Carol Marinelli – The Royal House of Niroli: Billion Dollar Bargains: Bought by the Billionaire Prince / The Tycoon's Princess Bride (страница 9)

She did.

Luca, too, had been wondering what to expect this morning. So many times before the raw beauty he’d witnessed in a woman had disappeared the second she’d found out who he was—commandeering the salon, spending up in the boutique. He’d almost resigned himself to greeting a stranger this morning, yet here she was, more beautiful, more vibrant, more sexy than the woman he had met last night—acres of soft, browned skin on show, her hair a blond fragrant cloud, and just a slick of gloss on those incredibly kissable lips….

‘Where are we going?’

‘Does it matter?’

Turning his attention from the road for a second, he held her gaze and Meg bit down on her lip, processing his question for a moment before answering, her single-word answer the boldest thing she’d ever said.

‘No.’

In fact, if they never set foot out of the car, Meg wouldn’t have minded. Dressed more casually, and well away from the extravagance and decadence of the casino, Luca was infinitely more relaxed, his company engaging. But Luca actually did have plans for the day. He wanted to show her all that Niroli had to offer and show her he did, gliding the sleek car through the steep hills, at every turn the view even more stunning.

‘No more!’ Luca grinned when Meg begged him to stop for yet another photo shoot. ‘Or you will run out of space—wait till we get to the ruins. We stop now at one of the wineries and I’ll ask them to make us a picnic.’

Which, when it was Luca Fierezza asking, meant that a blanket was included, the hamper groaning under the weight of Niroli delicacies, and Meg wanted to taste them all, only not just yet—first they spent a sun-drenched day exploring. Luca steered them well away from the usual tourist haunts in the south of the island and instead headed north where he showed her the ancient Roman ruins, regaling her with tale after tale, making her privy to information that could never be gleaned from a history book. But as excellent a tourist guide as he made, as much as he seemed to enjoy showing her Niroli, the day was about them—the sultry air thicker somehow when blended with desire, awareness thrumming as they explored, not just the temple and amphitheatre, but each other’s minds. And by the time Luca spread out the blanket and they shared their picnic, Meg knew a single day could never be enough to scratch the surface of all it had to offer—only she wasn’t thinking about Niroli!

‘Here,’ Luca said proudly, pouring her an icy glass of champagne as she gazed around the amphitheatre. ‘There are often concerts held here—there will be one this weekend….’

‘For the Feast?’

‘You have heard about it?’

‘One of the shopkeepers told me.’ Meg gave an abstracted nod, biting into slivers of bitter orange dipped in dark chocolate and closing her eyes as she relished the taste. ‘This,’ she declared, ‘is the nicest thing I’ve ever tasted.’

‘You said that about the olive dip, and then the cannoli. It is good to see someone who likes their food.’ Luca frowned at her reaction. ‘Why does that make you laugh?’

‘It just does.’ Meg’s answer was evasive, a first date not really the best time to slip in the little gem of the eating disorder that had ruled her for years, but, closing her eyes, Meg lay back and smiled as the warm sun bathed her, relishing the moment, his casual observation a revelation. Here, away from it all, for the first time in the longest time, she’d actually forgotten her problem, had just enjoyed food as it should be enjoyed. Oh, she was long past the frantic calorie counts, way, way past controlling every morsel she consumed, but to simply enjoy … Luca could never have even hazarded a guess as to how much this moment meant to her.

‘You are having a good time?’Luca enquired, lying down on the blanket beside her, his body just inches away, so achingly close all Meg wanted to do was reach over and touch him. She could feel the hum of sexual energy between them, his masculinity bathing her now, only with more ferocity than the sun, her skin tingling as even with her eyes still closed she could feel him watching her.

‘It’s been great.’

‘It has …’ Luca let out a long sigh, his body so close she could feel his chest move beside her. ‘It is nice to relax.’

‘I don’t suppose you get much chance,’ Meg offered. ‘What with work and …’ She gave a tiny frown, peeped her eyes open to look at him. ‘Do you have to do all the ceremonial, well … stuff?’ She gave a helpless shrug but thankfully Luca understood.

‘Always there are commitments. Take this weekend—there will be many events I have to attend as a royal prince.’

‘You don’t sound as if you want to?’

‘It is not about want, it is about duty,’ Luca explained. ‘It is what is expected of me—and lately.’ He didn’t finish, just shook his head, but Meg’s curiosity was piqued now.

‘Lately?’ she pushed.

‘You ask too many questions. It is not correct.’

‘Excuse me?’ Meg’s eyes were wide open now as Luca attempted to put her in her place.

‘You should not pry so much. I will tell you what you need to know.’

‘I don’t need to know anything.’ Meg gave a shocked laugh. ‘I was asking because I wanted to know. And don’t pull rank on me when it suits!’

‘It is not about pulling rank—when you are out with royalty—’

‘But I’m not,’ Meg broke in, disarming his rather terse response with a smile. ‘I’m out with Luca—remember? That was the reason you left Luigi behind, that was the whole point of today—to get to know each other a bit better away from it all.’

‘Are you always this argumentative?’

‘Always.’ Meg smiled as Luca’s face blackened. ‘Now, if there’s something you’d prefer not to discuss, then you just have to say so, but, please, don’t hide behind your title!’

Closing her eyes, she lay her head back down and even though her heart was hammering in her chest at the small confrontation, she certainly wasn’t about to let him know that. If Luca thought he could talk to her like that, then he’d better do a quick rethink! And, Meg decided, if he didn’t break the angry silence, then she certainly wouldn’t—she’d start snoring if she had to!

‘When I was younger I.’ as Luca conceded, as he struggled to find the right word, Meg felt her heart soar as she opened her eyes and looked over to him ‘.was a little wild.’

‘A little?’ Meg checked.

‘A lot,’ Luca admitted. ‘Always I was in trouble. Now I stay out of trouble, but the king has a long memory and so do the people of Niroli. He spoke to me recently—told me I have to.’ He gave a frustrated shrug. ‘Now, I prefer not to discuss family business.’

‘Fine.’ Meg smiled. ‘That’s all you had to say.’

‘So, now it is my turn—why did you come?’

‘Because you asked me to.’

‘Not here.’ Luca shook his head. ‘Why did you choose to travel? You said you were here to sort things out. Can I ask what?’

And maybe this was one first date where she could reveal, because, in that second, it didn’t feel as if they’d only just met. Her eyes were looking straight into his, the sun blocked out by his presence, it didn’t feel as if there were a million barriers between them—it felt as if they were one, as if she were looking at a man she’d always known, just hadn’t really met yet.

‘What?’ Luca pushed, just a touch too soon, the brave leap she was about to take thwarted by impatience, and Meg recoiled back into herself, shaking her head as if to clear it, stunned at how close she had come to letting him in—letting anyone in.

‘I’d prefer not to say.’

‘You confuse me, Meg. One minute you are so strong, so sure, yet the next …’ He gave a helpless shrug. ‘You are very complicated, yes?’

‘Yes.’

It wasn’t the answer he was expecting, perhaps a small admission, a revelation, but when there was none forthcoming Luca, surprisingly, graciously conceded. ‘Perhaps we need to get to know each other even better,’ Luca suggested. ‘Maybe one day isn’t enough for us?’

‘Maybe,’ Meg gulped.

‘So …’ his voice was slow and measured, cautious this time as he approached ‘… will you stay a little longer? More than just this day?’ His face was moving in closer as she toyed with her answer, but he didn’t wait to hear it. ‘Maybe this will help you decide.’

She’d been so sure he was about to kiss her, so absolutely sure, it was all she could think about, so when his hand lightly dusted her stomach, when his warm fingers brushed the gap between her shorts and top, her body tightened in delicious confusion. Meg could almost hear the reverse sirens sounding in her brain as it instructed her neural pathways to move their guard, that she was being attacked from a different angle, but even as her stomach tightened in reflex Luca changed tack, his mouth moving in, and Meg closed her eyes as his hand snaked around the back of her head. He moved a fraction closer, his breath warm on her cheekbone, making her wait, her lips twitching in nervous expectation, anticipating the feel of his mouth on hers, her breath held in her lungs as so slowly he moved in, but nothing in her imagination could ever rival the true feel of him, the heat of his mouth when it met hers. Like a reflex action her lips parted, his kiss as direct as his approach to her had been, his tongue sliding in offering a simultaneous taste of champagne and power.