he was mocking her very natural fears.
Would she ever understand this man, with his lightning changes of mood?
Feet on the hot sand at last, Jan craned her neck to see the route they had travelled. ‘ I’ll do it alone next time. I don’t intend to let a silly old ladder get the better of me.’ Eager for the pleasure of the salt water, she stepped out of the playsuit, revealing a hot red silk jersey bikini with shoestring straps which she had chosen to set off her creamy skin.
Marco tilted back his head and looked at her through half-closed eyes. ‘ Clever girl ! On Bianca it is a failure. Why?’
‘ Possibly because she swims in the Mediterranean sun more often than I can. Is she tanned?’
He snapped his fingers. ‘ That’s it. We almost never see a true milk-white skin. Jan, you are really beautiful.’
She laughed happily. ‘ You’ve made my day! With a newly mended heart to my credit, a smashing compliment was just what I needed, like cream on strawberries.’
‘ Tell me about this heart of yours? Was it broken?’
‘ In a thousand pieces. I almost died. Then one day I looked and it wasn’t even cracked.’
‘ You hadn’t loved him after all.’
She thought a minute, shifting the sand with her toe. ‘ Oh yes, Marco—I loved him.’
‘ But you found someone you loved more, perhaps?’
‘ Now who’s inquisitive? No, funnily enough, it wasn’t that. I just realised one day that he wasn't grown up and probably never would be. Or not till he stopped loving himself more than anybody else.’
‘ Was he handsome?’
She narrowed her eyes, trying to recall all the details of Michael’s face she knew so well, with her eyes, her hands, her mouth.
‘ I don’t think so. His face just added up to—Michael. Looks don’t matter, except at the very beginning. Once you’re in love you only see the one person shining through.’
‘ You think you may love again?’
‘ Goodness, I hope so. I’m twenty-one. I’d hate to think my love life was ended.’
‘ It won’t be. I see strings of beautiful young men in your future.’
‘ One will be enough, if he’s the right one.’
He reached out both hands, cupped her smooth shoulders and pulled her towards him. His mouth came down hard on hers. This was a man’s kiss, insistent, demanding, confident.
Her body, unprepared, leapt to respond. She felt an overwhelming urge to grasp, to clutch, to yield. But as his arms and mouth pressed more insistently, she recoiled, rigid in his arms, and made a desperate effort to turn away her face. When he became aware of her resistance, he released her so abruptly that she staggered, almost lost her balance. He steadied her with a cool strong hand on her waist.
‘Why did you do that?’ she flung at him. ‘ Kissing wasn’t in our bargain.’
‘ You bargain for kisses?’ he asked lightly, a mocking smile on his lips. ‘ I think you owed me that one. Now you know how a grown-up man kisses, and experience is always valuable, is it not?’
He turned and raced towards the water.
Aware of the inner excitement his kiss had roused in her, aware that here was a powerful and dangerous man accustomed to having his own way completely in his own domain, she hesitated only a moment before following. They had come down here to swim, and swim they must, if the situation was to be brought back to the level of their normal relationship. She was no child, to make a fuss about a single kiss. Accept it and forget it was the best course , to adopt. An amorous, temporary affair with her host was the last thing she wanted; nor did she intend to spend the rest of her stay at the Villa Tramonti dodging a man who was physically attracted to her.
She made a long running dive, and when she came up and shook the water off her face, he was close by, watching. He grinned and shouted as if nothing had happened.
‘ How do you like the Tyrrhenian Sea?’
Great !’ she laughed.
He dived and swam under water. In the clear
Would she ever understand this man, with his lightning changes of mood?
Feet on the hot sand at last, Jan craned her neck to see the route they had travelled. ‘ I’ll do it alone next time. I don’t intend to let a silly old ladder get the better of me.’ Eager for the pleasure of the salt water, she stepped out of the playsuit, revealing a hot red silk jersey bikini with shoestring straps which she had chosen to set off her creamy skin.
Marco tilted back his head and looked at her through half-closed eyes. ‘ Clever girl ! On Bianca it is a failure. Why?’
‘ Possibly because she swims in the Mediterranean sun more often than I can. Is she tanned?’
He snapped his fingers. ‘ That’s it. We almost never see a true milk-white skin. Jan, you are really beautiful.’
She laughed happily. ‘ You’ve made my day! With a newly mended heart to my credit, a smashing compliment was just what I needed, like cream on strawberries.’
‘ Tell me about this heart of yours? Was it broken?’
‘ In a thousand pieces. I almost died. Then one day I looked and it wasn’t even cracked.’
‘ You hadn’t loved him after all.’
She thought a minute, shifting the sand with her toe. ‘ Oh yes, Marco—I loved him.’
‘ But you found someone you loved more, perhaps?’
‘ Now who’s inquisitive? No, funnily enough, it wasn’t that. I just realised one day that he wasn't grown up and probably never would be. Or not till he stopped loving himself more than anybody else.’
‘ Was he handsome?’
She narrowed her eyes, trying to recall all the details of Michael’s face she knew so well, with her eyes, her hands, her mouth.
‘ I don’t think so. His face just added up to—Michael. Looks don’t matter, except at the very beginning. Once you’re in love you only see the one person shining through.’
‘ You think you may love again?’
‘ Goodness, I hope so. I’m twenty-one. I’d hate to think my love life was ended.’
‘ It won’t be. I see strings of beautiful young men in your future.’
‘ One will be enough, if he’s the right one.’
He reached out both hands, cupped her smooth shoulders and pulled her towards him. His mouth came down hard on hers. This was a man’s kiss, insistent, demanding, confident.
Her body, unprepared, leapt to respond. She felt an overwhelming urge to grasp, to clutch, to yield. But as his arms and mouth pressed more insistently, she recoiled, rigid in his arms, and made a desperate effort to turn away her face. When he became aware of her resistance, he released her so abruptly that she staggered, almost lost her balance. He steadied her with a cool strong hand on her waist.
‘Why did you do that?’ she flung at him. ‘ Kissing wasn’t in our bargain.’
‘ You bargain for kisses?’ he asked lightly, a mocking smile on his lips. ‘ I think you owed me that one. Now you know how a grown-up man kisses, and experience is always valuable, is it not?’
He turned and raced towards the water.
Aware of the inner excitement his kiss had roused in her, aware that here was a powerful and dangerous man accustomed to having his own way completely in his own domain, she hesitated only a moment before following. They had come down here to swim, and swim they must, if the situation was to be brought back to the level of their normal relationship. She was no child, to make a fuss about a single kiss. Accept it and forget it was the best course , to adopt. An amorous, temporary affair with her host was the last thing she wanted; nor did she intend to spend the rest of her stay at the Villa Tramonti dodging a man who was physically attracted to her.
She made a long running dive, and when she came up and shook the water off her face, he was close by, watching. He grinned and shouted as if nothing had happened.
‘ How do you like the Tyrrhenian Sea?’
Great !’ she laughed.
He dived and swam under water. In the clear
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