CHAPTER FIVE

V ITO LOOKED INCREDULO U S . No doubt virgins were as mythical as unicorns in his very cynical world. He said, ‘But...how?’

Now Flora felt self-conscious. She wrapped her arms around herself. A minute ago she’d been melting and now she felt cold. ‘I didn’t have much of a social life. I was home-schooled. When I graduated, my uncle preferred to keep me at the palazzo, helping him and my aunt to host their parties.’

‘You could have left,’ Vito pointed out.

Now Flora felt even more vulnerable. ‘I could have, yes. But somehow, whenever I contemplated it, my uncle always said something that made me feel like I hadn’t paid my dues yet. And when I asked about my inheritance he told me he had it tied up with stocks and shares, trying to make sure I got the most out of it. Then...the marriage deal with you was struck...and for the first time I felt like maybe I finally had a way out. My dues would be paid.’

Vito took a step back. He was shaking his head. ‘This changes everything.’

Flora immediately feared for the women’s aid home. ‘Are you going back on what you promised?’

‘No, of course not. But we don’t need to appear in public. I won’t put you through unnecessary scrutiny.’

Flora struggled to understand. ‘But...you just said you wanted me?’ She’d never felt as exposed as she did in that moment.

‘I do want you, more than I’ve wanted a woman in a long time.’ He sounded grim.

The relief that flooded her was nothing short of humiliating. But she couldn’t help asking, ‘So...what’s the problem?’

Vito’s jaw clenched. He said tautly, ‘I don’t sleep with innocents. I won’t be your first lover, Flora. And I wouldn’t be able to stand next to you and not touch you. After a kiss like that there’s only one way it would end. In my bed.’

A wave of heat pulsed through Flora’s body as she thought of where they might be right now, naked limbs entwined, Vito’s hands exploring every inch of her flesh—she shook her head, desperately trying to dislodge the images.

She tried to claw back any sense of dignity she could. ‘Well, it’s very presumptuous of you to imagine that I would have allowed that to happen.’

She wanted to cringe. Who was she kidding? He’d just kissed her and she’d been ready to climb into his skin. She wouldn’t have put up a word of protest.

Vito said, ‘If you could have resisted, then you would have had more control than me.’

The thought of driving this man so crazy with desire that he wouldn’t be able to control himself was heady.

Flora forced herself to parse the information. She asked, ‘What is it about my virginity that is so off-putting?’

Vito was pacing again. He stopped and faced her. ‘I’m not the man you want as your first lover, Flora. I can’t promise anything more than having fun while we both get what we need and want out of this...relationship. You deserve someone who really cares for you. Who’ll be gentle.’

Flora felt like growling. There was a fire burning inside her. A fire this man had set alight. The last thing she wanted was gentle, or someone who cared for her. She wanted this man. Only this man. He’d already ruined her and he’d only kissed her!

‘I didn’t know you held me in such high esteem.’ She couldn’t help sound mocking.

Vito scowled.

She uncrossed her arms from around herself. ‘What if I wasn’t a virgin?’

‘We wouldn’t be having this conversation.’

Flora shivered. They’d be doing something else. ‘So what happens now?’

‘I’ll do what I promised and help the women’s aid centre and you’re free to stay here until you get a job.’

‘What about your precious reputation?’

A muscle in Vito’s jaw popped. He said, ‘I’ll live with it.’

‘I’m sure there are any number of women who’d be willing to act the part. Women who aren’t virgins. The question is why haven’t you just chosen a suitable woman before now? Why me?’

The truth? Because no other woman had appealed to him enough to even play out a fake relationship for the sake of it. Until Flora. She had inspired the notion. No other woman had made him want to seduce her in a long time. Until Flora.

Except what had happened just now hadn’t even been a seduction, it had been blunt and seriously lacking in finesse. But he’d had to kiss her. He’d had to know . And now he did and now he couldn’t see anything else but her.

But he couldn’t have her. He had a rule. He would not sleep with innocents. There was too much of a risk of emotional attachment. And he was not in the market for emotional attachment.

That way lay loss, grief and pain. After losing his parents, Vito had vowed that he would never let anyone close again. And he hadn’t. And that wasn’t going to change.

He had no desire for a wife, or family. He had no desire to lose everything again. He’d built himself up from the ashes of grief once, he wouldn’t be able to do it again.

And while he knew rationally that there was no reason to believe he would suffer such loss again, there was also no guarantee that he wouldn’t. And he wasn’t prepared to take the risk.

Coward.

He had his business and that was all he needed, along with taking his pleasures when and where he could. Restoring the Vitale name and turning it from a byword for shoddy work practices and whispers of corruption into something respected and revered was his life’s work. If he could ensure his name became an enduring brand, eclipsing the name Gavia for ever, and if his success benefited others less fortunate, then that was all the legacy he needed.

He said, ‘This conversation is over. You’re welcome to stay until you’re on your feet. But that’ll be the extent of our relationship.’

‘Flatmates.’

‘Essentially.’

Her eyes narrowed on him and, for the first time since he’d met her, Vito saw something that looked suspiciously calculating in those golden-brown depths. But then it was gone.

She bent down and scooped up Benji and said, ‘Okay, fine. I’ll stay out of your way as much as I can. You’ll hardly know I’m here.’

Vito watched Flora leave the room, her wild hair spilling down her back. He wanted to reach out and wrap a lock of that hair around his hand and tug her back and finish what they’d started.

He cursed. What a time to discover that he really did have a conscience.

Later that evening, Vito was back in the apartment after spending the rest of the day in the office. A day where he’d been distracted and irritable. A day where he couldn’t stop replaying that kiss in his head. Probably one of the most chaste kisses he’d ever experienced but one that had left him on fire.

And then he’d had to endure an interminably boring business dinner.

He hadn’t seen Flora or the dog on his arrival back at the apartment. Sofia was gone for the day. He presumed Flora was in bed. It was late. He imagined her in bed, alone, her hair spread around her head like a halo... He took a healthy swig of his whiskey, hoping the burn would eclipse the other burn.

He was standing at the window, looking out over the view of Rome. It never failed to buoy him up. To remind him of how far he’d come. Restoring his father’s legacy and pride in the family name.

What’s it all for, though, if you’ve no one to leave it to? Is a brand really going to last without someone to protect it?

He scowled at his reflection and at the insidious doubts infiltrating his head. He was quite happy with his life of no entanglements. And today he’d had the sense to walk away from a potentially explosive one. Flora. An innocent.

Just at that moment, he caught a moving flash of silver out of the corner of his eye. He tensed and turned around. ‘Flora? Is that you?’

Nothing for a beat and then, from outside in the hall, ‘Um, yes, it’s me.’

‘What are you doing?’

‘Going out.’

Vito frowned and put the glass down on a table. He walked to the door and looked into the corridor that led to the reception hall and almost choked at what he saw. Flora, but not Flora. A different woman. His brain was melting and his entire body was going up in flames.

Somehow he managed to croak out, ‘What are you wearing?’

Flora was trembling all over but refused to let Vito’s reaction put her off. She knew the dress was audacious. It was why she was wearing it. It had been a hand-me-down from one of the women at the shelter, along with the matching four-inch stilettos that she could barely walk in. The woman had said, ‘Take it—with your figure it’ll look amazing.’ Flora had taken it, as much out of politeness as anything else.

But this evening she’d realised it was perfect for what she needed.

To get rid of her virginity.

If she couldn’t do it in this dress, then she might as well take a vow of chastity. Vito had laid down a gauntlet earlier. Even if he didn’t know it. Flora had realised that she didn’t want her innocence to hold her back. She had no great romantic illusions after growing up in a loveless environment. This was a very practical decision. She wanted Vito, therefore she needed to remove the impediment: her virginity.

She said, ‘I’m wearing a dress.’ But even as she said that she winced. It was just a scrap of material really. Thin straps and a low V-neck, with hundreds of little silver medallions stitched into the fabric that moved and shimmered with every breath she took. She couldn’t wear a bra with the dress so she felt very conscious of her breasts under the thin material.

It fell to her upper thigh, just about scraping the edges of decency.

Vito’s eyes were almost bugging out of his head. He said, ‘That’s not a dress, that’s an invitation to sin.’

His reaction galvanised Flora. ‘Good, I was hoping for that effect.’

His gaze moved up to meet hers. ‘Why?’

‘Because if my virginity is such an impediment I intend to get rid of it. If you won’t be my first lover, then I’ll find someone who will. You made me realise today that I don’t want my innocence holding me back.’

She turned around to leave and prayed that she wouldn’t humiliate herself by falling flat on her face in these ridiculous shoes.

Vito said from behind her, ‘Where are you going?’

Without turning around, she said, ‘I’m going to Diablo. I hear it’s the best nightclub in town.’

‘Do you know how much it costs to get in?’

Aiming for more confidence than she felt and going off what she’d heard about the club—that if they deemed you alluring enough they would let you in for free—Flora said, ‘I don’t think it’ll be an issue, do you?’ She really hoped it wouldn’t be. She was counting on this dress being enough of a distraction to get her in.

‘That place is full of sharks.’

Flora was in the entrance hall now and she turned around. ‘You’d know, I guess.’ She didn’t mean it as an insult, merely as a fact.

Vito’s face was stony. But he said, ‘Something like that.’

Then he shook his head and came towards her. Flora stood her ground. He said, ‘You won’t find the kind of man you want in a place like that, Flora.’

‘You don’t know what kind of man I want.’

I want you.

She turned around again and was almost at the private elevator doors when Vito said from behind her, ‘This is crazy.’

She pressed the button and the doors opened. He said, ‘You wouldn’t dare.’

She just said, ‘Watch me,’ and stepped into the elevator.