A surge of power filled her as she saw his eyes widen. It felt wonderful to take the initiative for a change.
‘You’re unbelievable! Do you know that? I’m thevictimhere but still you can’t accept it.’
She pushed again into that hard chest, wishing she could shove him back, or make him feel some of the pain she’d experienced.
She wanted...she didn’t know what she wanted precisely, but letting her emotions off the leash felt glorious.
‘So what if I didn’t leave a credit card in a locker? That’s not a crime. And it’s not proof of a conspiracy. Or are you so totally caught up in your own importance you think the world revolves aroundyou? That the only reason I could possibly visit the area is because of you?’
She was panting, her breath coming in sharp tugs, but she didn’t care. She looked into those liquid dark eyes and some devil urged her on. For the first time she felt alive and full of sparkling certainty instead of inhabiting a shadowy half-life.
‘For all you know I was visiting a friend here.’
‘No one has come forward to report their friend missing.’
Ally rolled her eyes. ‘Maybe I rented a villa. Maybe I came here for sun, sea and relaxation. Maybe I didn’t even think about the possibilityyou’dbe here. Did you think of that?’
‘Impossible.’ Long fingers closed around hers, flattening them against his chest to stop her prodding.
Ally frowned, registering a heavy thud and realising it must be the beat of his heart.
‘Why is it impossible?’
His mouth caught at the corner in a grimace and when he spoke it was in a whisper that scraped across her bones. ‘Because of this.’
Then his head lowered and his mouth took hers.
CHAPTER FIVE
THEREWASAmoment when she could have pulled back or pushed him away. But she didn’t.
Because she didn’t want to.
The knowledge hit her as warm lips covered hers implacably yet with something curiously like gentleness. This was no hard mashing of teeth against lips.
This didn’t feel predatory or like domination.
It felt...perfect, she realised as her eyes shut and her mouth opened and she leaned into him as if this was what she’d wanted all along.
Maybe it was.
The thought shivered through her.
Maybe the jittery uncertainty and the way she’d baited him were because she needed to discover what it felt like, being kissed by Angelo Ricci.
Held by him, for now his arms roped around her, hauling her close so she felt his solid heat all down her front. Every bit of him felt unforgiving, pure muscle and bone, and utterly spellbinding.
Or maybe that was because he worked magic on her.
Who’d have thought the thin-lipped mouth that had looked sardonic and disapproving could feel so wonderful?
Ally sighed and arched her neck as she leaned closer, cataloguing the rich taste of coffee and potent male. It was heady, addictive.
Did she subconsciously remember and crave physical contact with Angelo?
She should be horrified or at least embarrassed.
She wasn’t. Instead she wallowed in sensation. The contrast of his hard maleness against her own body, which felt suddenly melting and soft. The taste of him as his tongue danced and slid against hers. The tang of his scent in her nostrils, the heavy pound of his throbbing heart beneath her now splayed hands. The easy, yet thorough way his mouth seduced hers.