Summer Surrender: Capelli's Captive Virgin / Italian Boss, Proud Miss Prim / The Italian's One-Night Love-Child

‘I don’t want to get to know you better. I already know you well enough.’

‘But didn’t you say that it was important to delve deeper?’

‘You’re twisting my words.’

‘I’m merely playing your own words back to you.’

She turned her head and looked at the ocean, but he could see the desperation in her eyes and she took several small breaths before turning back to him. ‘If you don’t need me to work immediately then perhaps you could lend me the file and I’ll go back to the villa and make some notes. At least then I’ll be prepared when he finally turns up. I can sign a confidentiality agreement if you think it’s necessary.’

He wondered what it would take to get her out of that navy skirt and away from her legal pad. ‘Do you sail?’

‘Sorry?’ She looked startled. ‘Why are you asking that?’

‘Because we need to find a way of passing the time until my client arrives. I have other suggestions, of course …’ Alessio allowed his sentence to remain unfinished, enjoying the confusion in her eyes.

‘I don’t need you to entertain me.’ Apparently that last remark was sufficient to make her reach for her drink. Lifting it to her lips, she took a large sip and then put the glass carefully back down on the table. ‘If you have no immediate need for me, I’ll just stay in my villa and take the odd swim. You carry on and do whatever it is you usually do when you’re here.’ Her tight voice suggested that she knew exactly what his usual form of entertainment was, and Alessio laughed.

‘You’re going to swim?’

‘Why is that funny?’

‘Because I’ve never seen anyone swimming in a navy skirt before. And you seem determined not to be parted from yours.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘I just can’t imagine you relaxing enough to strip off.’

‘I’ve already told you—I’m perfectly capable of relaxing, Alessio.’

He studied her for a moment wondering what it was about her that was holding his attention. ‘In that case go and change out of those warm winter clothes and have a dip in the sea. I’ll pick you up at eight o’clock for dinner.’

‘I don’t have anything to change into.’

‘My staff will have rectified that by now, I’m sure.’ He’d given them an exact brief on what he wanted and now he was waiting with interest to see how Lindsay reacted to her new wardrobe. He had a feeling that the clothes she wore were part of her defence.

What would happen to her rigid control when she was no longer protected by the comforting security of navy blue or black?

She was convinced she had the mental strength to resist the chemistry between them.

Alessio suddenly discovered just how much he was looking forward to proving her wrong.

CHAPTER FIVE

LINDSAY stared at her reflection in despair.

When she’d returned to the villa to find the wardrobe stocked with a wide selection of summery clothes, she’d been relieved and grateful.

Reluctant though she’d been to admit as much to Alessio, she was boiling and had been finding her skirt scratchy and uncomfortable in the shimmering Caribbean heat.

Relief had turned to amazement as she’d examined the contents of her new wardrobe more closely.

Unaccustomed to such a degree of luxury, she was woman enough to feel a flare of excitement as she’d rifled through the dresses on the rail and sifted her way through beautifully folded tops and cardigans, all separated by tissue paper to minimise creasing. And it hadn’t just been clothes. There were shoes, all in her size, bags, accessories and a basket heaped with a selection of exclusive make-up, all new and still in the packaging.

But her laughter had faded as soon as she’d realised that none of the clothes was what she would have chosen. It was true that neither of the two skirts she had with her was suitable for a week on a Caribbean Island. For a start they were just too hot and, yes, she’d be the first to agree that they were also too formal.

But there was informal and then there was—romantic. Romantic and sexy. And the entire wardrobe that had been provided for her seemed to fall into that category. She’d spent half an hour rifling through the rail over and over again, searching for something that said ‘work in a warm climate’. But everything in front of her just seemed to shriek ‘take me, take me’.

The options had either been too short, too fitted, too low cut, or too dressy.

One dress in particular had caught her attention and she’d looked at it in despair, knowing that only an extremely sexually confident woman would dare to wear strapless, scarlet silk.

She certainly wasn’t that woman.

Which was why, in the end, she’d opted for the turquoise dress.

It shimmered in the light and had clearly been lovingly created by some top designer with seduction in mind.

It wasn’t quite as terrifying as the wicked scarlet dress, but it still made her feel uncomfortable.

How could she possibly join a man like Alessio Capelli for dinner wearing something like this?

It was asking for trouble.

For a start it was semi-transparent, presumably designed to be worn over glamorous underwear on an intimate occasion. Or possibly over a swimsuit, by someone so wealthy that shockingly expensive silk could be regarded as beachwear.

The rest of the wardrobe was much the same. Brightly coloured tops, beach dresses, long floating skirts—everything achingly feminine and designed for an ultra-romantic holiday.

But she wasn’t on holiday.

And knowing Alessio Capelli—knowing his ego and his arrogance—if she wore these clothes, he’d take it as a sign that she wanted to take their relationship a step further.

It was incredibly generous of him to have provided her with a suitable wardrobe, but—

Her eyes narrowed as a sudden thought struck her.

Generous? Was he being generous? Or was he testing her in some way?

Remembering the way he’d teased her, she suddenly realised that it was far more likely that there was a deeper, darker reason for the choice of clothes.

Angry with herself for being so naïve, she glared at her reflection in the mirror.

This wasn’t generosity on his part.

He wanted her to feel uncomfortable.

He wanted her out of her depth.

Apparently he found the unfortunate chemistry between them entertaining and he didn’t bother to pretend otherwise. But nor was he allowing her to pretend. He was upfront and straight about the attraction.