Vieri's Convenient Vows. Andie Brock

It was already half finished. She was drinking far too quickly. ‘First off we need to look as if we like each other—that would be a good start. Make eye contact, for example.’

      ‘I wasn’t aware we didn’t do that.’

      ‘Really? You spend more time looking at Alfonso’s nurse than you do me.’

      Vieri gave a wry laugh. ‘Not jealous are we, Harper?’

      ‘Hardly.’ Her reply was too fast, too vehement. ‘Why would I be?’

      ‘Why indeed?’ Dark brows quirked upwards. ‘So, lack of eye contact, duly noted. What else am I doing wrong? I’m sure you are bursting to tell me.’

      Harper frowned as she scanned his supremely confident pose. Yes, there were several things that she would be only too happy to point out to him, but many more she would keep to herself. Like the frantic beat of her blood when she was faced with that midnight-blue stare of his. And the fact that, far from lessening on a longer acquaintance, the impact of his powerful persona and stunning good looks seemed to be having an even more potent effect on her nervous system.

      He altered his position, uncrossing his legs and running a hand over his jaw. For all his arrogant ease, Harper could see that he was waiting to hear what she had to say, even if he did intend to totally disregard it. Because beneath that languid exterior, Vieri Romano was as stubborn and unyielding as an iron girder. Well, fine, she was stubborn too. Something her father liked to hurl at her, along with a lot more colourful adjectives, when he couldn’t get her to procure another bottle of whisky for him from the bar at the Lodge, or give him the money so that he could stumble down to the pub for himself.

      ‘Well, your body language is all wrong,’ she began purposefully. Vieri had asked for his shortcomings so she would give them to him. It was too good an opportunity to miss. ‘And you are far too evasive when Alfonso asks you questions about us. And you jump in all the time, when he is trying to talk to me.’

      ‘Is that so? Clearly I am no good at this.’ Vieri took another sip of whisky and set the glass down beside him. ‘So, shifty-eyed, stilted posture, evasive and interfering. Is there anything else you would like to add?’

      ‘No.’ Harper pursed her lips to suppress a rogue smile. ‘I think that’s enough to be going on with.’

      ‘Bene, then we had better do something about it.’

      Harper’s smile knotted inside her. Something about the glint in his eye told her she wasn’t going to like what was coming next. Ditto, his use of the word we.

      ‘What do you mean?’

      ‘I suggest we try some role play.’ Somehow he managed to make the idea burn with seductive intent.

      Harper’s anxiety spiked. ‘Role play?’

      ‘Yes.’ His eyes travelled lazily over her increasingly tense frame. ‘A little role play will help us be more comfortable in one another’s presence.’

      Being in Vieri’s presence made Harper feel many things but comfortable wasn’t one of them. And she strongly suspected that the sort of role play he was talking about would do nothing to help with that.

      ‘I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.’ She turned her head away, flustered, desperately trying to escape from the trap that was of her own making.

      ‘No?’ Rising to his feet, Vieri moved to stand in front of her. ‘Well, it has to be worth a try. Come on, up you get.’

      Holding out his hands towards her, he gave them an impatient shake.

      Harper swallowed, her mind struggling to come up with something to veto this crazy idea, the excitement tingling through her disobedient body already making this impossible.

      Slowly she reached out towards him, preparing herself for the inevitable jolt of awareness that shot through her whenever their hands touched. And yep, there it was again, like a fizz of electricity running through her.

      Pulled to her feet, she found herself standing mere inches from Vieri’s towering form, trapped by his height and power and sheer magnetic pull. And when Vieri lightly took hold of her shoulders, drawing her towards him, her heart, which was already beating double time, threatened to leap out of her chest altogether, to make a bid for freedom to prevent any further assaults on its ability to function.

      But worse was to come. With a shudder of pleasure, Harper felt his hands skim over her shoulders and down her back, where they settled possessively on either side of her waist, spanning the waistband of her jeans. She tried to move beneath his possessive grip but that only brought her into closer contact with him and as their bodies joined she became acutely aware of his honed shape; the muscles that rippled beneath his broad shoulders, the granite-hard chest pressed against her breasts, the long limbs, one leg slowly edging between her own, sending a thrill of awareness through her as she sensed his growing arousal. Harper let out a gasp.

      ‘Hmm.’ Vieri moved his hands to her back and, lowering his head, whispered in her ear. ‘Interesting.’ Sweeping aside her hair, he very gently pressed his lips below her earlobe, before lightly travelling down the sweep of her neck. Oh, dear Lord. Eyes tightly closed, Harper involuntarily angled her head to allow him more access.

      ‘It seems we have found a connection.’ He raised his head and Harper opened her eyes to meet his. ‘Perhaps this won’t be as hard as we thought.’

      Or a whole lot harder. Fighting to catch her breath, she moved inside his hold, intent on finding some control. But Vieri hadn’t finished with her yet.

      ‘Maybe we should try a kiss.’ He looked at her as if she were some sort of experiment. ‘In the interest of authenticity, I mean.’

      ‘I really don’t think that will be necess—’

      But before she could even gasp out the words his mouth was on hers, with the lightest of touches, just resting there as if to see what might happen next. Harper’s breath stalled. No way could this be construed as a passionate kiss, not yet, but that didn’t stop it from feeling intimate, sexual, heavy with promise. With a thrilling certainty she knew just where this kiss could go, what it could lead to. And as Vieri increased the pressure she found herself responding, feeling the thrum of excitement explode inside her head as her lips parted and his tongue found hers, sliding against it, around it, softly persuasive, hot, wet and druggingly sensual, tasting and teasing in a way that made her whole body shake with longing. Pulling away, she just caught the briefest hint of surprise in his eyes before he lowered his head again to continue his relentless assault. She had no sense of how long it was before, light-headed from lack of air and the sheer, potent sexuality of the kiss, she finally managed to push herself away from him and drag in a gulp of air.

      She tried to hide the tremble of her body. Never had she imagined a kiss could be anything like that, so intensely hot and wild and powerful, leaving her knees shaking and her ears ringing. It wasn’t as if she had never been kissed before. She had dated a couple of the local lads back home in Glenruie and it had been pleasant enough. Though not sufficiently pleasant for her to want to take the relationships much further. But she most certainly had never been kissed like that before. Thoroughly, utterly and completely possessed by a man who knew exactly what he was doing.

      But it was just role play. Harper smoothed down her blouse, touching her lips with shaking fingers to check they were still there, that they hadn’t somehow melted or fused with the heat. What they had just done wasn’t real—whatever else, she had to remember that. Except now, of course, he had totally ruined her for any other man’s touch. Thanks for that, Mr Romano.

      Bracing herself, she raised her eyes to meet his. And there it was, that assurance, the deeply held complacency of a man who knew exactly the effect he had had on her. It was almost as if he had branded her as his own. Well, they would see about that.

      ‘That’s quite enough of that.’ She deliberately moved away from him.

      ‘Really?’ A wicked smile played around his lips. ‘I was just starting to enjoy