Page 16 of Modern Romance Collection February 2025, 5-8

‘I couldn’t sleep. I came down to get myself a drink.’

‘You haven’t got a drink problem, have you, Romano?’ she questioned delicately.

‘No, I damned well—’ he retorted, when he saw from the unmistakable twitch of her lips that she was teasing him and, for some reason, this also infuriated him. Turning away from her witchy-eyed distraction, he surveyed the glasses draining on the side, his desire for grappa gone. ‘You don’t need to do any more tonight,’ he growled reluctantly. ‘But thanks.’

Kelly nodded, even though he had his back to her and couldn’t see, unable to formulate a coherent response to that grudging praise. Not when he was standing there like that—driving every sane thought out of her head. With hungry greed, she stared at him, even though she knew it was a mistake. Because this was Romano as she’d never seen him before—not even in her wildest teenage dreams. She’d certainly never seen his bare torso before. She associated him with pristine suits, silk shirts and handmade shoes—as befitted his status as one of the wealthiest men in Italy.

She couldn’t help but marvel at the silken flesh which covered the rippling muscle, visually devouring his powerful frame inch by inch, as if trying to permanently commit it to memory. Broad shoulders tapered down to narrow hips and his jeans were low-slung and snug against his bottom. His feet were bare too and…they were really quitebig. Her heart raced. She wasn’t used to being in such an intimate setting with a man, though obviously she’d seen people half naked before—but being surrounded by random strangers strutting around in too-tight trunks down at the local swimming baths was nothing likethis.

‘You should go back to bed,’ he said, still with his back to her, his voice oddly tight.

‘I guess I should.’ But still she didn’t move. Actually, she couldn’t. Her feet seemed to be rooted to the spot—as if her body were refusing to take her away from where she most wanted to be. And something strange was happening. A cocktail of emotions was building inside her—filling her with an intoxicating sense of need. She wanted to explore him. To touch him and kiss him and run her fingertips all over that satin flesh. Deep down she had always wanted that.

And he had rejected her. Made her feel crass and foolish and out of her depth.

So get out of here before you do something you’ll regret. Learn from the lesson he took a cruel pleasure in teaching you.

‘Romano,’ she said, meaning to say a calm goodnight to him. At least, that was what she told herself. Only suddenly her voice didn’t sound like her voice any more. It was coming out all wrong and there was a husky quality to it. A tiny, questioning lilt as she uttered the last, breathy syllable of his name.

He turned round and Kelly couldn’t hide her surprise as she stared up into his face, because this was a Romano she didn’t recognise. He looked conflicted. Almost…savage. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of the primitive man who existed beneath the veneer of sophistication she had always associated with him. It was as if a silent and anguished battle was taking place behind the symmetry of his hard features. His lips were flattened into an accusatory line but his eyes were smouldering—they reminded her of the glowing coals you found at the bottom of a fire, their intense heat often taking you by surprise.

‘Don’t,’ he commanded softly.

‘Don’t what?’

‘Don’t say my name like that.’

She blinked. ‘Like what?’

‘Like what?’ he mimicked, before giving a short and bitter laugh. ‘Do you really want me to spell it out for you, Kelly?’

‘I was rather hoping you might.’

His voice dipped. It was gravel. It was honey. And it whispered over her skin like the brush of a feather. ‘Like you’re running your tongue up an ice-cream cone and trying to catch the drips.’

Kelly may have been innocent in many ways but she wasn’t completely naïve. She’d read enough books and seen plenty of films and Romano’s words were graphic enough for her to realise exactly what he meant. Heat flooded her cheeks and she could feel the push of her tightening nipples rubbing against the pyjama top. Because the craziest thing of all was that shewantedto do exactly what he was hinting at. Shewantedto lick him.

‘Have I shocked you, Kelly?’ he taunted softly.

Somehow she kept her voice steady. ‘Why, is that what you’re trying to do?’

‘No. There’s only one thing I want to do right now,’ he said, his voice as taut as a piece of elastic which had been stretched to breaking point. ‘And that is to kiss you.’

Their gazes locked. His ebony gaze was splintered with fire and Kelly realised what a massive admission this was for a man like Romano to make—a man who had once taken great pleasure in rejecting her. And if it didn’t sound in the least bit romantic, that was because it wasn’t. In fact, that was the last way you would describe it. His desire for her was obviously an irritant. Like an annoying itch which needed to be scratched.

But wasn’t it the same for her? She didn’t want to feel this way about him. The odds were stacked against any kind of relationship between them, she knew that. He didn’t like her, or approve of her—he never had. He was much too rich and she was much too poor. She came from the opposite side of the tracks. She was wrong for him in so many ways. And he was wrong for her. She didn’t need a heartless control freak as her first lover and if she walked away now, she would occupy the moral high ground. She would be seen as the victor in this futile sexual battle and it was a very tempting prospect.

But not nearly as tempting as the alternative…

Because mightn’t this help her break the deep spell he had cast on her? Wouldn’t kissing him free her from the crazy fantasies she’d nurtured all these years, no matter how many times she’d tried to wean herself off him? Because everyone knew that reality could never match up to fantasy.

She met the hard glitter of his eyes and suddenly all her reasons for refusing melted away. ‘So kiss me,’ she urged him recklessly. ‘I’m not stopping you.’

She saw a pulse working at his temple as he nodded, as if her husky suggestion were only confirming something he already knew. Had she capitulated too easily? Even if she had, she didn’t care because he was walking across the castle kitchen towards her and she couldn’t think of anything other than the incredible fact that he was pulling her into his arms. The breath caught in her throat as his long fingers spanned her waist, his touch making her sizzle beneath her thick pyjamas.

‘This is your last chance, Kelly,’ he warned softly, his black eyes glinting. ‘But I’m telling you now that things will never be the same if I do this.’

Kelly bit her lip. Did he imagine she would never recover from his lovemaking and she would be weeping into her pillow for the rest of her days? Oh, the predictable arrogance of the man! She wondered what he’d say if he knew she was only doing this to get him out of her system. To rid herself of his lingering presence once and for all, because nothing else had worked. ‘Oh, I think I’ll just about manage to survive,’ she declared, through lips which already felt thick with anticipation.

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