an empty threat.
Katy decided that she wasn’t going to let herself be cowed by this display. She wasn’t guilty of anything and she wasn’t going to be treated like a criminal because Lucas Cipriani was suspicious by nature.
She had always been encouraged by her parents to speak her mind and she wasn’t going to be turned into a rag doll because she was overwhelmed by her surroundings.
‘Maria will show you to your suite.’ He turned to her, his dark eyes roving up and down her body without expression. ‘In it you will find everything you need, including an en suite bathroom. You’ll be pleased to hear that there is no lock on the outside of your room, so you’re free to come and go at will.’
‘There’s no need to be sarcastic,’ Katy told him, mouth set in a sullen line. Her eyes flicked to him and skittered away just as fast before they could dwell for too long on the dark, dramatic beauty of his lean face because, once there, it was stupidly hard to tear her gaze away.
‘Correction—there’s every need to be sarcastic after you’ve bandied around terms such as kidnapped. I told you that you should look on the bright side and see this as a fully paid two-week vacation.’ He dismissed Maria with a brief nod, because this looked as though it was shaping up to be another one of those conversations, then he shoved his hands in his pockets and stared down at her. She looked irritatingly unrepentant. ‘In the absence of your books, you’ll find that there is a private home cinema space with a comprehensive selection of movies. There are also two swimming pools—one indoor, one on the upper deck. And of course a library, should you decide that reading is a worthwhile option in the absence of your computer.’
‘You’re not very nice, are you?’
‘Nice people finish last so, yes, that’s an accolade I’ve been more than happy to pass up, which is something you’d do well to remember.’
Katy’s eyes narrowed at the bitterness in his voice. Was he speaking from experience? What experience? She didn’t want to be curious about him, but she suddenly was. Just for a moment, she realised that underneath the ruthless, cool veneer there would be all sorts of reasons for him being the man he was.
‘Nice people don’t always finish last,’ she murmured sincerely.
‘Oh, but they do.’ Lucas’s voice was cool and he was staring at her, his head at an angle, as if examining something weird he wasn’t quite sure about. ‘They get wrapped up in pointless sentimentality and emotion and open themselves up to getting exploited, so please don’t think I’ll be falling victim to that trait while we’re out here.’
‘Get exploited?’ Katy found that she was holding her breath as she waited for his answer.
‘Is that the sound of a woman trying to find out what makes me tick?’ Lucas raised his eyebrows with wry amusement and began walking. ‘Many have tried and failed in that venture, so I shouldn’t bother if I were you.’
‘It’s very arrogant of you to assume that I want to find out about you,’ Katy huffed. ‘But, as you’ve reminded me, we’re going to be stuck here together for the next two weeks. I was just trying to have a conversation.’
‘Like I said, I don’t intend to be around much. When we do converse, we can keep it light.’
‘I’m sorry.’ She sighed, reaching to loop her long hair over one shoulder. ‘Believe it or not, I can almost understand why you dragged me out here.’
‘Well, at least drag is an improvement on kidnap,’ Lucas conceded.
‘I’m hot, tired and sticky, and sitting quietly at my desk working on my computer feels like a lifetime ago. I’m not in the best of moods.’
‘I can’t picture you sitting quietly anywhere. Maybe I’ve been remiss in not getting out and seeing what my employees are doing. What do you think? Should I have left my ivory tower and had a look at which of my employees were sitting and meekly doing their jobs and which ones were pushing the envelope?’
Katy reddened. His voice was suddenly lazy and teasing and her pulses quickened in response. How could he be so ruthless and arrogant one minute and then, in a heartbeat, make the blood rush to her head because of the way he was able to laugh at himself unexpectedly?
She didn’t know whether it was because she had been yanked out of her comfort zone, but he was turning her off and on like a tap, and it unsettled her.
After Duncan, she had got her act together; she had looked for the silver lining and realised that he had pointed her in the right direction of what to look for in a man: someone down-to-earth, good-natured, genuine. Someone normal. When she found that man, everything else would fall into place, and she was horrified that a guy like Lucas Cipriani could have the sort of effect on her that he did. It didn’t make sense and she didn’t like it.
‘I think my opinion doesn’t count one way or another,’ she said lightly. ‘I can’t speak for other people, but no one in my office actually expects you to swoop down and pay a visit.’
‘You certainly know how to hit below the belt,’ Lucas imparted drily. ‘This your normal style when you’re with a man?’
‘You’re not a man.’
Lucas laughed, a rich, throaty laugh that set her senses alight and had her pulses racing. ‘Oh, no,’ he murmured seriously. ‘And here I was thinking that I was...’
‘You know what I mean.’ Rattled, Katy’s gaze slid sideways and skittered away in confusion.
‘Do I? Explain.’ This wasn’t the light conversation he had had in mind, but that wasn’t to say that he wasn’t enjoying himself, because he was. ‘If I’m not a man, then what am I?’
‘You’re...you’re my captor.’
Lucas grinned. ‘That’s a non-answer if ever there was one, but I’ll let it go. Besides, I thought we’d got past the kidnap analogy.’
Katy didn’t answer. He was being nice to her, teasing her. She knew that he still probably didn’t trust her as far as he could throw her, but he was worldly wise and sophisticated, and knew the benefits of smoothing tensions and getting her onside. Constant sniping would bore him. He had been forced into a situation he hadn’t banked on, just as she had, but he wasn’t throwing temper tantrums. He wasn’t interested in having meaningful conversations, because he wasn’t interested in her and had no desire to find out anything about her, except what might impact on his business deal; but he would be civil now that he had told her in no uncertain terms what the lay of the land was. He had laughed about being called her captor, but he was, and he called the shots.
Instead of getting hot and bothered around him, she would have to step up to the plate and respond in kind.
They had reached the kitchen and she turned her attention away from him and looked around her. ‘This is wonderful.’ She ran her fingers over the counter. ‘Where is Maria, your...chef?’ She remained where she was, watching as he strolled to an over-sized fridge, one of two, and extracted a bottle of wine.
He poured them both a glass and nodded to one of the grey upholstered chairs tucked neatly under the metal kitchen table. Katy sat and sipped the wine very slowly, because she wasn’t accustomed to drinking.
‘Has her own quarters
