'Have you ever been swimming?' Eliza asked Alessandra as they made their way back to the villa in the car.
'Kathleen took me once but I didn't like it.'
'I didn't like swimming at first either,' Eliza said, giving the little girl's hand a gentle squeeze. 'But after you get over the fear part and learn to float it's one of the nicest things to do, especially on a hot day.'
That very afternoon Eliza took Alessandra down to the pool in the garden for a swimming lesson. With plenty of sunscreen to protect the little girl's pale skin, she gently introduced her to the feel of the water by getting her to kick her legs while she held her, gradually working up to getting used to having water trickle over her face. Alessandra was frightened at first, but gradually became confident enough to float on her back with Eliza keeping her supported by a gentle hand beneath her shoulder blades and in the dish of her little back.
'Am I swimming yet?' Alessandra asked, almost swallowing a mouthful of water in her excitement.
'Almost, sweetie.' Eliza gave a little laugh. 'You're getting better all the time. Now let's try floating on your tummy. You'll have to hold your breath for this. Remember how I got you to blow bubbles into the water before?'
'Uh huh.' Alessandra turned on her stomach with Eliza's guiding hands and gingerly put her face in the water. She blew some bubbles but soon had to lift her head to snatch in a breath. She gave a few little splutters but didn't seem too fazed by the experience.
'Well done,' Eliza said. 'You're a right little water baby, aren't you?'
Alessandra grinned as she clung to Eliza like a little frog on a tree. 'I like swimming now. And I like you. I wish you could stay with me for ever.'
Eliza's heart contracted sharply at the unexpected love she felt for this little child. 'I like you too, darling.' And I wish I could stay for ever too.
A tall shadow suddenly blocked the angle of the sun and she turned and saw Leo standing there with an unreadable expression on his face. 'Oh … I didn't realise you were back … Alessandra, your father is home.'
'Papà, I can swim!'
'I saw you, mia piccola,' Leo said, leaning down to kiss her on both cheeks. 'I'm very impressed. Is there room in there for me?'
'Yes!'
Eliza didn't say a word. She wasn't sure it was wise to share the pool-even as big as it was-with that tall, intensely male, leanly muscled body. Wearing a bikini when accompanied by a blind toddler was quite different from wearing it when there was a fully sighted, full-blooded man around, especially one who had seen her in much less. She felt the scorch of his gaze as it went to the curve of her breasts, which were showing just above the line of the water she was standing in. She felt her insides clench and release with that intimate tug of need she only felt when he was around.
A silent message passed between their locked gazes.
Eliza gulped as he stood back up and tugged at his tie, pulling it through the collar of his shirt to toss it to one of the sun loungers on the sandstone terrace beside the pool.
His shirt was next, followed by his shoes and socks. The sun caught the angles and planes of his taut chest and abdomen, making him look like a statue carved by a master of the art.
Marella came out on to the terrace at that point with a tray of iced drinks. 'I think it might be time for Alessandra to get out of the heat, sì?' she said with a twinkling and rather knowing smile.
Eliza felt a blush rush over her face and travel to the very roots of her hair. 'It's my job to see to her-'
'Grazie, Marella,' Leo said smoothly. 'I think Eliza could do with some time to relax.' He bent and scooped Alessandra out of her arms. 'I will be up later to tuck you into bed, tesorina. Be good for Marella.'
Once Marella and the child had gone Eliza was left feeling alarmingly defenceless. She covered her chest with her arms, shivering even though the sun was still deliciously warm on her neck and shoulders. 'What are you doing?' she asked.
His hands were pulling his belt through the lugs of his trousers. 'I'm joining you in the pool.'
'But you're not wearing bathers … are you?'
A dark brow lifted in an arc. 'I seem to remember a time when you didn't think they were necessary.'
'That was before. It was different then. This place is like Piccadilly Circus. There are staff about everywhere.'
He unzipped his trousers and she watched with bated breath as he stood there in nothing but his black underwear. He already had the beginnings of an erection, which was no surprise given how her own body was reacting. 'Have you missed me, cara?'
She gave her head a haughty little toss. 'No.'
He laughed and slipped into the water beside her, cupping the back of her head with one of his hands as he pressed a hot kiss to her tight mouth. It didn't stay tight for long, however. All it took was one erotic sweep of his tongue for her to open to him with a sigh of bliss. He tasted salty and male with a hint of mint. It was ambrosia to her. She responded greedily, giving back as good as he gave, her tongue tangling, duelling and seducing just as his was doing to hers. Her breasts were jammed up against his chest, the water-soaked fabric abrading her already erect nipples.
His other hand ruthlessly undid the strings of her bikini top and it floated away from her body like a four-legged octopus. He cupped her free breasts with his hands, caressing her, teasing her with his warm, wet touch. He took his mouth off hers to feast on each breast in turn. Eliza arched back in pleasure as his teeth and his tongue grazed and salved in turn. Her nerves went into a sensual riot beneath her skin. They jumped and danced and flickered with longing. That deepest, most feminine ache of all pulsed relentlessly between her legs. She could feel his hard erection pressing against the softness of her belly. It awoke everything that was female in her. She rubbed against him to get more of that wonderful friction.
He made a guttural sound in his throat as he undid the strings of her bikini bottoms at her hips. The scanty fabric fell away and his fingers went to her, delving deep.
It wasn't enough. She wanted more. She wanted all of him.
She pulled at his underwear to free him to her touch. She wrapped her hand around him, rubbing him, teasing him, and pleasuring him as his mouth came back to hers in a passionately hot kiss that had undercurrents of desperation.
He suddenly pulled back from her, breathing hard, his eyes glazed with desire. 'I haven't got a condom.'
'Oh … ' Disappointment was like an enervating drug that made her sag as if all of her muscles were weighted by anvils.
His eyes gleamed at her as he backed her against the side of the pool. 'Why the long face, tesoro mio? We can be creative, sì?'
Her body tingled at the thought of just how creative his lovemaking could be. But then, she too could be innovative when it came to giving him pleasure. She slithered against him, from chest to thigh, ramping up his need for her with the same merciless intent he had been using on her.
He took her by the waist and lifted her up to a sitting position on the edge of the pool. It was shamelessly wanton to open her legs in full view of the villa but she was beyond caring.
The first stroke of his masterful tongue made her shudder, the second made her gasp, and the third made her cry out loud as the ripples started to roll through her. 'Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop … ' She clung to his hair for purchase as her body shattered around her.
He gave her a sexy smile as she came back to her senses. 'Good?'
She gave a little shrug that belied everything she had just felt. 'OK, I guess.'
'Minx.' He pulled her back into the water to hold her against him. 'I should punish you for lying. What do you think would be a suitable penance?'
Send me back to my old life. Eliza gave herself a mental shake and forced a smile to her lips. 'I don't know … I'm sure you'll think of something.'
His brows moved together. 'What's wrong?'
'Nothing.'
He cupped her cheek, holding her gaze with his. 'Are you still angry with me?'
Eliza was starting to wonder where her anger had gone. As soon as he had appeared on the pool deck she had forgotten all about their tense little battle of wills the day he had left to go to Paris. Her feelings about him now were much more confusing … terrifying, actually. She couldn't afford to examine them too closely.
'Does it matter to you what I feel?' she asked. 'I'm just an employee. I'm not supposed to feel anything but gratitude for having a job.'
His expression became brooding as his hand dropped away from her face. 'So we're back to that, are we?'
'You're the one who engineered this,' she said, struggling to keep her emotions in check. 'You come marching back in my life and issue orders and stipulations and conditions. I don't know what you want from me. You keep changing the goalposts. I just don't know who I'm supposed to be when I'm with you.'