you should know.’
‘Fine. I know.’
Stung, Hannah did not reply. The tentative enjoyment she’d been nurturing for this evening was draining away like her cold bathwater. If Luca stayed in this foul mood, the night was going to be interminable.
‘I’ll go get ready,” she said stiffly, and went to gather her clothes. She was definitely changing in the bathroom.
* * *
Luca stared at the closed bathroom door and swore under his breath. The afternoon with Tyson had been nearly unbearable, the latent fury he’d felt for so long bubbling far too close to the surface, threatening to spill over. Maintaining a professional manner had been the acting job of the century; all he’d wanted to do was haul Tyson out of his chair by his lapels and slap the smug smile off his face.
He hadn’t expected to be this angry, this raw. He’d thought he’d mastered his emotions far better than that, and it only exacerbated his fury to know that he hadn’t. But he shouldn’t have taken it out on Hannah.
As for Daniela’s suspicions... Raking a hand through his hair, Luca swore again. If his fake engagement was exposed, the humiliation he’d face in front of the man who had flayed him once already would be unendurable. He could not even contemplate it.
Luca’s mouth twisted grimly as he considered the options. If Daniela or anyone suspected something, then he and Hannah would have to make doubly sure that they were convincing. Striding towards the wardrobe, he reached for his tux.
He was just straightening his bow tie when Hannah emerged from the bathroom, her chin held high, her eyes veiled. Luca’s gaze dropped to her dress and his throat went dry. It was the one she’d modelled at the boutique, ice-blue with a plunging neckline only partially obscured by the gauzy overlay. She’d styled her hair in an elegant chignon, exposing the delicate, swanlike curve of her neck.
‘It’s all right, isn’t it?’ Hannah asked, nervousness making her voice wobble a bit.
‘Yes...’ Luca’s voice came out gruff and hoarse.
Hannah tugged at the material self-consciously. ‘It’s just you’re looking at me strangely.’
‘It’s only...’ He cleared his throat. ‘You look beautiful, Hannah.’
Colour flared in her face. ‘So why are you glaring, then?’ She turned away, fidgeting with her earrings, her necklace, clearly uncomfortable in the sexy, diaphanous gown.
‘Hannah.’ Luca crossed the room to put a hand on her shoulder, her skin cool and soft beneath his palm. ‘I’m sorry I’ve been in such a foul mood. It’s not fair to you.’ He paused and then admitted with more honesty than he’d been planning to give, ‘Nothing about this weekend has been fair to you.’
Hannah bowed her head, a tendril of soft brown hair falling against her cheek, making Luca want to tuck it behind her ear, trail his fingers along her skin. ‘I was actually looking forward to this evening, you know,’ she admitted. ‘Until...’
‘Until I returned to our room?’ Luca finished with a wry wince, and then sighed. ‘I am sorry. You don’t deserve to bear the brunt of my bad mood.’
‘So many apologies.’ She turned around, a teasing smile curving her lips. ‘I should record this conversation, otherwise I might never believe it actually happened.’
‘I’ll deny it, of course,’ he teased back. He’d dropped his hand from her shoulder when she’d turned around but he itched to touch her again. Her waist looked so tiny he thought he could span it with his hands. The gauzy overlay of the dress made him want to peel it away and touch the pale, creamy flesh beneath. He remembered untying the halter top of the dress back when she’d first tried it on and he wanted to do it again. He wanted her...and he could tell she wanted him.
He saw it in the way she swallowed convulsively, her eyes huge and dark in her pale face. She bit her lip and Luca nearly groaned aloud. The attraction he felt for his PA was both overwhelming and inconvenient, but in that moment he couldn’t even think about the consequences, the difficulties, the dangers. He just wanted to touch her.
And so he did.
He reached out with one finger and stroked her cheek; her skin was just as soft as he’d imagined, silky and cool. She shuddered under his touch, her whole body quivering in response, and that made Luca ache all the more.
‘Hannah...’ he began, although he didn’t even know what he would say. How much he would admit.
Hannah didn’t let him finish. She took a halting step away, nearly tripping on the trailing hem of her gown. ‘It’s—it’s getting late,’ she stammered. ‘We should go.’
And Luca told himself he felt relieved and not crushingly disappointed that he’d had such a narrow escape.
HANNAH SIPPED THE frothy cocktail Andrew Tyson had insisted she try, an island speciality involving fruit and strong liquor, and tried to soothe the ferment inside her. Now more than ever she felt confused and disturbed, and, more alarmingly, tempted by Luca Moretti.
She couldn’t understand how one moment he could be so aggravating and arrogant and the next so sweet and sincere. She’d gone from wanting to slug him to wanting to purr under that single, seductive stroke of his finger. The tiniest touch had created a blaze of want inside her that was still making her hot and bothered. She imagined what he could do with his whole hand, his whole body, and felt another sizzling dart of heat arrow through her.
She could not start thinking about Luca Moretti that way. All right, yes, his sex appeal had started affecting her ever since they’d left their normal employer–employee relationship behind at the office, but she hadn’t taken it seriously. She hadn’t actually entertained the possibility of something happening between them.
Now her mind skirted around that intriguing thought, flirted with the possibility of—what? A fling? A one-night stand? Hannah was sensible enough to know Luca Moretti wasn’t interested in anything more, and she wasn’t interested in any relationship, much less one with a man who had sworn off marriage and children, and was a notorious womaniser. But she wasn’t the type to have casual sex; she never had before. And to contemplate it with her boss...
And yet desire was a powerful thing. The sight of him in his tuxedo was enough to make her head spin and her mouth dry. The crisp white shirt emphasised his bronzed skin, and the tuxedo jacket fit his broad shoulders and narrow hips perfectly. He was incredible, darkly magnificent, so next to him James Garrison looked like a weedy fop, Simon Tucker a corpulent would-be Santa Claus. Luca was literally head and shoulders above the other men, a gorgeous, arrogant Colossus who looked as if he could straddle the world. The only man who nearly matched his height was Andrew Tyson, and his shoulders were stooped with age, his face lined and eyes faded.
Luca had spent the first part of the evening by her side, charming and solicitous to everyone, clearly working the room. When Tyson had entered the opulent sitting room, Luca had slid an arm around Hannah’s waist, practically gluing her to his side. The bump of his hip against hers was enough to make sensation sizzle through her. She could feel the heat of his thigh through the thin material of her dress, and her insides tightened to
