Modern Romance July 2015 Books 1-4. Maisey Yates

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ the demure and sporty shots she usually did for the store and she felt stupid. No. She felt exposed.

      And vulnerable.

      Her eyelashes were laden down with more mascara than she’d ever worn before and consequently the smoky make-up they’d been aiming for looked as if someone had given her two black eyes. The glossy, cyclamen-pink lipstick, intended to echo the colour of the brand’s iconic packaging, gave her an almost clown-like appearance. And the dress. Oh, the dress. She didn’t even want to get started on the dress. It was everything she wasn’t—vampy and revealing. Ebony satin fitted so closely on the bodice that she could barely breathe and cut so low that her cleavage was now an unflattering sea of goosebumps. Beneath the swish of the full skirt her knees were knocking together with a mixture of nerves and embarrassment. Because even though the city was relatively quiet in February, the odd tourist had stopped to take her photo and she hated it.

      She hated trying to look sexy and sophisticated, which was the look the art director had told her he wanted—since she felt neither. She felt like a fraud—and wouldn’t they all laugh themselves silly if they discovered that she hadn’t made love to a man in eight long years?

      Of course, having Loukas standing watching her wasn’t helping. In fact, it was making everything a whole lot worse. Against the misty grey and white of the Venetian backdrop, the Greek stood out like a dark spectre on the bank of the canal. The light from the water caught him in its silvery gleam and the city’s sense of the hidden and the deep seemed to reflect back his own unknowable personality. Two burly security guards flanked him, their eyes fixed on the fortune in gems which shimmered against her skin.

      The art director looked at his watch and frowned. ‘Okay, we’re losing the light. Let’s call it a day, shall we? Same time tomorrow, people.’

      As some of the crew sprang forward to help her from the gondola, Jessica could see the art director muttering something to Loukas, who was nodding his head in thoughtful agreement. His black gaze held hers for a moment and she felt the skitter of unwanted desire whispering over her skin. Why was he even here? Why didn’t he go back to London and leave her alone? Surely she might be able to come up with what they wanted if he weren’t standing there, like a fire-breathing dragon, making her feel inadequate in all kinds of ways. Holding the voluminous folds of the black satin skirt of her dress, she stepped onto the bank and was handed the cashmere shawl.

      ‘We’re going to St Mark’s Square for coffee, though maybe you deserve a brandy after all that,’ said Patti, rubbing her hands together before putting them over her mouth and blowing on them. ‘Fancy coming along once you’ve taken your necklace off and changed?’

      ‘Not right now. I’m going to take Jess back to the hotel,’ came a dark and silky voice from behind her.

      Jessica glanced round to see Loukas walking towards her, like a character who had just stepped from an oil painting. His dark cashmere overcoat matched the dark gleam of his hair and today he seemed devoid of all colour. Today, he was all black. The hard-edged smile he glimmered at her set off faint warning bells, though she wasn’t sure why.

      ‘Because she looks frozen,’ he added deliberately.

      Yes, she was frozen, but, although her skin felt like ice, her blood grew heated when his fingers brushed against her neck as he unclipped the heavy diamonds and handed them over to the waiting security guard. She felt lighter once the jewels had been removed and she wrapped the shawl tightly around herself, trying to hide herself from Loukas’s searching gaze. But nothing could protect her from the way he was making her feel, as self-conscious beneath that piercing stare as she had been during their journey out here.

      They had taken a scheduled flight from London, which had been just about tolerable, because at least Loukas had been working while Jessica attempted to read a book. But when they had arrived and their waiting water taxi had taken them towards the city, she’d felt herself unwillingly caught up in the romance of the moment, no matter how hard she tried to fight it.

      She had felt as if she were in a film as the sleek craft sped through the choppy grey waters, leaving a trail of white plume behind them, and the iconic skyline of cities, churches and domes loomed up ahead of them. She had failed to conceal her gasp of pleasure as they’d entered the Grand Canal and Loukas had turned to her and smiled. A complicit smile edged with danger and, yes, with promise.

      And Jessica had shivered just as she was shivering now.

      ‘Let’s walk back to the hotel,’ he said as the crew began to disperse.

      Picking up the heavy skirt to prevent it from dragging on the damp bank, she looked at him. ‘You really think I can walk back to the hotel wearing this?’

      ‘You don’t imagine that women in ages past had to struggle with dresses similar to that?’ he mused. ‘Think of the famous masked ball they hold here every February. And you’ll be warmer if we walk. Come on. It isn’t far.’

      ‘Okay,’ she said, and pulled the cashmere closer.

      She stuck close to his side as they began to weave their way through the narrow streets, past shop windows filled with leather books and exquisite glassware and over tiny, echoing bridges. It was like being in the centre of an ancient maze and it wasn’t long before Jessica had completely lost her bearings. ‘You seem to know exactly where you’re going,’ she said.

      ‘Unless you think I’m planning to get you lost in Venice, never to be seen again?’

      She looked up at him and her heart gave a funny kind of thud. ‘Are you?’

      He laughed. ‘Tempting, but no. Look. We’re here.’

      It was with something almost like disappointment that Jessica glanced up to see their hotel ahead of them, with light spilling out from the elegant porticoed entrance. Heads turned as they walked into the palm-filled foyer and she guessed that they must make a bizarre couple with her in the flowing ballgown and Loukas in his black cashmere coat. She could feel the swish of her dress brushing over the marble floor and felt her cheeks grow pink when the pianist broke into a version of ‘Isn’t She Lovely?’ and a group of businessmen started clapping and cheering as she passed them by. She wanted to dive into the elevator but her suite was on the first floor and the sweeping staircase seemed the most sensible option for getting there. But the voluminous skirt of her dress took some manoeuvring and she was out of breath by the time she got to the top.

      ‘Not quite as fit as you used to be?’ Loukas said, his black eyes glinting.

      ‘Obviously not, since I’m not playing competitive tennis any more, but I’m fit enough. I’m just not used to dragging this amount of material around with me.’

      There was a pause as they reached her door and she fumbled with her key card to open it.

      ‘So, are you going to have dinner with me tonight?’ he asked.

      She shook her head. ‘Thanks for the offer, but I’m going to have a bath and try to get warm again. My hands feel like ice.’ She hesitated as she looked up into his face and then swallowed. ‘They didn’t like what I did today, did they? I could tell.’

      He shrugged. ‘It was all new to you. You’re used to being brisk and breezy, to wearing casual clothes and looking sporty—and suddenly you’re expected to start behaving like a vamp. You’re operating outside your comfort zone, Jess, but don’t worry. You’ll get it right tomorrow.’

      ‘And if СКАЧАТЬ