The Platinum Collection: A Diamond Deal: The Flaw in His Diamond / The Purest of Diamonds? / In the Brazilian's Debt

‘Oh, I forgot. You’re more perceptive than any other man.’

‘Maybe.’ He shrugged. ‘Where you’re concerned.’

‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’

She sniffed loudly, wiping her nose on the back of her hand in a way that touched him more than any seductive look she might have given him could hope to do. ‘It means I’m going to bed, Eva. And so are you. But in your bedroom, not mine.’

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#u11a576c4-5736-534e-838f-114ca7b79675)

‘WHERE ARE YOU GOING?’ she exclaimed as Roman walked towards the door.

Eva wasn’t a nuisance, or even a girl he wanted to take to bed. She was a lost soul searching for meaning in a complex world, and unfortunately she had chosen the wrong person to help her to do that. ‘I’m going to take a shower. I suggest you do the same. There’s another bathroom across the hall. There’s a robe hanging on the back of the door you can use. Get to bed, Eva. We have an early start in the morning.’

‘Going where?’

‘Going somewhere I hope will help you to understand what I do, and why you don’t need to be worried about the mine. You can find your bedroom from here?’

‘Of course.’

‘Then goodnight, Eva...’

She wasn’t reassured, and flung the pillows aside as she sprang off the bed.

Eva’s spirited departure was somewhat marred by getting tangled up in the sheets, forcing him to return to free her.

‘Don’t touch me,’ she warned. ‘And as for us having an early start in the morning? I wouldn’t count on that if I were you.’

‘Oh?’ he queried mildly. ‘I thought you were eager to discuss Skavanga with me? Or doesn’t that matter so much now?’

Her eyes widened at this, and then her lips firmed. He guessed she was longing to say something with a sting in its tail, but managed to stop herself in time. ‘I am eager to discuss Skavanga,’ she confirmed. ‘What time shall we meet?’

He hid his pleasure that she was as big a person as he thought she was, and his voice gave nothing away. ‘Six a.m. in the hall. Don’t be late. I have a flight plan filed. Wear jeans.’

‘You don’t need to see me out,’ she told him as he followed her to the door.

‘Forgive my good manners. I’m on my way to open the door for you—and to close it behind you. I don’t want to risk you slamming it in my face.’ He opened the door and held it wide. ‘I’ll see you in the morning, Eva.’

‘Not if I see you first,’ she muttered.

* * *

She was incredibly stung that Roman could be so businesslike after what had happened between them. She wanted to be pleased that their passionate encounter had ended without cause for regret, but all the old insecurities had kicked in, and now she was back in her own room she couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d been sampled and discarded. This was not the fantasy she had scripted, featuring the dark count, who, after listening to her impassioned pleading, would turn out to have a marshmallow heart. This was just a mess.

They had been briefly close and now she felt they were further away than ever. So why had she pulled back? Why couldn’t she go through with something she had always dreamed about? What was wrong with her? Why was it easy being strong in Skavanga, but here everything fell apart? What about those goals she had set herself before she came here? And what about building something instead of destroying everything she touched? And why...weirdly why, she was asking herself, would it have been different if Roman hadn’t been such a gentleman? In her fantasies it was all about being pinned down and pleasured to death, while in reality it was more complex, especially when the hero turned out to be just that: a hero.

She was falling in love with him, Eva realised, hugging herself as she leaned her head against the bathroom door. There would be no one after Roman Quisvada. How could there be? But love was out of the question; he’d always made that clear. Roman had never once allowed her to think that there was anything in his heart for anyone. He approached sex like food and ate when he was hungry. She knew the deal.

Closing her eyes, she allowed herself a few self-indulgent seconds of self-pity before reminding herself that she had come here for a purpose, and that her goal was still in sight. Hadn’t Roman said they were going somewhere tomorrow that would fill in the gaps for her, and that it had everything to do with the mine? She should thank him for bringing this farce to an end. He had forced her to refocus on the only thing that mattered, and that was Skavanga.

So why did she feel so empty?

Because now she knew that Roman was so much more than she had imagined. She had fallen in love with a fantasy hero, but Roman Quisvada was all too real.

She ran a bath and still he was in her head—and it had nothing to do with his incredible body, or the force field of sex that swirled around him. Or even the humour in his eyes. It was the man. Stripped of his wealth and his obvious attractions, Roman was special, while she was too shy, too awkward, too inexperienced, to have a hope of holding his attention. He made her see things differently. He made her want to rush home and hug her sisters, and tell them they must never fall out again—that she must never fall out with them again. He made her see that sometimes it was better to hold back and think things through before rushing off in her usual headstrong way. But she wasn’t the only one with secrets. Roman had his share. She wanted to know him better. She wanted to know his secrets...

She thought about Roman for so long the water grew chilly. Was there a chance he would come to her tonight?

There was always a chance...

There were no sounds in the big house when she padded barefoot into the bedroom. It was so romantic with moonlight streaming into the room and across the covers on the bed. And it was all wasted on her. Awkward Eva had done it again. Drawing the toweling robe a little closer, she firmed her jaw. Tomorrow was another day. And Roman had promised they would talk. Look at it that way, and it was mission accomplished.

But then she would go home and nothing would change, and the idea of becoming an increasingly embittered old shrew held scant appeal.

It didn’t have to be this way.

Padding over to the main door, she opened it a crack, and then a little bit more. It wasn’t exactly an invitation. It could even be taken for a door left open by mistake. But if Roman should happen to notice, and came in...

Was that likely?

Throwing back the covers, she climbed in between the cool sheets and stretched out. Closing her eyes, she steadied her breathing. She lay tensely listening for what felt like hours. Once she even heard a door open, but it was somewhere far away and soon closed again. After that, silence mocked her, and, defeated, she fell back on the pillows. Roman had no intention of visiting her tonight—or any other night—and she was a fool to think he might.

She tossed and turned throughout the endless night, searching for sleep and finding very little, so that by the time she woke it was with surprise that she had slept at all. There wasn’t even time for breakfast—just a quick shower. She made it down into the hall at the same moment that Roman powered through the door.

‘Ready?’ he said, already turning to go.

It took her a moment to reply. She was still reeling from the slam into her senses of seeing him again. ‘Where are we going?’

‘To open your mind, Signorina Skavanga.’

‘That sounds interesting.’ And if she didn’t rush he’d be gone.

They were together again. She couldn’t help a little inward jig, because right now that was enough.

Striding at speed down the path that led through the gardens, Roman took her through a rose arbour, which was a miracle in itself in such a hot climate, and then on across to a perfectly manicured lawn where sprinklers were on active duty. The tall, arching spray glittered a frame around the outline of a sleek white helicopter. The helicopter was empty. So Roman must be the pilot. Of course he was.

‘Duck your head,’ he warned as they approached the long blades. Opening the door, he gestured for her to get in. Once she was settled, he passed her a set of headphones. ‘Put these on. I’ll help you strap in.’

She braced herself for the moment when his hands brushed her body. It was important that she behaved as if nothing had happened between them—as if he hadn’t seen her naked—as if he hadn’t taken her to the door of paradise and slammed it in her face.

‘Problem, Eva?’ he said, standing back.

Slamming doors was a theme between them? She bit her lip to hide her smile. Everything was happening so fast. ‘I didn’t expect this.’

‘The ferry’s too slow for what I’ve got in mind,’ Roman said as he checked her straps.

He smelled amazing and looked even better. She doubted he ever took the ferry. She doubted she could survive being with him in such an enclosed space.

He closed her door, which gave her a few brief seconds of isolation in which to collect her thoughts. No chance. There could never be enough time for that while Roman was around. Even the air seemed to jangle when he climbed in beside her. It was charged with his energy, as was she. Just watching him strap in and put his headphones on, before placing a brief call in Italian to some distant control tower, was arousing. His familiarity with the big machine as he flipped switches and made other preparations for take-off was ridiculously sexy. His naked arms, tanned and coated with just the right amount of black hair, were sexy. His strong hands and wrists brought back memories of an extremely sexual nature, while his crisp short-sleeved shirt, tucked into well-packed jeans cinched with a no-nonsense leather belt, only made her remember what his body felt like beneath his clothes. And it tempted her gaze to wander down—