Untouched Until Marriage. Chantelle Shaw

Gino from her, she assured herself, automatically tightening her hold on the baby. But this was a man who travelled by private jet and lived in a villa that looked like a palace. His wealth and the power he commanded were undeniable, and she was sure that if he decided to fight for custody of Gino he would win.

      The baby was heavy, and she transferred him to her other hip. ‘Here—let me take him,’ Raul offered, holding out his hands.

      ‘No!’ She gripped Gino convulsively, blushing when Raul frowned. ‘Thanks, but he doesn’t really know you, and I don’t want to unsettle him while he’s getting used to a strange house,’ she muttered.

      Raul stared at her speculatively. ‘I’m sure he’ll soon get used to me—and the house.’

      He wondered why Libby seemed so nervous. Most women he knew would be unable to conceal their delight at the prospect of living at the villa with all expenses paid, but she looked as though she had been sentenced to a term in jail. She made an incongruous sight in her purple boots and skirt, green tights and orange coat, but nothing could detract from the loveliness of her face. His eyes focused on her soft mouth, and he could not banish the image of covering her lips with his own in a long, leisurely tasting.

      Dio, she was a witch, he thought furiously as he moved abruptly away from her. ‘Follow me. I’ll show you to your rooms,’ he ordered curtly.

      Wordlessly Libby trailed after him, her misgivings increasing as she stepped into the hall and stared around at the marble floors and pillars and the exquisite murals which adorned the walls and ceiling. Rays of early evening sunlight slanted through the windows and danced across the stunning crystal chandelier suspended from the centre of the room. She would have liked to linger and study the beautiful bronze sculptures dotted around the hallway, but Raul was striding ahead and she had to race to keep up with him.

      He led the way along endless corridors, past elegant, airy rooms filled with antique furniture. She could easily spend the rest of her life lost in these corridors, Libby fretted as she followed him up yet another flight of stairs. Raul suddenly stopped and pushed open a door, before standing back to usher her into a suite of rooms that comprised a sitting room, small dining area and an adjoining bedroom.

      ‘I have arranged for this room to be the nursery,’ he told Libby, opening another door into a smaller room which had been decorated in soft yellow. The stripped-pine cot and nursery furniture were attractive, and the pale blue striped curtains and matching rug on the floor added to the ambience of the room.

      Libby set Gino down on the floor and he immediately crawled over to the box of brightly coloured toys in the corner. Raul watched him for a few moments before commenting, ‘He doesn’t seem too unsettled, does he? The nanny has the room next door to this one, by the way,’ he added casually.

      Libby stared at him. ‘What nanny?’

      ‘The one I have hired to help take care of Gino. She comes from the best agency in Italy and is highly recommended.’

      ‘I don’t care if she’s Mother Teresa.’ Fear sharpened Libby’s voice. She did not want anyone to take her place in Gino’s life. ‘You can just un-hire her,’ she snapped. ‘I’m perfectly capable of looking after him myself.’

      Raul’s brows rose in an expression of haughty disdain. ‘From what I saw of your flat in Pennmar, I disagree. It was a filthy hovel.’

      Outraged by his description of her former home, Libby felt her temper explode. ‘It was not filthy. I was always cleaning, and scrubbing the mildew off the walls. It’s not my fault the flat was so damp.’

      ‘The living room looked like a pigsty,’ Raul insisted coldly.

      ‘That was only because I’d had to move all my things out of my bedroom when it flooded—’ Libby broke off at the sound of a knock on the door and stared suspiciously at the dark-haired woman who entered the room.

      ‘Ah, Silvana.’ Raul stepped forward to greet the woman. ‘I’d like to introduce you to your new charge.’ He scooped Gino into his arms, and to Libby’s annoyance the baby chuckled happily and explored Raul’s face with his hand. ‘This is Gino.’ Raul paused, and then as an obvious afterthought added, ‘Oh—and his mother, Ms Maynard.’

      Silvana gave Libby a cheerful smile and immediately turned her attention to Gino. ‘What a gorgeous little boy,’ she said in perfect English, and then in Italian, ‘Sei un bel bambino, Gino.’

      ‘He doesn’t understand Italian,’ Libby said tightly, wishing that Gino had yelled when the nanny had spoken to him. But he seemed quite content in Raul’s arms, and was giving Silvana his most winsome smile—the smile he usually only gave her, Libby thought dismally.

      ‘Silvana is fluent in English and Italian, and she will talk to Gino in both languages so that he will grow up bilingual,’ Raul informed Libby coolly. ‘Italy is his home now, and obviously he will need to be fluent in his native tongue—don’t you agree?’

      ‘I suppose so,’ Libby muttered. Of course Gino would need to be able to speak Italian, she just hadn’t thought of it, and she was irritated that Raul was one step ahead. ‘I’ll have to learn too. I picked up Spanish fairly easily, so I guess Italian won’t be too hard.’

      ‘Did you learn Spanish at school?’ Raul asked curiously.

      ‘No…’ Libby did not want to admit that she’d received no formal schooling until she and her mum had left Ibiza and returned to live in London, or that her attendance at the local comprehensive had been sketchy and she had learned very little. ‘I spent part of my childhood in Ibiza and learned to speak Spanish there.’

      She frowned when Raul gave Gino to the nanny, surprised that the baby did not remonstrate at being handed to a stranger. He was obviously growing out of his clingy stage, and it was selfish to wish that he only wanted her, she told herself firmly.

      ‘Would you like me to give Gino his tea and a bath?’ Silvana asked.

      Libby opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it when she noticed Raul’s steely expression. When he opened the door and ushered her into the adjoining room she stalked past him, and as soon as they were out of earshot of Silvana she rounded on him.