Still trying to control her pounding heart, she said, with as much firmness as she could muster, ‘Go away, Jared. Please, just go away.’ Although even she could hear the quiver in her voice.

‘Charming,’ he said good-naturedly, tipping the last drops of brandy into his mouth and standing up.

For a moment she thought he was taking her at her word and leaving. But no. He came round to her chair and held out his hand, as he had two days ago in the piazza. But this time, hardly thinking about what she was doing, she took it.

They didn’t speak, she didn’t question where they were going, but before she knew it his arm was around her waist and he was turning her away from the harbour and the lights into a smaller, darker street, narrow, lined with shops – closed and shuttered and silent at this time of night. She knew she was trembling. She knew what he was going to do.

They’d walked only a short distance before he pulled her into a little recess between two buildings – not an alleyway, just a niche, really. Then his mouth was on hers, hot, breathless, insistent, as if he had waited a lifetime for that moment.

She had no idea how long they kissed. She was gathered up in his desire, her body matching his, ready to fly into a million pieces as she felt his hand between her legs, his fingers pressing up inside her. She had no consciousness of her surroundings, no shame as she gave herself up to his urgent touch. Small, rapid gasps, then the world paused for a second, before release overtook her in a delicious surge. She moaned softly, heard Jared chuckle. Opening her eyes, she saw him smiling down at her. But she couldn’t speak as she leaned against him, suddenly exhausted.

‘What on earth are we doing?’ she whispered, drawing back from his embrace, biting her swollen lips as she attempted to adjust her crumpled dress. She was suddenly acutely aware that they were in a public place, pressed up against a cold wall, making out like teenagers in a bus shelter. But the realization could not erase the intense pleasure of Jared’s touch.

His hand pressed into her back as they stepped onto the deserted street. But the spell was broken. Connie pulled away in panic as she glanced at her watch. ‘Shit!’ She thought of Sandro at the desk. Will he be worried, wondering where I am? ‘I’ve got to go back.’ The cold hard fact of what she’d just done made her almost desperate to get away from Jared.