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There was no triumph or relief in the immediate aftermath.

For the first time in her life, Elvira had a tremor in her hand, and it was taking all her strength to control it and aim the gun back at the retreating Mattia. The gun she’d designed and made for herself was so slim and delicate that it would only take the smallest amount of extra pressure to accidentally pull the trigger, and for the first time since she’d surprised him with it, she felt fear that she might actually do it.

Chapter Six

Mattia, his arm extended and gun pointing at Elvira, edged his way back to the armchair. Colour he’d not seen before was high on her cheeks, her chest moving rapidly.

He hadn’t kissed her. That much he did know. But their faces had got so close that their lips had touched. It had been only a whisper, but had shot straight to his groin.

All she needed to do was lower her gaze from his face, and she’d see the outline of his erection.

Goddammit, he’d never suffered with unwanted arousal before. Finding any kind of arousal usually took immense concentration and even greater determination.

The back of his calves pressed against the armchair. He lowered himself into it carefully, and hooked an ankle to his thigh to try and loosen the constriction acting like a vice around his erection. He could feel it straining and throbbing beneath the heavy denim of his jeans.

It was the situation they were in, he told himself. Adrenaline came out in many different ways, and the rush that had taken him from his armchair to Elvira’s lap had been the most powerful rush he’d ever experienced. Couple that rush with his undeniable if inexplicable attraction to her and arousal had been inevitable.

What was also inevitable was that she would use the same subject to provoke him again, and he needed to be prepared for it. He could see the calculation in her face, there within the high colour saturating it. It was this that he needed to focus on, not the growing sexual chemistry tightening around them.

She now knew his dead father’s sex life was the route to enraging him. What made it more maddening was that he’d spent half his adolescence and the whole of his adult life squashing the sickness his father’s private antics set off in him. He’d never let it show, had maintained complete indifference whenever it was mentioned in his hearing, and this woman, this Ranieri bitch, had brought it to the surface without any effort at all. Sitting here gazing at her beautiful face with the thrum of arousal pulsing through his veins and the scent of her shampoo lodged in his nostrils only made things worse.

Goddammit, he shouldn’t have reacted.

“You’re looking uncomfortable,” she commented. “Is it the erection in your pants or the thought of your father having sex causing it?”

“Fuck you,” he said coldly.

Her silver eyes flashed. “You can try if you want.”

He would not let his mind go there.

“There isn’t enough disinfectant in the world that would make me go near Ranieri scum.”

“Then I will be safe when I take my shower.”

“I’ve already told you, you won’t be taking a shower.”

“And I’ve already told you that you can’t stop me.” Her eyes flashed again. “Come on, Mattia, it’s not like me showering is going to endanger you more than you already are. If anything, you should be encouraging it. Showering will put me at a disadvantage. What are you frightened of? A naked female body? Are you a virgin?”

“My sex life is none of your fucking business, and I’m not frightened of anything.”

“But I’m making it my business. All your cursing and swearing makes me think I should make it even more of my business. Let’s see if I can get you to rush me again.” She extended her gun arm and tilted her head. “Is it true your parents never shared a bed after Siena’s birth?”

He clamped his lips together.

“I’ll take that as a yes. How upset were you at losing your Swiss chalet to us?”

Thrown by the abrupt swerve of conversation, he took a moment to reengage his brain and control himself from reacting to a new subject chosen as deliberately as his sex life.

He didn’t know what was worse: that this woman seemed to know exactly what to do and say to provoke him or that her provocations were working on him when he never allowed himself to be provoked by anyone or anything.

“You took everything from me so why should one little chalet bother me in the great scheme of things?” he said with a tight smile. His Swiss chalet, bought only a year ago, had been his most treasured property, a barely used sanctuary from his life. He’d envisaged one day walking away from everything and seeing out his old age there.

Glee poured from her eyes. “Hardly little. I can’t wait to see it in person. I’m sure the pictures don’t do it justice. Did I mention that Elio’s transferring it into my sole name?”

He gritted his teeth but didn’t drop the smile. “I hope you enjoy it.”

“Oh, I will. I’ve always wanted to try skiing. I’m also looking forward to moving into your apartment – the real one, I mean. The one you actually lived in with the sauna and indoor swimming pool. Elio’s letting me have that too! You cannot believe how excited I am to sleep in your luxurious bed and know you’re reduced to sleeping in a tiny bed with a lumpy mattress.”