Ultimate Temptation

‘Then I suggest you return there. And take your friends with you,’ Giulio Falcone added bitingly.

‘No,’ Lucy said forcefully, her shocked negation instantly echoed by Sue and Clare.

‘You bring these slags back with us and I walk out.’ Sue glared at Ben.

The Count’s lip curled. ‘We seem to have an impasse,’ he drawled. ‘I suggest you settle it amongst yourselves before I am forced to call the polizia.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Shall we say fifteen minutes?’

His mention of the police had an oddly galvanising effect. Within seconds, the poolside was clear and the erstwhile tenants of the Vila Dante were on their way upstairs to pack.

As Lucy passed the door of the salotto, she could hear a furious argument going on between Ben and the others. Hal detached himself from it and came to the door.

‘It’s all right, sweetheart.’ His eyes swept over her in an appraisal that combined sensuality with malice. ‘You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ve got my own room at Ben’s place. I’ll make sure you’re looked after—as long as you start being friendlier.’

She said with icy clarity, ‘Over my dead body,’ and went up to her room, two stairs at a time.

Her heart was thudding like a sledgehammer as she began to empty the chest of drawers and the wardrobe, hardly aware of what she was doing as she tried to think—to plan. She’d have to cut her losses altogether, she told herself as she piled everything untidily into her case. Somehow she’d have to make her way to Pisa and get a flight home. Anything else was unthinkable.

She presumed she’d be able to transfer the return half of her ticket to a different flight. If not, she’d simply have to pay all over again.

I’ll worry about that when I get there, she told herself as she dashed into the bathroom to collect her toiletries.

When she returned to the bedroom, she realised with another thump of the heart that she was no longer alone.

Giulio Falcone was lounging in the doorway, watching her.

‘You don’t have to check up on me,’ she said quickly, aware that her breathing had quickened, and resenting the fact. ‘I’ve almost finished.’

‘So I see.’ He was silent for a moment. ‘Are you so eager to go to Lussione?’

‘You know I’m not.’ She pitched her toilet bag into the case and rammed the lid shut.

‘No? You don’t want to be with your friends?’

She bit her lip. ‘They’re not my friends.’

His brows lifted sceptically. ‘Yet I observed an unusual level of intimacy for mere acquaintances,’ he murmured.

Lucy flushed, remembering exactly what he must have seen. ‘They’re just some people we met on the plane,’ she said. ‘Nina and the others wanted to give a party—and invited them here tonight.’

‘Yes,’ he said with chill emphasis. ‘I have seen the trail of destruction they have left—particularly in the dining room.’

‘I didn’t get around to that,’ Lucy admitted wearily. ‘But I tidied the kitchen.’ She lifted her chin. ‘And I’m sure we’ll be happy to make good any damage.’

He laughed. ‘You are being naive, signorina. Both the lamp and the glass were antiques of great value. Replacement would be impossible, and the cost inestimable.’

Lucy’s heart sank. ‘Well, we could all chip in,’ she returned bravely. ‘And, of course, the police may find Tommaso Moressi and get our money back. You could have a claim on that, I suppose.’

‘I think Tommaso will be a long way from here by now, with his tracks safely covered,’ Giulio Falcone commented drily. ‘Leaving his unfortunate aunt, as usual, to pick up the pieces,’ he added cuttingly.

Lucy looked down at the floor. ‘I understand now why she didn’t want us here. She seemed very frightened.’

‘I can imagine,’ he said sardonically. ‘Yet it should have been safe. I had no plans to use the villa myself until the time of the vintage. But circumstances intervened.’ He shrugged. ‘You are unfortunate, signorina. You could so easily have enjoyed your holiday uninterrupted and innocently unaware that your occupation was illegal.’

The last word seemed to hang in the air between them, raising all kinds of disturbing implications.

Lucy shivered. She said, ‘I’m not sure enjoyment is the word.’

‘No?’ The amber eyes surveyed her reflectively. ‘Yet you are dressed for an evening of pleasure.’

Lucy gritted her teeth. That damned dress, she thought.

‘A bad mistake,’ she said. ‘Like the entire trip.’ She forced a smile. ‘And being mugged was really the last straw anyway. I didn’t need to be conned as well.’

‘How did you meet Moressi—hear about this place?’ he asked curiously.

‘The others used to visit a pizzeria after their Italian classes. The manager arranged it. He and Tommaso must have been in league with each other.’ She was silent for a moment. ‘I wasn’t sure about him from that first moment in Pisa. And when I saw this house—how beautiful it was, and how old—it seemed even stranger. He didn’t—fit somehow.’

‘He never has.’ His voice was abrupt. There was another silence, then he said, ‘So, what is the alternative to Lussione?’

‘Pisa,’ she said determinedly. ‘And the next flight home.’

‘That could present problems. This is, after all, the holiday season. There will be few spare seats available—if any,’ he added starkly.

Lucy shrugged defensively. ‘Then I’ll find somewhere to stay—go on stand-by,’ she said with more confidence than she actually felt as she did a hasty mental calculation of her available funds.

‘Can you affford that?’ Clearly he wasn’t fooled.

‘I don’t have a choice.’ She gave him a defiant look.

‘How fortunate,’ he said softly, ‘that I was able to read your mind so accurately.’

‘What do you mean?’ Lucy was suddenly very still.

‘Your friends have gone. I told them you would not be accompanying them.’

Lucy stared at him, suddenly, tensely aware of how quiet the house had become.

‘You mean they’ve left me here alone?’ Her voice almost cracked. ‘Without even a word?’

His smile deepened. There was something pagan in the curve of his mouth, she thought, a stir of unbidden excitement warring with the growing apprehension inside her.

He said gently, ‘Not alone, signorina. You forget that I shall be here too. From now on you will be staying as my guest.’ He paused. ‘And also,’ he added softly, ‘as my companion.’

CHAPTER THREE

LUCY stared at him. She was suddenly aware that she was trembling. That all the warmth seemed to have drained from her body, leaving her ice-cold.

There was danger here, all the more shocking because it was totally unforeseen.