Page 9 of Awakened in Her Enemy's Palazzo

‘Are you going to stay there all day, or do you want a lift?’

She blinked. Of course he hadn’t just materialised. He had a car.

‘Or there is always the option, painful though it might be, of crawling on your hands and knees.’ His expressive brows twitched. ‘Up to you.’

Her eyes narrowed. He wasn’t as bad as she had imagined he was going to be—he was much,muchworse!

‘I’ll take the lift.’

But would she take the hand that was extended to her?

As she looked at those long brown square-tipped fingers, suddenly the crawling option did not seem so terrible...

Theo watched her regard his hand with the enthusiasm most people reserved for a striking snake. He could almost see her swallow and choke on her pride as finally she stretched out her hand to meet his.

His amusement faded as he captured her slender, pale and cold fingers in his and the resultant shock of sexual electricity made him catch his breath and clench his jaw against its unexpected intensity. The only comfort was the knowledge that she felt it too. He saw it in the shocked wide opening of her dramatic blue eyes.

Maybe she didn’t like the idea of not being in control of a situation any more than he did?

Or maybe she was filing away the information to use to her advantage?

Breaking the connection the second she was able, Grace wiped her hand on the cotton of her light trousers.

‘Thanks,’ she mumbled, swaying as she tried to balance precariously on one leg, before she tentatively placed the injured foot lightly on the ground. Being on her feet gave her very little extra advantage—she was still staring at his mid chest area.

‘How much damage have you done?’ he asked, sounding impatient.

‘It’s just a sprain.’ She didn’t add that sprains could often be more troublesome than a break.

‘You a doctor?’

‘No, a nurse.’

‘So you are...’

Grace caught the glint of anger in his dark eyes.

‘A credit to your profession, I’m sure,’ he drawled nastily.

‘Myex-profession,’ she said, to needle him. And it did.

‘I am assuming you do want a lift back?’

She sighed, and responded with tight-lipped formality. ‘That would be most kind, Mr...’

‘I think under the circumstances you’d better make it Theo—’

‘Circumstances?’ she queried as he began to walk away.

‘Well, we will be living together,’ he tossed over his shoulder, smiling to himself.

‘Live? With you? But I’m staying here—you live in England.’

She must have read his bio online.

‘So do you,’ he retorted, his sardonic smile fading into exaggeration as he watched her make her way towards him in a combination of clearly painful shuffles and hopping steps.

He swore under his breath.

---