‘But we really can’t.’
‘Are you spoken for?’
I frown. ‘Am I...what?’
‘A wife, a girlfriend?’
I laugh. It’s a bark, thanks to the top-to-toe tension holding me in place.
‘No, nothing like that.’
‘Then...what?’
I swallow. I don’t want to tell her. The moment I do, I know this is over. Which is as it should be, but...
‘Because I’m kind of a lady in need—a damsel in distress, if you like—and you’re...’ She drops her towel to the floor. ‘You’re my perfect fantasy.’
She steps closer and I’m too caught up in her spell to make her stop. I’m used to confident women, sexy women, women who go after what they want, when they want. But there’s something about how she says it, about what she says... A damsel in distress, a lady in need. Hardly strong, confident words, or maybe they’re more confident for the honesty they touch upon. I’m too intrigued not to probe. ‘What makes you a lady in need?’
She smiles, her fingers soft as they meet with my chest, and my gut contracts, my lungs scraping in air to fend off the frisson of excitement.
‘You see, I’ve not had...fun...’ Her lips part and I get a glimpse of a glistening pink tongue. ‘I’ve not had fun in far too long, and for seven days I am my best friend’s maid of honour. I aim to be perfectly behaved, doting, selfless.’
As do you, Rafael, remember...?
‘But tonight is my chance to let my hair down, and I can’t think of a better way to do it than...’ She steps closer, so close the air is filled with her scent. My chest is warmed by hers and her nipples brush ever so lightly against me. ‘Having some wicked fun with you.’
She closes the remaining gap, treating my erection to the unyielding pressure of her body. Her eyes lift to mine and I’m gone. Gone and pulling her against me, my mouth crushing hers. But she’s just as fierce, just as wanton. Her tongue plunders, twists and tastes. She’s all champagne, and something else, something that’s all her. I can’t stop this. I can’t.
She whimpers and it’s as though she’s repeating my state of mind back to me. Not that she could know how close I am to ending it. How close I am to losing it.
But you’re losing it with Faye Davenport. Your little sister’s best friend.
‘Cazzo.’ I grab her by the arms and wrench her away from me but as I do my towel hits the deck.
She gives a soft laugh. ‘You look better without it.’
I shake my head, fighting for clarity, anything to lift the lustful haze that is so determined to descend.
I press my forehead to hers and drag in a breath. ‘We can’t do this.’
‘So you keep saying...’
She brushes her lower body against me and I close my eyes, trying to concentrate on what I need to say.
‘I’m Rafael.’
‘Okay, Rafael, it’s nice to meet you. Now, can...?’ She frowns, and then her eyes widen just as swiftly, and her body stills. ‘Wait. The owner, Rafael. Not...not Dani’s older brother Rafael?’
‘Owner. Brother. One and the same.’
Her cheeks flush crimson and her eyes widen further. ‘No, no, no, no...’
She spins away, grabs her towel, her clothes, her sandals and clutches them all to her chest before spinning back to me, her head shaking. ‘And you didn’t think to say anything?’
What looks like a pair of silk shorts fall from her grasp and I fight the urge to bend for them, especially when it would only bring me closer to the delightfully pink nipples still so ripe and needy for me. I pin my eyes on her face and away from temptation, but she heaves in a breath, one that has them lifting, begging... She blows it out in a gust and ducks down, blindly reaching for the garment as her eyes stay fixed on mine, and she pats at the floor.
‘Hell, I knew you had issues.’ She grabs at the shorts and bolts upright again. ‘But I didn’t think a lack of manners would be one.’
Issues? What’s that supposed to mean?
‘Look, I’m sorry...’ I don’t get to finish. She’s already legging it away, her naked behind rippling and teasing me even as the panic rises. I wrap my towel around my waist and race after her.
‘Faye, wait.’
She spins on the spot, struggling to pull her own towel around her with all the other items in her grasp.
‘Let’s save it for tomorrow, hey?’ she blurts. ‘When we can be introduced properly...in clothes?’ She waves a hand between us, her eyes lingering slightly too long on my torso and her cheeks flushing more deeply when she realises it. ‘Goodnight, Rafael.’
And then she’s gone, and instead of cursing, instead of being relieved or feeling guilty, I have the most idiotic smile. I know it’s idiotic as I don’t recognise the feel of it. Much like the churning underway in my gut and the intense, unsated desire.
Is this what the next seven days have in store then? My testing family and a constant tease at every turn?
And, now that I’ve seen what’s underneath the clothes, now that I’ve witnessed her in full-on seductress mode, how do I rewind?
Cold showers. Cold showers at every opportunity, if that’s what it takes to keep this week focused on Faye... Dani, maledizione! Dani and Tyler!
No one else. Because, for once in my life, I won’t be the cold, heartless bastard my family think I am. I’ll be the proud and doting big brother.
You can still be that and have a bit of discreet fun on the side...
The smile makes a comeback.
CHAPTER THREE
‘HAVE YOU SEEN my mother, Faye?’
Dani comes racing into the breakfast room, straight for me, and I do a double-take. It’s only seven in the morning and I’d expected to be alone this early. Alone to get over my burning humiliation of last night and to bolster my confidence before the inevitable introduction to a certain god-like Italian.
Of all the people to choose to let loose with, it had to
