Page 18 of A Baby Scandal in Italy

Rafa kept her clamped to his side while he spoke to the guests. ‘Recently there have been false reports and rumours in the media regarding my relationship with Ivy. Tonight, I want to put the record straight.’

To Ivy’s astonishment, he dropped down onto one knee in front of her and withdrew a small velvet box from his jacket pocket. When he opened it, the yellow diamond ring sparkled with fiery brilliance.

‘Ivy Bennett, will you do me the greatest honour by agreeing to be my wife?’

She stared into eyes that gleamed like molten silver, and for a few seconds she imagined that his proposal was real and he was the fairy-tale prince she had dreamed of as a little girl. She had outgrown fairy tales long ago, Ivy reminded herself firmly. But she was seduced by the wicked smile that played on Rafa’s lips.

Her common sense told her to run as far and as fast as she could from this man, who had ‘heart breaker’ written all over his arrogantly handsome face, but common sense had never seemed so unappealing. Besides, it was only make-believe, so why not play along? A fake proposal was the only kind she would ever accept.

CHAPTER SIX

‘YES.’IVY’SVOICEwas huskier than she’d intended, and her hand trembled when Rafa slid the ring onto her finger. The yellow diamond made her think of golden sunshine and a warm feeling curled around her heart. He kept hold of her hand as he led her off the dais and onto the dance floor.

As the band started to play, he drew her into his arms, and they danced a slow dance while the guests looked on. At first she felt self-conscious, but the lights dimmed, and the music—an instrumental version of a popular romantic ballad—was evocative.

The spicy scent of Rafa’s aftershave ignited the flame of desire low in her pelvis. Through the fine white silk of his shirt, she could make out the dark shadow of his chest hairs. She remembered those moments in the kitchen when he had been bare-chested and she’d run her hands over his naked torso.

Rafa lowered his head towards her and murmured in her ear, ‘For our engagement to appear authentic, I am going to have to kiss you.’

‘I hope you won’t find it too much of an ordeal,’ she said stiffly, stung by how indifferent he sounded.

His chest shook with silent laughter. ‘I assure you it will not be an ordeal,cara mia. I am simply warning you in advance of what I am about to do because our romance would not be believable if you stormed off the dance floor.’

Ivy stared at him and registered his sexy smile, which made him even more attractive. ‘I didn’t storm off the first two times you kissed me.’

‘No, you didn’t, did you?’ His smile disappeared and he gazed intently at her mouth.

The ballroom, the party guests and the music faded and there was only Rafa. He pulled her closer to him and dipped her backwards over his arm. Ivy’s lips parted beneath his and she gave a little sigh of pleasure when he claimed her mouth with a possessiveness that should not have thrilled her as much as it did.

He was skilled at the art of seduction, and she did not stand a chance of resisting him when her traitorous body succumbed to his potency. This was where she wanted to be, in Rafa’s strong arms, and she gave herself up to the intoxication of his kiss. He created magic with his lips and with his wickedly inventive tongue as he explored the moist interior of her mouth. Ivy curled her fingers into his shoulders and kissed him back with increasing urgency, guided by feminine instinct and an untapped sensuality she had not known she possessed.

The sound of applause was an unwelcome intrusion. Rafa lifted his mouth from hers and Ivy wished that a hole would appear in the ground and swallow her up when she realised the exhibition they had made in front of the guests. That had been the point, of course, she reminded herself when she darted a look at Rafa.

‘We need to get out of here now,’ he said curtly. They were still going through the motions of dancing together while all around them the party guests were filling the dance floor.

‘What’s up?’ Ivy demanded. Rafa looked furious but she did not understand what she had or had not done. Hadn’t he wanted her to put on a convincing act that she was bowled over by him? She ignored the voice in her head that taunted her she hadn’t been acting.

‘This is what isup,’ he ground out, jerking her close so that her pelvis was flush to his. She gasped when she felt the unmistakeable hardness of his arousal. There had been self-derision in his voice and something else that sent a shiver of excitement through Ivy.

‘I don’t understand what you are doing to me.’ He sounded as furious as he looked. ‘Three days ago I’d never even heard of you, and now you are all I can think about.’

‘It’s the same for me,’ Ivy admitted. ‘I came to Italy thinking I would hate you, but I don’t know how I feel.’

‘Let’s get out of here.’ Rafa kept an arm around her waist as he strode purposefully across the ballroom.

‘We can’t leave in the middle of what is supposed to be our engagement party. What will the guests think?’ She stumbled in her high heels as she struggled to keep up with him and felt the muscles in his arm flex as he supported her.

‘People will think that we can’t wait to get our hands on each other, and they would be right.’ He grinned at her stunned expression, but behind his smile there was an intentness in him, and the hard glitter in his eyes caused Ivy’s heart to miss a beat.

They had reached the private lift that went directly up to the penthouse. As soon as the doors closed, Rafa pulled her into his arms and claimed her mouth with barely concealed impatience. He was heat and flame and she was burning up. He pushed her up against the wall of the lift and held her there with his hip while he plundered her lips, making demands that she found impossible to deny him when it would mean denying herself the heady pleasure of his kiss.

Ivy was barely aware of the lift doors opening and gave a low moan of protest when Rafa took his mouth from hers. He caught hold of her hand and led her into the penthouse. Crossing the open-plan living area, he continued down the hallway to his bedroom.

She had looked into his room once before when she’d explored the apartment. The décor, like the rest of the penthouse, was sleek and sophisticated with dark walls and gold accents. An enormous bed dominated the room and was draped with a velvet throw in rich burgundy. The room had been designed for seduction, and a voice of caution inside Ivy’s head questioned how her relationship with Rafa had moved so fast that they had got as far as his bedroom.

She watched him shrug off his jacket and throw it onto a chair. He stood in front of her, and she wondered if he could see the pulse that was thudding erratically at the base of her throat, echoing the frantic thud of her heart.

‘You are so beautiful, you take my breath away.’ His voice was as soft as smoke, and his Italian accent was so sexy that she shivered.

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