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'It wouldn't abate er one jot'

Ashley thrust up her chin 'OK What about financial restitution?’

Vito dealt her a cold smile 'Your family do not have the means That "stupid fountain" you referred to was a sculpture, a quite irreplaceable work of art The car? A Ferrari F40 with one or two little extras custom-built to my requirements I paid four hundred thousand pounds for it four years ago and it's already a collector's item'

'Four h-hundred th-thousand pounds for a car?' Ashley stammered in disbelief

'It was a limited edition put out to celebrate Ferrari's fortieth anniversary'

'It's obscene… all that asped helplessly 'And theto you!'

Vito shifted a lithely expressive hand 'And everything to you'

'Once we loved each other… ' Every charged syllable hurt her throat, decimated her pride

'Really?' Vito proe that you should talk of love nohen you ether'

Golden eyes dwelt unreadable on her hot cheeks and she evaded that appraisal 'Can we stick to Tim?' 'You were the one who chose to stray into the past,' he reminded her

'Only because I was stupid enough to try and appeal-'

'To souessed with derision 'I'm not sentimental about sex' The assurance roared like a shockwave through her

She felt not only humiliated, she felt cheated 'But you-'

'You destroyed what I felt for you' It was an icy growl

'You had a pretty silirow out of your ridiculous ideas I actually honoured you with a proposal of e-'

'Oh, let's notto that offer in ter back at hiht you were doing ood excuse to avoid the gold-plated Plain Jane your parents kept on throwing at your head! That is, until you caot your calculator out and snatched at her with both greedy hands!'

Without warning, Vito sprang up and strode forward to face her His dark features were set like granite 'If you ever refer to et that you are a woive you the response that you truly deserve!'

'L-Iate? As in g-gone?' As he towered over her; six feet three inches of ferocious threat, she bowed her head, shattered by the news and cursing her iue and the venom that could trip off it so easily in his radius 'I'm sorry'

'No, you're not,' Vito grated

'All right I can't really be sorry because I didn't know her!' Ashley slammed back at him with more truth than tact 'But I'm sure she was a saint and a wonderful person, quite unlike me'

'Most unlike you,' he breathed tautly in agreeel, the teo and the amorality of a natural whore On no count do you have the smallest resemblance to Carina'