‘What’s in your rear-view mirror?’ she asked him softly.
‘Too much. Much too much.’
His answer held a depth of anguish that cut to her soul. Heart aching for him, she started to lean down but he caught and held her still.
‘No.’
She looked into his face and saw his slightly ashen pallor. ‘You don’t want me to kiss you?’
His chest heaved and he glanced away.
The realisation hit her like a bolt of lightning. ‘You stopped us making love on the plane and just now because you don’t think you’re worth it, do you? Why not? Because your father told you you weren’t?’
‘Ruby, stop,’ he warned.
She ignored him, the need to offer comfort bleeding through her. She caressed his taut cheek. A pulse beat so hard in his jaw, her fingers tingled from the contact.
‘Cara, I’m a man on the edge. A man who wants what he shouldn’t have. Get off me before I do something we’ll both regret, per favore.’
Fresh tears prickled her eyes, stung the back of her throat.
If anyone had told her a week ago she’d be lying on top of the world’s most notorious playboy, baring her soul to him and catching a glimpse of his ragged soul in return, she’d have called them insane.
Her hands shook as she slowly removed them from his face. Levering herself away from him was equally hard because her knees rebelled at supporting her in her weakened state.
Snatching at her bikini top, desperately trying to ignore his silent scrutiny, she tied the strings as best she could and secured the sarong over her chest.
Her hair was an unruly mess she didn’t bother to tackle. What had just happened had gone beyond outer appearances.
She looked down at him and he returned her look, the torture unveiled now. She floundered, torn between helping him and fleeing to examine her own confused emotions. Eventually, she chose the latter. ‘I have a few things to take care of in the kitchen before I go to bed. Bona notti.’
Slowly, he rose to tower over her, and in the fading daylight she saw his bunched fists at his sides.
His smile was cut from rough stone. ‘I’ve awakened too many demons for me to have a restful night, tesoro. But I wish you a good night all the same.’
* * *
I’ve awakened too many demons...
Ruby lay in bed a few hours later, wracked with guilt.
She’d pushed him to relive his past, to rake over old wounds because she’d wanted to know the real man underneath the gloss.
To reassure herself he wouldn’t hurt or betray her?
Shame coiled through her as she acknowledged that she’d been testing him. But then deep down, ever since he’d turned away from her on the plane, she’d known Narciso was nothing like her father. Or Simon.
And still she’d pushed...
She reared up and gripped the side of her bed. Her head cautioned her against the need to find out if she’d pushed him too far, if the demons were indeed keeping him awake. But her heart propelled her to her feet.