The Tuscan's Revenge Wedding Read Online Free PDF Page A

him with longing, clamp her legs around
him, writhe against him as she moaned his name? If driven to the teetering edge
of desire, would she accept his whispered demands or defy him even then?
    It was a challenge he might have accepted under other
circumstances.
    That was her appeal, no doubt, her lack of interest in him
as a man, her self-possession and the challenge it represented. He was jaded
with having women offer themselves so blatantly no effort was required of him,
no chase necessary and therefore no thrill of conquest.
    He avoided the women who hovered on the edges of society,
hoping to sleep their way to a permanent place in it. He also steered clear of
the eager young things paraded by ambitious mothers. Sometimes he saw this or
that woman for a few weeks or months, took them out to dinner or escorted them
to galas or charity events. But they were widows, divorcees or career women who
knew his situation and had no wish to change their own.
    Marriage of the kind he had once expected seemed so unlikely
he’d ceased to think of it. Work and duty were his solace, the two things which
consumed him.
    That was why it perplexed him to be so aware of Amanda
Davies. She was nothing like the women he knew. She did not defer to him, nor
did she signal in any way that she might be open to invitation. The unseen
barriers she erected intrigued him. He wanted to know why they were necessary,
also what lay behind those defenses, whether only carefully monitored responses
or the passionate siren he suspected.
    He would never find out. She was not the kind to indulge in
fast sex or casual affairs. Something more than her libido would have to be
engaged before she went to bed with a man. She would, without doubt, require
friendship, deep affection, possibly some promise of a future together before
making love.
    He would marry one day, he thought with a wry grimace. His
wife would be someone of his own kind, a woman willing to produce a child in
exchange for the De Frenza name, the De Frenza wealth. It would be a practical
arrangement on both sides, a matter of legal contracts and low expectations.
This was all his many responsibilities allowed.
    Meanwhile, he could rest his gaze on Amanda Davies parted
lips and fantasize about how sweet they would taste, how it might feel to sweep
his tongue between them, to be met with the warm and sinuous twining of hers
while she hummed her welcome. Yes, and while he tested the soft fullness of her
bottom lip with his teeth. He would slide his hand under the skirt of the
severe suit she wore, seeking tender warmth and moisture, tending her pleasure,
making her ready for him. She would open her thighs to his touch, his sure
exploration—
    A curse feathered his lips as he realized where his too
ready male imagination had taken him. He was harder than he’d been in months,
maybe even years, pulsing with the accelerated beat of his heart.
    Setting his laptop aside with a thud, he pushed folders and
papers to the floor. Surging upright, he stalked to the back of the plane. He
stripped off his shirt as he went, making for the small shower in the bedroom’s en suite bath. He hoped the wait in Atlanta’s summer sun hadn’t warmed
the plane’s water reserve too much.
    ~ ~ ~
    The smell of freshly brewed coffee dragged
Amanda from sleep. The attendant was just sliding a tray onto the table in
front of her, down from where her feet were propped. Upon it was a silver
coffee service, cups and saucers rimmed by a line of the same blue as the
plane’s décor, a pair of chilled salads and a stacked silver server holding
small sandwiches.
    “Did I wake you? I’m so sorry, but Signor de Frenza ordered
a light dinner for this hour.”
    Amanda sat up straight, clearing her throat that was husky
from sleep and tears. “No problem. I’ve probably napped long enough.”
    “It should be something more elaborate,” the woman said with
a small yet anxious shrug. “We left Florence on such short notice there