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He turned around to look down at her. ‘We should get going,’ he said after a stiff little silence. He scooped up his keys from the desk and added, ‘The sooner we get this over with the better.’
Keira followed him out of the office with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Spending the evening with him was going to be bad enough, but sharing his house as his wife again was going to take all the courage she possessed and more.
Patrizio’s house was a modern mansion set in a private garden in the exclusive suburb of South Yarra. Large windows made the most of the view over the city on one side and the lap pool and beautifully manicured formal garden on the other.
Italian marble lined the impressive foyer, leading to a sweeping staircase which led to the upper floor where each of the beautifully decorated bedrooms had an en suite bathroom attached. Soft-as-air taupe carpet covered the living and entertainment areas, the luxurious leather sofas just begging to be sat upon.
Keira forced her gaze away from them, not wanting to recall the many times she had felt and tasted his passion while lying entangled with him there.
‘I will leave you to get changed,’ Patrizio said as he put his briefcase down. ‘I have a couple of emails to send. Make yourself at home.’
This used to be my home, Keira thought sadly as she took the stairs to the upper floor. Every room contained a memory of her time with Patrizio. It seemed strange to be here again, walking up the stairs as if she had never left.
She paused outside the master bedroom, taking a little shaky breath as her hand pushed open the door.
She forced her eyes away from the huge bed and went straight to the large walk-in wardrobe where on one side Patrizio’s things were hanging in neat ordered rows.
Her gaze swung to the other side and a little wave of nostalgia passed over her as her hands went to the things she had left behind. The housekeeper, Marietta, had obviously tidied everything up. Admittedly Keira had left in a hurry after that final horrendous scene, but then she had never been all that good at keeping things organised.
Her hand reached for one of the dresses Patrizio had bought her when they had gone to Paris for a week during the first few months of their marriage. She pressed her face against it, her eyes closing as she felt the soft brush of chiffon against her cheek, the faint hint of his aftershave clinging to the fabric making her feel an unbearable aching emptiness.
She heard a sound behind her and came face to face with Marietta, who was carrying a bundle of Patrizio’s neatly ironed casual clothes.
‘Signora Trelini,’ she said with a smile. ‘It is good to see you again. I am so glad you are returning to Signor Trelini. He has not been happy since you left.’
‘Hello, Marietta,’ Keira said shyly, still clutching the dress to her chest. ‘I haven’t been happy since I left either.’
The housekeeper beamed. ‘I knew it would all work out in the end,’ she said. ‘You and Signor Trelini are…how you say…soul mates, sì?’
‘Sì,’ Keira agreed, hoping she sounded convincing.
Marietta put the clothes she was carrying on the shelves before turning back to her. ‘I will leave you to get dressed,’ she said. ‘Your husband told me you are going out to dinner to celebrate your reconciliation.’
‘Er…yes…we are,’ Keira said.
‘I have left towels in the en suite for you,’ Marietta informed her. ‘I thought you might like to freshen up.’
‘Thank you, Marietta,’ Keira said, grimacing as she looked down at her jeans. ‘A shower would be lovely.’
The stinging spray did much to wash away the stickiness of the day, the creamy shampoo and conditioner she used on her hair leaving it bouncing with springy curls.
She looked at her reflection and bit her lip. There were shadows beneath her violet-blue eyes and her face looked even paler than it usually was. She leaned closer and frowned when she saw the dusting of freckles on the bridge of her nose. Her small supply of make-up was at her poky little flat in St Kilda; all she had was a tub of lip-gloss in her purse.
She smoothed down the black dress and, slipping her feet into the high-heeled sandals she’d chosen, she went back downstairs.
Patrizio was waiting for her in the large open-plan lounge, a small measure of spirits in his hand. ‘Would you care for a drink before we leave?’ he asked.
Keira wondered what he would say if she told him she no longer touched alcohol. She hadn’t dared after what had happened with Garth. ‘No, thank you,’ she said. ‘I had some water upstairs.’
His eyes ran over her. ‘You look very beautiful, cara,’ he said.
She shifted nervously. ‘Thank you…’
He closed the distance between them and lifted her chin, his eyes burning into hers. ‘Marietta and Salvatore have not yet left,’ he said in a low deep undertone. ‘We are in love again, no?’
‘No…I mean yes…’ Keira answered, her heart beginning to thump as his thumb moved over her bottom lip, back and forth as if rediscovering the cushioned contours.
He pressed his mouth to hers for a nanosecond before lifting his head, his tongue sweeping over his lips where she could see a faint imprint of her lip-gloss shining.
‘Mmm,’ he said, running his tongue over his lips. ‘You taste of strawberries, or is it cherries?’
Keira felt her belly tremble with desire as he bent his head once more. Her lashes came down over her eyes as his mouth covered hers, the barely there touch of his lips sending her senses into a frenzy. She felt the slight rasp of his tongue as it pushed against the seam of her mouth, her stomach giving a swift hard kick of excitement as the pressure subtly increased. Her lips parted to accommodate him, the smooth gliding entry of his tongue making every hair on her head stand to attention as it flicked against hers.
That first erotic thrust sent all thought of control out of her head. Her hands clung to him unashamedly, her fingers curling into the front of his shirt, her mouth locked on his, her tongue dancing with his in a sexy tango that mimicked the most intimate union of all.
She could feel the heavy pulse of desire beating deep and low in her body, every nerve tightening in tingling awareness as his mouth worked its magic on hers. She felt the hard ridge of his erection swelling against her belly, the heady reminder of all they had shared in the past.
Keira vaguely registered the sound of the front door closing and her eyes sprang open when Patrizio ended the kiss with an abruptness she found totally disorienting.
‘Marietta and Salvatore have gone,’ he said, stepping back from her. ‘I was expecting one or both of them to come in and say good evening. The kiss was for their benefit, not mine.’
Keira ran her tongue over her still tingling lips. ‘I see…’
He sent her one of his inscrutable looks. ‘We will have to perform from time to time,’ he said. ‘I would not want you to misinterpret anything in such physical exchanges.’
She swallowed back her pain. ‘I understand…’
‘Good,’ he said, his eyes dipping to her mouth briefly before returning to hers. ‘As long as we both know how things stand.’
‘I understand you hate me,’ Keira said. ‘You’ve made it pretty clear.’
A hard glitter came into his eyes as they clashed with hers. ‘Do I not have the right to hate you, Keira?’ he asked. ‘You destroyed our marriage by sleeping with another man.’
Keira closed her eyes tight, unable to look at the fury in his black-brown gaze.
His hands gripped her upper arms. ‘Look at me, damn you!’
Her eyes sprang open, tears burning as she encountered the bitterness reflected in his gaze. ‘I’m s-sorry…’ she whispered brokenly. ‘I’m so sorry…’
He dropped his hands and let out a muttered curse. ‘I suppose you are going to spin me that worn-out excuse that you had too much to drink and did not know what you were doing,’ he said.
‘I wasn’t drinking…’ she said, unable to meet the burning accusation in his eyes. ‘Or at least no more than half a glass…but it’s true that I don’t really remember much about that night…apart from the argument we had and…and going to Garth’s place…’
‘Where you opened your legs for him like the filthy little slut you are,’ he ground out savagely, his black brows meeting over his eyes.
Keira felt her shame scorch her from head to foot. If she hadn’t woken up naked in Garth’s bed the next morning, she would never have believed herself capable of such reckless behaviour. But, even worse, she hadn’t just betrayed her husband, but the one friend who had stood by her for most of her childhood.
‘Did he make you sob with ecstasy, Keira?’ he asked. ‘Did he make you beg for release the way you begged for it with me? Did he?’
She put her hands over her ears. ‘Don’t. Please. I can’t bear it!’
He pulled her hands down, his fingers biting into her wrists. ‘Did you put him in your mouth like you did to me? Did you—’
Keira felt herself begin to sway on her feet, her face draining of colour as the room began to spin uncontrollably. She tried to focus on his embittered words but they faded away as if he were speaking to her through a very long and fog-filled tunnel. She tried to get her voice to work but her throat felt as if someone had lodged something hard halfway down. She felt her body begin to slump against his, her extremities tingling as if every drop of her blood had completely drained out of her.
‘Keira?’
She opened her eyes at the gruff urgency of his tone but had to close them again as the black abyss inexorably beckoned…
CHAPTER THREE
KEIRA woke to find herself lying in Patrizio’s bed, the covers lightly over her, the bedside lamp casting an incandescent glow over the room.
‘How are you feeling?’ he asked from the chair beside the bed.
She turned her head on the pillow and met his dark concerned gaze. ‘I…I’m fine…I think…’
‘You fainted,’ he said somewhat unnecessarily.
‘Yes…’
‘Has that happened before?’ he asked.
‘A couple of times…’ she answered, putting a hand up to brush her hair out of her face. ‘I had the flu a few weeks ago…I haven’t fully recovered.’
‘When did you last eat?’
‘I don’t remember…last night, I think.’
He swore and got to his feet. ‘How long has this being going on?’ he asked.
‘I don’t see why you should be concerned,’ she said with a glittering look. ‘You hate me, remember? Why should you care whether I eat or not?’
‘I am concerned, as anyone would be, when the person one is speaking with suddenly drops in a dead faint before them,’ he responded. ‘It is disconcerting, to say the least.’
‘Then maybe you shouldn’t speak to them so aggressively,’ she countered.
He frowned down at her. ‘I suppose this is how you handle difficult conversations now, is it?’ he asked. ‘When things get a bit hot to handle, you block it out by bringing on a fainting episode.’
Keira jerked upright in the bed, her eyes flashing at him in fury. ‘I did not bring on anything! I told you, I’ve been sick recently. I haven’t felt well for a month, if you must know.’
There was a taut little silence.
‘Are you pregnant?’ he asked.
She stared at him in shock. ‘What sort of question is that?’ she asked. ‘Of course I’m not pregnant.’
‘I would have thought it was a reasonable one to ask,’ he said. ‘You are a young sexually active woman.’
‘I am not sexually active. I haven’t had sex since…’ she paused as she bit her lip ‘…since that night…’
His expression communicated his disbelief. ‘You positively ooze sex, Keira. As soon as you walked into my office, I could feel it coming off you like an invisible force.’
She moistened her mouth as his dark gaze slid over her in indolent appraisal. Her breasts tightened and her stomach hollowed and clenched simultaneously.
‘You are a very sensual woman, Keira,’ he continued. ‘There are few men who could resist what you have to offer.’
‘I’m not offering anything.’
His lip curled. ‘I bet if I got into that bed beside you I could have you underneath me screaming out in ecstasy within minutes. You just cannot help yourself. You are built for pleasure, cara. I am getting hard just thinking about it.’
Keira couldn’t stop her eyes going to his pelvis. A tremor of desire rumbled through her belly and her heart began to step up its pace.
He came to sit on the edge of her bed, right next to her thighs, one of his hands capturing hers and laying it against his throbbing heat. ‘Can you feel what you do to me, Keira?’
She could and it terrified her. Her fingers itched to explore and the barrier of his clothes became a torment. She wanted to feel that satin-covered steel against her fingertips. She wanted to taste that sexy combination of salt and musk on his skin, to feel his explosive release in every intimate place.
‘B-but you hate me,’ she said, trying to pull her hand away without success.
‘Yes, but it does not interfere with my desire for you; in fact, I believe it might even enhance it.’
‘That’s barbaric,’ she said, giving her hand another vicious tug. ‘Besides, I thought you said you didn’t intend to share your body with me. You told me you no longer felt any attraction towards me.’
He brought her hand up to his mouth, his tongue tasting each of her fingertips in turn, his smouldering dark gaze locked with hers. ‘Let us say I am considering the fors and againsts,’ he said.
‘What you need to be considering is my consent,’ she put in archly.
His mouth tilted in a mocking smile. ‘You have already given me your consent,’ he said. ‘We are still legally married, remember?’
‘We’re officially separated.’
‘Not any more.’
‘This isn’t a real reconciliation,’ she said, panic beating like a drum in her chest. ‘You told me it wasn’t.’
‘In the eyes of the law, it is. We have resumed cohabiting as man and wife.’
‘I don’t want to be your wife, either for real or pretend,’ she said with stiff force. ‘I don’t want to live with a man who hates me with every breath he takes. I can think of nothing worse.’
‘I do not know why you are so upset. You were the one to destroy our marriage.’
‘I didn’t do it alone!’ she cried.
‘No, indeed you did not,’ he said coolly, although his dark gaze burned with anger. ‘You did it with Garth Merrick.’
‘I didn’t mean that,’ she said, blowing out a breath of frustration. ‘I meant I wouldn’t have even gone to Garth in the first place if I hadn’t thought you were having an affair.’
‘Oh, yes,’ he said with another mocking curl of his lip. ‘My alleged affair.’
