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The vibe between them here in Venice was different, somehow. Last night they had actually dined together, just the two of them, in a gorgeous little trattoria tucked away down a side canal, far from the hustle and bustle of the glitzy tourist spots. To Kate’s surprise there had been no photographers either, but she had resisted the temptation to ask Nikos why this was and given herself permission to relax and actually enjoy the evening.
They’d kept away from the danger topics and conversation had flowed freely, Nikos making Kate laugh with his irreverent sense of humour, reminding her of the man she had first met and fallen for so hard and so fast. But at the end of the night the shutters had clattered down again. The heady cocktail of desire and longing that had been swirling around them all evening had been pushed firmly back into its box.
Kate was left with the scary realisation that she had absolutely no idea what went on in the darkly handsome head of Nikos Nikoladis. But she did know that as the days passed, the more time she spent in his company, the more temptingly dangerous it felt.
All too soon their gondola trip was over, and as they arrived back at the dock the gondolier leapt onto the wooden steps and held out a hand to Kate. Thanking him with her few words of Italian, Kate smiled as he kissed her hand, bowing with a theatrical flourish before helping her ashore.
With his back towards her, Nikos was giving the man a tip—a surprising amount, judging by the look on the gondolier’s face. Nikos said something—Kate couldn’t make out what—and the two men shook hands.
‘So...’ Nikos took Kate’s arm to guide her up the steps. ‘Am I to be constantly warning off your amorous suitors when we are out together?’
‘What do you mean?’ She looked at him in surprise.
‘Well, it seems that wherever we go you have men flirting outrageously with you.’
‘Don’t exaggerate.’ Kate gave a small laugh, adjusting the neck of her blouse. ‘It’s just the Italian way.’
‘Hmm...’ Nikos mused quietly. ‘And what if I don’t like it?’
They were walking arm in arm towards St Mark’s Square, and it was funny how natural that felt, but Nikos’s remark halted Kate’s step.
‘Why would you care?’ She turned her green eyes to meet his, her question gentler than she’d expected. The feminist in her was obviously taking a day off.
‘I’m not sure.’ Nikos held her gaze. ‘I’ve been asking myself the same question.’
‘And have you come up with an answer?’
‘Not really, no.’ Nikos started walking again. ‘Sometimes it’s best not to overanalyse these things.
That was probably good advice. Kate had no desire to analyse why his unexpected possessiveness curled so warmly inside her.
They entered the famous square, pigeons scattering at their feet.
‘What did you say to that gondolier, anyway?’ She brought herself back into line.
‘I told him to back off if he knew what was good for him.’
‘You didn’t!’ Kate stared at him in outrage.
‘Or maybe I just thanked him for an excellent trip. Which do you think it was, Kate?’
‘I... I don’t know.’
But one look at the supercilious smirk on Nikos’s face and she did know. He was winding her up. God, he was infuriating.
‘Shall we get a cup of coffee?’ He gestured to the crowded café tables at the sides of the square.
Kate shook her head. ‘I want to take a few more photos, but you go ahead.’
What she really wanted was some space to draw a badly needed breath, to try and numb the alarming effect he was having on her. This provocative, teasing Nikos was messing with her head even more than the coldly calculating one she had been faced with at the start of their grand tour. And not just her head...
Kate could feel his dangerous presence insidiously invading every part of her body, further wearing down her defences with every hour that passed. Weakening them with every wicked glint from those midnight eyes, every purposeful twitch of that seductive mouth, every gesture of those expressive hands.
There was no doubt that he was still the most drop-dead gorgeous man she had ever met in her life. His beauty held her spellbound, the sheer perfection of him captivating her as surely as a net thrown over a helpless animal. But what Kate felt for Nikos went way deeper than physical attraction. Somehow he had touched a part of her she hadn’t even known existed. Awakened something she hadn’t known was there. And now it refused to die.
