Bound by the Italian's Contract(37)

                “So are you,” she said and clutched the blanket under her chin. “Thank you.”

                He shrugged. “There is always one packed in the ATV.”

                “I didn’t mean the blanket. I meant... You did it,” she said in a near sob as she threw her arms around Luciano. “You saved our lives.”

                Luc held her in a crushing hug that made his heart pound all the harder, his face pressed to hers for a long, silent moment as the experience brought memories of his brother’s crippling accident to the surface. One near miss with catastrophe was enough in one lifetime. If he’d lost his own life, so be it. But if anything had happened to her under his watch, he never would forgive himself.

                They’d cheated death, yet an avalanche of need he couldn’t escape raced within him. He wanted to ride the adrenaline rush to its fullest and run his palms over her breasts, skim them down her torso, her trim waist, the inviting curve of her hip.

                Need, more powerful than he’d felt in years, pounded hot and heavy in him. He ached to celebrate life and crush his lips to hers. Break down the walls of her resistance and unleash the passion he knew surged within her. He wanted to plunge his hard length into her and ride the storm of passion to its fullest.

                More than anything, he wanted to break his vow to keep her at arm’s length and make her his. Make them one. And that was the last thing he should do.

                “That was too close for comfort,” he said, voice hoarse with emotion, his mind muddled with duty and desire.

                Caprice swallowed hard, hesitant to pull away from the comfort of his embrace. “God, yes. I’ve never been so terrified in my life.”

                He gave a rough laugh and set her back from him, holding her at arm’s length, his expression intense. “That is the dangerous allure of extreme sports.”

                The dangerous allure of the man as well? Without a doubt, she decided.

                “It’s not for me,” she said, meaning both.

                His lips pressed into a thin line and put distance between them. “Or me.”

                “The trail is blocked, isn’t it?” she asked, knowing the answer before he nodded.

                “It will take days to move the ice and rubble.”

                “But we can get back to the village,” she pressed.

                “Not today,” he said and pointed to the dark clouds roiling over the mountains. “Let’s get out of here.”

                Darkness and perhaps a storm would descend on them soon. They could be stuck here at a remote rifugio for tonight. Maybe another day before the track could be cleared. Maybe more. And for once she had left her netbook and papers in her portfolio in her room.

                She had nothing to occupy her time except the company of her host, and nobody to blame for being here except herself. She’d insisted on coming up here today because she’d been intent on getting this job done quickly. Her obstinacy had nearly cost them their lives.

                They reached another shelf that was far smaller than the other one. “Welcome to my refuge from the world,” he shouted.

                Her gaze landed on a red-roofed stone building perched on a rocky ledge she estimated was the length of a football field from them. “Finally,” she said, teeth chattering.

                “Are you all right?” he asked, wrenching around to look at her, brows drawn, eyes dark.