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‘I’m serious about those plans.’ She cradled the warm mug in her hands.
He stared at her for long enough that the air began to crackle around them. Time stood still, but her emotions did not. They were a fever in her blood. Uncertainty, lust, confusion, danger.
She bit down on her lip, and then stopped when his gaze lowered, his eyes knitting together as he traced the outline of her pout with heavy eyes.
Uh-oh.
Her heart was pounding hard and fast.
‘I am going to Capri later today. Would you like to come and see it?’
The question came to her from a long way away. Her mind was jelly. She swallowed, but her pulse was throbbing so loudly that she wasn’t even sure she’d heard him properly.
‘Capri?’ she murmured, shaking her head slightly from side to side.
Rio stood and prowled towards her. There was no other word for it. He was like a powerful animal stalking its prey, his eyes hooded as he gained ground, closing in on her. He hooked his mug beneath the coffee machine, his body only inches from hers. So close she could feel his warmth. A shiver danced along her spine.
‘I’m sure it’s not like your usual haunts. Only a few nightclubs. No couture boutiques that I know of...’
Her cheeks flushed and her eyes met his beseechingly. He was determined to think the worst of Cressida. It shouldn’t have bothered her. So why did she find herself wanting to plead the other woman’s case to him?
‘No, thanks.’
His eyes narrowed speculatively, as though he’d been expecting her to jump at the chance to get off the island. She gathered it hadn’t entered his head that she might prefer to stay where she was.
‘I’d prefer you to come.’ The words were a gravelly command.
She arched a brow, her eyes jolting away from his. ‘As much as I’m here to fall in with your every wish, I want to stay on the island. And look at the plans.’ Her tone was unwittingly belligerent, but it was a pretty good impersonation of Cressida’s.
He reached for his coffee, his forearm brushing against her in the process. She started, flames of need dancing through her.
Her nerves stretched, pulling tighter. ‘Have fun, though.’
He scowled. ‘You don’t think you should appraise the island for yourself?’
‘That’s what I’m doing,’ she pointed out, her heart hammering. Pride kept her where she was, but her sanity was urging her to step away. Far away.
‘Capri, I mean,’ he corrected. ‘Its proximity to Prim’amore is a point of interest. I imagine your father would want to hear your thoughts on it and the crossing.’
Her eyes were wide in her face. Damn it. He had a point.
‘Come on,’ he murmured, as a snake charmer might. The words were enticing, seductive, impossible to ignore. ‘It will be a quick trip, and afterwards I will find the plans.’
She ground her teeth together. ‘Are you blackmailing me?’
He grinned. The butterflies were back—a whole kaleidoscope of them.
‘Yes.’
‘Why do you want me to come with you?’ She asked, dropping her eyes to the ground between them.
The silence was a thick, knotted ball. When he spoke, the words seemed almost dragged from him.
‘That is a good question. And I’m not sure I have an answer to it.’
Her heart turned over. Agony and pleasure warred in her heart. ‘Okay.’ She nodded, her voice hoarse. ‘I’ll just need a few minutes to get ready.’
He lifted his coffee cup between them, relaxed now that she’d acquiesced. ‘Take your time. I’m going to have this.’
