Laura opened her mouth to protest but she remained silent because to deny it would be to deny the obvious.
‘That doesn’t mean anything.’ She risked a quick look at his dark, handsome, serious face. ‘It would be stupid to do anything about that.’ She was aiming for dismissive. Instead, she ended up with a nervous squeak. ‘Life is about choices,’ she continued, clearing her throat. ‘I chose the wrong guy when I was in London and I’m not going to repeat my mistake.’
‘You will only climb into bed with a man who promises to put a ring on your finger? What if he never comes along?’
‘Then I guess I’ll end up on my own.’
Alessandro didn’t say anything. He had never been rebuffed by any woman and her refusal fired him up like a challenge he now knew he had no intention of resisting.
‘My father’s possessions will need to be packed up.’
‘Huh?’ Was that it? She felt unjustly deflated. Her body was still throbbing, as though he had physically touched her. So what was wrong with being careful? Why wasn’t she more relieved that he wasn’t going to pursue an attraction neither of them had asked for? And how was it that he had somehow managed to make her feel like an unadventurous bore?
‘I intend to get the ball rolling on this one first thing in the morning.’ Alessandro straightened and opened the front door, letting in some freezing wintry air. ‘I’ll have to have a look at the place before I make a decision but I’m hoping that there won’t be any gaping construction black holes.’
‘Of course.’ Her mind was still in a whirl, thinking about the way he had told her that he was attracted to her, as if sexual attraction was the most natural thing in the world, as if acting upon it was a no-brainer.
‘Once that’s sorted, I can arrange for work to begin on reconfiguring it to my father’s exacting standards. In the meanwhile, you probably know more than I do about what personal items will need boxing and what can be left for the removal men.’
‘It’s moving a bit fast, isn’t it?’
‘I’ve never seen the point of delaying the inevitable. And while this is going on, I intend to stay put, make sure that there are no unfortunate hitches.’ He paused and looked down at her upturned face. He itched to smooth his hand over her cheek, cup her face, pull her so close that she would be able to feel exactly what she did to his body. ‘Would your school be able to release you for a couple of days so that you can help with the packing of my father’s things? I have no idea where he keeps anything and even less interest in finding out. I will also have to work while I’m here...’
‘I can’t just take time off! They need me there.’
‘And I need you here.’
The way he said that, in a slow, lazy drawl, imbued the remark with all sorts of delicious, dark innuendo.
‘I can’t trust outsiders to handle my father’s personal possessions, whatever they might be, and he hasn’t got the energy to do it himself.’
‘Perhaps you ought to see whether the house is going to be available or not first,’ Laura said, transfixed by the little smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
‘If I want it to be available, then it will be available. And I want it to be available. When can you let me know about taking time off?’
‘I... Okay, I’ll talk to Evelyn, see what she says, whether they can spare me for a day or so. I can’t promise anything.’
‘If you like, I can talk to her. I’m sure I could convince her to release you from your chains for a few days.’
‘A few days?’
Alessandro shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Who can tell? I have no idea how much my father owns and how much needs packing up. It could be a handful or a vanload.’
Laura thought that if he spoke to Evelyn she would probably let her have the rest of the term off. The man was too charming, too persuasive, too damned sexy for his own good. He was the personification of danger, but instead of backing away from him she stayed where she was, rooted to the spot, mesmerised against her will.
He fancied her, found her attractive...
It felt as though he was something exciting, exotic, unbearably tempting...blown in on distant winds, turning her protected world on its head and making her wonder how long she would hide away in this small village with her grandmother, making her wonder if all this self-protection was really worth it.