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She tossed back over her shoulder, “I quit!”
“Running back to London? The fearless Annabelle Wolfe?” he taunted behind her.
“Over one small kiss?”
She paused, looking back at him, her heart still pounding. “It wasn’t small.”
Stefano stood motionless, staring at her. Overhead, the green trees swayed in the warm breeze, causing dappled sunlight to scatter over them both like topaz.
“You hated it so much?” he said softly.
Hated it? No. She hadn’t hated it. That was the problem.
Stefano’s kiss had exploded her world. For the rest of her life, her memory would be divided in a new before and after. Today would forever be the day when she knew, without a doubt, how deep her loneliness and hunger went. And that she’d always be alone.
Annabelle felt a painful sting beneath her eyelids. She wanted to rush back into the warmth of his arms, to cling to him and beg him to kiss her again, to hold her tight and never let go.
But she knew how it would end.
You won’t be able to resist him. No woman can.
The broken hearts he’s scattered are as infinite as stars.
All the warnings hadn’t saved her. He’d still penetrated her defenses. If she stayed at Santo Castillo, he’d have her flat on her back in a week!
A week? She shuddered. She wouldn’t last the night.
“I’ll tell the magazine to send another photographer,” she choked out. Clutching her camera, she whirled around, her eyes blinded with tears. Her foot stumbled over the uneven ground on the edge of the stream, causing her to trip forward into the shallow water.
She fell hard against the rocks. A wrenching pain in her leg made her gasp, clutching her ankle.
“Annabelle!” Stefano was instantly at her side in the cold stream. “Don’t move.”
His touch was gentle as he lifted her out of the water and set her gently down on the banks of the stream. Her calves were wet and cold as he pushed up her pink linen pant leg. As he ran his hands along her ankle, she was mesmerized by the feel of his fingers against her bare skin. Then he brushed her ankle and she winced.
He looked up at her. “That hurts.”
It was a statement, not a question. Reluctantly, she nodded.
“I’ll carry you back to the house,” he said grimly.
She blinked. “Carry me? In your arms?” He looked down at her with his ruthless dark eyes. “Si.”
Ohmygodohmygod. She shook her head vigorously. “No, I’m fine. Really! I can walk!
See?”
Rising, she tried to show him how well she could walk, only to wince and stumble when she put too much weight on her right foot.
Stefano’s black eyes blazed as he growled a Spanish curse. Without asking for permission, he swept her up in his arms. She felt the warmth of his bare skin, the fire of his touch as he held her against his chest.
He looked down at her, his eyes as hot as fire.
“No more arguments,” he growled. “Now … you are mine.”
Chapter Five
Annabelle felt dazed, in a dream, as Stefano carried her out of the forest. A soft wind blew through the trees, moving the dark branches high above as beams of golden sunlight moved in patterns against Stefano’s face.
