Secrets of a Powerful Man by Chantelle Shaw

Author:Chantelle Shaw [Shaw, Chantelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Presents
Published: 2013-10-01T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

DARCEY WAS FORCED to call on all her acting skills to appear calm and collected as Salvatore introduced her to his dinner guests. He gave no explanation of her role at the castle, and she was sure his business associates assumed she was his mistress—especially when he slipped his arm possessively around her waist as they walked through to the dining room.

Lydia was late, as usual, and as they took their places at the table Armond informed Salvatore that she would not be joining them at all because she was feeling unwell. Thinking of Salvatore’s mother-in-law reminded Darcey of the man she had seen when she had walked back from the pool: the same man who had been arguing with Lydia in Taormina a few days ago.

‘Did Ettore Varsi come to visit Lydia?’ she asked. ‘I saw him earlier today, on the path by the beach.’

Salvatore frowned. ‘I was not informed by the security guards that Ettore had visited the estate. Perhaps you mistook one of the workers for him?’

‘No, it was definitely him.’ Darcey was absolutely certain it had been Ettore she had seen, and felt irritated that Salvatore clearly did not believe her.

The conversation around the dinner table quickly turned to business, but Darcey did not mind. She was preoccupied with her thoughts. Salvatore made an effort to be a charming host, but she sensed his impatience with social niceties and knew he would rather be at the winery or out in the vineyards than making polite small talk. He was a man of action rather than words, and she had a feeling that the same would be true in the bedroom.

Thinking about making love with him brought a flush to her cheeks, and her colour deepened when she felt his brooding gaze on her. Did she dare respond to the glittering desire in his eyes? Why shouldn’t she enjoy a brief fling with him? She smiled ruefully to herself when she remembered her mother’s advice to have a sizzling affair with a sexy Sicilian. She had told her mother that Salvatore was dangerous, and now she knew it to be true. He was a serious threat to her heart, and for that reason she was hesitant about them becoming lovers.

* * *

It was late when the guests departed. Darcey stood with Salvatore on the steps of the castle and watched the tail-lights of the cars disappear down the driveway. There was no moon or stars tonight, and the darkness closed around them like an impenetrable cloak.

‘A storm is brewing,’ he predicted. ‘Can you feel the electricity in the air?’

Something was certainly making the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, but she had a feeling it was the smouldering sensuality of the man beside her rather than the atmospheric conditions. Darcey’s heart-rate accelerated as Salvatore slipped his arm around her waist and led her back into the castle. An unspoken question hovered between them, but she was no closer to the answer than she had been during dinner.

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