The Royal House of Niroli Collection. Кейт Хьюит
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of his hands cupped her cheek to angle her head for deeper access, his other hand in the small of her back to press her even harder against him.
He was incredibly aroused, the length of him surprising her even though she wasn’t completely without experience.
The sound of voices and footsteps approaching must have jolted Alex into awareness of where they were as he suddenly pulled away, and, giving her a quick, almost self-conscious grin, ran a hand through his hair in a distracted manner. ‘Now that is what I call a kiss. Where’d you learn to do that?’
She gave him a flustered look. ‘Um…I.’
He smiled and, tucking her arm through his, escorted her back to the restaurant. ‘Never mind—I don’t think I really want to know. I might start to feel jealous.’
They were soon re-seated at the same table and the waiter refreshed their glasses with the chilled wine. Food orders were taken and fresh crusty bread and a little plate of warmed marinated local olives appeared.
After their main course was set before them Amelia found herself finally beginning to relax, the wine easing a bit more of her tension with every sip she took. Alex had done his best to put her at ease, chatting in his easygoing manner to her about his work and how he hoped to train the cardiac team at the Free Hospital, but, even so, every now and again her mind kept drifting back to that explosive kiss. She could still taste him in her mouth and her lips felt swollen and overly sensitive each time she sipped her wine. She could even feel the hard, warm presence of his legs beneath the table; once or twice as he shifted in his chair they brushed against hers, unleashing a shock wave of awareness through her lower body.
Alex reached across to refill her wineglass, his dark eyes meeting hers. ‘How is your meal?’
‘It’s wonderful,’ she said, sending him a shy smile. ‘I haven’t been out to dinner for years.’
His eyebrows lifted. ‘How many years?’
She ran a fingertip around the rim of her glass, her eyes watching the movement of her finger rather than meet the dark probe of his gaze. ‘Eleven.’
He whistled through his teeth. ‘That must have been one hell of a bad meal you had way back then.’
She felt a reluctant smile tug at her mouth as she lifted her eyes to his. ‘It was. I got my heart broken for dessert.’
‘Not a good way to end a meal or a relationship.’
‘No.’
Their gazes locked for a moment and then, as if in unison, slowly lowered to each other’s mouths, the air suddenly charged with erotic possibilities.
Alex was the first to break the spell. ‘So what happened?’ he asked, reaching for his wine.
‘I was too young and inexperienced to see the signs. I had not long lost my mother and was feeling a bit rudderless. A handsome man visiting the island paid me a lot of attention and I stupidly fell for it,’ she said, trying not to let her gaze drift back to the warm temptation of his.
‘A handsome married man, I suppose,’ he commented.
‘Yes, very much so.’ She let out a tiny sigh. ‘He had two little children back in Milan. Their photographs fell out of his wallet when he dropped it. I picked it up and of course he had all the usual excuses—my wife doesn’t understand me, we no longer have a physical relationship, blah, blah, blah.’
His dark gaze softened with concern. ‘How did you cope?’
She brushed her hair back with a soft movement of her hand, her cheeks going a delicate shade of pink. ‘I got myself to a nunnery.’
He gave her an incredulous look. ‘You’re kidding, right?’
‘No.’ She toyed with the rim of her glass with her fingertip again, her expression clouding briefly.
‘Were you going to take vows?’
‘I was seriously considering it.’
‘What changed your mind?’
She gave him a wry smile. ‘The vow of chastity wasn’t really hard for me, but the vow of silence was.’
He laughed. ‘Yeah, I can see how that might have been a problem for you.’
‘It was. I had a tendency to answer back, which didn’t go down very well.’
‘So you left and took up nursing?’ he said.
‘Yes, I wanted to do something with my life, something for other people instead of hiding away in a convent.’
‘Not all nuns hide away in convents,’ he pointed out. ‘I’ve worked with several who were teaching or nursing in some of the developing countries I’d visited.’
‘I know, but I missed my father and brothers after three years. I decided I could do more good on Niroli by working at the Free Hospital as well as one or two community shifts.’
‘You weren’t tempted to take your skills to the private hospital where the pay would be better?’ he asked.
‘No, never. I think it’s terribly unfair that the well-to-do have top-quality health care while the poorer members of our community have to do with second best.’
‘It’s a real problem in most developed countries,’ he said. ‘Those who can afford private health cover often need it less than those who can’t.’
‘So that’s part of the reason you are here, isn’t it?’ she asked. ‘Apart from the royal summons, of course.’
‘Yes, I thought it would be a good opportunity to train the cardiac team while I was here on sabbatical. Vincenzo Morani in particular is keen to learn the technique.’
‘You’re employed at a teaching hospital in Sydney?’ she said, this time unable to keep her gaze from tracking back to the warm intensity of his.
‘Yeah, I get the fancy title of Associate Professor, which basically means I have to do a whole lot of paperwork for the university as well as juggle tutorials in amongst my regular clinical work. Some days I don’t even have time to think. My folks are always at me to slow down, but it’s hard to get a good balance of work and play.’
‘I know. It’s hard when your skills are needed so much.’
‘Like you, right?’ he guessed.
She lowered her gaze self-consciously. ‘I don’t have the demands on me that you do.’
‘I don’t know about that,’ he said. ‘From what I hear you don’t get to play too often either.’
‘No, not much, I guess.’
‘Are you planning to spend the rest of your life on Niroli?’ he asked after a tiny, almost imperceptible pause.
‘I’m not sure…’ She picked up her glass and stared at its contents. ‘I would like to travel, perhaps see a bit of the world, but I have responsibilities here for now.’
‘Your father and brothers?’
‘Yes…it might be different when my father…passes, but for now I have no immediate plans to leave.’
A small silence settled in the space between them. Amelia was hunting her brain for something to say to break it, when a man suddenly approached their table to stare at Alex, his face almost white with shock. ‘Antonio?’
Alex turned his head. ‘Sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong guy.’
‘I am sorry…’ The man backed away. ‘You look like someone I once knew.’
Alex gave him a friendly smile. ‘It happens all the time,’ he said. ‘I guess I have one of those boring generic faces.’
Amelia saw the up and down movement of the other man’s