The Italian's Blushing Gardener (8 page)

K
IRA
blushed as she realised her words could so easily hold another meaning. She held her breath. Once again she had said exactly what she thought, and that was the problem. Her words were intended to be a promise to make all his desires for his properties come true. Instead, she might as well have told him her deepest feelings. He was watching her intently. Surely it was only a matter of time before she betrayed herself to him? She wanted to give this her best, but felt the need to hide her true emotions. As usual, work came to her rescue. She hit Return on the keyboard with all the force she would have liked to use on herself. The screen leapt into life again. Simulated raindrops falling on the surface of water became a display of plant photographs.

‘Almost as beautiful as you,’ Stefano said.

Kira thanked him tersely. His words reminded her of Chantal’s patronising smile, and the way he could take his pick from all the lovely women in the world.

‘I’ll key in the details of your courtyard—its aspect, an estimate of the hours of sunshine it can expect—’

‘There won’t be much of that, I suspect.’

‘I have a few ideas that can help,’ Kira rallied. She always felt more confident when she could bring the
subject around to the plants she loved. Dwelling on her own thoughts and feelings, and speculating on the way he might respond, made her uncomfortable. ‘Some discreetly placed mirrors will bounce light into the shadowy places.’

‘It sounds like the effect you have on me.’

He was leaning over her, only inches from where her fingers played on the keyboard. The subtle fragrance of his nearness was intoxicating. It was totally impossible to ignore. Kira felt her temperature rising as she logged all the details she had taken down so carefully. She tried to keep her eyes riveted on the screen, but within moments the effort was too much. They were constantly drawn back to Stefano’s face. As though to prove he was able to ignore the effect he was having on her, he kept watching the rapidly developing images on the computer screen. Anticipation rose in Kira like a column of mercury. When she was almost at the point of screaming with need for him, he turned his clear blue eyes on her with a smile of sheer innocence.

‘So you are confident you can give me what I want?’

His words were warm drops in a dipping pool of desire. He had chosen them with care. Knowing they were calculated for effect was the only thing that made it possible for Kira to resist him.

‘While I’m working for you, that’s all I’m interested in.’

Her voice was faint and strangely unsteady. Stefano continued to watch her, waiting for more signs that her resistance was weakening. Kira willed herself to return his gaze with equal candour, but she was powerless to stop a blush rippling over her skin. It was a firestorm
of feeling. She needed distraction, and looked for it in a new computer image.

‘Here’s a mock-up of your quadrangle, with the rough shapes of some suggested plant groupings added.’

With one final flourish on the keyboard, she sat back and steadied her nerves with a sip of coffee. Stefano had drawn away slightly while she was typing, but now he leaned forward again. This time, Kira was strangely disappointed to find he was intent on the screen, rather than her.

‘That’s impressive.’ He nodded slowly, his clear blue eyes flicking back and forth between the sidebars of text and the interactive graphics of the screen.

‘It’s only my first thoughts.’ She basked in his approval, but tried not to show it. ‘The final version will take a lot more work. And this is only the courtyard. I seem to remember you mentioned a roof garden?’

He nodded. ‘There are some stark, flat areas resulting from repairs and building work done in the sixties. I like the idea of a hidden sanctuary that no one else knows about but me.’

‘And me, as your designer,’ Kira reminded him.

‘The best secrets are those we are willing to share.’

Picking up on his enthusiasm, Kira smiled. ‘Why don’t we go up and inspect what you’ve got to offer?’

‘I thought you’d never ask,’ he said, already heading for the door.

Stefano’s town house rambled over several floors. It was a warren of unexpected twists and turns. Kira always enjoyed the thrill of seeing how successful people ran their lives. She took in every detail when she visited their workplaces. This satellite branch of Albani International
was no exception. Despite her solitary nature, whenever she took on a grand new job Kira spent her time idly wondering what she would tell her grandchildren. Today was different. There was nothing remotely idle about her thoughts. This wasn’t just any grand house, owned by a faceless billionaire. It was where Stefano Albani lived. He worked and walked about here, and today he was strolling along beside her. The sensation was so powerful it had an immediate effect on all her dreams. Her fantasy grandchildren gained names, parents and inherited their grandfather’s beautiful blue eyes and dark, dashing curls.

As Stefano piloted her along corridors scented by cream polish and fresh flower arrangements, she was torn. Admiring the modern, minimalist surroundings meant tearing her attention away from the gorgeous man at her side. He introduced her to everyone they passed by name. That was impressive. She wasn’t quite so happy with the way he spoke to all the women in the same flirty fashion that set her own heart hammering.

‘You’re very quiet, Kira.’ He smiled as they left the busy offices behind. Only the gentle burr of air conditioning followed them beyond a stained-glass door into his private quarters.

‘I’ve been resisting the temptation to contradict you,’ Kira said primly. ‘You’ve asked everyone we met to welcome me onto your team. That ignores the tiny fact that I haven’t actually agreed to sign your contract yet.’

Stefano’s self-confidence shone through his reply. ‘You will. You’re an intelligent woman.’

His voice was as smooth as the glass elevator that took them up the final two storeys. Letting her out onto the roof, Stefano stood back to let her take in the whole
breathtaking panorama. At this distance, the circling shoals of traffic sounded very faint and far away. The click of Kira’s heels on the flat cement roof was loud, so she tried to make them sound efficient as well by striding straight over to the nearest parapet.

‘This view is astonishing,’ she breathed. ‘You can see to the hills in almost every direction! We’re so high I feel as though I could reach out and touch the dome of the cathedral. The light over the city is so beautiful. What do you suppose gives it that lovely golden glow?’

Stefano strolled to her side. Resting one hand against an ancient wall, he surveyed the scene with obvious pleasure. ‘It is the Tuscan sun. It has mingled with the inspiration of poets, and matured over centuries.’

Pleased by the image, she turned to him with an unguarded smile, and found that he had switched his attention from the city to her.

‘Do you think you can improve my situation?’

Kira considered her reply. She looked from the spectacular view to the dreary surroundings of his rooftop eyrie. Her mind went into overdrive. ‘The beauty of beginning with nothing is that you can try whatever you like. Nobody could top an aerial view of Florence—but I can give you a better backdrop to it, Stefano. When you bring a beautiful woman like Chantal up here, she deserves something a lot better than bare cement and these pigeon prickles…’ Patting the metal tangle that stopped birds perching on the parapet, Kira leaned out over the low wall. She was tempted to look straight down. It was a big mistake. Suddenly the events and emotions of the past two weeks rolled over her in a wave of dizziness.

‘Ohh…’

She swayed for a terrifying moment, until Stefano seized her with his strong hands and pulled her back from the brink. Her eyes flew open, and she found herself looking up into his lean, intelligent face.

‘It is never a good idea to stray too close to the edge,’ he said brusquely.

His voice was wonderfully resonant. Kira felt so safe, but it frightened her.

‘I—I know. I’m sorry, Stefano. I don’t know what came over me.’

‘This place can have a very strange effect.’ His words were quiet and almost hesitant. They were in complete contrast to his iron grip as it crushed her against the solid security of his body.

‘I’m beginning to realise that…’ Kira’s whisper rose between them like a dream.

‘It makes me want to tell you again how beautiful you are, Kira,’ he whispered.

She slowly shook her head. To her amazement, she felt Stefano contradict her with a definite nod. Neither of them moved for a long time. Then, in complete harmony, they came together in a kiss that made the world stand still.

After a long, long time, Stefano’s lips left hers and he pressed his cheek hard against her hair.

‘Come with me. Now,’ he urged.

‘I can’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t want to be hurt again.’

He stood back a little and looked down at her with a calm, forthright gaze. ‘I would never do that.’

‘I can’t take that risk.’ Desperation tore the words from her lips.

‘I’m offering you nothing but good things, Kira. How can that bring you pain? Nothing lasts forever. We both know that. As long as we never forget it, there can be nothing but pleasure for us.’

He had been drawing her closer and closer. As his whisper died away, he kissed her with a power that held her long after he had drawn back from her lips.

‘So let’s enjoy that pleasure while we can…’

Wicked thoughts ran crazily through her mind. It’s not as though he’s married—no one will ever know, and if they do find out, it won’t be like last time…

Her defences dissolved with the intensity of his smile. It was focused directly on her. There could be no resistance. Mirroring his expression, she nodded her head.

Stefano slid one arm around her shoulder and drew her back inside to the elevator. It took only seconds to reach his suite, but his hands were already dancing over the thin fabric of her clothes. He led her into the sophisticated setting of his private lounge. There he slid the jacket from her shoulders and flung it onto a glasstopped table.

‘I know what you said about mixing business and pleasure, tesoro, but you would be the first to remind me you haven’t actually signed my contract yet,’ he murmured.

Kira veered between nervous tension and excitement at the thought of taking a leap into the unknown. For the first time in her life, temptation felt good. There was no need to wonder why. It was an opportunity to indulge in the fantasy that had been teasing her from the moment
she first set eyes on him. A throaty chuckle rose up from somewhere deep within her.

‘I think that’s the perfect reason to make an exception.’ Despite a tingle of fear, she wanted to find how far her body would go to quench this overriding fire for Stefano. She already sensed he would give her the ultimate in satisfaction. A strange combination of daring and desire unleashed all sorts of feelings deep in her body.

I know what I’m doing, she told herself. It’ll be all right this time, because I’m watching for the danger signs. I can’t resist him any more, but it doesn’t matter because I don’t want to try. I’m going into this with my eyes wide open. I’ll enjoy Stefano while he satisfies my every need, but if he dares to try and get inside my heart, that’s the end—no more.

From that moment on, there was no more thinking. She was aware of nothing but his touch on her arm and the movement of his body as he drew her into the silent sanctuary of his bedroom. The curtains were drawn against the afternoon sun. It was as cool and shadowy as an oasis at dusk, lit only by a narrow strip where the floor-length curtains were not quite fully closed. A tiny fragment of goose down spiralled upwards in the single shaft of sunlight. It looks as light as my heart feels, Kira thought. It was the last thing she remembered before a surge of need carried away all her inhibitions.

He was more gentle than even her fantasies had promised. His fingertips had a delicacy of touch that sent shivers of delight dancing over her skin. When his cheek brushed her face the roughness of his incipient stubble released a little cry of desire from her lips. It no longer mattered that he had travelled this route with one girl
or a thousand. While she was in his arms, Kira felt like the only woman in the world. As the silk and lace of her slip slithered away, she was filled with the exuberance of being. Standing in a pool of sunlight beneath the warm appreciation of Stefano’s haunting gaze, she felt the life force thunder through her body. This was where she wanted to be, now and forever.

‘Carissima mia,’ he breathed in a way that drew Kira’s whole attention right back to him.

With a flutter of delight she saw a subtle change come over him. It wasn’t so much a new look in his eyes, as the sudden loss of something she had not wanted to acknowledge before. Playful amusement no longer danced in his expression. Stefano was a changed man. For once he was not the flippant lover of thousands. All his attention was devoted to her and her alone.

‘You don’t mean that,’ she murmured, while hoping with all her heart that he did.

‘Would you like to put me to the test?’ his voice rasped through the drowsy silence. It was thick with an emotion she had never heard from him before. He took one, two steps across the soft rug. Now they were so close, she could feel the warmth of desire radiating from him. His heat transformed her. With a moan of anticipation, her head fell back.

‘You are so lovely.’

His voice was a whisper. Kira felt fingertips dance lightly over her face, and then dive into the rippling luxuriance of her coppery hair. His kiss was a long, thoughtful expression of delight. Pressing his forehead against hers, he slid his arms around her body, drawing it close. ‘I’ve said that so many times, to so many
different girls, but this is the first time it has been from the core of my being, mia tesoro.’

Kira opened her eyes. Another transformation swept over his face, and with delight she put her hand up to touch the uncharacteristic colour flushing his cheeks. He was holding her with a possessive strength as they sank into the yielding luxury of his bed. Stefano kissed his way down the curve of her neck, before lifting her arm to tease the delicate skin beneath. His lips pleasured her breasts and belly, encouraging her to stretch out languorously across his silken sheets. It was such a lovely, leisurely feeling that when he pulled away from her she tried to follow him, jealous of every second he spent away from her arms.