Bound by the Italian's Contract(54)

                “No, you haven’t.”

                She’d stated her priorities up front. How could he argue with that?

                “We will leave when you are ready,” he said, striding to the door. “I’ll wait for you in the great room.”

                * * *

                Within an hour, his housekeeper had arrived with supplies and petrol for the ATV and Caprice was ready to leave. Her anxiousness annoyed him, despite the fact he’d expected her to react just as she had. He’d had no doubts she would abide by their contract, but what of their relationship? Was it over in her eyes? Would he be able to seduce her into his bed again?

                He would. Somehow, someway.

                The drive back to the village was uneventful, save the brief pause he made at the site of the avalanche. Plows had cleared a wide path in the track and had heavy gravel packed on the roadbed. But it wouldn’t last the winter.

                To his surprise her arms crept around his waist, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “If not for your swift reactions, we would have died.”

                He nodded, feeling a chill pass through him. “If I’m the cat with nine lives, I had better start using caution as I’ve expended at least five of them.”

                “On the slopes?”

                “Not all of them.”

                “Oh?”

                He shrugged. “I went through a rather reckless phase in my life.”

                She sat up, denying him the pleasure of her closeness. “I suppose all boys do that, especially if they are athletes.”

                And especially if they suffered betrayal and deceit from the one person they loved and trusted. “It’s a rite of passage for most, but I cannot blame my exploits on youth.”

                “Really?” she asked, her small hands resting on his shoulders, reminding him of how tightly she’d held on to him when she’d climaxed. “What spurred your recklessness?”

                He sucked in a breath and blew it out, letting the pain of that period in his life knife through him, wanting to remember every single detail so he wouldn’t repeat mistakes. “My divorce. It was messy at the end.”

                Silence echoed in the mountains before she finally broke it. “Want to talk about it?”

                “No.” Talking about his dead ex-wife with his current lover was the very last thing he ever wished to do. “We need to get moving.”

                And with that he threw the ATV into gear and sped back down the track, mindful of the woman behind him. Of the lack of contact he received from her now.

                She was shelving him away. Her wild romance in the Alps was over for her. She would delve into her work, avoiding him whenever possible.

                So would he, but he wasn’t done with her yet. No, he’d barely begun. Before the week was out, he would have her in his arms again, willing and wild.

                * * *

                Caprice sat behind Luciano, refusing to grasp the rails for balance instead of the tall, strong man maneuvering the ATV with precision and speed down the rutted trail. Instead of the bracing odor of evergreens and fresh air, she was enveloped by the enticing scent of Luciano.