Far From Perfect Read Free Page A

knowledge there’d been no formal answer to the invitation they’d sent him. And the mega-jitters, the shallow breathing and the maniacal thumping of her blood were her natural response, even though there was still a chance it might be Martin who never provoked any of those reactions.
    But the door swung open with a fatalistic inevitability, revealing the person her heart and gut had known would be there. Anna’s smile froze, her jaw tightened and the bright, half-prepared words of greeting expired on her lips. For just a millisecond, she was bereft of the power of speech altogether, but then self-possession kicked back in and she mustered her voice.
    “Nick! Hello. How lovely to see you. I’m so glad you were able to make it.”
    Amazing. Such eloquence. Was that all she could manage? Apparently, yes, because Niccolo Lisitano’s ability to take her breath away was still fully intact, and now he seemed to have stolen her command of the Queen’s English too.
    “Good evening, Anna.”
    The lean, dark-clad figure on the doorstep smiled. His oh-so-familiar devastating grin looked so real, so genuine, despite everything. Maybe it was? “Can I come in then?”
    What if she didn’t invite him in? Could she just shut the door and leave him and his animal magnetism or whatever it was out there? For a moment, she entertained notions about vampires and demons that couldn’t come in if you didn’t invite them, then dashed them away, telling herself not to be mad.
    “Yes…yes, of course. Come in.” Anna stepped quickly back. Almost too quickly. Her body reacted to something the eye couldn’t see, and that shouldn’t really exist. A kind of field of dazzling energy that always seemed to surround Nick. It had been almost a year since she’d last seen him, but the effect was always the same. “You’re always welcome here,” she added, attempting to project casual friendliness, even though she had a nasty feeling she wasn’t succeeding—and that Nick knew it.
    “Of course.” He was already just inches from her, moving faster than seemed natural, and already far too close for her peace of mind.
    The voice was as ever deep and soft, playful yet utterly assured. Against her will, Anna’s eyes devoured the strong, athletic frame, enhanced rather than hidden by his perfectly tailored suit and the long black overcoat he wore open despite the spring drizzle outside. His tawny-gold, sun-bleached hair was bedewed with rain and there was a light sheen of moisture across his familiar and almost unfairly handsome features.
    Time had passed, and a stray line or two had appeared around his eyes, yet still that near-perfect male face seemed to have been in her mind constantly. She stared into his blue gaze and found it cool and assessing, and infinitely disturbing.
    Yet was there a shadow there, a flicker of acknowledgement of all they’d agreed to bury? Or was it a question? She remembered a time—the long hazy summers of her girlhood—when those amazing eyes had sparkled only with warmth and a rascally older-brother affection towards her. And there was a time just once when they’d been velvet dark with passion.
    “What a filthy night.” Banishing that thought with another bright smile, she attempted to breathe as normally and unobtrusively as possible whilst feeling as if she’d just run a marathon. But she couldn’t hide anything from Nick. His laser gaze zeroed in instantaneously on the lift and fall of her breasts beneath her delicate silk and lace bodice.
    “Don’t worry. I enjoy the rain.” His eyes flicked back to her face only after a long, assessing pause, “It’s refreshing. It clarifies the thoughts.”
    Clarifies them for what?
    Anna’s stomach swooped. What was going on in that devious razor of a mind? And why had he suddenly looked at her in that way, the way they’d agreed did not, had never existed between them? She searched his face for clues, but it was unreadable again. Stunning, as perfectly