Page 53 of The Housekeeper and the Brooding Billionaire

She breathed deep, inhaling the spicy scent that she’d associate with him forever. Warm, male skin, cedarwood and something exotic like frankincense. And the primal scent of sex.

Except in her case she feared it wasn’t mere sex. It was love.

She’d never expected that to happen. Not after seeing her parents’ unhappy marriage and the way so many men treated women as disposable assets, available for their convenience.

Yet although Alessio had made it abundantly clear this could only be a short-term liaison, he’d given her far more than she expected. The sex was brilliant, energising, satisfying, addictive. At the same time he gave her respect and consideration. Plus his tenderness was beyond price.

Far from being an ogre or uncaring playboy, she suspected this man had a heart bigger than he let on. He was caring and thoughtful but seemed determined not to let anyone, apart from those on the island who’d known him forever, realise it.

Because he’d been hurt. Was still hurting.

She wanted to heal him.

She didn’t want to leave in another month. She had a horrible feeling it might break her heart.

How had it come to this?

Yearning for the impossible, for a man still in love with his dead wife.

A sound of distress escaped, and instantly he stroked her hair. ‘Charlotte?’

She gathered herself and opened her eyes, forcing a smile. ‘You’re a little heavy.’ He wasn’t. His body covering hers was bliss, but it was the only excuse she could think of.

Instantly he rolled onto his side, hugging her close. ‘Sorry. I should have moved.’ He paused. ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’

There it was again. Concern. An awareness of her emotions that she’d never encountered in anyone else. She needed to change the subject because she couldn’t talk about her feelings. She was too churned up.

‘I’ve never been better.’

She slanted him what she hoped was a mischievous smile though she couldn’t meet his eyes. Quickly she looked away, hoping for inspiration. Her gaze landed on a small, very old painting that had fascinated her from the moment she saw it. Like the one downstairs, it showed a creature that looked like a cross between a dragon and a sea serpent, its coiling tail encircling a beautiful woman.

‘What is it with your family and dragons, Alessio? I know there was supposed to be a local monster, but they’re everywhere in thecastello.’

He shifted as if settling more comfortably. ‘You don’t know the story?’ He stroked her hair, and some of her tension eased. She shook her head.

‘My family have dominated this region for centuries, so long that they’ve come to represent the place. Legend is that there was a monster in the lake, and the people would appease it by giving it something precious every year. One year instead of the best fruits of the harvest or gold and jewels, for some reason they offered a beautiful blonde virgin. They left her on this island for the monster to take.’

Charlotte shuddered. ‘I don’t like this story.’

A laugh rumbled up from his chest beneath her ear. ‘Don’t worry, it ends well. The official version is that a saint saved her by killing the monster and setting her free. There’s a monastery dedicated to him on an island at the far end of the lake.

‘But therealstory is told by the locals. They say the dragon was actually the Conte Dal Lago, the rapacious baron who ruled with an iron fist and took whatever he wanted. Until he met his match, in the form of a golden-haired virgin.’

Charlotte’s eyes met Alessio’s.

Stupid, the way her heart leapt. At the weird coincidence that she was blonde and had been a virgin when they met. And because part of her yearned for the Conte Dal Lago to claim her as his, not for a brief affair, but for life.

Because you want Alessio more than you’ve ever wanted anything.

More than the career that had been her salvation when she’d lost her mother and cut herself adrift from her father. More than the independence she’d thought her greatest asset.

But life was no fairy tale.

‘It doesn’t sound like a match made in heaven. If he were used to taking whatever he wanted, he probably grew tired of her once the novelty wore off. And she didn’t have much choice in it, did she?’ She gave Alessio a smile she hoped was coolly amused. ‘Just as well it’s a myth.’

Alessio frowned, not sharing her brittle amusement. He regarded her intently as if seeing something in her expression that she’d hoped wasn’t there.

Charlotte turned towards the bright daylight streaming through the windows. ‘It’s later than I thought. I need to shower and get moving.’

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