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‘All right.’ His voice was rough. ‘I’ll try not to. You’re an excellent A and E nurse. I don’t know how I could have forgotten that. This last week has been easier for everyone because you’ve been in the department. I’m certainly not going to suggest that you give it up.’
‘Oh.’ A delicious warmth spread through her and she stared at him, stunned by the praise.
He lifted a dark eyebrow in question. ‘Anything else?’
‘Yes. If I’m staying, then we’re going to spend time together, Alessandro. No more ships in the night. No more living at the hospital while I live my own life here. And a few romantic gestures would be nice.’
‘Romantic gestures?’ He stared at her blankly for a moment and she resisted the temptation to rol
l her eyes.
‘Never mind. Let’s just settle for spending time together,’ she said wearily, lacking the motivation to explain. Romantic gestures just weren’t in his nature, she reminded herself. She’d known that when she’d married him and it hadn’t bothered her. She’d been in love with the man and she was still in love with him. If they could just rediscover what they’d once shared, she could live without romantic gestures.
There was a brief silence while he studied her and then he gave a brief nod. ‘All right. Agreed. I have only one rule.’
Christy looked at him, her eyes wide. ‘You do?’
‘No more kissing,’ Alessandro delivered softly, strolling towards her with a strange gleam in his eyes. ‘Unless it’s me.’
He was close to her now, so close that she could almost feel the heat of his powerful body, and the breath was suddenly trapped in her throat. ‘I didn’t kiss him.’
‘Good.’ Alessandro’s voice was a low, lethal purr. ‘Because I don’t share. Ever.’
The sexual tension between them was stifling. ‘You’re behaving like a caveman again.’
‘A very restrained caveman,’ Alessandro pointed out in silky tones, his mouth hovering dangerously close to hers. ‘So far I haven’t locked the door, thrown you on the bed or done any of the things I’m burning to do. In fact, gatita, I’m showing remarkable self-control.’
She waited for him to kiss her but instead he studied her for a long, lingering moment, the expression in his eyes partially screened by thick, dark lashes. Then he stepped back and walked towards the shower.
‘Don’t wait up for me,’ he drawled as he ripped off the white shirt and dropped it in the vague vicinity of the laundry basket. ‘I’m sure you’re tired.’
Don’t wait up for him?
Christy stared at him in disbelief and mounting frustration as he strolled into the en suite bathroom and casually pushed the door shut behind him.
He’d had wild, abandoned sex with her just because another man had kissed her but now, when he’d declared his intention of making their marriage work, he strolled into the bathroom without laying a single finger on her.
What was the matter with the man?
Romantic gestures?
What did she mean, he never made romantic gestures?
Alessandro hit the buttons on the shower and brooded on the mysteries of the female sex. He’d just made love to her. How much more romantic than that could a man get? And yet she’d accused him of being possessive.
Only a desire to avoid similar confrontation had prevented him from stripping her naked and taking her to bed to finish what they’d started at the Snow Ball.
But he wasn’t going to touch her, he reminded himself, turning the shower to cold to help his resolve.
She’d said that they didn’t spend enough time together so he’d correct that. And he’d make so many romantic gestures that she wouldn’t be able to turn around without falling over one.
Once he found out what they were…
The following day Christy found herself working alongside Jake, who had been called down to look at a young woman who was bleeding.
‘Ouch.’ Her voice was soft as her eyes rested on his bruised mouth. ‘That looks sore.’
‘It’s more embarrassing than sore,’ Jake drawled, touching his fingers to his lips with a wry smile. ‘The entire hospital seem to be laying bets on whose wife I seduced last night.’
