Buying His Bride of Convenience Read online

  But she’d stayed exactly where she was. She hadn’t wanted to move. She’d ached to press back against him and tempt him into acting on his desire and kiss the word ‘no’ away from her lips...

  That same feeling was in her now. An ache that had spread into every part of her, heat pooled so low and so deep inside that she had to fight to remember all the very good reasons why she was determined to keep their marriage platonic.

  She inhaled deeply through her nose then opened her eyes. The darkness that had cloaked them throughout the night had turned into a grey haze, the morning sun struggling to filter through the room’s thick heavy curtains as much as she was struggling to understand the depth of her craving for the man she’d married.

  Pushing the covers off her in one decisive movement, Eva climbed out of bed and hurried to the bathroom.

  Once safely locked inside her temporary sanctuary, she stepped into the shower and prayed for the steaming water to rinse her of these feelings that had broken through the shell she’d erected around herself.

  * * *

  ‘Did you sleep well, tesoro?’

  Eva looked up from the cup of coffee she’d just put to her lips and felt her heart lurch dangerously. After finishing in the bathroom she’d slipped into her dressing room. As she’d been deciding what to wear she’d heard the shower start and known Daniele was up and about.

  Suddenly feeling shy for reasons she couldn’t comprehend, she’d dressed quickly and shoved her damp hair back in a ponytail, wincing to see her dark roots poking through on her hairline. In a couple of days it would be noticeable.

  She’d then hurried through the bedroom before he could appear from the bathroom and had taken herself to the dining area. A member of staff had arrived with a tray of coffee and a selection of fruit, cold meats, cheeses and fresh pastries for breakfast, looking disappointed when Eva had turned down the offer of something cooked.

  This was the first she’d seen of Daniele since she’d hightailed it from his bed.

  Was she imagining it or did he get even more handsome every time she looked at him?

  Today he’d dressed casually in black chinos and a round-necked chunky grey flecked sweater. His mussed hair was still damp and he carried the strong scent of shower gel and fresh cologne.

  His eyes sparkled as they met hers.

  She cleared her throat discreetly and stopped her hand from pressing against her racing heart. ‘Well enough, thank you. And you?’

  ‘Well enough for a man who feared his balls turning blue,’ he said with a grin that could only be described as sinful.

  She cleared her throat again. ‘Perhaps you wouldn’t have that problem if you slept on your own.’

  He shook his head with mock regret. ‘I have been suffering from chronic unfulfilled desire since you moved in with me. Just thinking of you in a bed is enough.’ He tilted his head as if considering this assertion. ‘Actually, just thinking of you is enough.’

  ‘Coffee?’ she suggested pointedly.

  ‘I don’t think that works as a cure for Chronic Unfulfilled Desire syndrome but, yes, please.’

  Trying to disguise the tremors in her hands, she poured him a cup and pushed it across the table to where he’d just sat down and helped himself to a Danish pastry.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said with a grin. ‘Now eat up and pack a bag.’

  ‘Are we going away?’

  ‘Only to my house in Siena for a couple of days. The weather’s not any better but the house has proper insulation. I’ve got my men coming in to make some changes here so you don’t feel like you’re sleeping in an igloo.’

  But that was the problem, she mused a short while later while selecting some clothes to take with her. She’d liked sleeping in an igloo. She’d liked that it had meant she could accept the warmth of Daniele’s body insulating her.

  CHAPTER NINE

  DANIELE’S HOME ON the outskirts of Siena turned out to be a sprawling villa of his own design, sympathetic to the city’s heritage yet undeniably modern. It was so well insulated Eva could have walked around naked without feeling a chill.

  They took a leisurely drive there, stopping at a traditional Italian restaurant in a hillside town for some lunch, spent the afternoon touring around the cathedral; the evening in yet another restaurant where they dined on ribolitta soup and pappardelle pasta and a Chianti so smooth Eva had to resist drinking more than two glasses.

  As the climate in his home was so constant, she got into the bed without her dressing gown on but with her pyjamas fully done up. Refusing, again, Daniele’s seductive request for a goodnight kiss, she’d again slept with her back to him.

  In the morning, though, she’d awoken to find herself spooned against him, his hand holding her belly and a heavy thigh draped over hers, and the warm sensation of desire curling through her veins.

  Not until she’d slipped out of the bed without waking him did she notice where on the bed they’d slept curled together. She must have inched her way back to meet him in the middle.

  The same thing happened the next night too, but this time Eva woke to find herself curled in his arms with her face pressed against his bare chest, breathing in his warm, musky scent. She’d gone from feeling like she was in some kind of drugged state to being wide awake in an instant and shot out of the bed quicker than a rocket. When her pulses had finally calmed enough for her to leave the sanctuary of the bathroom she’d pretended not to see the knowing gleam in his eyes.

  She would deny this attraction for ever if she could. She would ignore her surging heart rate evoked by a simple look and her raging pulses whenever his hand brushed against her.

  After two nights and a lazy morning spent wandering around a museum, they made the drive back to the cold castello so they could get ready for a night out with Francesca and Felipe, who were in Pisa for the day.

  As soon as they drove into the courtyard Eva could see something major had happened in their absence.

  Scaffolding had been erected around their wing, an army of men working against the cold December air repointing the stonework.

  The first thing she noticed when they reached their quarters was the lack of draught.

  ‘New windows,’ Daniele explained with a grin. ‘Wait until you see our bedroom.’

  She took one step inside and came to an abrupt halt.

  Daniele watched her reaction closely. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘I had no idea you were doing this,’ she said a little breathlessly, turning to him with a look of wonder.

  In the short time they’d been gone his team of contractors had redecorated, replacing the old wallpaper with a gold-leaf pattern that remained sympathetic to the castello’s heritage but with a much more modern twist, and new, thicker carpet put on the floor. The hearth had been cleaned out and heavy curtains that matched the ones he’d had put up on the window were tied back on the posts of the bed.

  ‘I think you’ll find the insulation in here much more effective now,’ he said, breaking the silence. ‘I figured I had to do something to warm the castello just in case the cold spurred you into running away with all the money I give you.’

  ‘We’ve only been married for three days. Give me time.’ But the softness in her eyes suggested that any thoughts of ending their marriage quickly had been put aside.

  She was softening towards him like a snowman melting in the thaw.

  ‘Do I get a thank-you kiss for doing all this?’ he asked.

  Expecting her to pull a face or make a sarcastic retort, he was taken aback when she closed the space between them, rested her hands lightly on his shoulders and pressed her lips on his cheek.

  Her lips were as soft as he’d imagined but she pulled away too quickly from him.

  ‘You call that a kiss?’ he demanded, snatching at her wrists and holding them with enough strength that she couldn’t wriggle out.

  Colour slashed her face and the blue of her eyes darkened. ‘What kind of a kiss were you thinking of?’


  Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth if there was the chance delay or further conversation might make it bolt, he tugged her so she was pressed flush against him, close enough for him to feel the little quivers of excitement racing through her.

  ‘One like this,’ he whispered, releasing her hands and sliding his fingers up her arms and over her shoulders to cradle her face and fuse his mouth to hers.

  There was only the slightest resistance from her, a quick inhaled gasp of shock that turned as quickly into a sigh before she almost seemed to sink into his kiss.

  Desire, never far from the surface these days, bloomed through his veins, the heat of her mouth and the heat of her response stoking it. Her tongue darted into his mouth, all the encouragement he needed to deepen the kiss and move his hands from her face to tug out the band holding her ponytail in place and spear her silky hair and cradle her head tightly.

  But then, all too soon, Eva broke it, turning her face so his lips lingered on her cheek.

  ‘You can stop now,’ she said in a voice that seemed to be searching for air and not at all as confident as she usually sounded.

  His groin aching, Daniele closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, which only made things worse as he inhaled her wonderful unique scent.

  ‘You’re killing me,’ he groaned.

  She gave a short laugh. ‘I think I might be killing us both.’

  ‘Then what’s stopping you?’

  Backing away from him and gathering her hair at the back of her head, ready to tie it back but either forgetting or not realising he had it in his hand, she bit into her lip.

  ‘Daniele,’ she began, her voice still not quite working properly. She took another breath then said, ‘I’ve only been with one man. I’ve been celibate for six years. I’m...’ She blinked, clearly struggling to find the word to explain what she was feeling. ‘I’m scared, okay?’

  ‘Of me?’

  She shook her head and looked away from him. ‘Of how I feel.’

  His stomach lurched. ‘And how do you feel?’

  ‘Confused.’ She dropped her hold on her hair and it fell softly over her shoulders and down her back. ‘I’ve never experienced desire before. I didn’t know it could make a sensible head want irrational things.’

  His brain pulsed at the admission she’d never felt desire before him and with it came the instinct to put a stop to this conversation. He didn’t need to know any more details.

  He already knew she’d been married for four years and that she’d married Johann to escape from her parents. That was more than enough. He didn’t want to complicate their marriage with feelings. Especially not his own.

  But to hear that she’d never felt desire for the man whose memory he’d been fighting against thinking of as a rival...

  To hear he was the first man she’d ever experienced desire for...

  ‘There is nothing irrational about wanting someone,’ he said carefully, knowing he was avoiding asking the question of what irrational things her head wanted and knowing it had to be this way. ‘Desire is what makes the world turn, whether it’s the desire for money or power or for another person; it’s what drives us. I want you. You want me. We’re married. What’s irrational about any of that?’

  She looked back at him with what looked like a touch of sadness. ‘You make it sound so simple.’

  ‘It’s only complicated if you make it so.’

  After holding his gaze a moment longer, her shoulders dropped and she gave a short laugh. ‘Yes, you’re right. I do have a tendency to overthink things.’

  He held his arms out wide. ‘Then stop overthinking and come here.’

  But she stayed where she was, a smile playing on her lips. ‘I’ll think about it.’

  Strolling to her, he took her face in his hands and planted a firm kiss on her mouth. ‘There,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘That will help you think.’

  Then he let her go and strode to the bathroom. ‘And when we go to bed tonight... I promise to help you think some more.’

  * * *

  Francesca and Felipe were in excellent spirits at the exclusive but friendly restaurant they met up at in Pisa. Exclusive but friendly, Eva was coming to think, perfectly summed up the Pellegrinis.

  Listening to Francesca speak nineteen to the dozen about their new home and all their wedding plans almost took Eva’s mind off the kiss she and Daniele had shared...

  She shivered just thinking of it.

  She mustn’t think of it. Not here. Not now. Not in a restaurant where people would notice the heat she still felt from it spreading over her neck and face.

  So she made a concerted effort to forget all about it and forget about what the night would bring, and relaxed into the warmth and camaraderie, heightened at the waves and hails from other diners recognising them, some stopping to exchange a few words. Daniele knew so many people; had so many friends.

  It felt that she’d spent her entire life keeping people at arm’s length. Most people learned to make friends in childhood but Eva had never acquired the skill. Friendships had been discouraged. Inviting a fellow child over for a playdate had been a non-starter. It had taken her a year to pluck up the courage to return one of Johann’s shy, sweet smiles. After they’d married and with his help, she’d become better at socialising but he’d remained the only real friend she’d ever had. Until now. Daniele had a wide circle of friends all eager to welcome her into it.

  A couple with a sleeping baby heading for the exit spotted them and came over to say hello, the father introduced as an old friend of Daniele’s. The baby, on the verge of becoming a toddler, shifted in his arms, yawned widely then opened her eyes and fixed them on Eva.

  Eva smiled automatically and found herself on the receiving end of a smile so wide and adorable that she couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke the little girl’s chubby cheek.

  ‘She likes you,’ the mother observed with an indulgent smile at her daughter.

  ‘She’s beautiful,’ she said simply, her eyes soaking in the plump wrists now waving at her and the small tuft of blonde hair, and felt something move in her heart strong enough to steal her breath.

  Such a beautiful, beautiful child...

  She’d never thought of having children before. When she’d been married to Johann it had been hard enough scraping the money together to feed themselves, never mind bringing a child into their world. Since he’d died, she’d been on her own, closed off from everyone, so shut off from her own emotions that the thought of children hadn’t even entered her head. She loved the children at the camp in Caballeros but in the detached way infant teachers loved their little charges.

  Since Daniele had steamrollered her into his life all those shut-off emotions had started seeping out, a gentle trickle that she could feel building momentum inside her.

  For the first time she allowed herself to imagine what it would be like to have a child of her own. Someone to love. Someone to love her.

  Then she looked at Daniele and saw his gaze was fixed firmly on her, just as it always seemed to be, and her heart moved again.

  They could have a baby together.

  As quickly as the thought came, she pushed it away.

  They’d only been married for five minutes, far too soon to be thinking of having a child together. A child meant a lifetime commitment and that was one thing she hadn’t promised him. She could walk away whenever she wanted.

  Her eyes flickered to his again. He was grinning at something Francesca had said. He must have run his hands through his hair since she’d last looked for the top was sticking up. She longed to reach out and smooth it down, then let her hand move down to the nape of his neck.

  Another delicious anticipatory shiver raced up her spine.

  Their marriage would last as long as she wanted and right then she knew she had no intention of walking away from it.

  * * *

  Daniele held Eva’s hand in the back of the car as they were driven back to the castello. Ra
ther than delight that she seemed content to let him hold it, he found his mind going over everything he’d discovered about her that evening courtesy of his nosy sister’s incessant questioning.

  He’d learned Eva had spent her first three years with the Blue Train Aid Agency working in the poorest countries in Africa, co-ordinating food aid and medicine and making sure it got to the people who’d needed it. As she’d put it, ‘Lots of paperwork.’ She’d been transferred to Caballeros a year ago on the basis that she spoke Spanish, again co-ordinating food aid and medicine to those in need, which in that country was a significant percentage of its people. When the hurricane hit, she’d been fortunate to take shelter with her colleagues in the concrete building they’d been using as an office. That Eva and her colleagues had been right there, ready to swing into action and get working on the refugee camp, had been sheer luck.

  That’s what she’d called it—luck. Luck that she’d been stuck in the middle of one of the most powerful hurricanes on record. She’d related it so matter-of-factly that he could believe she hadn’t experienced any fear during it. Eva had said as much when questioned about it by an agog Francesca.

  ‘There was nothing for me to be scared of,’ she’d said with a small shrug. ‘If it was my time then it was my time.’

  That she could be so blasé about her own safety, her own life, had sent chills up his spine and through his bloodstream. Those chills were still there in his veins.

  What kind of life had she lived where she could see no value to it?

  He released her hand and ran his fingers through his hair.

  ‘I’ve been thinking, you could start your own consultancy business advising the rich and famous how best to help those in need.’

  She blinked at him in surprise. ‘Really?’

  ‘Why not? You didn’t want to give up your job and I know you were bored in the days running up to our wedding. It can be as formal or as informal as you like. People like to be philanthropic but it’s not always easy knowing where to start or knowing that the money they give is going where they think it’s going. You must have lots of contacts in the charity world.’ He raised his palms. ‘It’s something to think about.’