flashed fire and the muscles around his mouth quivered in reaction to the accusing condemnation in the big eyes fixed on his face.
‘Liam does not need your pity,’ he snarled. ‘And neither does Sam. There was no coercion involved. I did not obtain custody under duress. Liam’s mother did not want us—’ He closed his mouth over further revelations.
Better late than never, Gianni
.
Dio
, what was he doing? She was not the first person to make this assumption, but this was the first time he had felt the need to justify himself and play the sympathy card.
The simmering silence stretched until it was broken by her gruff, ‘I’m sorry.’
‘What the hell for?’ he ground out. ‘Being nosy?’
Hearing that ‘us’ again in her head and knowing instinctively that this man was never going to totally forgive her for seeing beyond the macho façade he presented to the world, she shook her head, wishing she hadn’t. He was the last person she had imagined she could feel empathy for, but she was. It had been more comfortable to view him as a smouldering, sexy but ultimately two-dimensional figure; when he was gone her equally two-dimensional lust would be gone too.
No worries—soon he would be and she could get back to feeding the goat and, what? Feeling sorry for herself? Wasn’t that what she had intended to do? Instead … the guilt switchin her head clicked and her lashes moved downwards in a concealing sweep—she had not thought about the situation with Oliver or Tam all morning!
‘It’s none of my business.’
‘True,’ he retorted in a cold, clipped voice that should not have made her feel hurt but did.
‘What time do you plan on leaving?’ As far as Miranda was concerned it couldn’t be too soon!
‘I already said I’m not.’
She was appalled. ‘But you can’t stay here … obviously.’
Gianni’s dark brows lifted, emphasising the satyr-like slant she had previously noticed.
‘No …?’
he drawled.
‘It wouldn’t be … appropriate.’
He watched her attempt to compress her lips and fail totally; her lush lips would not accommodate prim. ‘How delightfully Victorian of you.’
Miranda refused to respond to the jibe.
‘And I’ve always had a certain talent for the inappropriate.’ His eyes drifted towards the soft outline of her spectacularly lush lips and any number of inappropriate actions occurred to him.
For a moment he could almost taste the sweetness and heat of her mouth as he slid his tongue deep … He pushed away the steamy images forming in his head, but not before the flash of testosterone-fuelled heat had settled painfully in his groin.
Dio
, what was happening to him? He had left this sort of indiscriminate lust behind in his teens.
‘How nice for you,’ she said frigidly. ‘But the fact remains that you’ll have to leave.’
‘Why?’
Was he trying to be obtuse? she wondered, watching as Gianni unlatched the bottom of the stable door before stepping out into the yard, yelling, ‘No, Liam, don’t open thegate!’ to his son, who was trying to gain access to the paddock with the duck pond.
‘There’s not enough room.’
He turned his head and angled a wry look tinged with amusement back at Miranda over his shoulder. ‘Enough room? At last count there were five bedrooms.’ Though two at least he could not stand upright in.
Ten bedrooms would not be enough to make her feel comfortable sharing a roof with this man. Her eyes drifted to the vee of golden skin at his throat. He was golden all over—things low in her belly flipped as she failed to block out the earthy image that had imprinted itself in her brain.
‘Pity you didn’t choose one of those last night,’ she muttered under her breath as she slammed the fridge closed with unwanted force. She pitched her voice higher and added, ‘I meant …’ She paused, deciding it might not be such a good idea to say what she meant. Not even sure what she did mean … that he made her think
‘Liam does not need your pity,’ he snarled. ‘And neither does Sam. There was no coercion involved. I did not obtain custody under duress. Liam’s mother did not want us—’ He closed his mouth over further revelations.
Better late than never, Gianni
.
Dio
, what was he doing? She was not the first person to make this assumption, but this was the first time he had felt the need to justify himself and play the sympathy card.
The simmering silence stretched until it was broken by her gruff, ‘I’m sorry.’
‘What the hell for?’ he ground out. ‘Being nosy?’
Hearing that ‘us’ again in her head and knowing instinctively that this man was never going to totally forgive her for seeing beyond the macho façade he presented to the world, she shook her head, wishing she hadn’t. He was the last person she had imagined she could feel empathy for, but she was. It had been more comfortable to view him as a smouldering, sexy but ultimately two-dimensional figure; when he was gone her equally two-dimensional lust would be gone too.
No worries—soon he would be and she could get back to feeding the goat and, what? Feeling sorry for herself? Wasn’t that what she had intended to do? Instead … the guilt switchin her head clicked and her lashes moved downwards in a concealing sweep—she had not thought about the situation with Oliver or Tam all morning!
‘It’s none of my business.’
‘True,’ he retorted in a cold, clipped voice that should not have made her feel hurt but did.
‘What time do you plan on leaving?’ As far as Miranda was concerned it couldn’t be too soon!
‘I already said I’m not.’
She was appalled. ‘But you can’t stay here … obviously.’
Gianni’s dark brows lifted, emphasising the satyr-like slant she had previously noticed.
‘No …?’
he drawled.
‘It wouldn’t be … appropriate.’
He watched her attempt to compress her lips and fail totally; her lush lips would not accommodate prim. ‘How delightfully Victorian of you.’
Miranda refused to respond to the jibe.
‘And I’ve always had a certain talent for the inappropriate.’ His eyes drifted towards the soft outline of her spectacularly lush lips and any number of inappropriate actions occurred to him.
For a moment he could almost taste the sweetness and heat of her mouth as he slid his tongue deep … He pushed away the steamy images forming in his head, but not before the flash of testosterone-fuelled heat had settled painfully in his groin.
Dio
, what was happening to him? He had left this sort of indiscriminate lust behind in his teens.
‘How nice for you,’ she said frigidly. ‘But the fact remains that you’ll have to leave.’
‘Why?’
Was he trying to be obtuse? she wondered, watching as Gianni unlatched the bottom of the stable door before stepping out into the yard, yelling, ‘No, Liam, don’t open thegate!’ to his son, who was trying to gain access to the paddock with the duck pond.
‘There’s not enough room.’
He turned his head and angled a wry look tinged with amusement back at Miranda over his shoulder. ‘Enough room? At last count there were five bedrooms.’ Though two at least he could not stand upright in.
Ten bedrooms would not be enough to make her feel comfortable sharing a roof with this man. Her eyes drifted to the vee of golden skin at his throat. He was golden all over—things low in her belly flipped as she failed to block out the earthy image that had imprinted itself in her brain.
‘Pity you didn’t choose one of those last night,’ she muttered under her breath as she slammed the fridge closed with unwanted force. She pitched her voice higher and added, ‘I meant …’ She paused, deciding it might not be such a good idea to say what she meant. Not even sure what she did mean … that he made her think
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