Page 22 of His Housekeeper's Twin Baby Confession
But she didn’t wait for him to say anything. She pulled free of his embrace and pushed through the crowd.
Massimo cursed. What the hell was wrong with him?
He followed her.
CHAPTER FOUR
CARRIEBLINDLYMADEher way through the crowd and off the dance floor to the closest escape route she could see. Open French doors leading out to a terrace. She needed air. Blood was thundering in her head.
The terrace was mercifully quiet. For once she didn’t notice the city laid out before her, buildings soaring tall on either side.
Massimo’s words reverberated in her head:I want you... I want you...Away from him now, though, she wondered if she’d misheard him. A different kind of heat crept into her face. Shame.
Did he overwhelm her so much that she’d conjured up the words that she wanted to hear?
‘Carrie.’
He was behind her. Her skin prickled. She composed herself and turned around, forcing a breezy smile. ‘Sorry, the heat got to me.’
I thought I heard you say you wanted me.
‘I needed some air.’
She was avoiding his eye, fixing her gaze somewhere around his jaw. It was tight. A muscle popped.
He said, ‘Look, I’m sorry about that.’
Reluctantly she looked at him. His face was in shadow. All angles and edges. ‘Sorry about...?’
Sorry about wanting her, of course!
He grimaced. ‘I was thinking it. I didn’t realise I’d spoken out loud.’
Carrie’s heart thumped. ‘Thinking that...?’
‘I want you.’
He’d said it again. She hadn’t been dreaming or hallucinating. She felt trembly. She was glad the wall of the terrace was behind her, giving her some sense of support.
‘I don’t know what to say.’
Massimo came and stood next to her, facing out towards the city. Hands on the wall. ‘You don’t have to say anything. I’ve overstepped the mark.’ He looked at her. ‘You’re under no obligation, Carrie. You can leave now if you wish. My driver will take you back to the apartment. I won’t put you in this position again.’
He turned around and went back into the ballroom. Impossible to miss. He was soon accosted by an eager crowd.
Carrie knew he was giving her an opportunity to restore the boundaries of their relationship. To go back to how it had been. But something seismic had just happened. He’d told her he wanted her. He desired her.
Massimo Black, an earl and a lord, one of the world’s most charismatic and enigmatic men, wantedher. Carrie Taylor. A woman who had seen and experienced the rougher edges of life since birth. A woman who had been brought low by her own vulnerability and hollowed out by grief.
Sometimes Carrie felt much older than her twenty-six years. She’d never really indulged in anything frivolous and just for her. She’d never had the luxury of being so selfish. She’d gone from grieving for her mother to embarking on a relationship that would dominate her life until tragedy finally ended it.
She’d never felt the range of sensations that Massimo could evoke with just a look or brief touch. Not even with her husband, a man she’d believed she loved.
Just now, in Massimo’s arms... It was almost embarrassing how aware she’d been of every inch of her body. The way her breasts had felt heavy. Her gut tight with tension. And lower, between her legs, she’d felt achy with a longing she’d never experienced before.
Massimo was still standing in the crowd, towering above almost everyone else. He was surrounded by people. Women. Yet in that moment he cut a very lonely figure to Carrie. She felt no pity. What she did feel—shockingly—was a sense of possessiveness. Especially when one of the women put a hand on his arm to get his attention.
Acting on instinct, not thinking of what her actions might mean, Carrie walked through the crowd to Massimo. As if sensing her, he turned his head and saw her. She saw a flare in his eyes. A flare of heat. And...gratitude?
