The Purest of Diamonds(34)

                Raffa escorted her into an air-conditioned room with little furnishing other than a table on which sat a mirror, presumably so his most favoured clients could try on the jewels they wished to buy in absolute privacy. She felt confident, having prepared well in advance of her visit. ‘I know many of your jewels have history, and I’ve read up about quite a few of them.’

                Raffa inclined his head as if they were two strangers doing business together, which indeed they were—or they were supposed to be.

                He laid out an incredible collection in front of her. ‘This can be worn a number of ways,’ he explained as he took apart one of the elaborate necklaces. ‘These detachable drops can be worn as earrings, for example...’

                As he held them up to her face, his hands brushed her cheeks and her skin blazed with awareness. ‘Very nice,’ she said, turning away so she couldn’t see Raffa’s face reflected in the mirror behind her.

                ‘And these...’ he showed her a string of milky pearls ‘...can be worn as a long necklace, or fastened with this diamond clasp and worn as a collar...’

                He had to hear her sharp intake of breath when his hands brushed her collarbone and the cool pearls met her overheated skin, but when he glanced into her eyes he gave nothing away. The cool of the pearls, the warmth of his touch...

                ‘Leila?’

                She blinked and refocused on the tutorial she was supposed to be here for.

                ‘I’m going to put the pearls back in the vault again. If you’ve finished with them?’

                ‘Yes.’ Her throat was dry, her voice hoarse. She could see Raffa standing behind her, staring down. This was the moment—

                ‘Shall I list the pearls as going to Skavanga?’

                Raffa was already turning away as he asked the question, placing the priceless jewels in their velvet nest. The walls of the vault seemed to close around her, sucking all the available air from her lungs and her intention to tell him about the baby with it.

                ‘Yes. Please put them on the list,’ she managed faintly.

                * * *

                His preference would have been to strip Leila naked, drape her in jewels and have her on the table, but that was the wolf in him talking, and Leila was a lamb, vulnerable and far too honest for her own good. He had seen the longing in her eyes the moment she arrived on the island. He had finally deciphered what had made him edgy around Leila back at the airstrip, and it was that. And now he knew he couldn’t lead her on. They’d had one passionate night and that had been a mistake, a mistake he had no intention of repeating. Leila deserved someone better than he could ever be, someone without his baggage. She had tempted him, but that was over now and she was here to do a job. He would respect that. His father had used women as if they were nothing more than disposable toys, and he had no intention of becoming that man.

                ‘We’ve done enough for today,’ he said, his mind still lodged in the past.

                He’d done enough for today. He’d spent enough time with Leila, and he needed space from her now. Seeing her again had been a warning to him that, far from fading, his feelings for Leila Skavanga had only grown while they’d been apart.





                                      CHAPTER SIX

                THE NEXT FEW days passed quickly and things evened out between them. Their history was too complex for them to remain at daggers drawn for ever. Close proximity led to them swapping confidences and swapping jokes, but whether it was the intimate, confiding tone Raffa used to explain the provenance of one of the jewels, or whether it was simply his passion for his chosen subject and his vast store of knowledge, Leila had no idea.