azure sky with pink ribbons, and as they sat for a minute, just taking in the view, Cara felt her throat tighten. It was awfully pathetic, and they hadn’t even had dinner yet, but this was already the nicest experience anyone had ever given her.
After driving along the coast for a little longer, they came to a stop on the edge of a beach that glowed white in the gathering warm dusk. Jumping lithely off the bike, Vicenzo turned to help Cara, two hands firm on her waist. She was more than a bit breathless by the time she was standing. Crystalline waters lapped against the shore of the beach, and Cara walked forward to explore, slipping off her shoes to feel the texture of the quartz-like stones. They were still warm from the sun.
Vicenzo joined her, taking her by surprise when he took her hand. Feeling intensely vulnerable she tried to pull hers away. ‘It’s okay. You don’t have to do this.’
‘Cara.’ He stopped in his tracks and kept her hand in a tight grip. She gave a little squeal when she felt him snake an arm around her, pulling her close to his body. She tried to hold herself tense but it was a losing battle.
‘Things have changed. You feel it and I feel it. You can’t deny that this…’ He moved his hand down and brought her in tight to his body. She could feel him, aroused and pressing against her. Pure lust shot through her. ‘This is all that matters now. Not the past, not the future. This is just for us. It’s got nothing to do with your brother or my sister any more.’
