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Lily’s voice shattered those disturbingly sensuous images. He placed the fork and spoon down in her bowl and moved quickly round to the other side of the table, resuming his own seat. Before Lily could become aware of the throbbing evidence of his very obvious arousal.
This had never happened to him before, Dmitri realised with a frown. This sudden and complete awareness of a woman. And not just any woman, but one specific woman.
Oh, his relationships had been numerous over the years—brief, businesslike arrangements for the main part, that satisfied the woman’s physical requirements as well as his own, while at the same time demanding nothing from him except the occasional expensive bauble as an added sign of his interest.
Dmitri had only known Lily a matter of hours, but he already knew her well enough to realise she was the type of woman who would throw any expensive bauble in a man’s face if it was given to her under such circumstances!
Add into that equation the fact that he was keeping her here against her will—a prisoner in a gilded cage, as she put it so eloquently—and his sudden desire to kiss her, to caress and pleasure her, was the very madness she had accused him of earlier!
‘Dmitri?’
‘Yes?’ He scowled darkly as he looked across the table at her from between narrowed lids.
Lily sat back slightly and eyed him warily, not altogether sure what to make of yet another sudden change in his mood. One moment he had been teasing her, the next seeming as if he might actually kiss her and then he had retreated so suddenly it was as if she carried some sort of contagious disease.
Which was perhaps how he thought of her, believing as he did that her brother was nothing but a fortune-hunter.
And of course the attractive, the rich, the titled Count Dmitri Scarletti hadn’t been about to kiss her! What on earth was she thinking of? He’d only been being kind when he’d offered to teach her how to eat the pasta properly. The rest of it was purely in her own imagination. She would be wise to put such thoughts completely from her mind when she was the very last woman he would ever allow himself to be attracted to.
As Lily was attracted to him?
It would be useless even to try to fool herself into thinking otherwise. How could she possibly attempt to deny the attraction when she was so totally aware of every single thing about the man?
In fact, she was dangerously close to being infatuated with everything about him—the way he looked, the way he talked, the graceful way he moved, even the way he smelt. She physically ached with the effort of trying to resist her feelings.
Oh, hell …
CHAPTER SIX
THANKFULLY, by the time they had eaten the pasta and garlic bread, and loaded the bowls into the dishwasher, Lily had her wandering imagination back under control. It had been helped along by being able to relax as Dmitri related some of the more amusing stories of his time as a student in England. Designed, no doubt, to put Lily at ease.
It also didn’t hurt that along the way they’d managed to empty one bottle of red wine and open another.
In fact, Lily was now so relaxed that she had almost forgotten her reasons for being here with him by the time they sat back down at the table to eat a selection of cheeses and sliced fruit.
‘So, what made you decide to take up kick-boxing?’ Dmitri prompted curiously.
Lily shot him a wry look. ‘The fact that I’m five-foot-two-inches tall and weigh a puny seven-and-a-half stone.’
‘I see.’ He smiled. ‘And no doubt such a skill would also be useful if you were ever to find yourself the reluctant guest of an Italian count! ‘
Lily met his gaze steadily. ‘I didn’t have quite this situation in mind at the time, but yes, no doubt it would. Kick-boxing isn’t about size or weight but ability.’ She shrugged.
Dmitri frowned. ‘I trust you know that I meant it earlier when I said I do not have any intention of harming you in any way? My quarrel is not with you but with your brother.’ His expression hardened.
‘And I trust you know that I meant it when I said I’m not worried?’ she insisted.
‘Yes.’ He laughed. ‘Obviously you are a young lady well accustomed to taking care of yourself.’
Lily frowned, sensing an implied criticism of her brother in his comment. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Exactly as it sounded.’ Dmitri gave another shrug of those incredibly wide, muscular, biteable—
Okay, so maybe she had drunk a little too much of that deliciously smooth wine with her meal—because she had definitely started drooling again!
‘As you’re well aware, we do things differently in England, Dmitri.’ She shook her head. ‘I’m twenty-six years old, and I certainly don’t need a man—especially my little brother—to take care of me, thank you very much.’ She winced as she realised exactly what she had just said. ‘Not that I’m faulting you for being protective of Claudia. Not at all. The situation is completely different, and obviously you’ve been responsible for her for a long time—’ She broke off as he began to laugh. ‘Am I overdoing the apology?’
‘Just a little.’ He smiled across at her—a smile that made her stomach turn somersaults.
Oh, good Lord … ! It really was time she made her excuses and went upstairs to bed.
‘It occurs to me that we have not had any dessert with our meal,’ Dmitri said.
Lily looked surprised. ‘Cheese and fruit don’t count?’
‘Not when the best ice cream in the world is available a short walk away, cara,’ he replied.
Lily felt warmth enter her cheeks as she recognised that casual endearment—cara was the Italian equivalent of the English ‘dear’, wasn’t it? Perhaps she wasn’t the only one who had imbibed a little too much of that delicious red wine?
Was her imagination playing tricks on her, or had Dmitri just said the best ice cream in the world was a short walk away? Why would he have said that if she was supposed to be his prisoner? ‘Are you suggesting that we go outside for a walk?’
Dmitri winced slightly. ‘You really do consider yourself a prisoner here, don’t you?’
‘Maybe that’s because I am?’ Lily said bluntly.
‘I had not—’ Dmitri stopped, and then took a deep breath. ‘Perhaps I was a little heavy-handed with you earlier.’
‘Perhaps?’ she said incredulously.
Dmitri continued to look across at her for several long minutes, appreciative of the things she had revealed about herself as they’d chatted over dinner—things that she was not perhaps even aware of. Such as the fact that she had obviously taken her role as the eldest of the twins very seriously since the death of her parents. That she had not taken a holiday in several years, and even then it had been in England. That she missed her brother very much. And, most importantly of all, perhaps, that this holiday in Italy was unexpected and something she could ill afford on a teacher’s salary.
She had been looking forward to it with excited anticipation. Only to arrive in Rome and find herself then incarcerated without having seen her brother or a single one of the historic attractions she had obviously so looked forward to exploring.
Because Dmitri had decreed it should be so. Because, out of concern for his sister and anger towards Felix, he had decided to punish the only person who was available to him.
‘There is no question of it. I was unreasonable with you on your arrival in Rome,’ he acknowledged heavily.
Lily’s eyes widened. ‘Are you sure this isn’t just the wine talking?’
Those sculptured lips curved into a teasing smile. ‘Wine is like mother’s milk to an Italian, Lily.’
‘Really?’ His lips on a woman’s breast was an image that did absolutely nothing for Lily’s earlier resolve to stop her imagination running away with her—and not just any woman’s breast, either, but her own.
Okay, it was definitely time she excused herself and went to bed!
Past time, if her fantasies about this man were going to become so explicit she had actually felt a sharp spike of arousal—from the tingling of her breasts to the rapidly increasing dampness between her thighs …
‘Where would you like to go?’ Dmitri asked.
Bed probably wasn’t the answer she should give right now! ‘In all the guidebooks I read it said that the Trevi Fountain is particularly spectacular at night.’
‘It is,’ he confirmed, rising to his feet and coming around the table with the obvious intention of pulling her chair back for her. ‘And, luckily for us, the best ice cream in Rome is just around the corner from it.’
She looked up at him uncertainly. ‘At this time of night?’
‘Of course. Roma is a city that never sleeps, Lily.’
‘Like New York?’
Dmitri shook his head. ‘In my experience New York is frenetic and Roma is romantic,’ he corrected.
Oh, yes—a romantic walk in the moonlight with this devastatingly handsome man was just what she needed when her defences already felt like mush!
‘Why have you suddenly become so … accommodating, Dmitri?’ she asked awkwardly.
Those pale green eyes darkened with what looked like regret. ‘Perhaps because I now realise exactly how … unaccommodating I have been up till now?’
Lily stood up slowly, not sure that she altogether trusted Dmitri in this relaxed and charming mood. Definitely not sure she trusted herself in his company when he was in this almost playful mood!
Much as she welcomed the possibility of leaving the palazzo, if only for a short time, this collapse of her defences surely made it a recipe for disaster? Moonlight. Delicious ice cream. The Trevi Fountain. Dmitri Scarletti. Most especially the latter …
She turned, with the intention of telling him that it had been a long day and she thought it better if she went to bed now, only to tense as she realised how close he was now standing. He made no effort to step away from the back of her chair. So close Lily could once again feel the heat emanating from his body. Smell the aftershave that mingled so appealingly with hot, virile male. And see the dark shadow of stubble once more on his chin.
She could actually see the way the iris of his eyes had once again darkened to emerald as his gaze became fixed, apparently captivated by her slightly parted lips …
She couldn’t breathe, and was pretty sure she couldn’t have moved even if someone had shouted Fire! In fact, she felt unable to break away from his compelling gaze, her body actually starting to tremble as Dmitri continued to look deeply into her eyes.
Her throat moved convulsively as she swallowed. ‘It’s pretty late, Dmitri—’ Lily didn’t get any further in excusing herself as his arm moved firmly about her waist and he pulled her in close against him.
‘You’re right, Lily.’ His voice was a low, husky growl. ‘I am afraid it is far too late.’
His head moved down slowly and he captured her mouth with his own.
Lily heard herself groan low in her throat as his skilful lips opened hers, sipping, tasting, his tongue hot and demanding, while his arms tightened about her, crushing her breasts against the hard muscles of his chest. His hands moved down the slope of her back to cup her bottom and pull her in hard against him, and her legs began to tremble as she felt the pulsing evidence of his arousal against the softness of her stomach.
Her fingers dug into his broad shoulders as his mouth moved to trace the long column of her throat, his lips hot against her skin as she arched her neck to allow him freer access. Her legs felt so shaky now she was afraid that if she didn’t cling on to him she might actually collapse at his feet.
She was being bombarded with sensations. Her senses were assaulted by his heat and overpowering strength, and at the same time she wanted to push even the thin barrier of his shirt out of her way, so that she could touch the skin beneath. Not just touch. But caress. Kiss. Taste. God, how badly she wanted to taste him—all of him.
What was Dmitri doing to her? How was he doing it to her?
She didn’t behave like this. Had never felt like this with any of the men she had dated over the past ten years. She’d never wanted to rip anyone’s clothes off before throwing off her own clothes and begging him to take her. Right here. On the table. Amongst the debris of their meal.
Dmitri could be her dessert! Lily instinctively knew he would taste rich and creamy and totally decadent. Sinful, in fact …
Not giving herself time to think, to regret, she unfastened the buttons on his shirt, her breathing ragged, fevered as she pulled it apart and gazed hungrily at his bared muscled chest before touching him tentatively, her fingers a light caress. He gave a low groan as she explored, touching him where he was most sensitive, holding his fevered gaze with her own as she ran the soft pad of her thumb experimentally across his skin and saw for herself the effect it had on Dmitri. His eyes glittered, and there was a slight flush now to those sculptured cheekbones.
‘Lily … ?’ Dmitri hadn’t planned on kissing her, let alone having her touch him like this.
He had been totally aware of her throughout their meal. Her smile. Her wistfulness. Her occasional sadness. A sadness he had longed to dispel. He had felt himself unwillingly drawn to her. To her beauty. Her heat. The musk of her arousal beneath the soft floral of the perfume she wore. And now that he had tasted the fullness of her lips, he wanted more …
‘I am not sure I can stop this, cara,’ he warned her gently, even as he rubbed the throb of his arousal against her yielding softness.
She seemed not to hear him as she lowered her head and placed her lips against his skin, her tongue feeling like the rasp of a cat’s against his sensitised flesh, sending shock-waves of pleasure straight to the pulsing hardness of his shaft.
Dmitri buried his face in her throat as he surged hard and demanding against her, his hands tightly gripping her bottom now.
It was a perfect fit in his hands, just as he had imagined it would be, and he lifted her up until he felt himself nestled against the heat between her legs. He heard her soft groan as he began to move against her most sensitive part.
Dmitri cursed the layers of material that separated them, knowing that if they weren’t there he would not be able to stop himself from burying himself inside her, as deep as he could go, and that once he had entered her heat he really would lose all control.
He lifted Lily to sit on the tabletop and his hands moved to the bottom of her sweater. He slowly lifted the woollen garment and his gaze became riveted on the fullness of her breasts, cupped in black lace, the nipples hard and deeply rose against that wispy material.
He wanted to taste them—needed to taste them—to take those rosy buds into his mouth and—
Too impatient to waste time locating the fastening of her bra, Dmitri simply pulled the lace down until the nipples popped over the top of those silky cups, full and hard and surrounded by darkly flushed areolae.
Lily gasped as he stepped in between her parted legs, his arousal a pulsing caress against her even through their clothes, his hair a silky brush against her skin as he lowered his head to her breast. Her initial gasp turned to a whimper, and her fingers dug into his shoulders as his lips fastened onto her nipple and he began to suck. Softly at first, and then harder, drawing her hungrily into his mouth. Her fingers became entangled in the thick darkness of his hair as she held him to her, lost in the pleasure that coursed through her body.
There was a soft sound as his lips released her breast. One of his hands was now cupping her there, clever fingers capturing the swollen nipple before pulling gently, rhythmically, as he turned the attention of his mouth to her other breast. The soft rasp of his tongue across the nipple, and the caress of his fingers against its twin caused a trembling through her body that seemed to begin at her toes and fingers and slowly work its way upwards and inwards, until it became centralised in a low, demanding throb between her thighs. Wave after wave of heated pleasure was building, ever building, until Lily felt as if she might shatter into a million pieces.
‘Touch me, Lily!’ Dmitri released her nipple to groan, the heat of his breath a tantalising caress against the dampness of her flesh. ‘Dio mio, Lily, I need your hands on me …’ he entreated, as he took one of her hands and placed it on his jeans, over the hardness of him.
Lily felt it surge, pulse, as her palm pressed against him in a slow and rhythmic caress. Her own pleasure spiralled out of control as she looked down and watched as he once again drew her nipple into his mouth, his teeth grazing sensually against that sensitive bud.
Just as she had imagined there was something erotic, almost primitive, in seeing his much swarthier complexion against the paleness of her skin, his lashes a dark shadow against the flush of his cheeks, his tousled hair falling across his brow.
‘What the—?’
Lily gave a protesting groan as Dmitri froze against her breast, taking several seconds to realise why. And then Lily heard it too. Mozart. Faint. But recognisably Mozart.
The ringtone she had chosen for her mobile!
It was like a having a bucket of ice cold water thrown over her. Over both of them.
Dmitri’s arms fell back to his sides and he stepped back, a dark scowl on his brow as he looked down at her with hot green eyes.
Lily suddenly became uncomfortably aware of how wanton she must look, with her legs parted to accommodate him standing between her thighs, her black sweater pushed up and her breasts bared and swollen as they spilled over the cups of her bra.
Oh, help!
Dmitri watched from between hooded lids as Lily moved hastily off the table to turn away from him and straighten her clothing. Then she quickly searched inside her shoulder bag for the ringing mobile, the heavy curtain of her silver-blond hair falling forward to hide her flushed face, still slightly tangled from the caress of Dmitri’s fingers.
What had just happened? Why had it happened?
Admittedly she was a stunningly beautiful woman, but she was also Felix Barton’s sister—the one woman in the world Dmitri should not have made love to!
He looked down at his own unbuttoned shirt, at once assailed with the memory of how Lily had pulled those buttons apart, how her bold lips had felt against his flesh. How her hands had—
