'It was a kind thought,' Darcy conceded stiltedly.
'I can be very kind, bella mia,' Luca countered huskily.
Darcy collided with his scorching dark stare. And quite without knowing how she knew it, she knew he was thinking about sex. That sixth sense awareness spooked her and plunged her into confusion.
As her skin heated her breath caught in her throat, and her heart gave a violent lurch. She couldn't look away from those stunning dark golden eyes. The impact of that look was staggering. She felt dizzy, unsteady on her feet and far, far too hot. The tip of her tongue skimmed along her dry lower lip in a nervous motion.
Luca's intent scrutiny homed in on the soft fullness of her mouth. Something drew tight and twisted, low in her stomach, a sexual response so powerful it terrified her. Mercifully, Zia broke the connection by holding out her new doll for her mother's admiration.
'You haven't much time to say goodnight to her. My sister is joining us for dinner,' Luca advanced as he strode out through the door. 'I need a shower and a change of clothes.'
'Night-night, Luca!' Zia called cheerfully.
Luca paused and glanced back with a raised ebony brow. 'In the right mood, she's really quite sweet, isn't she?' His eyes became shadowed and his wide mouth compressed. 'I had nothing to do with Ilaria when she was that age...I was at boarding school. She was only seven when I went to university. I lived to regret not having a closer bond with her.'
Twenty minutes later, having tucked Zia into bed and read her a story, Darcy walked into their bedroom. Only his jacket and tie removed, Luca was in the act of putting down his mobile phone.
'You look fantastic in that dress...you know why?' A wolfish grin slashed his lean, strong face. 'It fits. It isn't two sizes too large or a foot too long!'
'Margo always helped me to choose my clothes,' Darcy confided.
'She said that I had to dress to hide my deficiencies.'
'You have none. You're in perfect proportion for your size.'
But Darcy's diminutive curves and lack of height had been deficiencies to a stepmother who was both tall and lushly female in shape. Margo had loathed red hair as well, insisting that Darcy could only wear dull colours. Growing up with Margo's constant criticism, and Nina's pitying superiority, Darcy had learned only to measure her looks against theirs. That unwise comparison had wrecked her confidence in her own appearance.
But now she gazed back at Luca and could not fail to recognise his sincerity. He'd told her she looked fantastic. And sensual appreciation radiated from the lingering appraisal in those intent dark eyes. If she didn't yet quite credit that she could look fantastic, she certainly realised with a surge of gratified wonder that Luca genuinely believed she did.
Her softened gaze ran with abstracted admiration over his long, lean, powerful physique. She was shaken to note the earthy and defiantly male thrust of arousal that the close fit of his well-cut trousers couldn't conceal. She reddened hotly, but she also felt empowered and outrageously feminine.
'Luca...' she whispered shakily.
Later, she couldn't recall who had reached out first. She remembered the way his gaze narrowed, the blaze of golden intent between black spiky lashes, and then suddenly she was crushed in his arms and clinging to him to stay upright.
He parted her lips to invade her tender mouth with his thrusting tongue, dipping, twirling, tasting her with fierce, impatient need. He cut right through her every defence with that blunt, honest admission of desire. She trembled violently beneath that devouring kiss. He made her feel possessed, dominated, and utterly weak with hunger.
'I should never have left you...I've been in a filthy temper all day,'
Luca confided raggedly, slumberous eyes scanning her lovely face with very male satisfaction, a febrile flush on his taut cheekbones.
'I want you so much...'
'Yes...' Darcy acknowledged a truth too obvious to be denied. She felt the same. Her heart was pounding, her whole body throbbing with intense arousal. It was like being in pain; it made her crave him like a drug.
'I can't wait until later...I'm in agony,' Luca gritted roughly.
Hard fingers splayed across her spine to press her into direct contact with his hard thighs. He shuddered against her with a stifled groan, kissing her temples, the top of her head, running his fingers through her hair and then bringing her mouth back hungrily under his again. She couldn't get close enough to him. He slid one hand beneath her skirt, skimming up a slender thigh to the very heart of her. The damp swollen heat of her beneath the thin barrier of her panties betrayed her response. Excitement made her squirm and moan against that skilled touch.