His Unexpected Legacy(55)
‘Your mother was lucky to have such a loyal daughter,’ he said gently.
Kristen bit her lip. ‘She sacrificed her happiness for me and my gymnastics career. My stepfather always demanded his own way. Who does that remind me of?’ she said sarcastically. ‘You snatched Nico and brought him to Sicily because it was what you wanted.’
‘I acted in his best interests.’ Even though he had been wrong to think that Kristen had been responsible for the bruises on Nico, Sergio still believed it was better for the little boy to be in Sicily rather than living in a tiny, shabby house in Camden and spending all day at nursery. Somehow he had to convince Kristen of that.
He threw back the sheet and gave her a sardonic look when she blushed at the sight of his naked body. ‘If you keep staring at me like you’re doing, we definitely won’t make it to lunch,’ he drawled.
But, although her flush deepened at his taunt, she kept her eyes fixed on him as he strolled across the room. Her desire for him was his secret weapon and he had no compunction about using it mercilessly, Sergio thought. Sex was the one way he could connect with her and he slid his hand beneath her chin and slanted his mouth over hers to kiss her with passion and a possessiveness that he had never felt for any other woman.
Her response tested his resolve and he felt a pang of regret when he eventually ended the kiss and traced his thumb over her swollen bottom lip. ‘My father is looking forward to meeting his grandson,’ he said roughly, ‘so I’d better leave you to get dressed.’
CHAPTER NINE
NICO WAS WEARING a new pair of jeans and a T-shirt and looked the picture of health when Sergio lifted him into the car. Kristen was relieved that he had completely recovered from the vomiting virus. He seemed to have settled into his new surroundings at Casa Camelia, but she was not sure whether it was a good thing. She didn’t want him to be upset when she took him back home to London. Sergio had said that Sicily was Nico’s home and perhaps a judge would agree and award custody of him to his father, she thought worriedly.
With Nico safely strapped into the child seat in the rear of the car, Sergio slid into the driver’s seat and Kristen felt her stomach dip as her eyes were drawn to his darkly tanned hands on the steering wheel, remembering how he had explored every inch of her body when he had made love to her.
He turned his head towards her. ‘You look beautiful. The dress is a perfect fit and the colour suits you.’
Kristen tore her gaze from the glint of sexual awareness in his. She had chosen to wear a sky-blue silk jersey wrap dress to lunch with Sergio’s father. Teamed with nude-coloured stiletto heels and matching bag, the outfit was elegant and yet the feel of the silk against her skin was incredibly sensual. ‘It was kind of you to order the clothes,’ she said stiltedly. ‘When I go back to London I will, of course, reimburse you for them.’ It would be another debt to add to the bureau where she kept her mother’s outstanding bills, she thought ruefully.
Sergio put the car into gear and drove away from the villa. ‘You don’t owe me anything. It was my fault that you left London in a rush and didn’t have time to pack your own clothes.’
It was the first reference he had made to the way he had taken Nico while Kristen had been asleep, and she thought she heard a faint apology in his voice.
‘Will anyone else be at lunch besides your father?’
‘Salvatore will be there with his daughter.’
‘Rosa was only a few months old when I last saw her.’ Kristen recalled his brother’s pretty baby girl and beautiful wife, Adriana. ‘What about Rosa’s mother? Is Adriana away? I know she often went to Rome for modelling assignments.’