The Correttis (Books 1-8). Кейт Хьюит

      Admittedly, more than half the night had been spent having sex. Wild, abandoned, selfishly indulgent sex. After the first time when they’d barely made it through the door they’d graduated to the rug on the floor, his luxurious shower and finally the bed where each had exhausted the other until they’d fallen asleep wrapped around each other.

      Wrapped around each other…

      Drenched in panic, he was about to spring from the bed when he realised it was empty and that Taylor was stumbling round the room, snatching up her clothes like a woman running for her life.

      Distracted by the urgency in her movements, Luca forgot his own panic and absorbed hers. ‘Is Etna erupting and we have just minutes to escape? Should I call the emergency services?’

      ‘Go back to sleep.’ Dragging open a drawer, she locked her hand around the first item of clothing she encountered. Dressed only in her panties with her trademark hair clouded and tangled from a night of wild sex, she was still the hottest woman he’d ever seen.

      Realising that for the first time in his life he was witnessing a woman who was even more panicked about relationships than he was, Luca relaxed slightly.

      She pulled on the T-shirt without bothering with a bra, a decision Luca supported wholeheartedly.

      ‘This is like a strip in reverse but it’s surprisingly erotic.’ His own panic fading, he hooked his hands behind his head and watched as she yanked on jeans in such haste she almost fell. ‘Where exactly are you going in this much of a hurry? This is Sicily. No one rushes in Sicily. You’re not on New York time now, dolcezza.’ But he knew her frantic rush to get dressed and escape had nothing to do with a desire to get to work and everything to do with her need to escape from a situation that terrified her. It would have terrified him too, except that she was panicking enough for both of them.

      ‘I’m going out—’ she snapped the words and zipped her jeans so violently he flinched ‘—out…somewhere. Anywhere.’

      She dressed with no thought and yet she looked effortlessly stunning. It occurred to him that women would break down and cry if they knew how little effort Taylor Carmichael put into looking as good as she did. She was thought of as an actress but she could just as easily have modelled, especially now with her expression as moody as Etna on a bad day and her hair pouring over her shoulders in wild disarray.

      There was something oddly vulnerable about her panic and, because he understood it, he took pity on her. ‘There’s no need to run. I’m not about to declare undying love and try and put a gold band on your finger. You’re probably safer with me than any other man alive.’

      ‘This isn’t about you.’ She bent down to retrieve her shoes, the movement so fluid and graceful he immediately wanted to haul her back to bed.

      ‘So why are you running?’

      She came upright and scooped her hair away from her face, her eyes fierce. ‘Because I don’t do this. I—I just can’t.’

      ‘Do what? Stay and eat breakfast? Because that’s all that’s on offer.’

      ‘I don’t eat breakfast.’ Her foot shot out and she kicked at the pile of clothes they’d torn off each other the night before, searching for something. ‘And I can’t do this whole morning-after touchy-feely crap. It’s not me. Damn—have you seen my watch? I was wearing it last night.’

      ‘It lacerated my back at one stage so now it’s by the bed. And I don’t do touchy-feely either.’ His words didn’t appear to penetrate because she glared at him as she strode across the room and snatched up her watch.

      ‘Do you know how many years I’ve stopped myself doing this?’

      ‘Quite a few if your wild response last night was anything to go by. Next time you might want to shorten your periods of abstinence. Your she-wolf act could kill a regular guy. I think I have teeth marks in my shoulder.’

      The look she shot him speared right through him. ‘So I suppose now you think you’re a sex god.’

      Luca discovered he was enjoying himself. ‘You moaned, dolcezza. Despite everything you said, you definitely moaned.’

      ‘So? It’s a long time since I had sex.’ Head down, she jammed her feet into her shoes. ‘Don’t read anything into it.’

      ‘So you’re saying any man would have made you moan?’

      If looks could have killed he would have been a rotting corpse. ‘I thought you didn’t enjoy morning-after conversations.’

      ‘Funnily enough I’m enjoying this one.’ It was the first time a woman had been more scared than him. ‘Admit it—last night was the hottest sex you’ve ever had.’

      ‘God, why do guys need so much praise? Just shut up and let me dress in peace. I have to go.’

      Luca smiled. ‘All of this excess energy is wasted because you’re running from a man who isn’t chasing you, tesoro.’

      ‘Don’t call me that.’ She spoke between her teeth. ‘When we’re on our own, there is no need to pretend we’re anything other than—’

      ‘Two people who share explosive chemistry in bed?’

      ‘Not that either.’

      ‘I fully understand your aversion to relationships. I’m having more trouble understanding your panic about a night of incredible sex. Is this because you lost control?’

      ‘I did not lose control.’

      ‘I enjoyed the opera by the way. I had no idea the whole experience could be so…passionate. I love to hear you moaning, but silent sex was surprisingly erotic.’

      Her look was fierce. ‘You took advantage.’

      ‘I didn’t hear you complaining either then or last night. You definitely moaned. And you dug your fingers in my back.’

      ‘Are you finished?’

      ‘For now. But only because we need to eat before we expend more energy.’

      ‘We won’t be expending more energy. This was a one-time thing. We’re going to forget this happened.’

      He should have been relieved to hear that from a woman. The fact that he wasn’t surprised him. ‘Fine by me. But any time you want me to make you moan again, just tap me on the shoulder. My skills are at your disposal.’ He saw her eyes flash.

      ‘I can live perfectly well without your skills.’

      ‘Are you sure? Because it seemed to me that you were pretty desperate there for a while.’

      ‘I was not desperate.’ Without looking at him she slung her bag over her shoulder and made for the door. ‘I’ll call a taxi.’

      Realising that she was serious, Luca sighed and sprang from the bed. ‘And spend tomorrow reading that we had our first row? You need to calm down and breathe. Give me five minutes in the shower and I’ll drop you on my way to work as usual.’

      ‘Not today.’

      ‘Yes, today. Taylor—’ he hauled her round and gave her a little shake, frowning slightly as he stared into eyes wide with fear ‘—this was just sex. Incredible sex, admittedly, but just sex. Sex followed by a lift to work.’ He said it slowly, as if he were speaking to a terrified child. ‘That’s all it is, so don’t allow the messed-up part of yourself to ruin everything we’re doing here. You were the one who got us into this but we’re in it now and we’re staying in it for as long as it suits us.’

      She wasn’t messed up. She’d made mistakes and she’d learned from them and one of the things she’d learned was not to trust people. It was a simple rule and she’d had no trouble living her life by it. Until now.

      She told herself that sex wasn’t trust but she knew it wasn’t as simple as that.