hers, that first touch of his strong hand making her heart beat faster. The way he drew her so gently to him felt like care. He bent his head slowly to hers, always giving her time to withdraw—which she knew she should but never did.
She waited. Anticipated. His lips were sensual. Perfect. Those beautiful eyes were framed with long, thick black lashes. He was—gorgeous was the only adjective that came to mind. She almost went up on her toes. She had enough dignity not to, but she did lift her face to his. His mouth skimmed hers. The briefest of touches. It didn’t matter that the kiss was brief, the effect on her was instantaneous.
Fireworks exploded in her veins—in her belly. Electricity short-circuited, zapping her, so every nerve ending sparked hot and wild. Liquid heat raced through her body, spreading like a wildfire. From a touch. One touch. She couldn’t look at him when he lifted his head. She lowered her lashes to veil her expression. Vittorio’s hand cupped her chin and lifted her face so, in spite of her intentions, her gaze jumped to his. Immediately she felt like she was drowning in all that dark, beautiful blue. There was no hiding from him. He never allowed it.
“What is it, Grace?”
Even his low voice was sexy to her. How was she going to explain that to him? She had to work to suppress a groan, feeling a little foolish. She’d saved his life and he was repaying her by taking care of her. She was falling fast, probably, if she had to be logical, because no one had ever made her feel safe or cared for. He’d done both and on top of that, he made her feel like a beautiful, desirable woman.
A million ways to deceive him rushed through her head, but she didn’t like the idea. He’d been good to her. Careful of her. Even to the point of deflecting all talk about the photograph Haydon had left behind, the way he’d done it, and what it meant. She decided on the truth no matter how embarrassing—and it was.
She forced herself to look him in the eye while she confessed. “It’s just so easy to be with you. You’re doing everything, giving me everything and asking nothing at all in return. It isn’t right. I’m taking advantage of you and I don’t like that.”
He studied her face for what seemed forever and then his thumb slid over her chin. That brief caress nearly undid her resolution to tell him she had to go. It was time. If she stayed, she would never want to leave. Never. He had said their engagement was real to him, but that didn’t make sense and they’d never spoken of it again. She was drowning here with him. The more she was with him, the more she wanted to be.
“Grace, I want it to be easy for you to stay with me. I like having you here and doing things for you. You’re wrong about asking for nothing in return. I’m asking for quite a bit and I’ll be asking for quite a bit more. I’m asking for you to put your complete trust in me. I want you to know, with every fiber of your being, that I won’t let you down. Not ever. That everything I do is for you. For your health, your happiness and your well-being and your pleasure.”
Heat rushed through her veins and spread like wildfire to every nerve ending in her body, igniting them. “Vittorio.” Grace was floored. She had wanted to stop pain medication for this—these talks they occasionally had. She had to know what was real and what wasn’t.
Vittorio Ferraro had more money than anyone could possibly imagine. He was a high-profile playboy, with expensive toys and a jet-setting lifestyle. Still, he didn’t seem anything like the tabloids made him out to be. None of his family did, and she was having a difficult time putting the two completely different men together.
He was in glamorous magazines and sleazy tabloids as well as newspapers and television reports, usually with a beautiful starlet or a famous model on his arm. He was depicted as a love-them-and-leave-them type, discarding women after one or two dates, yet he’d been spending twenty-four hours a day with her for the last three weeks.
“I couldn’t let Haydon just shoot you. You saved me from those terrible men, so we’re really even.”
He waited on her. He hadn’t hired others to come in