Read Online Enthralled by Moretti by Cathy Williams - Free Book Online Page A

stultifying boredom of the seaside.
    It was after midday by the time they were standing outside the house saying their goodbyes. His chauffeur had returned for them but Chase pointedly made no move in the direction of the car.
    ‘I’ll make my own way back,’ she said politely.
    ‘Get in.’ Alessandro stood to one side and then sighed with exasperation as she continued to look at him in stubborn silence. ‘It’s baking hot out here,’ he said, purposefully invading her space by standing too close to her. ‘And that outfit isn’t designed for warm weather.’
    ‘I’ll take my chances on avoiding sunstroke.’
    ‘Which is something I would rather not have on my conscience.’
    ‘You don’t have a conscience!’
    ‘And you do?’
    Chase looked at him with simmering resentment. He didn’t look all hot and bothered. He looked as fabulous, cool and composed as he always did. Plus, he had charmed his way into Beth’s affections. She could tell. He hadn’t come on too strong, he had pointed out all the benefits of selling the place but in a perfectly reasonable way that no one would have been able to dispute. He was just so...damned persuasive ! She hated it. And she hated the way she had found herself staring at him surreptitiously, hated the way her imagination had started playing tricks on her, hated the way she had had to fight against being seduced by the dark, deep, velvety tones of his voice.
    ‘You can drop me to the bus stop. It’s about a mile from here.’
    ‘Are you going back to your office? Perhaps I could go in, meet all these people you work with... Tell your boss what a great job you’ve done even though the shelter will be sold. At least you’ve got me to thank for a reasonably happy Beth.’
    ‘She’s not happy.’ Chase slid into the back seat, barely appreciating the terrific air conditioning as she grappled with the horror of having him invade her work space as well as having invaded her house. ‘And I’m going home, as a matter of fact. I have work I can do there.’
    ‘I’ve noticed that you try and avoid looking at me as much as possible,’ Alessandro said softly. ‘Why is that?’
    As challenges went, that was about as direct as they came. Avoid looking at him? She wanted to laugh at the irony because all she seemed to do was look at him—it was just that she was careful with her staring. She looked at him now and the silence seemed to go on for ever as he gazed right back at her. Her mouth had gone dry and, although she knew that she should be breaking this yawning silence with a suitably innocuous remark, her mind refused to play along.
    When he reached out and trailed one finger along her lips, she gasped with shock. There was a sudden, ferocious roaring in her ears and she couldn’t breathe. All the strategies she had adopted to keep him at arm’s length, to make him know that there was nothing whatsoever between them now aside from a brief, dubious past that no longer meant a thing, disappeared like mist on a hot summer’s day.
    She was no longer the lawyer with her life under control and he was no longer public enemy number one, the guy who could ruin everything she had built for herself in one fell swoop. She was a woman and he was a man and she still, against all rhyme or reason, wanted him with every incomprehensible, yearning ounce of her being.
    ‘What are you doing?’ She finally found her voice and pulled back.
    Alessandro smiled. If he had had any doubts that she was still attracted to him, then he had none now. ‘Maybe you’re right,’ he murmured, obediently removing his hand and observing her neutrally. ‘Your friend really doesn’t want to leave her home. The memories...the experiences... I don’t see a bungalow on the coast cutting it, do you?’
    ‘No.’ Chase glared at him suspiciously. Her lips were burning from where he had touched them but she refused to cool them with her fingers.
    ‘So I have an interesting proposal to put to you.