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For a moment, he imagined what his life would have been like if he hadn’t. If Gabe hadn’t presented him with the incontrovertible proof that Nico was being played.

He locked his jaw, anger cresting inside of him for a moment before he brought his thoughts back to Maddie. She had secrets of her own, of that he was certain, but it didn’t matter. Secrets were only dangerous when you came to rely on someone. To trust them. And Nico wasn’t looking for anything more than a bit of fun: Sex. Laughs. Food. Wine.

Bliss.

And at the end of the summer, he’d walk away without a backwards glance.

“You’re okay with this?”

Nico thumbed his finger towards the motorbike and a thrill of anticipation lifted inside Maddie.

“It would be another first for me,” she said slowly, her head tilted to one side. She’d left her hair loose, flowing in long blonde waves around her face and in deference to the balmy summer’s evening, she’d chosen a flowing maxi skirt and a skimpy singlet top. The collection of bangles she’d added at the last minute took up a good two inches on either arm, and they jangled when she moved her hands, which she tended to do a lot in conversation.

“I can call a car—,”

“No, no,” she demurred. “That’s fine. I feel like living dangerously.”

He moved closer, wrapping an arm around her back and drawing her close. “I’ll drive carefully, I promise. You’re safe, remember?”

Maddie wasn’t sure it would matter. Her heart was slamming into her ribs in a way that was unlikely to alter whether they walked, drove or skied to dinner. Her racing pulse began and ended with her proximity to Nico. It had been too long. She’d woken up craving him the morning after they’d slept together. His note had brought a smile to her face but it had been little solace to a body that had begun to reverberate at a frequency only he could answer.

She’d tried to focus on her book, but the words had been as stubbornly resistant to fall from her fingertips as they had been any other day for the past few weeks. So she’d walked, and she’d swum, and she’d eaten leftover soup and thought of him, remembering every detail of how he’d prepared it, of how comfortable he’d seemed in the kitchen, how completely at ease. And she found herself smiling, because he’d been so uber-masculine even as he’d insisted he wanted to feed her.

Michael had never made more than toast for Maddie, and even then, only in the beginning. It hadn’t taken long before she’d become responsible for all the domestic chores. You’re home through the day, Madeleine. It just makes sense.

And he was right. She was home. But she was supposed to be working from home, not doing his laundry or bleaching his bathroom, nor planning elaborate meals that slowly yet surely failed to earn his praise and which eventually received only his criticism.

“Here.” He’d moved towards the bike – it was big and a gleaming black with shiny silver details – and was holding a helmet in his hand.

She lifted one brow. “Protection?”

He grinned. “Always.”

He slid the helmet onto her head, clipping it into place and checking it was snug before nodding with satisfaction, before pulling his own in place. Her stomach rolled. He swung a leg over the bike with ease, then turned to her.

“Jump on.”

She nodded, moving to the back of the bike. He was a good foot taller than she was. For Maddie, it was slightly less graceful but she couldn’t really focus on that with Nico Montebello squeezed between her thighs.

“Hold on tight.” His voice was muffled by his helmet, and hers, but she got the gist. Her hands clamped around his waist, her fingernails digging into h

is chest, just a little. The engine roared to life beneath her, like some kind of wild animal, and an answering rush of feral, primal need thundered through her body.

“Where are we going?” But her words were swallowed by her helmet and the engine. There was nothing for it but to hold on and wait. She clung to his body – his warm, hard body – as the bike sped down the narrow road that connected La Villetta to the town of Ondechiara. He drove the streets as though he’d created them, leaning the bike into tight corners, his manner was confident and skilled, so within a few minutes, Maddie forgot she’d always been half-way terrified of motorcycles and started to enjoy herself. There was something incredibly elemental about the feeling of the bike rumbling beneath her and the wind ripping past her. Even the excessive noise was like an echo chamber so somehow, despite the volume, all she could hear was the thundering of her own pulse in her ears.

He drove the motorbike through the town and towards the water. Here there were shops and cafés, bistros and restaurants – she remembered her joy exploring this seafront when she’d first arrived. Beautiful little stores brimming with artisanal items, restaurants that smelled amazing, even from the distance of the footpath. It was a perfect holiday town, and yet it wasn’t swarming with tourists.

Nico kept driving, until the bike ran out of road and instead landed on the sand. She held on tighter, but there was no cause for alarm. It was patently obvious this was a drive he’d done often before. A little way along the beach, Maddie saw a glow coming from a series of caves. She craned forward, trying to get a better look. But it wasn’t until he’d slowed the bike to a stop that she saw the caves were restaurants, dainty lights hanging from the edges, tables set up right to the edge of the cave, so that at high tide, the water must surely come close to diners’ feet.

He slowed the bike to a stop and removed his helmet. She did the same, holding it in her lap for a second, before realising he couldn’t easily get off the bike until she did. She wriggled off one side and straightened her skirt then finger combed her hair. A second later, he was standing in front of her, his eyes appraising her with undisguised interest, taking in everything from her tousled hair to pink cheeks, to a body that she was sure must show obvious signs of arousal. She couldn’t help it – desire had been stirred to life inside of her and she didn’t know how to shut that off.

“Do you like seafood?”

She bit down on her lip, trapping her smile, and nodded.

“I’m glad.” His finger lifted up and smudged her lower lip, then his hand dropped to the small of her back, guiding her away from his bike.

“Don’t you need to park that?”

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