The Helen Bianchin Collection (Mills & Boon E-Book Collections) by Helen Bianchin Page A

within touching distance.
    In public? The idea held definite appeal. ‘ Yes. ’
    His soft laughter held a degree of quizzical warmth, and she swallowed convulsively as he caught hold of her hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing each finger in turn before slipping inward to caress the softness of her palm. The sensation sent tiny shock-waves radiating from her feminine core, and she shivered at the lambent warmth evident in those dark eyes so close to her own.
    Releasing her, he slid both hands beneath her blouse to free the fastening of her bra. His fingers were warm, his touch deft, unleashing a number of sensations she found difficult to ignore.
    It would have been all too easy to lift a hand and pull his head down to hers to initiate a long, sweet kiss. Except that if she did, it wouldn’t stop there.
    ‘If you continue to look at me like that for much longer,’ Alejandro drawled, pressing a finger to the soft lower fullness of her lip, ‘I’ll take it as an invitation to join you in the shower. Afterwards,’ he promised huskily, ‘where and when we eat won’t be a consideration.’
    Colour stained her cheekbones and she turned away from him, forcing herself to walk to their suite with unhurried steps. Once there, she gathered up fresh underwear and entered the bathroom.
    The water’s warm spray soothed her fractured nerves, and she stayed longer than necessary, emerging to towel herself dry, then don lace-edged briefs.
    Alejandro was in the process of tucking a shirt into his trousers when she entered the bedroom, and she consciously averted her gaze as she crossed to the capacious wardrobe to select something suitable to wear.
    Black silk culottes, slim-heeled black sandals, and a long white sleeveless button-through silk top, she decided as she extracted the clothes from their hangers. It was a go-anywhere ensemble that was both comfortable and elegant.
    Elise stepped into the culottes and pulled them into position at her waist, then reached for the top as Alejandro crossed to her side.
    ‘No bra to fasten?’
    ‘The top is fully lined,’ she explained, intent on closing the buttons. She lifted her head and her eyes clashed with his dark, disturbing gaze. A spiral of sensation began in the region of her stomach,radiating a wealth of sensual warmth which she found difficult to ignore. Dampening it down, she forced her voice to remain steady. ‘I won’t be long. I just need to brush my hair and apply basic make-up.’
    ‘You look about sixteen.’
    She managed a shaky smile. ‘Much too young to be married and pregnant to a man like you.’
    ‘ Por Dios ,’ Alejandro drawled. ‘Why a man like me?’
    Levity, surely, was an appropriate weapon, and she used it without hesitation. ‘If you’re going to swear, at least do so in English,’ she chastised with mock severity.
    He laughed softly and brushed his lips against hers. ‘You are beginning to recover,’ he mocked drily. ‘Soon you’ll be challenging me at every turn.’
    Dear heaven. She’d been that brave to cross verbal swords with him… that foolish ?
    ‘If you’re ready,’ he suggested easily, ‘let’s go and eat.’
    She moved into the bathroom, brushed her hair until it resembled a curtain of pale silk, stroked translucent gold shadow on to each eyelid, then applied lipliner and gloss.
    When she emerged Alejandro was waiting for her, an impeccably tailored reefer jacket lending an air of sophistication she felt at a loss to match.
    The restaurant he chose was Italian, small, delightfully intimate and filled with a variety of beguiling aromas that teased her taste-buds. There was also a tiny square of parquet floor and a man ofmiddle years playing a soft romantic ballad on a small electronic keyboard.
    Elise ordered tortellini with mushrooms served with garlic bread, while Alejandro opted for pasta with a marinara sauce, and afterwards she sat back feeling replete.
    ‘Dessert?’
    She shook her head. ‘I couldn’t fit in another