The Count's Prize (10 page)

‘You made such a spectacular entrance this evening,’ he breathed at last.

‘But I didn’t do anything.’

‘You didn’t have to. A woman so poised, and looking like an angel … you took my breath away.’ Always
uncomfortable with praise, Josie shook her head and blushed.

‘No—don’t deny it. Be proud! Every woman and every man in the place couldn’t take their eyes off you. You were the star—my star—and I had to spirit you away before anyone else could.’

In the breathless hush that followed his words, a nightingale burst into song from a hazel thicket within a few feet of where they stood. Josie smiled and, as Dario’s touch tingled around the outline of her face to lift it for another kiss, a second bird joined in.

‘Rivals for the same prize,’ she whispered.

Dario’s kisses made thinking about anything but him impossible. The insistent presence of his body completely enthralled her. The firm ridge of his arousal pushed against her as he held her close, cradling her in his arms. The tip of his tongue sensitised the entire curve of her neck. Josie shivered in wild anticipation and instantly he pulled off his jacket and enveloped her in it.

‘I’m not cold.’

‘I want to make sure you don’t get that way.’

Curving an arm lightly around her shoulders, he led her towards a clearing in the trees. The full moon was just rising above the south-eastern horizon, its silvery light sending rippling reflections across the lake that slept peacefully in its cool shadows. Flag irises and sweet rush stood sentinel around a palatial summer-house, complete with its own little jetty. Josie looked nervously at a small rowing boat and oars that were tied to it.

‘I know you’ll be happier on dry land.’ Dario’s low laughter lit up her face as he opened the gazebo. The small house was the perfect place for romance. Its cedar-wood walls retained the day’s warmth, while beeswax polish and swags of lavender hanging from the rafters perfumed the air with the memories of summers long past.

‘I want you.’ Dario’s voice was husky with testosterone.

When he kissed her now it was with more urgency. A slow burning fire had been kindled from the moment their eyes had first met. Now it burst into flames of unquenchable passion. When his hands began to move over her, Josie could do nothing to stop him. As he reached the voluptuous curves of her body, she gasped, throwing back her head in anticipation. Dario was quick to act, kissing the cool pale column of her throat from the tip of her chin to the hollow at its base. As his hands cupped her breasts she remembered the way his sensitive fingers had enclosed that ripe peach on the day of their picnic. A little moan of anticipation left her lips, encouraging Dario to dip his head and move his lips over the thin silk of her dress. It was so delicate, the small nubs of her erect nipples were clearly visible. They were too much of a temptation for Dario. He tried his teeth against one, gently testing its sensitivity. The effect of his teasing sent Josie into paroxysms of desire. Her fingers drove into his midnight-dark hair, pulling his head closer. Moonlight glittered over its tousled luxuriance, and Josie couldn’t help herself.
Sliding her hands over his shoulders, she cupped his face and brought it up level with her own.

‘Take me,’ she moaned in a voice barely recognisable as her own.

Dario engulfed her in his arms, plundering kiss after kiss from her willing mouth. Josie shrugged off his jacket and let her hands work their way beneath the cool white fabric of his shirt to find the red-hot elemental man inside. Soon they were both naked in the moonlight. Dario filled her senses so completely, she was barely aware of her surroundings as he laid her on the soft down-filled cushions of the summer-house sofa. His outline was sleek and hard as he towered over her, ready, willing and more than able to claim his ultimate prize. As he swooped down to cover her body, she twined her legs around his narrow waist, desperate to bring him closer to the core of her being. As he glided over her in the darkness, her body was torn with a cry of need that echoed into the night.

Long, long afterwards, Josie lay gazing out along the length of the lake. She had no idea of the time, but it must be so late it was now early. The summer night had never darkened completely. A single bright star was left in the sky. It stood high above the water, its pinpoint of light dancing on surface ripples stirred by a light breeze. The nightingales were still singing, but they had been joined by one or two sleepy robins. Dario lay with his head nestled against her neck, quite still apart from the gentle rise and fall of his breathing. Josie should have been in heaven. Instead, her mind churned over and
over what had happened during the spectacular hours they had shared. Dario had stripped away all her inhibitions, taken her to paradise and kept her there. Josie thought back, exhausted and overwhelmed by the wild passion he unleashed in her. She glowed at the memory … but now she knew she couldn’t get enough of him. From this moment on, nothing life could give her had a chance of competing with the night she had just spent—unless it included Dario.

And that thought was what tortured her now. This man was a playboy—a party animal to his capable, dexterous fingertips. Josie wanted his body, but knew she couldn’t bear to have it without his love and loyalty as well. But that was a greedy, impossible dream. Dario was no more capable of giving her a lifelong commitment than Andy had been. Josie had finally realised just how little her ex-fiancé now meant to her, but Dario was an entirely different prospect. She wanted him with every fibre of her being—but she would never be able to keep him. No woman could hope to do that.

When he stirred, Josie knew she had to brace herself and resist him. One more encounter, one fleeting touch, one smile and she would be heading for disaster again. When his hand began to glide sleepily over her naked thigh, she took a deep breath, slipped out of his grasp and stood up.

‘Dario, I …’ There were no words. ‘I have to go.’

To hide her expression, she turned away from him quickly and pretended to be more interested in gathering up her scattered clothes than watching him wake.

‘Where are you going? It’s still early—let’s start
all over again …’ His drowsy words simmered with promise.

Josie looked back at him. She knew it was a mistake, but she was unable to stop herself. He looked magnificent, as ever. The early sunlight played over his golden muscles, and she felt desire tighten its grip on her body again. She had to escape while she still could. One hand pressed tight against her belly, trying to restrain her desperate need for him, she looked away.

‘Last night, I had the most wonderful time of my life, Dario, but I shouldn’t have let it happen.’

‘Why ever not? I thought it was one of your very best ideas,’ he said, smiling.

Josie began to pull on her clothes anyhow.

‘What I mean is, I don’t want you to think that I’m asking for more than you’ve already given me. I don’t want to force you into anything, Dario.’

Dario’s smile faded. ‘What are you saying?’ He sat up, looking suddenly angry.

Josie struggled with her feelings. All she wanted to do was drop everything and lean into his powerful embrace again. The only thing stopping her was the knowledge that Dario had done this dozens of times in the past, and had cast off those other girls as easily as he had thrown off his clothes the night before. She was worth more than that, and she knew it. He’d helped her know it. She would remember his searing looks scorching straight across the party towards her for as long as she lived. The only thing that could spoil that memory would be the devastation of his abandonment.

If I end it now I can remember all the good things,
without the horror that pursued me after Andy’s betrayal
, she thought.
It will be so hard to let Dario go, but he would only cheat on me eventually, and that would wreck every special thing we’ve had
.

‘I’ve already given you everything, Dario.’

‘You say that, but I know you have much more to offer me,
tesoro
,’ he said with gruff exasperation. He reached out to her, but she sidestepped before his hand could connect with her arm. ‘What do you want me to say? Did you think that I was going to offer a lifelong commitment on the basis of a single night? You must know me—or at least my reputation—better than that, Josie.’

She hurriedly pulled on her beautiful dress. ‘I don’t want you to say anything, Dario, especially about the future. But … well, actually I … I … suppose I don’t know what I mean …’

He watched her for a few seconds and she saw his expression rapidly closing down. With a chill of recognition, she saw him retreating from her and the intimacy they had shared through the warm, still hours of darkness.

‘I do. I’ve often had to say the same thing. It’s a novelty to be on the receiving end, I’ll admit, but I think I can help you.’ He spoke the words in a way that made Josie want to run. Dario’s reputation scared her enough, without needing details.

‘It goes something like this: “That was a fantastic night, so let’s remember it fondly and move on.” That’s what you’re trying to tell me, isn’t it?’ he announced, getting up without warning and turning his back on her.

Josie stared at him. Secretly, she had been expecting, no,
hoping
, that Dario would put up at least some token resistance in the face of her brush-off. Instead, he concentrated on rescuing his clothes, which had been scattered during their reckless night of passion. She felt her insides contract with the loss of him.

Please don’t end it here—not now, not yet!
she thought.
Let me have a little more pleasure—an hour, a day, a week …

It was no good. She knew only too well what would happen if she went down that route. One more kiss from Dario was sure to lead straight to heartbreak. Now she had tasted everything he had to give, she was too greedy to trust herself with him ever again.

Because when my heart and mind is full of him, that’s when I’ll discover he’s ‘entertaining’ someone else and betraying me like Andy did
.

‘You’re right, Dario,’ she said unsteadily. ‘It was wonderful … but that’s it. We’ll put this down to experience. I’ll be gone soon, so it would be silly to try and make anything more out of it,’ she said in an offhand way, puncturing their awkward silence as she tried to get a better response from him.

‘Good. You’re being very sensible, as usual. It’s what I’ve come to expect from you, Josie.’ He gave that lovely hint of the exotic to her name again, and it made her cry inside.

‘You shouldn’t get mixed up in casual flings. You aren’t the type,’ he went on, strolling over to lift a skein of her hair over her shoulder. It was a gesture that was more patronising than romantic. ‘But I must thank you
again for your most wonderful birthday present. It was a miraculous treat—like nothing I have ever been given before.’

He rapped out his words in an oddly emotionless way and didn’t look at her as he moved away again. Josie was totally deflated. They might as well have shared an evening’s carp fishing.

Snapping on his watch, he checked its display. ‘I’m afraid I must go—I’ve promised to take Antonia into town this morning. She wants my help in selecting a nursery for Fabio.’

His voice was still gritty with testosterone. That thought added a terrible twist to Josie’s almost unbearable longing. She had wielded such power over his body during the hours of darkness. Then, she could have made him stay by her side with a single touch. She was desperately tempted to try again now, but it was too great a risk. His face was unreadable, but the bright searching light of day would leave her no hiding place if he rejected her. Josie was determined to learn from all the mistakes she had made in the past and not make any new ones.

When they were both dressed, Dario escorted her all the way back to the
castello
, but neither spoke.

Josie couldn’t help thinking he had been silenced by regret, and that idea struck her dumb with despair.

D
ARIO
sat in his estate office later, tapping the end of a pencil against his teeth and staring at the Monet he had bought last time he was in New York. He would remember the night of his thirty-third birthday for the rest of his life, but not with pride.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, wincing slightly over the place where he had caught himself with the razor earlier that morning. It had been very difficult to look his reflection in the eye. Josie was affecting him in an unusual way. He always aimed to love women and leave them before either of them got hurt. He winced again. The mere thought of that four letter word ‘love’ made him cringe inwardly whenever he thought of Josie, and he had been thinking about her a lot over the past few hours. She was different in every way from the girls he usually dated. They weren’t afraid to show their feelings. Instinctively, he had always known Josie wasn’t like that. She wasn’t the sort to make a fuss. She had stood up for her ex-fiancé after all, even though he had cheated on her and then walked away. Dario grimaced. He had waved goodbye to any number of women over
the years, but this was his first experience of a girl waving to him first.

He checked his diary. With a lurch of concern he saw that Josie was due to leave within a week. He thought of her beautiful sunlit face that morning, and frowned. She had looked so preoccupied. What could possibly be worrying her? A surge of lust powered through his groin and he laughed at himself. Concern for a woman’s state of mind hadn’t troubled him for years. Wanting to experience her body again was a much more familiar urge.

For some reason he couldn’t get Josie’s words out of his mind.

I’ll be gone soon
.

They were true enough. Both she and Dario had known the date of her departure from the time this visit was arranged. So why had she kept mentioning it? Their exchanges in that awkwardly formal ‘morning after’ moment kept assaulting him in flashback.

We’ll put this down to experience
.

That agreement should have made him feel happier—after all, he had said it so many times to so many women over the years.

Why isn’t it working this time?
He ran his thumb back and forth across his lower lip.
Why not?

He winced yet again, but not at the thought of what they had done last night. That still kept his body alight with desire. He puzzled on, gnawing at the problem like a wolf in a snare until the answer came to him in a single word.

We
.

That word was the stumbling block. He hadn’t used
it since Arietta was alive—the last time he had felt part of a couple. And Josie had used it as well.

Suddenly he realised the truth—the clue to this whole problem. Josie had thought of them as a couple, not as simply a one-night stand. She didn’t really want it to end yet, any more than he did. At that thought, his pulse started to race. His body tightened with an instinctive roar of possession at the very thought of her walking to another man. The strength of his reaction surprised him … terrified him.

He grasped suddenly for an image of Arietta. For a panicked moment, he couldn’t recall her face. He concentrated fiercely, feeling how much he’d loved her, how he was responsible for her loss, and soon felt calmer. Josie had been right to leave. He couldn’t offer her anything more than a fling, even if she wanted it. Ruthlessly ignoring the small voice which continued to protest against never holding her in his arms again, he forced his attention back to the estate.

A day later, head down, Josie marched towards her camp beside the old olive press. Not even work had been able to do anything about her burning sense of shame and self-loathing since the party.
How could I have been so stupid? Dad and Andy both promised me the world, but they still walked away. If I think a rich playboy is going to be any different, then I really am fooling myself …

Work had been such a safe haven for her until now; she had convinced herself that it was all she ever needed. Then one look at Dario and her defences had
crumbled. The moment he’d taken her hand at the party, Josie had known there could be no other man for her, not even if she lived to be a hundred. But she had to face facts. Dario had a reputation as a Casanova, and no man would give that up lightly. He might have played the part of honourable Count to perfection while he’d escorted her back to the
castello
, but that would be the end of it. Josie knew only too well how easily men could change and turn away.

Dario’s lifestyle keeps admirers circling him like reef sharks. He never lingers with anyone for long, so why did I think I was any different?
she thought furiously.
I
had
to finish it before he got the chance to break my heart. By this time next week, he won’t remember what happened between us. In a month’s time, he won’t even remember my name. But his effect on me will last for ever …

There was nothing for it but to retreat into her work once more. With only a week left of her stay, the best she could do was keep her head down and try to be invisible. She desperately wanted to confide in someone, but it was impossible. Antonia was watchful and understanding but, caught between her brother and her best friend, she didn’t pry and Josie couldn’t bear to drag her into the situation. Instead, she spent her time working as far away from Dario’s haunts as she could, but his influence ran deep. Although determined to protect her poor battered heart from any further damage, Josie couldn’t stop thinking about him.

When lack of concentration caused her to chip a second piece off the stonework she was uncovering, she
threw her trowel down in disgust. For as long as she was here, Dario was going to dominate her thoughts and distract her from her work. There were only two solutions to that problem, and it was decision time. She could either finish her trip early and go home right now, or she could come to terms with her feelings for Dario.

I’m supposed to be a rational adult, so why can’t I decide and stop drooping about like a love-struck schoolgirl?
she asked herself.

The answer to that was all too obvious. She wanted Dario—but she was scared. Giving him so much power over her emotions was a step too far.

If only I could be strong enough to say goodbye … but not just yet …

A desperate remedy swam into her overheated brain. Perhaps she could simply let down her guard long enough to enjoy Dario for a little while longer. Just until the end of her stay at the
castello
. She could indulge herself for a few more days, but there would be a fixed time limit and they would both know it. She could experience Dario’s charm and incredible lovemaking all over again, but walk away before he broke her heart. No one would have to make promises they couldn’t keep. It would be nothing more than a wonderful footnote to her stay.

Other people have holiday romances all the time and no one dies of disappointment, do they?
she reassured herself.
Why can’t I, as long as I keep to the rules? If Dario can do it, then so can I. It’s not as though anyone expects a fling to last. That’s all I’ll have to remember
.

Having convinced herself, Josie shut out her remaining
doubts and packed up her tools. Then she set off to find Dario before she changed her mind.

Dario was in his studio, studying the painting he had been working on. His charcoal sketches hadn’t caught the right mood at all. As an act of desperation, he had tried to commit directly to canvas, hoping to be inspired all over again. But this portrait refused to work well, even after his third attempt. Sighing, he turned away to pick up a turpentine-soaked rag, ready for another try. Then a figure in the doorway caught his eye. He stopped in mid-movement. It was Josie. For a moment, he felt his expression transformed by guilt but managed to turn it into a smile.

‘Come in! This is an unexpected pleasure. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.’

Josie blushed and hesitated, and he guessed that was exactly what she had been doing. But then he saw her stiffen her resolve—obviously and beautifully. She lifted her head and straightened her shoulders. Then she stepped into the studio, but looking around more warily than she had done on their glorious evening together. He knew that must be because this was his territory—his special place, with its atmosphere thick with the perfume of media in all their forms: linseed oil, paint and new canvas. It was a place he felt safe, but Josie clearly didn’t.

‘Why don’t you come over here and see what I’m working on?’

She walked over to him, but without the self-confident stride she used to approach her own work. When she
saw the image he was about to erase, there was a definite hesitation. Although she tried to hide it, he saw her shoulders droop and her mouth turn down. Even half-finished, his work in progress was clearly a beautiful dark-haired young woman.

‘Is this Arietta?’ Her voice hardly disturbed the atmosphere between them.

She must know the answer to that question already
, Dario thought. Her gaze was so direct, it made him uncomfortable. He set his jaw and hardened his expression.

‘It was supposed to be her, yes.’ He anticipated her question. ‘I thought she deserved her place in the di Sirena portrait gallery. After all, if things had worked out differently, she would have been my
Contessa
.’

Josie neither moved nor spoke, so Dario fixed her with a penetrating stare.

‘Aren’t you going to ask me about her?’

‘You’ll tell me if you want to,’ she said quietly. ‘I don’t like talking about my own past. I can hardly expect you to be any different.’

He tipped his head in brief acknowledgement. ‘We met when I was in my final year at university …’ He couldn’t find the words to frame what had happened. How they’d fallen in love almost from the first moment. It had been magical, perfect, unlike anything he’d ever known, until real life began to intrude. Looking back, he wondered how they’d have coped after university, when their idealism would have had to have changed to meet the practicalities of the world. ‘We had a row one evening. Of all the stupid things, it was because I was
spending too much time painting and not enough with her. She drove off into a storm. I went after her, but she was determined to get away from me. We were both travelling much too fast. She skidded into a flooded ditch.’

He waited for the usual spasm of pain to pass through his body. It always did when he thought about that terrible evening. Always—until today. He frowned, puzzled. Josie said nothing.

On top of everything else, she’s a good listener!
he thought, and tried saying more.

‘She died on the way to hospital.’

‘I’m so sorry, Dario.’

‘Yes.’

She looked surprised at his automatic response, and Dario realised such a quick reply might have sounded heartless.

She’s probably expecting me to sound more traumatised. I used to … but not now …

The revelation came to him easily, but he guessed it would be difficult to live with. He wondered if saying more could distance him from his past still further.

‘It nearly destroyed me,’ he began hesitantly, but there was no need. Telling Josie seemed so right, it felt good to unburden himself rather hold on to the pain. ‘For years, no day passed without my thoughts turning to her. After all, meeting Arietta was a defining moment in my life. After she died, I tried to fill the void she left with partying. It has never worked. Nothing could compare with the simple enjoyment of spending time with a woman who understood me, for better or worse.’

A smile flickered across his face and was gone. ‘But her memory has started to slip away from me. Little by little, day by day I have begun to feel I’m losing her. At first, inheriting the
castello
and its estate kept me so busy I didn’t have time for memories. Now, when I try to recapture them, she is always retreating from me.’

He stopped. Josie watched him, unblinking. She was only a heartbeat away, and he could tell she was holding her breath. He knew, because he was doing exactly the same thing.

‘I’ve fought it every inch of the way, Josie. I started to paint a portrait of Arietta as I remembered her, but it’s not going well. I’ve worked and worked on this damned painting, but it’s impossible. I can’t catch her.’

He looked at the canvas for a second, then passed a hand quickly over his face to hide the fact that he no longer cared.

Josie couldn’t help herself. She rushed forward and threw her arms around him.

‘Dario, don’t … I’m sure Arietta would hate to think you were unhappy …’

He dropped his hand abruptly. To her relief, she saw his eyes were dry, but their depths were full of a turbulence she had never seen before.

‘How can you possibly know that?’

She let him go and backed away. That reassurance had been forced out of her in a moment of pure panic.

‘I … I’m sorry. I have no idea. How can I? But I’m absolutely certain that she couldn’t bear to think of you being upset and living a half life, full of regret.’

‘That’s exactly what Arietta said to me once, all those years ago.’

He was very still for a moment, and then reached for his wallet. Opening it, he pulled out a small well-worn photograph, which he showed to Josie. Then he held it next to his half-finished painting.

‘Do you see the likeness?’ he asked grimly.

Josie looked from the painting to the photograph, then back again.

‘Well …’ She hesitated, not wanting to say what she really thought.

‘My painting doesn’t look much like the girl in the photograph, does it?’

‘You did say you were working from memory.’

‘Yes. Exactly.’

Dario was staring at the picture with an unfathomable expression. Josie joined him. The photograph of Arietta was in black and white, but his painting was in glorious colour. Josie thought it would be an amazing coincidence for Arietta to have eyes exactly the same shade as her own and, as for that dress—in Dario’s photo it looked white rather than the green shot with gold he had used for his portrait. Josie didn’t know what to say. Something important was happening and she could only wonder what direction it was going to take. Finally, Dario placed the photograph down on the table beside him and turned towards her. To Josie’s relief, he was smiling again.