dispiace,’ he purred, his eyes glinting wickedly. ‘I’m sorry—unfair of me, I know. It’s just that I just love watching you blush. Your cheeks are the same colour they will be after we’ve had frantic sex.’
‘That is never going to happen. Accept it.’
‘That shows how little you know me. I have a compulsive need to change situations that aren’t to my liking.’ He smiled—a slow, dangerous smile. ‘It’s called negotiation.’
‘Negotiation is when both parties get what they want—it’s supposed to be a win-win situation.’
‘I understand the winning bit—I’m not so good at accepting half a solution.’ His tone was gently apologetic but his dark eyes were as cool and unemotional as ever. ‘When I want something, I want all of it. Not part of it.’
Her heart was racing out of control and her thoughts were going in much the same direction. ‘You’re not my type, Alessio.’
‘That’s what makes it so exciting, tesoro.’ He was clearly enjoying teasing her, tying her in knots. ‘If your taste in men ran to dangerous divorce lawyers, it would be boring. The chemistry between us must be very inconvenient for you.’
The conversation had taken a dangerous direction.
It’s like sailing a ship through a storm, she thought wildly. Almost impossible to keep it from being blown off course.
He took her somewhere she didn’t want to go.
Somewhere she’d marked as off-limits a very, very long time ago.
‘Ruby—’ she croaked. ‘I’m worried about Ruby.’
‘Ah.’ His eyes narrowed slightly. ‘I should have known that your sudden arrival would have something to do with the disappearance of that racy, naughty little sister of yours.’
‘Disappearance? So you don’t know where she is, either?’ His words successfully dampened the sexual chemistry that had been threatening to eat her alive. Deeply troubled by that piece of unwelcome news, Lindsay sank her teeth into her lower lip, her mind speeding ahead, sifting through the options. ‘I thought—I hoped that you’d know what was going on. I thought she might have said something to you.’
‘Why would she do that?’
‘Because you’re her boss! She’s been working for you for the last six months.’
‘And you think I spend my working day exchanging confidences with my administrative staff?’ Alessio lifted the water bottle to his lips and drank deeply and Lindsay watched in dazed, mesmerised silence, momentarily distracted by the bronzed column of his throat and the tangle of dark, male chest hair at the curve of his vest. Intercepting her gaze, he lowered the bottle slowly and a hint of a smile touched his hard, sensuous mouth. ‘It’s unwise to look at me like that,’ he warned silkily, ‘if you don’t intend to follow through. And we both know that this isn’t the time or the place.’
The knowledge that he’d read her so easily was almost as disturbing as the unexpected and unwelcome burst of warmth that erupted low in her pelvis. ‘Do you ever think of anything other than sex, Alessio?’
‘Yes.’ Relaxed and in control, he scanned her flushed cheeks with disturbing intensity. ‘Sometimes I think about money.’
Lindsay looked away briefly, furious with herself for giving him the opportunity to increase her discomfort. ‘Can we please just talk about Ruby?’
‘If we must.’ His tone shifted from bite to boredom and he glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘Obviously you’re still trying to exert your authority over her.’
‘It isn’t about authority. I love her and I care about her.’
‘As long as she is living her life the way you think she should live it. I don’t claim to be an expert on love, Lindsay, but I think it’s something to do with accepting people as they are and not trying to change them. You grip her like an eagle holding its prey.’
Lindsay felt a stab of pain, hurt by his criticism of her relationship with Ruby. He had no idea. No idea what their lives had been like. The quicksand of her emotions shifted and she stayed still, not allowing herself to be sucked down by the past. ‘As you say, you know nothing about love.’ She wasn’t going to let her mind drift backwards. ‘She hasn’t phoned me for a week and that’s not like her. She isn’t answering her phone and when I called your office they said that she hasn’t been in but they don’t seem to know any more than that. I’m worried. Really worried.’
‘Worried that she’s slipped out of your grasp? She’s twenty-one. Old enough to make her own mistakes without any outside interference.’ He adjusted the towel. ‘And it appears that she’s done just that.’
Lindsay stood still, tortured by a moment of self doubt. Was she interfering? No, this was her sister they were talking about. ‘Ruby is extremely vulnerable. When we met you and your brother last summer—well, she’d just come out of a very destructive relationship. She was devastated and—’ She broke off, reluctant to reveal anything about their past. ‘On the surface she seems all bubbly and together but—You may think you know her, but you don’t.’
His eyes fastened on her face. ‘She’s been working for me for the past six months. I suspect that I know a great deal more about your sister than you do.’ His tone was dry. ‘And now you’ll have to excuse me. I’m seeing a client in an hour and I’m flying to the Caribbean after that. Which is where, incidentally, your sister should be. She was supposed to be assisting me with a big case.’ He strolled through a pair of swing doors and Lindsay hesitated briefly before following him.
Client—case—
He was obsessed with work; totally focused on generating still more wealth to add to his billions. Why?
Frowning slightly, Lindsay dismissed the question instantly.
She wasn’t interested in what had turned Alessio Capelli into a ruthless, money-making machine. All she cared about was her sister. And he’d just revealed a small amount of information. Not much—just a morsel, but at least it was something.
‘She knew you were expecting her to go to the Caribbean?’
‘Of course. She was in charge of all the logistics both before and during the trip.’
‘There’s no way Ruby would have just abandoned her responsibilities like that—’ Lindsay stopped dead, realising that she’d followed him into the changing room.
Fortunately for her it was empty, butAlessio threw her a challenging glance, a sardonic gleam in his dangerous dark eyes. ‘You intend to continue this conversation while I shower?’ He pulled the tee shirt over his head, his lack of concern about his semi-naked state in direct contrast to her own growing discomfort.
Faced with a full-on display of breathtaking male physique, Lindsay felt her heart thud hard against her chest. ‘Could you just—not do that for a moment—?’ Her voice cracked and she tried again. ‘All I’m asking for is a few minutes of your time to talk. Please.’
‘If all you want is to talk, then the going
