"I"m not a t-"
Ol y closed his hand round her forearm. "Time to go home, Ava. I"l drive you."
Ava"s head swivel ed, her furious eyes pinned to Vito"s Ava"s head swivel ed, her furious eyes pinned to Vito"s shut ered face in condemnation. "How dare you cal me a tease?" she launched at him as a sense of humiliation engulfed her, for she had made her last desperate move and he was stil rebu ng her, resolutely refusing to acknowledge the sense of connection between them.
For the very rst time in the immediate aftermath of that encounter Ava worried that her feelings were entirely one-sided. Was it possible that a man could be at racted to a woman without actual y wanting to act on it? The same way people could admire a painting in a museum without needing to own it? That humiliating realisation came crashing down on Ava like a big black storm cloud. Her last recol ection of that evening was of rushing down the steps of the castle in oods of tears with Ol y chasing after her, urging her to calm down.
The image that came next in her memory was waking up in hospital with a mind that was a terrifying blank, the events of the previous evening only returning slowly over the fol owing days in jagged bits and pieces. But she had never been able to ful y recal that car journey or the crash. Her defence had made much of the yawning gaps in her memory during her trial.
But ignorance had not protected her even from her own painful questions. How could she have got behind a steering wheel in the state she had been in? She had never been able to answer that question to her own satisfaction. Even more saliently, the car had belonged to Ol y and he had been sober so why on earth had he Ol y and he had been sober so why on earth had he al owed her to drive when she wasn"t insured to drive his car?
Shoulders bowing beneath the stress of recal ing her stupid sel shness that evening, Ava focused her swimming eyes on the Christmas list and resolved to get on with the task at hand. Revisiting the past, she decided, was a very bad idea when her mistakes had resulted in indefensible behaviour and tragic consequences.
CHAPTER THREE.
"COMPLETE junk!" Karen Harper p.r.o.nounced triumphantly, laying a cushion woven with an image of a dog down on Vito"s desk. "Ava has made a complete pig"s ear of the Christmas list and bought ridiculous gifts!
She"l have to return the stuf and someone else wil have to take charge of the list."
An expression of exasperation crossed Vito"s face for he did not appreciate having his busy morning interrupted by inconsequential dramas. He had only given Ava the list to get her out of the o ce and was in no mood for fal out from that decision. He swept up the phone. "Ask Ava Fitzgerald to join us," he told his PA.
Ava was sheltering in the cloakroom, cheeks stil burning after a mortifyingly public scene with the dissatis ed o ce manager. Having done what she had been asked to the best of her ability, Ava had been furious when Karen Harper looked over her careful y chosen purchases and label ed her "an idiot" in front of her co-workers. She accepted that she was just a junior but felt that even a junior employee deserved a certain modic.u.m of respect and consideration. Her pale heart-shaped face tight, she nished renewing her lip gloss and moved away from the mirror.
"Mr Barbieri wants to speak to you," Vito"s PA, a glamorous blonde in her early thirties, informed Ava in the corridor.
the corridor.
Ava walked stoical y back into Vito"s o ce. Twenty-four hours had pa.s.sed since their last encounter and after the restless night she had su ered while she fret ed over what could not be changed she wished it had been longer. Get ing out of bed to face another day had been a chal enge. Having to deal with a man who despised her was salt in an already open wound. That he was the same guy she had once loved hammered her pride to smithereens.
Vito, a devastatingly elegant gure in a charcoal grey suit expertly tailored to his tal , powerful physique, viewed her with cool precision, the sooty lashes that ringed his remarkable eyes visible even at a distance. He indicated the cushion. "Ava ... care to explain this?"
"Mat Aiken and his wife breed Labradors and show them at Crufts. I thought the cushions were the perfect gift."
"What about that ugly pot ery vase?" Karen Harper broke in.
"Made by a charity in Mumbai that supports homeless widows," Ava explained. "Ruhina Dut a is very forthright about the needs of minorities in India. I thought she would appreciate the vase and a charitable donation more than she would appreciate perfume," Ava continued level y, encountering an unreadable look from Vito that made her even tenser. She could not tel whether he approved of her outlook or not, but that whether he approved of her outlook or not, but that lingering scrutiny sent high-wire energy shooting through her like lightning rods.
"And that sil y chain from Ti any"s?" Karen was in no mood to back down. "It doesn"t even have a proper catch -""Because it"s a spectacles chain. Mrs Fox complained in a recent interview that she is always mislaying her gla.s.ses."
Vito released a short laugh, his impatience with the subject unconcealed. Ava went pink, noting that he was now avoiding looking directly at her and feeling ignored even though she told herself that it was stupid to feel that way. Surely she no longer wanted his at ention? And if he wanted to treat her like the o ce junior she was supposed to be, she would have to get used to receiving as much at ention as the paint on the wal .
"What about al that animal-orientated stu you"ve bought?" Karen demanded sharply. "It"s unacceptable for you to only buy gifts from your favourite charity."
"A lot of people on that list have pets. You told me to save money if I could."
"I certainly didn"t tel you to buy junk!" Karen Harper snapped.
"Some of the proposed gifts on the list were incredibly expensive and at a time when so many people are cut ing back, those suggestions struck me as OTT," Ava admit ed in a rueful undertone. "But, of course, anything admit ed in a rueful undertone. "But, of course, anything I"ve bought can be changed if required."
"That won"t be necessary. Finish the job-you"ve obviously done your homework on the recipients," Vito conceded, his strong jaw line squaring as he skimmed a detached glance at Ava and extended the cushion to her.
"But I don"t like to waste my time on trivia. Please remove this dif erence of opinion from my of ice."
The o ce manager sti ened. "Of course, Mr Barbieri.
I"m sorry I interrupted you."
The other woman insisted on checking the remainder of the list with Ava before she went out shopping again.
Ava was embarra.s.sed when a couple of co-workers chose that same moment to return Marge"s catalogue with orders and cash at ached.
"You"re here to work, not to sel stu for your pet charity," Karen said icily. "When you get back this afternoon I have several jobs for you to take care of, so be as quick as you can."
When Ava returned, footsore and laden with carrier bags, Karen took her straight down to the ling cabinets in the bas.e.m.e.nt and gave her enough work to keep her busy into at least the middle of the fol owing week. Ava knew it was a punishment for stepping out of line and accepted it as such without resentment. True the bas.e.m.e.nt was lonely, dul and l ed with arti cial light but it was a relief to know that she need no longer fear running into Vito. Earlier he had behaved unnervingly running into Vito. Earlier he had behaved unnervingly like a stranger and she didn"t know why that should have surprised her or left her feeling ridiculously resentful.
After al , he was the last man in the world from whom she could expect special treatment.
A week later, Vito was studying his companion over lunch in a famous restaurant. By any standards Laura was beautiful with her long blonde fal of hair and almond-shaped brown eyes. She didn"t ring his bel s though: he thought her mouth was too thin, her voice too sharp and she was painful y fond of b.i.t.c.hing about the models she worked with. Was he simply bored? There had to be some reason why his mind constantly wandered, why it had suddenly become a chal enge for him to sit stil even long enough to eat a meal. The unease that had been nibbling bites out of his self-discipline for days returned in ful force.
His day had had an unfortunate start with a cal from his estate manager, Damien Keel. Damien, keen to get his festive calendar organised, had asked him if there would be a Christmas party this year at the castle. Ironical y it was the rst time that Vito had been asked that question since his brother"s death but Damien, a relatively new employee, had never been part of that loop. The rst year, n.o.body had asked or expected a party and since then Vito had just quietly ignored that custom. Now, suddenly, he felt guilty about that break with tradition.
His sta deserved the treat. Three years was long enough His sta deserved the treat. Three years was long enough to make a public display of grief. He decided there and then that it was past time he reinstated normality. He glanced at Laura, happily engaged in a very long drawn-out story about yet another rival in the model ing world, and he suppressed his growing impatience. He knew he would be moving on from Laura as wel .
Striding back into AeroCarlton, he glanced at Reception. There was no sign of Ava in the general o ce either. For a gopher she was keeping an exceptional y low pro le. It was not that he wanted to see her, more that he was steeling himself to accept her presence. But it was a week since he had last laid eyes on her and he was get ing curious.
"Is Ava Fitzgerald stil working here?" he asked his PA.
"I don"t know, sir ..."
"Find out," he instructed.
Ava was in the bas.e.m.e.nt, the layout of which she now knew like the back of her hand. She had led away entire boxes of doc.u.ments, and when she had completed that task Karen had introduced her to her shiny new and endishly complex ling system and put her to work on it. In the distance she heard the lift clanging as the doors opened and she did not have long to wait for her visitor.
"Since you won"t go out to lunch, I"ve brought lunch to you," a familiar voice announced.
Suppressing a groan, Ava spun round from the cabinet of les she was reorganising and smoothed down her of les she was reorganising and smoothed down her skirt in a movement that came as natural y as breathing to her in Pete Langford"s radius. Of medium height and lanky build, Pete looked over her slender gure in a way that made her feel vaguely unclean. It was a few days since he had made his rst cal down to the bas.e.m.e.nt to chat to her and even her display of indi erence had failed to daunt him. Now he extended a panini and a soft drink to her while he lounged back against the bare table in the centre of the room.
"Take a break," he urged, set ing the items down on the table.
"You shouldn"t have bought those." Her stomach growled because her tiny budget didn"t run to lunches.
"Give them to someone else-I have some shopping to do.""Do it after work. I"m here now," he pointed out as if she ought to drop everything to give him some at ention.
Ava hated being railroaded and valued her freedom of choice. She didn"t fancy an impromptu lunch with Pete in the solitude of the bas.e.m.e.nt and had no desire to drift into a situation where she would have to ght him o .
He was the sort of guy who thought he was G.o.d"s gift and who believed persistence would pay o . One of her co-workers had already warned her that he went after al the new girls. "I"m going to take a break upstairs," she told him.
Pete sighed. "What"s your problem?"
Pete sighed. "What"s your problem?"
"I don"t have one. I"m just not interested," Ava told him baldly.
"Are you gay?" Pete demanded abruptly. "I mean, al that time in prison, I suppose you didn"t have much choice ..."
Ava lost colour and sti ened. "Who told you I was in prison?"
"Was it meant to be hush-hush? Everybody knows."
"It"s not something I talk about," Ava retorted curtly, trying not to react to the news that her past was an open secret amongst her co-workers, some of whom had proved quite reluctant to speak to her. The bite of humiliation, the pain of being the oddity and distrusted while people speculated about her crime, cut deep.
"Who told you?" another, harsher male voice enquired from the doorway. "That was supposed to be con dential information."
Ava level ed her stunned gaze on Vito. He must have used the stairs because she hadn"t heard the lift. He stood at the door, his gorgeous eyes a bril iant scorching gold, his lean strong face hard as granite as he awaited Pete Langford"s response. Having heard that last crack about Ava being gay, Vito was taut with outrage and simmering fury. He did not understand why he was so furious to nd Ava with another man until it occurred to him that after her prison sentence she was probably a sit ing duck for such an approach and that as her sit ing duck for such an approach and that as her employer it surely behoved him to ensure that n.o.body took advantage of her vulnerability. Not that at that precise moment Ava actual y looked vulnerable, he conceded abstractedly. Her eyes were sparkling with angry resentment and her slim but undeniably curvy gure was beautiful y sculpted in the black pencil skirt and tight- t ing red shirt she wore. Without any warning, another image was superimposed over her: Ava, amazingly el n cute in a lace corset top, short black leather skirt and clunky boots. Startled, he blinked, but the damage had been done and he was left wil ing back a surge of arousal.
Pete Langford had turned shaken eyes onto his employer. "I don"t remember who rst mentioned Ava"s background," he mumbled evasively, his former at itude of relaxation evaporating fast below Vito"s intimidating stare. "Look, I"d bet er get back upstairs."
"What a good idea," Vito p.r.o.nounced deadpan, his big powerful body taut with silent menace.
As the lift doors closed on Pete"s hurried departure Ava frowned uncertainly. "What was that al about?"
"How long have you been working down here?" Vito demanded, ignoring the question.
"Since I nished the Christmas list that day I was in your of ice," Ava admit ed.
"You"ve been working down here a ful week? Every day, al day?"
day, al day?"
In silence, Ava nodded, entrapped by the aura of vibrant energy he emanated. Her gaze locked to his face, scanning the sinful cheekbones, the bold nose and sensual mouth. Suddenly she didn"t blame herself any more for having a crush on him at the age of sixteen.
After al , he turned female heads wherever he went.
"It must feel like you"re back in a cel !" Vito ground out grimly, scanning the bare comfortless lines of the big room with angry dissatisfaction.
"It"s work and I"m grateful to have a job," Ava countered quietly. "And if you think this place reminds me of prison, you have no concept of what prison life is like."
"Put ing you down here was not my idea," Vito informed her grimly.
"I didn"t think it was. You"re not pet y but you did want me out from under your feet and I am literal y ful l ing that function here," she pointed out, dimples appearing as she shot him an irreverent grin.
And that grin lit up her heart-shaped face like the dawn light. She was beautiful. Why had he never realised that before? The ne-boned fragility of her features al ied with that transparent complexion and the contrast of that ery hair was stunning. He didn"t like red hair, he reminded himself, at least he had never had a redhead in his bed. Not that he wanted her there either, he told himself ercely, ghting the heat and tension at his groin himself ercely, ghting the heat and tension at his groin to the last ditch of denial. He didn"t want her, he had never wanted her, he had just kissed her once because she gave him no other choice. Or was that the excuse she had label ed it? He studied that ripe pink mouth, bare as it was of lipstick, and remembered the taste of her, heady, sweet and unbearably s.e.xy ...
Ava"s bright blue eyes had widened and darkened. The sparks in the atmosphere were whirling round her faster and faster. It was like standing in the eye of a storm. She moved forward, unconsciously reacting to a s.e.xual tension she could not withstand. Her clothes felt shrink-wrapped to her skin and she was insanely conscious of the swel of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and the tingling tightness of her nipples while the heat between her thighs made her press those of ending limbs tightly together.
In the humming silence, Vito stared back. It was al right to look now, he reminded himself sardonical y. She was no longer jailbait. The thought cut a chain somewhere inside him, slicing him free of the past. He coiled a hand round her wrist and pul ed her into his arms, dark golden eyes volatile, ferocious energy leaping through him in a wild surge of l.u.s.t.
His other hand lifted slowly and his fore nger traced the ful ness of her lower lip, his touch light as a but er y"s wings. Ava almost bit his nger in frustration, her breath escaping her in an audible gasp. Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, she wil ed him. Her craving was so great at that moment that there was no room for any other that moment that there was no room for any other thought. He lowered his handsome dark head and drove her lips apart with a pa.s.sionate kiss, driven by al the hunger pent up in his powerful body. And it was just what she wanted, what thril ed her most, desire leaping through her slight body like a blinding light as his tongue delved into the sensitive interior of her mouth and the world spun in ever faster circles round her. Her knees wobbled and she kissed him back with the same pa.s.sion, her tongue twinning with his, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s crushed to the wal of his hard muscular torso, al awareness centred on sensation and satisfaction. He eased her back from him, long ngers skating up over her taut ribcage to close round one breast, teasing the prominent peak with an expertise that drew a moan from her throat. He set her back from him, took a slow step away, smouldering eyes locked to her like precision lasers.
"This is not the place, bel eza mia."
Ava s.n.a.t.c.hed in a gigantic gulp of oxygen to regain control of her treacherous body and the searing disappointment of his withdrawal. But she knew it had cost him, had felt him hard and ready and awesomely male against her, and the awareness soothed her tumultuous emotions as nothing else could have done.
This time she was not the only one in the grip of that savage wanting.
"I wil have you moved from the bas.e.m.e.nt immediately," Vito told her atly, not a bit of expression immediately," Vito told her atly, not a bit of expression in his deep drawl, his shrewd gaze veiled and closed to her."That"s not necessary," Ava declared.
"It is. I hope I deal fairly with al my employees and isolating you in the bas.e.m.e.nt with only boring repet.i.tive work to carry out is not acceptable."
A lit le devil danced in her eyes. "Do you kiss them as wel ?"
Vito stil ed at the door, strong jaw line squaring.
"You"re the first," he confessed darkly.
"Aren"t you about to tel me that it won"t ever happen again?" Ava prompted, heart in her mouth at the thought.
Vito dealt her a thunderous glance and she went pink, registering in some surprise that she had been teasing him, set on provocation. He headed back to the stairs, stil buzzing with aftershocks and the agony of s.e.xual restraint. She could set him on re with one look, one kiss. He could have quite happily lifted her onto the table, spread those long slim thighs and satis ed them both, but Vito was always distrustful of the new and enticing and preferred to hold back and stay in control. If he could stay in control, he was wil ing to admit that he wanted Ava Fitzgerald. In fact he wanted her a whole lot more than he had wanted a woman in a long time.
Perhaps it was because she had once been forbidden fruit. He examined that possibility but the how and the fruit. He examined that possibility but the how and the why couldn"t hold his at ention. He was free, she was free and she was an adult now. As long as he kept those realities in mind there was nothing more complex at play.
She kil ed Ol y.
Vito stamped on that unwelcome thought and buried it deep. s.e.x was straightforward. s.e.x he could handle.
He didn"t need to think about it or question the authenticity of a basic human urge to mate. She was beautiful and she excited him. And that excitement was rare enough in his life to wipe out every other consideration and ner feeling and take precedence. Of recent, life had been desperately dul apart from the occasional energising business deal. It was the season of goodwil and suddenly he was wil ing to flow with it.
An hour later, Karen Harper cal ed Ava upstairs to cover the reception desk. She then made co ee for a meeting, tidied the stationery cupboard and ran various errands. The end of the day came much faster than usual and she went straight to Marge"s house to col ect Harvey for the evening. Marge, delighted at the orders the catalogue had received from various AeroCarlton employees, gave her an evening meal. Afterwards, Ava took Harvey for a long walk and sat on a bench for a while, pat ing the curly head resting against her thigh and talking to him. Sometimes she could stil hardly believe that she was once again living a life that was no longer control ed by strict regulations and ringing bel s.
longer control ed by strict regulations and ringing bel s.
Having spent hour after hour locked in a cel , she appreciated the freedom of physical activity. In prison the only exercise she"d had was pacing doggedly round the exercise yard. The open prison, of course, had not been as restrictive and there she had had access to a gym.
When her mobile phone rang she did not initial y realise that it was hers and nal y wrenched it out of her pocket, believing that it had to be one of her family as she answered it.
"It"s Vito. I need your address. I want to speak to you."
Surprise gripped Ava. She was already on her feet. She reluctantly gave her address, tel ing herself that it was foolish to be embarra.s.sed about her humble accommodation. He would scarcely expect to nd her inhabiting a penthouse apartment. As there wasn"t time to return Harvey to Marge"s and get back in time to meet Vito, she walked the dog back fast with her. Her mind was working even more actively than her feet.
Vito would want to tel her that the kiss had meant nothing. As if she didn"t know that! As if she hadn"t got old enough and wise enough yet to appreciate that workaholic bil ionaires of his calibre didn"t come on to the o ce junior, particularly not when she was a former o ender, guilty of causing a tragic car crash that had cost his closest relative his life. Vito, she a.s.sumed, had succ.u.mbed to a l.u.s.ty impulse as she had heard even the best of men did occasional y. Was that her fault? she best of men did occasional y. Was that her fault? she asked herself anxiously. Had her shockingly physical awareness of Vito Barbieri somehow put out the vibes that had lured him into that kiss? It was a lowering suspicion and her chin came up. He had bet er not try to tel her that she had tempted him again!