Read Online Innocent of His Claim by Janette Kenny - Free Book Online

for her wedding the better.”
    Not what he expected to hear but he had no objections. Bella could be another matter.
    “Of course.”
    He asked the housekeeper to summon his sister then led Delanie into the salon awash with sunlight thanks to a bank of tall windows. The French doors had been thrown open to the patio, admitting a warm welcoming breeze sweetened with the spice of ripe grapes.
    Yet the only scent teasing his senses to distraction was the floral one wafting around Delanie. She was still in his blood, but where he really wanted her was in his bed, willing and hot for him.
    Soon
, he thought as he crossed to the liquor cabinet. “Would you care for a drink?”
    Definitely, but dulling her senses around Marco could be a huge error on her part. More than ever she needed to keep her wits sharp. If she ignored the sudden sexual overtones radiating from him then just maybe she could muddle through being close to him.
    Still, she heard herself ask, “Is it one of your labels?”
    “Our premiere sagrantino,” he said, handing her a glass of glistening torrid red wine. “Eight years old and entering itsprime. Or would you prefer something less robust? A merlot perhaps?”
    “No, the sagrantino will be fine.”
    She took the glass from him, careful not to touch his fingers, careful not to find too much significance in that remark. It was no surprise that he remembered her favorite wine. It stood to reason that her adversary would use something she liked to lull her.
    Adversary … Her eyes flicked to Marco’s dark enigmatic ones and she suddenly couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but clutch the fine stem of the glass between her fingers.
    She ran her tongue over her lips as the intensity in his eyes burned her from the inside out, the heat so strong she feared he would devour her.
    This awareness between them had always been there. Always had been strong. But even knowing that hadn’t prepared her for the onslaught of emotions. She’d been so sure anger at him would kill her desire. But it hadn’t.
    “To Bella’s wedding,” he said, raising his glass.
    A trickle of awareness skipped up her arms and legs and she shifted, edgy, needy, instantly aware of the change in him. Was this how a hare felt being stalked?
    She stiffened but lifted her glass to his, the melodic ting of crystal resonating in the air while a different awareness played over her nerves, leaving them humming.
    “Yes, to your sister’s wedding,” she said, well aware he was the master of manipulation when it came to her.
    He drank, the bronzed column of his throat working, the seductive bow of his lips stained by the dark wine. She stared, unable to move, to do anything but remember a time when they’d found a secluded glen and come together, drinking red wine from cheap glasses and each other.
    Her skin tightened at the memory of him laving it off her body with his tongue. How his eyes had locked with hers, blazing with heat and lust and what she’d thought was love. He’dthrust into her deeply that day, making them one, making her feel whole and cherished and loved for the first time in her life.
    “Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer a different wine?” he asked, breaking the spell that held her as tightly as chains.
    She flicked him a smile, hands thankfully steady on the wineglass. “No, I was just tangled in thoughts.”
    “About?”
    About what could have been if they hadn’t splintered apart.
    Wasted energy. Nothing could come of them together again, but that didn’t calm the deep hum that vibrated through her, hot and thrumming with a pulse that was so needy. Even knowing he’d never loved her, she had never been able to forget him. Never had been able to think of letting another man touch her.
    She would surely never trust so easily again.
    “I was thinking about all I need to do.” She swirled the dark wine before taking a sip.
    Her senses exploded to life while the alcohol went straight to her head. Just like the