Page 45 of Awakened in Her Enemy's Palazzo

Something flashed in his eyes, but Grace almost missed the moment as her eyes closed in concentration while she tried to find the right words.

‘I didn’t overthink, and it just felt...well, really perfect.’

‘I can see that you overthink things sometimes.’

Anxious that this was his way of telling her not to read anything deep and meaningful into last night, she agreed quickly. ‘Absolutely.’

‘And before George?’

‘Men say I’m too nice. They think of me as a sister. And I’m not very highly sexed.’

His lips quirked as they slid to her breasts above the covers. ‘Believe me, Grace, they donotthink of you like a sister and we both know there is nothing wrong with your sex drive. I think your problem is more common than you might think. Men are daunted by beautiful, smart women. You intimidate them.’

Grace stared at him, waiting for the punchline—it didn’t come.

Theo Ranieri, the most gorgeous man on the planet, thought she was beautiful, smart and also sexy?

She lowered her lashes, hugging this extraordinary knowledge to herself.

‘This George of yours...’ He shook his head.

‘George respected me,’ she said primly.

‘George sounds like a loser. Does he have sex with your sister? Or is theirs a pure and elevated love? A meeting of minds such that they only read poetry to one another?’

‘They have a child,’ she retorted.

‘Immaculate conception?’

She swatted at him and found it amazing that she was naked, laughing with Theo Ranieri, and it felt normal.

‘George does write poetry though.’ She couldn’t keep her laughter in. ‘Very bad poetry. But seriously, I don’t think George ever actually fancied me.’

‘The man is a loser.’

‘Will you stop saying that? We were waiting...’

‘For what? He sounds like a loser to me.’

‘He slept with my sister the first night they met.’

She spoke matter-of-factly, even managed a soft laugh, but at the time the discovery had been devastating and had sent her confidence to an all-time low.

‘He had come home with me to meet my parents. He gave her a lift home and they made out in the back seat.’

‘Oh, very classy!’ Theo sneered, adding, ‘Hetoldyou this?’

‘She told me. George just didn’t fancy me.’

Now she knew that the feeling had been mutual—what she had felt for George had been friendship, though she hadn’t known it at the time. Back then, she hadn’t known what passion was...what the need to lose yourself in someone could feel like...that surrender could feel so powerful.

That you could feel a never-ending fascination for a man’s body.

And the discovery was still all new and wonderful.

She ran her hand down his flank, letting it rest possessively on his behind, loving the fact that he was all sinew and muscle.

He blew out a heavy breath. ‘It sounds like a match made in heaven.’

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