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It wasn’t as though she had ever iined that she was in love with Ritchie She had only been seeing hih he had been full of hiood company Was what she felt with Vito a rebound attraction?

But how could it be? Ritchie couldn’t be compared to Vito on any level Vito utterly overshadowed his predecessor in every way And just like her secret fantasy, Vito had swept Holly away in the tide of passion she had always drea anywhere, she re of sorrow at that acknowledge relationship with Vito She didn’t need Vito to spell that out What they had noas time out of time, separate from their normal lives and associations Attraction had sparked purely because they were stuck together in a snowbound cottage, and she wasn’t foolish enough to try and make more of it, was she?

She wrapped a towel round herself rather than put on his sweater again and crept out of the bathroom Clad only in his jeans, which were unbuttoned at the waistband, Vito was towelling his hair dry He tossed aside the towel, finger-co his black hair carelessly off his brow ‘I used the shower downstairs’

Holly hovered, suddenly aard ‘I could have done that This is your room, after all’

Vito saw the wary uncertainty in her blue eyes and knew he had put it there Holly was nothing at all like the wo Nevertheless he had initially judged her by the cynical standards formed by years of experience with such women Yet he sensed that she would have been very shocked by the scandal that he had been forced to leave behind hi her innocence yet that same innocence of hers ironically drew him like a beacon He crossed the roo to the inbuilt drive to bridge the gap between theed

And Holly thought about saying no and heading down to the sofa After all, she had broken her own rules and just because she had done that once didn’tit Indeed, if having sex with Vito had been a mistake, she was honour-bound to choose the sofa over him

But sleeping alone wasn’t what she wanted and needed right then She wanted to be with Vito She wanted to ether She was even feeling sensible enough to know that it was fortunate that she wouldn’t be with Vito for iven the opportunity she would fall for him like a ton of bricks That, of course, would be totally, unforgivably stupid And she ht be a little sentimental, but stupid she was not

She looked at Vito, even though she knew she really shouldn’t, but there he was, etched in her head in an iht dizzily He was beautiful, drop-dead beautiful and tonight…tonight he was all hers…

CHAPTER FOUR

AT DAWN, HOLLY sneaked out of bed and crept into the bathroorimaced at her reflection Her hair was a mess Her face reddened in places by Vito’s stubble Her mouth was very swollen and pink And when she stepped into the shower she sed a groan because every muscle she posses

sed complained as if she had overdone it in a workout

But no workout, she thought dizzily, could possibly have been ht in bed with Vito Sorrentino He was insatiable and he had made her the sah she had changed dramatically in less than twelve hours She had learned so much about herself and even more about sex Her body ached in intied froain

Vito was sprawled across the bed, a glorious display of bronzed perfection Luxuriant black lashes flickered as he focused on her ‘I wondered where you were,’ he muttered

‘Bathroo as she slid back under the duvet

Vito reached for her with a sleepy hand and pulled her back against him She shivered in contact with the raw heat and scent of him ‘Go back to sleep,’ he told her thickly