At Dante's Service (8 page)

This was not keeping him at arm’s length, taunted a voice inside her head. She had promised herself she would not be swayed by his sexy charm. But she had glimpsed the flare of pain in his eyes when he had looked at the photo of his grandmother and her heart had ached for him. He had told her that this was his first visit to Tuscany since his grandmother’s death and she sensed he was still grieving for Perlita.

When she had slept with him two nights ago she had thought she could indulge in a passionate fling with him that would mean nothing to either of them, even though she was scared of her emotions becoming involved. But the discovery that there were depths to Dante she had been unaware of made her afraid that he could pose even more of a threat to her emotions. She could not risk falling for him, and so, calling on all her willpower, she tore her mouth from his and stepped away from him.

‘I guess I should start dinner. It’s getting late,’ she mumbled, flushing beneath his quizzical stare. ‘Although I’ve heard that it is usual in Mediterranean countries for people to have dinner late in the evening,’ she added rather desperately as he continued to regard her with an intentness she found unsettling. ‘But you’re probably hungry,’ she finished lamely.

‘I’m ravenous, but I have a feeling we’re talking about different appetites,’ he said drily.

Dante did not understand why Rebekah had backed
off, but the curious half-wary, half-defensive expression in her eyes forced him to control his frustration. She clearly carried a lot of emotional baggage—which meant that she was exactly the sort of woman he usually avoided. So why wasn’t he heading for the hills to get away from her? Why had he brought her to the Casa di Colombe, which was his private sanctuary and a haven of peace? He felt anything but peaceful at the moment, he thought grimly. And, strangely, his frustration was not only on a sexual level. He wanted to know who had put the shadows in her eyes, and conversely he was annoyed with himself for his curiosity when all he wanted was a temporary affair with her.

With an effort he controlled his impatience. ‘I have a few things to do, so why don’t you go and explore the house? The maids should have made up the beds and stocked the kitchen with basic provisions. We can pick up fresh fruit and vegetables at the market in Montalcino tomorrow.’ He pointed down the hallway. ‘You’ll find the kitchen that way.’

From the outside, the house did not look very different from how it must have looked when it had been built and used as a monastery centuries ago. But, inside, the Casa di Colombe had been expertly renovated and turned into a charming, comfortable home. Much love had gone into the interior design of the house, Rebekah thought as she strolled through the airy, sunlit rooms on the ground floor where the old stone floors blended perfectly with the pale walls and elegant furnishings. She remembered the serene face of Dante’s grandmother in the photograph hanging in the hall. Nonna Perlita had left her mark on this house, she mused.

She continued her exploration and fell in love with the kitchen the minute she walked through the door. The terracotta tiled floor, stone walls and pale oak cupboards gave it a rustic charm, but at the same time it was fitted with every piece of modern equipment she could want. It was a perfect setting to take photographs of the recipes she had now perfected for the cookery book, and she was keen to start work. She discovered that the pantry and fridge had been well stocked and she was debating what to cook for dinner when the sound of voices from outside the kitchen window made her glance towards the garden.

Dante was standing with a tall, slim blonde-haired woman wearing very short shorts that revealed her long tanned legs. The woman turned her head and Rebekah saw that she was stunningly beautiful. A tight knot formed in her stomach as she watched the woman laughing with Dante. It was clear they shared a close relationship. Was the blonde his mistress? If so, then why had he insisted on
her
coming to Tuscany with him? And why on earth did she feel jealous?

Feeling angry with herself, she went to investigate the upper floors of the house. Her suitcase had been left in the hall and she carried it upstairs. There were five bedrooms on the first floor, one of which was obviously the master suite. Next door to Dante’s room, the guest bedroom had been prepared, she assumed, for her. It was a pretty room, with the same neutral-toned walls as the rest of the house and a lemon-yellow bedspread.

The blinds at the window shaded the room from the hot sunshine of a Tuscan summer’s afternoon, but Rebekah still felt too warm in her skirt and jacket. A cool shower was tempting. Taking a shower cap from her
case, she walked into the en suite bathroom and emerged ten minutes later to slip into a lightweight floral cotton skirt and T-shirt that she had packed for the trip. She was pulling a comb through her hair when there was a knock on her door, and she spun round to find the woman she had seen in the garden standing in the doorway.

Close up, she was a few years older than Rebekah had thought, perhaps in her early thirties. But, if anything, she was even more stunning than she had looked from a distance, with a model’s slim build, perfect hair, perfect tan—perfect everything, in fact.

‘Hi! You must be Rebekah?’ the woman said in a distinctive American accent. ‘I’m Nicole Sayer … duh …’ she tutted impatiently ‘…
Castelli!
I’ve only been married for two months and I keep forgetting to use my new name. My husband Vito and I are old friends of Dante’s.’ She finally paused for breath and held out her hand to Rebekah. ‘It’s great to meet you. I was so surprised when Dante phoned and said he was bringing someone to Tuscany with him. He never has before.’ She gave Rebekah a speculative look. ‘I guess the two of you must be good friends.’

Rebekah felt herself blush. ‘Actually, I’m his cook.’ She suddenly remembered why the woman’s name was familiar. ‘You’re a photographer, aren’t you? I’m writing a cookery book based on my grandmother’s recipes, and Dante mentioned that you might take photographs for me.’

Nicole’s smile held genuine warmth. ‘I’d love to. I used to work as a freelance photographer in New York, but now Vito and I have settled in Italy. I’m going to head back to my home in Siena,’ Nicole explained as she
turned to walk out of the room, ‘but I’ll be in touch in the next couple of days to arrange a photo shoot.

‘By the way—’ she paused in the doorway ‘—I’ve hung the clothes that Dante ordered for you in the wardrobe.’

Rebekah gave her a puzzled look. ‘What clothes?’

Nicole crossed the room and pulled open the wardrobe door. ‘These,’ she said, indicating the array of outfits hanging from the rail. She took out a beautiful jade-green silk dress and gave Rebekah a teasing smile. ‘You must be a very special cook for Dante to buy you designer clothes.’

Rebekah took a pale pink silk blouse from the rail. All the clothes were classical and elegant, in an array of pretty pastel colours. They were the sort of things she would love to wear if she could afford them.

‘There’s obviously been a mistake,’ she told Nicole. ‘I don’t know why Dante ordered these clothes, but they can’t be for me.’

Nicole looked amused. ‘Maybe he wanted to surprise you.’

Or maybe Dante had bought her dozens of new outfits for another reason, Rebekah thought grimly after Nicole had left and she went in search of him. His bedroom door was open, and as she looked into the room he strolled out of his bathroom wearing nothing more than a towel sitting low on his hips. His damp hair was slicked back from his brow and beads of moisture clung to his chest hairs.

She tapped on the door to alert him to her presence and tried to ignore the tug on her insides when he smiled at her.

‘Did you meet Nicole? She came up to introduce herself.’

‘Yes, I met her. She seemed to think the clothes hanging in my wardrobe belong to me—paid for by you.’

‘That’s right. Do you like them?’

Rebekah took a deep breath. Her heart was beating very fast and she felt confused and angry, and shaken by a memory that was still painfully raw.

‘I can’t accept them. I can’t allow you to buy me gifts.’

Dante picked up a towel from the bed and rubbed his wet hair. ‘Why not?’

‘Because you can’t buy me,’ she told him fiercely.

He stilled, and gave her a searching look. His smile faded and his eyes were cool and assessing. ‘What do you mean—
buy you
?’

‘Don’t think that because you’ve spent a fortune on me I’ll do what you want.’

For a few seconds the atmosphere in the room trembled with an ominous silence.

‘And what do you think I want?’ he asked in a dangerous voice that sent a shiver down Rebekah’s spine.

She crossed her arms over her chest in an unconsciously defensive gesture as she said, ‘For me to be your mistress while we are in Tuscany.’

‘You think I bought you the clothes in payment for sex? What kind of man do you think I am?’ He gave a savage laugh. ‘On second thoughts, don’t answer that question—you’ve made your opinion of me quite clear.’

Dante could not have sounded hurt, Rebekah told herself. But what if she had misjudged him? She bit her lip. ‘Are you saying you didn’t buy them for that reason?’ she asked uncertainly.

He threw the towel on the bed and strode towards her. Rebekah had never seen him so furious. His face looked as though it had been carved from granite and his eyes glittered with rage and bitter contempt. Too late, she feared she had made a terrible mistake.

‘How dare you insult my integrity?’
he said in a blisteringly angry tone. ‘The only reason I bought clothes for you is because I felt bad that I had sprung the trip to Tuscany on you at short notice. I thought it was unlikely you would own summer clothes suitable for the temperatures here in Italy. But you were too unwell to spend a day shopping in London, so I phoned a boutique in Siena and ordered some things for you.’

His hands shot out to grip her arms and he jerked her against him. ‘I wasn’t trying to buy your favours,’ he grated. ‘I don’t need to,
mia bella
.’

Realising his intention, Rebekah tried to twist her head away from him, but he captured her jaw and held her prisoner while he brought his mouth down on hers. It was a kiss of anger and wounded pride. He ground her lips beneath his in fierce, furious possession, tangling his fingers in her hair so that she could not escape the onslaught.

But within seconds his anger turned to fiery passion that was far more dangerous. She gasped as he thrust his tongue into her mouth. Dante deepened the kiss so that it became a slow, drugging assault on her senses. She knew there was no point in trying to fight him when he was so much bigger and stronger than her, but suddenly his lips were no longer hard and demanding but softer as he coaxed a response from her. Rebekah did not realise he had steered her over to the bed until she felt the edge of the mattress behind her and, before she
could protest, he tumbled her down and immediately covered her body with his own.

She caught her breath when he shoved her T-shirt up. She hadn’t bothered with a bra when she had changed after her shower and she blushed as he stared at her bare breasts and the betraying hard peaks of her nipples.

‘You don’t need much persuading,’ he taunted. ‘I could take you right now,
cara
, and you wouldn’t stop me.’ His voice roughened. ‘How could you think I would treat you so disrespectfully?’

‘I’m sorry,’ Rebekah said thickly. She knew she owed him an explanation, but she had never told anyone what Gareth had done, not even her mum. She closed her eyes to prevent her tears from escaping, unaware that Dante had glimpsed the sparkle of moisture clinging to her lashes and that his anger had been replaced by a curious ache in his chest.

She’d had no reason to think Dante would behave so crassly, Rebekah acknowledged heavily. He might be a playboy but he had a code of morals and he had always treated her with the utmost respect.

‘Someone once tried to pay me to do something that I couldn’t do—something that was terribly wrong,’ she choked, aware from Dante’s confused expression that she wasn’t making a lot of sense.

‘You mean a guy offered to pay you for sex?’

‘No … it wasn’t like that.’

When Rebekah did not continue Dante felt a surge of frustration. He wanted to demand that she tell him what it had been like—what had she meant? Why had she jumped to conclusions and thought the worst of him?

‘It has something to do with the guy in Wales, doesn’t it?’ he guessed. He sighed as he lowered her T-shirt and
smoothed her hair back from her face. ‘But I take it from your silence that you don’t want to talk about it.’

‘Sometimes it’s best to leave the past alone.’ She gave him a wobbly smile. ‘Dante, I am truly sorry. The clothes are beautiful, and it was such a kind gesture, but …’ Rebekah gave him an awkward, apologetic glance. ‘I would prefer to pay for them myself.’

He lifted himself off her and stood up. ‘We’ll discuss it later. Did you find the kitchen?’

‘Yes.’ She took a shaky breath when she realised he was not going to pursue the reason why she had accused him so unfairly. ‘It’s fantastic—and the fridge is well stocked. We won’t need to go shopping for a few days.’

‘Good. So what time is dinner?’ Dante kept his tone deliberately light and was relieved to see her relax a little.

‘Oh, heavens! I forgot to put the chicken in the oven.’ Rebekah scrambled off the bed. ‘I’d better go and do it now.’

She hurried across the room but hesitated in the doorway and turned to look at Dante. She felt terrible about the awful way she had treated him and she felt angry and upset with herself that she was still allowing Gareth and the past to affect her. She needed to forget about him, but some things could never be forgotten, she thought painfully.

‘I don’t object to you being in my room—’ Dante’s deep voice dragged her from her thoughts ‘—but I’m about to get dressed—which means this towel is coming off.’

As he spoke he moved his hands to the towel draped around his hips. Rebekah swallowed as she traced her eyes over the dark hairs that arrowed down his flat abdomen
and disappeared beneath the towel which she noticed was totally inadequate to hide the fact that he was aroused.