But from close up, he’d been astonished by the glory of her natural beauty. She wore makeup on her skin, but no lipstick or mascara. Strange. Her eyelashes were blond, as were her eyebrows. She was tall and slender and beautiful, and yet strangely the ultimate effect was to evade notice.
Icy? No. She was prickly and rude, but her body—ah. Stefano could read what her body was telling him, and it was far warmer. He’d seen the roses in her cheeks, the warmth of her creamy skin and tremble of her slender body when he’d reached toward her in the courtyard. When he even looked at her.
He wanted to break through her cool reserve. To find out how wild she could be once she lost that restraint. Once she clutched his naked body to her own with a gasp as heat and sweat and passion mingled between them.
He could hardly wait.
And … for the first time in a decade, he might actually have to wait. It would take time to woo this woman. Perhaps he might not have her in bed tonight. Perhaps not until tomorrow.
The challenge intrigued him. It offered a pleasurable distraction this week, his least favorite week of the year, when his land and home would be invaded—first by event planners, then wealthy tycoons and their fur-dripping wives. Stefano held his annual polo match and gala for a good cause, to help poverty-stricken local villages, and yet he hated it every year.
So he would think of Annabelle Wolfe instead. Looking at her willowy figure in the shadowy light of the hallway made his body tense in an entirely different way. It was delicious.
He paused, smiling down at her. “Would you care for a tour of the house?”
“A tour around the house?” She stared up at him, her brow furrowed. “While you’re carrying my luggage on your back?”
“So?”
She squinted at him doubtfully, then shook her head. “It’s your funeral. Sure. I would love a tour so I don’t get lost. Just make it short.”
Her words were abrasive, but Stefano could read her body. He saw the stiffness of her shoulders and tremble of her wrists. Beneath her cold demeanor, she was desperately trying to hide her attraction.
Testing her, Stefano placed one hand on the small of her back, as if to guide her.
He heard her intake of breath, the hiss through her teeth as she jumped away. She glared up at him with wide-set gray eyes.
He hid a smile. Maybe he wouldn’t have to wait until tomorrow, after all.
He looked back at her innocently, motioning down the hall. “This way, Miss Wolfe.”
She set her jaw, hitching her leather bag up her shoulder as she growled, “You’re the tour guide. You go first.”
She clearly didn’t want him to touch her, not even briefly, not even over multiple layers of her buttoned-up, businesslike clothing. Hostia, the woman was aware of him. And she was skittish, in spite of her defiant words.
He’d never seen a woman who so badly needed to be kissed. With her hair in a tight blond chignon, she had the cool poise of Grace Kelly, and the same hint of simmering fire beneath the surface.
Stefano wanted her. Not just for the novelty of a challenge. He wanted her for pure pleasure.
But Afonso Moreira had been right. This was not a woman who would easily be tamed. Her guard was up far too high. If Stefano wooed her too strongly, she would flee. He’d seen that in the courtyard. So to calm her fears, he’d implied he did not want her, and allowed her to draw her own conclusions.
Let’s just say you’re not my usual type. It wasn’t even a lie. His usual type was beautiful, willing and uncomplicated. A pretty tourist passing through the nearest village. A French socialite or New York debutante he would see once a year, or better yet, never again.
Annabelle Wolfe was unique. Special. And he would have her.
Stefano walked ahead in the hallway, listening to the clack-clack of her two-inch heels on the tile floor behind him.
“This is the main salon,” he pointed out as they passed the wide arched doorway. They continued down the hall past an old suit of armor, gleaming in the dull light. “Through that door is the library. And that hallway there leads to the kitchen.”
“This place is like a maze.” Her voice was cool, almost sardonic. “Will I need a map?”
He slowed, walking beside her. “Somehow I doubt that. You spend your life traveling the world, do you not? From Zanzibar to the Yukon, I’ve heard.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you have a home?”
“London.” Her voice was clipped, as if reluctant to give even the smallest tidbit of personal information.
“And yet are you ever there? That’s hardly a home.”
“The world is my home,” she bit out.
“I do not envy your life,” he said softly.
She lifted her chin, and her gray eyes glittered like silver shards in snow.
“For the past few months,” she said, “I’ve visited horse ranches all over Europe. I’m curious to see how your ranch can possibly be the best. Because so far I can’t see it.”
He knew she was baiting him, but he still felt annoyed in spite of himself. It was one thing to criticize him, something else entirely to insult his horses or his home. “You can’t?”
She shrugged. “It’s a beautiful place …”
“But?” he demanded.
Her eyes met his. “You charge double for your horses as compared to other breeders, and you often refuse to sell to customers for no reason. You make your buyers jump through ridiculous hoops.”
“My horses are precious and rare. The only men who should own them are those who deserve to win races. It is not just a question of money.”
“And yet you charge a vast fortune.” She tilted her head and said doubtfully, “Maybe your horses are worth it …”
“Or?” he said sharply.
“Or maybe … you’re just a brilliant huckster who understands how to trick rich fools out of their money.”
He stared down at her. She gave him a tranquil smile, as if to say, I have more armor than you can possibly comprehend.
His whole body tightened painfully. His interest in bedding her now went beyond desire for her cool beauty to the passion for the hunt. For the thrill of victory. He wanted to best her. He wanted to hear her cry out his name in the breathless sensual gasp of need.
He wanted her more than he’d wanted anything for a long, long time.
Narrowing his eyes, he evenly returned her smile. “I will be delighted to show you why we’re the best, Miss Wolfe,” he said. “I will leave you in no doubt.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at his tone. He kept his expression bland, then turned away.
“Come.”
Stefano walked through the wide, dimly lit hallway. As she followed him, he matched his pace to hers. If she increased her speed, so did he. If she slowed down, he did the same. He gave her brief touches, crowding her space—innocently, of course, and always in the context of pointing out various beautiful items in the house, some of them antiques of great value. He guided her past an old Spanish painting of a woman..
“Is that a Goya?” she demanded breathlessly.
“Yes, I believe it is,” he said.
Then