When her nail accidentally scraped his skin, the groan that came from deep in his throat shocked her to her core. It was quite possibly the most erotic sound that she had ever heard in her life.
Of course he would choose that exact moment to rip himself away from her. His eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and anger, and he watched her for a long moment, both of them breathing heavily as they became aware of their surroundings once more.
Dani fought the urge to pull him straight back, then felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment at how quickly she’d lost control. The whole thing had probably lasted no more than a minute and yet she felt as though time had ceased to exist.
The swing band resumed their music with a loud, jazzy celebratory number, and the guests began gathering inward, everyone bustling over to give them their good wishes. Flutes of champagne were handed out and soon they were swept away on an endless stream of toasts and congratulations.
And all the while Dani was painfully aware of the man by her side, of every small touch of his hand at her back or dip of his head to speak close to her ear.
She thanked the heavens when he finally moved away to another group of people, feeling as if she was pulling air into her lungs after being underwater. It had been far too long since she’d had any contact with a member of the opposite sex, she thought. She felt as though every nerve-ending in her body had been lit up like a firework. And now the mad urge to seek him out in the crowd every few minutes plagued her consciousness. She couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t relax with these knots in her stomach.
A few glasses of champagne later and she was significantly less wound up, but the exhaustion of the past twenty-four hours was crashing down on her like a freight train.
The more distinguished guests disappeared once they’d docked back at the marina, leaving a younger, energetic crowd, who seemed to be only just getting started on their evening of partying.
Just as she began to wonder if anyone would notice if she slipped away to bed, she felt two warm hands slide around her waist from behind.
‘I think it’s time for me to take my fiancée home,’ Valerio said, addressing the small gathering of remaining guests over her shoulder.
‘No, I can go alone. You should stay—’ She turned towards him, gently removing his hands from their possessive grip on her hips.
He simply tightened his hold, a low chuckle coming from deep in his throat as he leaned down, his lips so close to her ear it sent another eruption of shivers down her spine.
‘That’s not how a newly engaged couple should behave. At least try to act like you can’t wait to get me to bed,’ he said quietly, and then he raised his voice to address their remaining guests. ‘I believe Falco mentioned wanting to host an after-party back at his place—isn’t that right?’
Tristan Falco, who had been sitting with a beautiful blonde actress, stood up, a teasing smile on his lips. ‘Considering I’ve just put in an order for one of these wonderful vessels, I think I’ll stay on board tonight—if that’s all right with you?’
‘Stay as long as you need.’ Dani smiled. ‘If you have any problems, I’ll be sleeping just down—’
‘She’ll be unavailable because we’re going home.’ Valerio cut across her, one hand caressing her shoulder as he spoke. ‘Please take your time and enjoy the rest of your night.’
With barely a moment to protest, Dani felt herself deftly manoeuvred away from the group and across the empty entertainment deck.
‘Valerio, I’m not going home with you. For goodness’ sake...all my things are here,’ she finished weakly, a mixture of champagne bubbles and exhaustion weighing heavily on her brain’s ability to function.
‘I’ve already had them moved to my villa.’
She paused at the edge of the dance floor, narrowing her eyes up at him. ‘I get it that I should be grateful that you’re helping me. But the next time you decide to organise something that involves my active participation and my personal things, I’d appreciate if you clear it with me first.’
‘Dani...’
He began to protest, but she’d suddenly had enough of talking for the night. She stepped around him, moving down the lamplit ramp and into the dark confines of his chauffeur-driven car before he could see how completely unravelled she’d become.
If silence was a weapon, Daniela Avelar wielded it with damning precision. Valerio had spent the entire drive from the marina to his coastal villa on edge as she faced away from him. He’d expected her outrage at his heavy-handed behaviour, but this passive silence was something he had never experienced from her. It was unnerving. They still had things to discuss about their arrangement.
Once they were safely inside the foyer, he steeled himself for a showdown—but his housekeeper appeared and offered to show her to her room. Dani practically ran up the stairs away from him before he could wish her goodnight.
He fought the urge to follow her, to force her to meet his eyes. To acknowledge him in some way. They were about to be married, for goodness’ sake, and she was acting as if he was some kind of villain, trying to take away her freedom. Didn’t she see that everything he’d done had been with her at the forefront of his consideration?
And then there was that kiss...
He shook his head. He wasn’t going to think about the kiss. They’d both known it was just a part of the act they were putting on. It wasn’t her fault that he’d responded as he had...like a starving man with his first taste of sustenance... He’d wanted to devour her.
His body responded to the memory so powerfully that he jumped when his phone began to ring and shook him from his erotic thoughts. Looking at the number on the screen, he steeled himself for more bad news.
The call from his private investigations team took less than five minutes and told him everything he’d already suspected. Someone on the board at Velamar had applied for Duarte’s death certificate without any clearance from him.
He felt a sick twist of nausea in his gut at the realisation that someone close to Velamar was behind all this. He remembered the look in Angelus Fiero’s eyes as he’d moved away from Daniela on that darkened deck earlier. How pale she’d looked. He needed to share this information with her...ask her if Fiero had mentioned anything suspicious.