beneath his penetrating gaze.
‘I shouldn’t have behaved like that,’ she said, hotly conscious of his scrutiny.
‘Neither should I.’
He took a couple of careful steps back, putting a discreet distance between them again, before continuing unevenly, ‘And then I made things worse by calling you by the wrong name. I apologise.’ He cleared his throat, then continued with obvious reluctance. ‘Arietta was my fiancée. She died some time ago. There was an accident—’
He stopped. She saw him take a deep breath and steady himself.
‘I thought I had put the episode behind me, but apparently not.’
Josie stared at him, making her face a mask. She had to—her whole body was alive with uncertainty again. She knew all about loss, but it seemed Dario had suffered a far worse disaster than her own.
‘I … I understand. I’m sorry, too. It was just as much my fault as yours. I shouldn’t have led you on, Dario. We both got carried away. That’s all.’
He nodded his appreciation, then cleared his throat again. ‘It took a lot of courage to come back here after what happened, Josie.’
He was right, but she had never expected him to acknowledge that.
‘I learned a long time ago that running away never solved anything, so now I just try to learn from my mistakes. I won’t make the same one twice,’ she said, trying to defuse the situation.
‘No, I can’t imagine you would,’ he said drily.
From the far side of the glade came the sound of his horse, which had wandered off and was now fretting with its bit.
I must be mad
, she thought.
Straight after kissing him like some sort of harlot, I’ve swung back to acting like a boring old maid!
His kiss had made her feel like a woman again for the first time in years. She had forgotten how good that sensation could be, and she wanted to experience it again. Soon. She dithered, blushing, and not knowing what to say.
If I told you what I was really thinking, it would be ‘goodbye research, hello disaster!’
she thought.
‘In which case, I’ll leave you to get on with your work and say
arrivederci
—for now.’
As Dario turned to walk away, Josie felt a powerful urge to call him back. He anticipated her. Swinging himself up into his saddle, he turned his horse in a wide arc, passing very close to where she stood. He treated her to a long, lingering view of his tight breeches and enviable seat as he circled the glade.
Lifting the corners of his mouth in a smile, he acknowledged their new intimacy. ‘But the next time your schedule allows you some room to do something scarily spontaneous again, Josie, be sure to let me know.’
Nudging his horse into a canter, he headed out of the glade and off across the grassy hillside.
Josie was left to stare after him. The way Dario had coaxed her into baring her soul to him was uncanny. She might have expected to feel angry that he found her so easy to read. Instead, she felt let down and strangely empty inside. The wonderful warmth of arousal he had coaxed into life deep within her body threatened to fade as she watched him ride away.
But it didn’t die completely—and, since tasting the temptation of his kiss, Josie knew it never would.
CHAPTER FIVE
D ARIO didn’t look back. He rode fast, straight back to the stables. There he leapt off his horse and let the stallion find his own way to the nearest stable lad. Dario’s favourite refuge in times of crisis was his art. Striding straight for his studio in the
castello
grounds, he went in and slammed the door. Leaning back heavily against it, he tried to think. Since Arietta died, he had roamed from woman to woman, picking, choosing, but never staying with anyone for long. To do anything else was unthinkable. He always slipped away before emotion could coil him in its oily grasp. Other people might envy him, but they only saw his free and easy attitude. Casual charm was his mask of choice.
Until now, he had never cared what other people thought. He had gone
‘I shouldn’t have behaved like that,’ she said, hotly conscious of his scrutiny.
‘Neither should I.’
He took a couple of careful steps back, putting a discreet distance between them again, before continuing unevenly, ‘And then I made things worse by calling you by the wrong name. I apologise.’ He cleared his throat, then continued with obvious reluctance. ‘Arietta was my fiancée. She died some time ago. There was an accident—’
He stopped. She saw him take a deep breath and steady himself.
‘I thought I had put the episode behind me, but apparently not.’
Josie stared at him, making her face a mask. She had to—her whole body was alive with uncertainty again. She knew all about loss, but it seemed Dario had suffered a far worse disaster than her own.
‘I … I understand. I’m sorry, too. It was just as much my fault as yours. I shouldn’t have led you on, Dario. We both got carried away. That’s all.’
He nodded his appreciation, then cleared his throat again. ‘It took a lot of courage to come back here after what happened, Josie.’
He was right, but she had never expected him to acknowledge that.
‘I learned a long time ago that running away never solved anything, so now I just try to learn from my mistakes. I won’t make the same one twice,’ she said, trying to defuse the situation.
‘No, I can’t imagine you would,’ he said drily.
From the far side of the glade came the sound of his horse, which had wandered off and was now fretting with its bit.
I must be mad
, she thought.
Straight after kissing him like some sort of harlot, I’ve swung back to acting like a boring old maid!
His kiss had made her feel like a woman again for the first time in years. She had forgotten how good that sensation could be, and she wanted to experience it again. Soon. She dithered, blushing, and not knowing what to say.
If I told you what I was really thinking, it would be ‘goodbye research, hello disaster!’
she thought.
‘In which case, I’ll leave you to get on with your work and say
arrivederci
—for now.’
As Dario turned to walk away, Josie felt a powerful urge to call him back. He anticipated her. Swinging himself up into his saddle, he turned his horse in a wide arc, passing very close to where she stood. He treated her to a long, lingering view of his tight breeches and enviable seat as he circled the glade.
Lifting the corners of his mouth in a smile, he acknowledged their new intimacy. ‘But the next time your schedule allows you some room to do something scarily spontaneous again, Josie, be sure to let me know.’
Nudging his horse into a canter, he headed out of the glade and off across the grassy hillside.
Josie was left to stare after him. The way Dario had coaxed her into baring her soul to him was uncanny. She might have expected to feel angry that he found her so easy to read. Instead, she felt let down and strangely empty inside. The wonderful warmth of arousal he had coaxed into life deep within her body threatened to fade as she watched him ride away.
But it didn’t die completely—and, since tasting the temptation of his kiss, Josie knew it never would.
CHAPTER FIVE
D ARIO didn’t look back. He rode fast, straight back to the stables. There he leapt off his horse and let the stallion find his own way to the nearest stable lad. Dario’s favourite refuge in times of crisis was his art. Striding straight for his studio in the
castello
grounds, he went in and slammed the door. Leaning back heavily against it, he tried to think. Since Arietta died, he had roamed from woman to woman, picking, choosing, but never staying with anyone for long. To do anything else was unthinkable. He always slipped away before emotion could coil him in its oily grasp. Other people might envy him, but they only saw his free and easy attitude. Casual charm was his mask of choice.
Until now, he had never cared what other people thought. He had gone
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