a thing I’ll call the police and tell them you’re harassing me.’
Luca didn’t bother to tell her that with far greater problems in the city the police would no doubt just ogle her pale golden beauty before sending her on her way. And that such a stunt would only draw the interest of the paparazzi, who followed him most days.
The very thought of her being spotted, identified and linked to him was enough to make him go cold inside. He’d had enough bad press and innuendo after what had happened in Italy to last him a lifetime.
An audacious idea was being formulated in his head. It wasn’t one he particularly relished, but it seemed like the only choice he had right now. It would get Serena DePiero out of Rio more or less immediately, and hopefully out of Brazil entirely within a couple of days.
‘You said earlier that you were looking for another chance? That you’d do anything?’
Serena went very still, those huge blue eyes narrowing on him. Irritation made Luca’s skin feel tight. The room was too small. All he could see was her. When she’d dropped her arms his eyes had tracked hungrily to her breasts, and he could still recall the jut of those hard nipples against her T-shirt. She was naked underneath.
Blood pooled at his groin, making him hard. Damn.
‘Do you want a chance or not?’ he growled, angry at his unwarranted response. Angry that she was still here.
Serena blinked. ‘Yes, of course I do.’
Her voice had become husky and it had a direct effect on Luca’s arousal. This was a mistake—he knew it. But he had no choice. Damage limitation.
Tersely, he said, ‘I run an ethical mining company. I’m due to visit the Iruwaya mines, and the tribe that lives near there, to check on progress. You can prove your commitment by coming with me, instead of the assistant I’d lined up, to take notes. The village is part of the global communities network, so it’s not entirely unrelated.’
‘Where is the village?’
‘Near Manaus.’
Serena’s eyes widened. ‘The city in the middle of the Amazon?’
Luca nodded. Perhaps this would be all it would take? Just the thought of doing something vaguely like hard work would have her scrambling back. Giving in. Leaving.
As if to mock his line of thought, Serena looked at him with those huge blue eyes and said determinedly, ‘Fine. When do we go?’
Her response surprised Luca—much as the fact that she’d chosen this rundown flea-pit of a hotel had surprised him. He’d expected her to check into one of Rio’s five-star resorts. But then he’d figured that perhaps her family had her on a tight leash where funds were concerned.
Whatever. He cursed himself again for wondering about her and said abruptly, ‘Tomorrow. My driver will pick you up at five a.m.’
Once again he expected her to balk, but she didn’t. He swept his gaze over the minor explosion of clothes from her suitcase and the toiletries spread across the narrow bed. The fact that her scent was clean and sweet, at odds with the sultry, sexy perfume he remembered from before, was not a welcome observation.
He looked back to her. ‘I’ll have an assistant stop by with supplies for the trip within the hour. You won’t be able to bring your case.’
That gaze narrowed again. Suspicious. ‘Supplies?’
Luca faced her squarely and said, with only the slightest twinge to his conscience, ‘Oh, didn’t I mention that we would be trekking through the jungle to get to the village? It takes two days from the farthest outskirts of Manaus.’
Those blue eyes flashed. ‘No,’ she responded. ‘You didn’t mention that we would be trekking through the jungle. Is it even safe?’
Luca smiled, enjoying the thought of Serena bailing after half an hour of walking through the earth’s largest insect and wildlife-infested hothouse. He figured that after her first brush with one of the Amazon’s countless insect or animal species she’d give up the act. But for now he’d go along with it. Because if he didn’t she’d be a loose cannon in Rio de Janeiro. A ticking publicity time bomb. At least this way she’d have to admit defeat and go of her own free will.
He made a mental note to have a helicopter standing by to extract her and take her to the airport.
‘It’s eminently safe, once you have a guide who knows what they’re doing and where they’re going.’
‘And that’s you?’ she said flatly.
‘Yes. I’ve been visiting this tribe for many years, and exploring the Amazon for a lot longer than that. You couldn’t be in safer hands.’
The look Serena shot him told him that she doubted that. His smile grew wider and he arched a brow. ‘By all means you can say no, Serena, it’s entirely up to you.’
She made a derisive sound. ‘And if I say no you’ll personally escort me to the airport, no doubt.’
She stopped and bit her lip for a moment, making Luca’s awareness of her spike.
‘But if I do this, and prove my commitment, will you let me take up the job I came for?’
Luca’s smile faded and he regarded her. Once again that tiny grudging admiration reared its head. He ruthlessly crushed it.
‘Well, as I’m almost certain you won’t last two hours in the jungle it’s a moot point. All this is doing is delaying your inevitable return home.’
Her chin lifted and her arms tightened over her chest. ‘It’ll take more than a trek and some dense vegetation to put me off, Fonseca.’
* * *
The early-morning air was sultry, and the dawn hadn’t yet broken, so it was dark when Serena got out of the back of the chauffeur-driven car at the private airfield almost twelve hours later. The first person she saw was the tall figure of Luca, carrying bags into a small plane. Instantly her nerves intensified.
He barely glanced at her as she walked over behind the driver, who carried the new backpack she’d been furnished with. And then his dark gaze fell on her and her heart sped up.
‘You checked out of the hotel?’
Good morning to you too, Serena said silently, and cursed her helpless physical reaction. ‘Yes. And my suitcase is in the car.’
Luca took her small backpack from the driver and exchanged a few words with him in rapid Portuguese. Then, as the driver walked away, Luca said, ‘Your things will be left at my headquarters until you get back.’
The obvious implication of you—not we—was not lost on Serena, and she said coolly, ‘I won’t be bailing early.’
Luca looked at her assessingly and Serena was conscious of the new clothes and shoes she’d been given. Lightweight trousers and a sleeveless vest under a khaki shirt. Sturdy trekking boots. Much like what Luca was wearing, except his looked well worn, faded with time. Doing little to hide his impressive muscles and physique.
