The Platinum Collection: A Diamond Deal. Susan Stephens

special, while she was too shy, too awkward, too inexperienced, to have a hope of holding his attention. He made her see things differently. He made her want to rush home and hug her sisters, and tell them they must never fall out again—that she must never fall out with them again. He made her see that sometimes it was better to hold back and think things through before rushing off in her usual headstrong way. But she wasn’t the only one with secrets. Roman had his share. She wanted to know him better. She wanted to know his secrets...

      She thought about Roman for so long the water grew chilly. Was there a chance he would come to her tonight?

      There was always a chance...

      There were no sounds in the big house when she padded barefoot into the bedroom. It was so romantic with moonlight streaming into the room and across the covers on the bed. And it was all wasted on her. Awkward Eva had done it again. Drawing the toweling robe a little closer, she firmed her jaw. Tomorrow was another day. And Roman had promised they would talk. Look at it that way, and it was mission accomplished.

      But then she would go home and nothing would change, and the idea of becoming an increasingly embittered old shrew held scant appeal.

      It didn’t have to be this way.

      Padding over to the main door, she opened it a crack, and then a little bit more. It wasn’t exactly an invitation. It could even be taken for a door left open by mistake. But if Roman should happen to notice, and came in...

      Was that likely?

      Throwing back the covers, she climbed in between the cool sheets and stretched out. Closing her eyes, she steadied her breathing. She lay tensely listening for what felt like hours. Once she even heard a door open, but it was somewhere far away and soon closed again. After that, silence mocked her, and, defeated, she fell back on the pillows. Roman had no intention of visiting her tonight—or any other night—and she was a fool to think he might.

      She tossed and turned throughout the endless night, searching for sleep and finding very little, so that by the time she woke it was with surprise that she had slept at all. There wasn’t even time for breakfast—just a quick shower. She made it down into the hall at the same moment that Roman powered through the door.

      ‘Ready?’ he said, already turning to go.

      It took her a moment to reply. She was still reeling from the slam into her senses of seeing him again. ‘Where are we going?’

      ‘To open your mind, Signorina Skavanga.’

      ‘That sounds interesting.’ And if she didn’t rush he’d be gone.

      They were together again. She couldn’t help a little inward jig, because right now that was enough.

      Striding at speed down the path that led through the gardens, Roman took her through a rose arbour, which was a miracle in itself in such a hot climate, and then on across to a perfectly manicured lawn where sprinklers were on active duty. The tall, arching spray glittered a frame around the outline of a sleek white helicopter. The helicopter was empty. So Roman must be the pilot. Of course he was.

      ‘Duck your head,’ he warned as they approached the long blades. Opening the door, he gestured for her to get in. Once she was settled, he passed her a set of headphones. ‘Put these on. I’ll help you strap in.’

      She braced herself for the moment when his hands brushed her body. It was important that she behaved as if nothing had happened between them—as if he hadn’t seen her naked—as if he hadn’t taken her to the door of paradise and slammed it in her face.

      ‘Problem, Eva?’ he said, standing back.

      Slamming doors was a theme between them? She bit her lip to hide her smile. Everything was happening so fast. ‘I didn’t expect this.’

      ‘The ferry’s too slow for what I’ve got in mind,’ Roman said as he checked her straps.

      He smelled amazing and looked even better. She doubted he ever took the ferry. She doubted she could survive being with him in such an enclosed space.

      He closed her door, which gave her a few brief seconds of isolation in which to collect her thoughts. No chance. There could never be enough time for that while Roman was around. Even the air seemed to jangle when he climbed in beside her. It was charged with his energy, as was she. Just watching him strap in and put his headphones on, before placing a brief call in Italian to some distant control tower, was arousing. His familiarity with the big machine as he flipped switches and made other preparations for take-off was ridiculously sexy. His naked arms, tanned and coated with just the right amount of black hair, were sexy. His strong hands and wrists brought back memories of an extremely sexual nature, while his crisp short-sleeved shirt, tucked into well-packed jeans cinched with a no-nonsense leather belt, only made her remember what his body felt like beneath his clothes. And it tempted her gaze to wander down—

      ‘Are you sitting comfortably, Eva?’

      His voice with its metallic twang as it came through the headphones startled her. Raising her chin just in time, she said, ‘Fine, thank you.’ Mighty fine.

      Roman turned back to his pre-flight checks. His harsh, unyielding profile, with the customary coating of stubble, was incredibly sexy. Roman Quisvada was the most compelling individual she’d ever met, and she had to force herself not to take in any more of him and just stare straight ahead.

      Before she knew it the ground was sinking away through the worryingly see-through panel on the floor at her feet. As she watched, the island became a playroom carpet of bright colours: green, orange, brown and blue.

      ‘Can you hear me clearly?’ Roman checked, bringing her back with relief to the reassuring sight of him in full control of the situation.

      ‘Perfectly, thank you.’

      ‘And you’re not nervous?’

      Tongue in cheek: in what context? ‘Not one bit,’ she confirmed.

      ‘Good. We’ll be in the air around an hour.’

      ‘Are you going to tell me where we’re going now?’

      ‘To one of my facilities on the mainland. And you don’t need to shout. I can hear you perfectly too.’

      ‘I thought your work was cutting and polishing diamonds?’

      ‘It is.’

      ‘So that’s where we’re going?’

      Roman didn’t answer. He had started talking to someone on the other end of the radio link, and so she fell silent, frustrated by the lack of information. Roman always contrived to be one step ahead of her, and that was something she had to change.

      Heat rushed through her as, conversation over, Roman turned to glance at her. ‘I’m going to teach you all I know, Eva.’

      About diamonds? There was a suspicious amount of humour, even in the robotic tone of voice coming through her headphones. So long as it wasn’t her klutzy lack of skill when it came to Roman’s advanced class last night.

      ‘Diamonds can do more than buy a woman or ruin a man.’

      ‘That’s a very jaundiced view.’

      ‘Perhaps I have a very jaundiced view of life, Eva.’

      Perhaps he did.

      Her thoughts turned from daydreams to reality as the glittering blue ocean gave way to pristine white seashore and then on to neatly cultivated land where the soil was a rich shade of ochre. It was some time more before she spotted any real signs of habitation other than the occasional farmhouse or barn, but then came increasingly busy roads and small towns, until they were hovering over what looked like a brand new industrial park.

      ‘Welcome to Quisvada Industries, Eva,’ Roman announced as he took them down. He landed the helicopter exactly on the centre of a yellow cross in the middle of a number of immaculately maintained, pristine white buildings. ‘This is where we cut and polish the diamonds.’