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‘I’m glad you like it. If I may say so it suits you very well.’ His gaze roamed critically over her.

A flush rushed to her cheeks. There was nothing bold in his look, but still she felt as though his eyes saw far more—as though they were divesting her of the flimsy fabric, and caressing her skin. A tiny shiver coursed up her spine and she felt her stomach tighten.

‘Would you like a drink?’ he asked turning to a tray of ice that hosted an array of soft drinks. He poured her choice into a crystal tumbler and handed it to her.

‘Thanks.’ Victoria took a quick gulp and then another. Suddenly she remembered the pills. Until last night she would have relied on them to help her through the evening, yet tonight she had no sudden urge to rush and pop one. Not that she felt terribly bad or ill at ease with Rodolfo, but he did seem so terribly suave and elegant in this magnificent setting, so terribly out of her league…

‘Come,’ Rodolfo said, as if sensing her discomfort, reaching for her hand. ‘Let me show you the rest of the terrace.’

Together they walked around and he showed her another view. In the distance she could see lights. ‘Is that Malvaritza?’ she asked.

‘Yes, that is the town. I’ll take you there when you’re feeling up to it. And we’ll also go for a spin on my yacht, the Mona Lisa, so that you can see the island from the sea. It will give you a better notion of the place.’

‘Thanks,’ she murmured, leaving her hand in his, relishing the feel of his fingers lightly caressing the inside of her palm. Then, when she least expected it, he was facing her, looking down into her eyes through the moonlight.

‘You are a beautiful woman, Victoria. Too tempting by far.’

She caught her breath as he drew closer, didn’t draw away when he reached out and pulled her close, his expression almost harsh.

Their eyes held and she fell under his spell. In one swift movement his lips came down on hers, hot and demanding. She gasped, held back, then gave way. She had never been kissed like this before. It was as though suddenly Rodolfo dominated her being. He plied open her lips, his tongue delved, and his hands pressed the small of her back, bringing her close up against him. She could feel the hardness of his desire, and experienced a rush of torrid heat flash like hot lightning from her head to her core, felt the peaks of her breasts go taut.

There was little she could do now but submit, her body supple and pliable in his arms. She could feel his hands roam over the curves of her rounded bottom, up her ribcage, then stop tantalisingly at the side of her breast. Half of her knew she should draw back, the other wanted to beg him to continue, to assuage the delicious yet agonising frustration mounting within her.

‘Victoria,’ he muttered, his thumb reaching to graze the tip of her breast.

‘Rodolfo,’ she whispered hoarsely. ‘We shouldn’t…we mustn’t. I barely know you. I—’

Reluctantly he drew back, eyes gleaming into hers. ‘I know it has all happened very fast, but I find you very hard to resist, cara.’

She returned the look, then glanced away, straightened her dress and moved towards the parapet picking up her glass as she went.

Rodolfo watched her, then followed suit, eyeing her closely, noting the hot flush on her cheeks. There was a definite chemistry between them. Her reaction had been timid at first, then as passionate and full of pent-up desire as his own. Yet there was something naïve and spontaneous in her reaction, something that spelled inexperience.

He must be dreaming, he reflected, as they sipped their drinks. A Hollywood actress, one who had taken drugs and was a big star, could hardly be an innocent.

‘Dinner will be served shortly,’ he said in a neutral tone. ‘I thought we should dine al fresco in the moonlight. Would that suit you?’

‘That would be lovely. Are you not cooking tonight?’ she added with a spark of humour.

‘Not tonight,’ he responded, with a laugh and a flash of white teeth, ‘But I promise to introduce you to my special Pasta Principesco in the very near future. Do you know that they have it on the menu in one of the restaurants in town? I was very flattered as the owner is an exceptionally good cook. But tonight we will have special Malvarinian dishes. I hope you will enjoy our local cuisine.’

‘I’m sure I will,’ Victoria answered, wondering if there was anything she wouldn’t like about this man and this amazingly enchanting fantasy world he lived in. But, she reminded herself, it was important to remember that it was just that: a fantasy, nothing more.

Dinner was as special as she had anticipated. Rodolfo made witty conversation throughout, and the servants served an array of delectable dishes, all of which were Malvarinian specialities. By the end, Victoria knew she couldn’t eat another thing.

‘That was simply delicious,’ she said smiling and laying down her white linen napkin. ‘You’ve spoiled me rotten.’

‘A woman as beautiful as you should be spoiled,’ he murmured, rising and coming behind her chair to draw it back.

‘That’s all very well,’ she admonished breathlessly. For, although she was far more at ease with him than she had been earlier, his presence so close sent frissons running through her. ‘One could get used to this sort of living,’ she said trying to sound light, ‘but, after all, it’s really just a dream.’

‘Not entirely. I like to believe that I’m very real,’ he responded with an amused smile.

‘Do you?’ She cast him a sceptical look and let out a sigh. ‘This is all so magical, so unreal. I think it’s heavenly, but then I remember that soon I’ll have to return to reality, to Hollywood and Ed and the next movie. And I don’t know how I’m going to manage it.’

‘Without the medication to help you, you mean?’ he enquired, his tone challenging.

Victoria’s face flushed. ‘I know it was wrong, but there’s no need to rub my face in it. I really had no idea what they were,’ she muttered, tossing her hair back.

‘I know you didn’t. It was very wrong of that doctor not to inform you of what was in them. But I am merely wondering if you think you can kick the habit or if you plan to continue on the same course? If you were my—’ He cut off, realising what he was about to say and the impropriety of it.

‘If I was what? I belong to nobody, and what I do is nobody’s business, either,’ she responded belligerently.

‘That is true. I’m sorry.’

‘Plus, you don’t know how difficult it was, there on my own. I knew nobody. Everyone expected me to fit in as if I’d been there all my life. When I met that girl and she gave me the doctor’s name I felt better, realising I wasn’t the only one who found it difficult to keep up the pace and—’

‘You don’t need to explain,’ he interrupted, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders. ‘I understand. I just hope that from now on you won’t feel the need to ruin your health, your youth and your beauty, that’s all.’ She looked up at him, read the sincerity in his gaze and swallowed. ‘If you hate Hollywood so much, why go back?’

‘I have a contract with Ed.’

‘But what about the actual work? I thought you enjoyed acting,’ he said, signalling to a servant to lay the coffee tray on a low Ottoman by the parapet.

‘I do. That’s why I have to overcome this stupid fear, these silly inhibitions I have. It’s absurd when I’ve been offered the chance of a lifetime. I’ve always wanted to act. Being taken to Hollywood and given this opportunity was all I’d ever dreamed of. It’s just that now I—’ She shrugged, looked out over the sea. ‘It’s all so superficial, so fake. Not at all as I imagined it. Again, just a sort of fantasy.’

‘That’s just how you described this place.’

‘Well, I didn’t mean it quite like that. It’s a different kind of fantasy.’

‘I’m glad you think so. I would hate to think that I live in a Hollywood dream world. I happen to have very real projects for this island.’

‘I’m sure you do,’ she said, seeing a gleam in his eye. ‘Very different to where I come from. That’s just pretty and old fashioned and comfortable.’

‘But you love it?’

‘Yes, I do. It’s home.’

‘And you regret the necessity of having to leave it?’

‘I—’ All of a sudden Victoria remembered Anne’s comments, her financial advisors’ insistence that she change her domicile, and all the reasons she hadn’t wanted to come to Malvarina surfaced. Was this man just trying to seduce her into investing in his island?

‘I’m sorry. That was a personal question and none of my business,’ he murmured. ‘But if, while you’re here, you would like to visit some property I can arrange it.’

‘Thanks,’ she answered, a cold chill rushing through her. ‘Would you mind awfully if I went to bed now? I’m really rather tired after everything that’s happened.’

‘Of course. You must be. I will accompany you upstairs and see that all is in order.’

‘Oh, please—don’t bother,’ she said hastily, getting up and taking a step back. ‘I’m sure I’ll find my way. Goodnight.’ She waved her hand abstractedly, then turned, quickly entered the large living room and headed towards the hall and the stairs.