Читать книгу Modern Romance July 2016 Books 5-8 - Кейт Хьюит - Страница 16

CHAPTER EIGHT

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 an exquisite, aching point of desire.

She’d never responded so physically, so overwhelmingly, to a man before. Not, Hannah acknowledged, that she had a lot of experience. Ben, Jamie’s father, had been her only lover, and while she’d enjoyed being with him she hadn’t felt this desperate, craving physical touch like water in a parched desert.

Sliding sideways glances at Luca, she felt an overwhelming urge to touch him, to feel the rough stubble on his jaw, to discover if his lips felt soft or hard against hers. To feel his body against hers as she had that morning, and rock against him again, and then deeper still.

Heat flashed through her at the thought and Luca must have felt it, must have sensed her response, because he gave her a single, burning look before turning back to address Simon Tucker.

He knew how he affected her, maybe even how much. The thought would have been mortifying except that she knew she affected him too. He’d told her he’d been attracted to her that morning, and surely she couldn’t feel this kind of chemistry if it were merely one-sided.

So the question was, could she do anything about it? Did she dare? She wasn’t looking for a relationship, wouldn’t put herself or Jamie at risk of being hurt. She knew what happened when you loved people. You risked losing them. She’d lost too many times already to try again.

‘Hannah?’ Luca prompted, and she realised she had no idea what anyone had been saying for the last few minutes.

‘Sorry?’ She tried for a conciliatory yet loving smile. ‘I’m afraid I was a million miles away.’

‘No doubt planning your wedding,’ Simon joked good-naturedly. ‘Have you set a date?’

‘As soon as possible, as far as I’m concerned,’ Luca answered swiftly, with a squeeze of Hannah’s waist. ‘But Hannah wants more of a do.’

Hannah lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. ‘You only get married once.’

‘Hopefully,’ James joked, an edge to his voice that made a frozen silence descend on the little group for a few seconds.

‘What’s your secret to a happy marriage, then, James?’ Simon asked, trying for jocular.

‘A limit-free credit card and no questions asked,’ James replied with a pointed look at his wife. Daniela pressed her lips together and said nothing.

Hardly a response of a family man, Hannah thought. James Garrison was a slick study, and looked to share Luca’s view on relationships.

‘I’ll take that on board,’ Luca answered in a tone that suggested he would do no such thing.

‘Falling for your PA isn’t like you, is it, Luca?’ James said, malice entering his ice-blue eyes. ‘I thought you made sure never to mix business and pleasure.’

‘As I said last night, this time it was impossible to resist.’ He glanced down at Hannah, who tilted her head up to look at him so their mouths were only a few inches apart. She felt her insides shudder even though she knew Luca was only play-acting. That simmering heat in his eyes might not have been real, but the response Hannah’s body gave certainly was. Her lips parted in helpless expectation, her whole being trained on Luca’s sleepy, hooded gaze.

‘Irresistible,’ he murmured, and then closed those scant inches separating them.

The feel of his mouth on hers was a complete surprise and yet also a sigh of relief and wonder. At last. Her mouth opened underneath his and Hannah clutched at his lapels, barely aware of what she was doing. Luca’s tongue swept into her mouth with sure possession, turning her insides weak and liquid. Her fingers tightened on his jacket.

‘No doubt that you two are heading for the altar,’ Simon joked, and Luca finally broke the kiss. Hannah sagged against him, her heart thudding, her mind spinning, her whole body feeling as if she’d been lit up inside like a firework.

‘Like I said,’ Luca said with a wry smile. ‘Irresistible. I didn’t stand a chance.’

And neither did she.

Her lips were still buzzing from his kiss when they headed out to the terrace where tables had been set up for dinner, laden with crystal and silver that glinted under the moonlight. Torches flickered, casting warm shadows across the terrace, and the sea was no more than a gleam of blackness in the distance, the tide a gentle shooshing sound as the waves lapped the shore.

They were just about to take their seats when Andrew Tyson turned expectantly to the open French windows. ‘Ah,’ he said, his voice filled with pleasure. ‘My family has finally arrived from New York. Please let me introduce you all to my wife and children.’

* * *

Luca froze before slowly turning to face the French windows, where Andrew Tyson’s wife, Mirabella, and their two children stood, framed by the gauzy white curtains.

He’d been waiting for this moment, both expecting and bracing himself for it, and yet now that it was finally here he found every thought had emptied from his head, the smile wiped from his face. Even the electric, intoxicating buzz of Hannah’s kiss was forgotten in that horrendous, endless moment.

Distantly, as if he were down a long tunnel, he heard people exchanging pleasantries. Words were said, but it was as if everyone had started speaking another language. Tyson’s two children, Stephen and Laura, came forward, smiling and shaking hands. Stephen had the dark hair of his mother and Tyson’s brown eyes. Laura was the opposite, with her father’s sandy hair and her mother’s blue eyes. They were both relaxed, friendly, completely in their element, and in a few seconds he was going to have to shake their hands. Say hello. Act normal.

He acknowledged this even as he didn’t move. Had no idea what the expression on his face was. Felt nothing but the relentless, painful thud of his heart. He’d been waiting for this moment for years, decades, and yet he hadn’t been prepared for it, not remotely.

Then he felt a soft, slender hand slide into his, fingers squeezing tightly, imbuing warmth and strength. He glanced down at Hannah’s face, the worry and concern in her eyes, the compassion in her smile, and he felt as if he’d fallen out of that tunnel with a thud, as if he’d rejoined reality, and was strong enough to deal with it—thanks to the woman next to him.

‘Stephen. Laura.’ His voice came out on a croak that he quickly covered, extending his hand for them both to shake. ‘Luca Moretti and my fiancée, Hannah Stewart.’

Hannah stepped forward to greet them both and Luca forced himself to breathe normally, to school the expression on his face into one of friendly interest. To will his heart rate to slow.

He felt the delayed reaction of shock kick in, an icy wave that swept over him and left his knees weak, his whole body near to trembling. He had to get out of there.

‘If you’ll excuse me,’ he murmured, and went in search of the bathroom.

Once inside, safely away from all the prying eyes, he splashed his face with cold water and then stared hard into the mirror, willing himself to get a grip. He’d climbed his way out of appalling poverty, negotiated dozens of million-and billion-dollar deals, was a man of power and authority and wealth. He’d conquered all these old fears and insecurities. He didn’t need to feel this way now. He wouldn’t.

Except he did.

He released a shuddering breath and rubbed a hand over his face. He needed to get back to the dinner. James Garrison was chomping at the bit to take this deal out from under him, simply out of spite. Garrison had always been jealous of Luca’s success, of the huge deals he brokered that James hadn’t a chance in hell of managing. Luca knew he couldn’t afford to throw himself a damned pity party in the bathroom.

Taking a deep breath, he straightened his tux and then opened the door to the hall, stopping short when he saw Hannah there waiting for him.

‘What are you—?’

‘I was worried about you.’ She put a hand on his sleeve, and he glanced down at her fingers, long and slender, the nails buffed and glistening with clear varnish. Every part of her was simple and yet so elegant. ‘Luca, what’s going on? Can’t you tell me?’

‘It’s nothing.’

‘That’s not true.’ Concern threaded her voice. ‘Please, Luca. Do you know how hard it is to act the part when I have no idea what you’re going through?’

‘You’re doing fine, Hannah.’ He shrugged off her hand. ‘You certainly acted the part when I kissed you.’

Colour surged into her face but her gaze was steady, her voice calm. ‘Don’t take out your frustrations on me, Luca. All I’m asking for is the truth.’

He raked a hand through his hair, knowing she had a right to understand at least a little of what was going on. ‘Tyson and I have a history,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Not a pleasant one. I didn’t expect it, but seeing him again brings it all back.’

‘And his family?’ Hannah asked. Luca tensed.

‘What about his family?’

‘You obviously didn’t like their arrival. You went white—’

‘I did not,’ he denied shortly, even though it was pointless. Hannah was gazing at him in a cringing mixture of pity and disbelief.

‘Luca—’

‘We need to get back in there.’ He cut her off, and then reached for her hand. Tonight he’d show Andrew Tyson and his damned family just how much he had, how happy he was.

By the time they arrived back on the terrace, everyone was seated and the first course had been served. Luca and Hannah took their places with murmured apologies. Luca saw he was seated next to Stephen Tyson, and he braced himself to talk to the man.

Stephen, he knew, had chosen not to take on the family’s business but was a doctor in New York instead. Now he gave Luca a friendly smile.

‘I’m sorry, but have we met before?’

A hollow laugh echoed through the emptiness inside him and he swallowed it down. ‘No, I’m quite sure we haven’t.’

Luca could feel Hannah’s concern, the tension tautening her slender body. It was strange how attuned they’d become to each other and their moods, but perhaps that was simply an effect of the parts they had to play.

‘Really?’ Stephen shrugged, still smiling. ‘Strange, but you look familiar.’

‘Perhaps you’ve seen his photograph in one of the industry magazines?’ Hannah suggested with a smile of her own. ‘Luca is quite famous in his own right.’ She placed a hand over his, squeezing his fingers, and Luca felt his heart twist inside him. He’d never had someone fight his corner before, even in the smallest way. He’d always been alone, had gone through childhood with his fists up and his nose bloody. Seeing Tyson made him feel like that battered boy again, and yet having Hannah hold his hand reminded him that he wasn’t.

‘Of course you are,’ Stephen acknowledged. ‘I know you developed the cancer centre in Ohio. It was really a masterwork of art and functionality. Utterly brilliant.’

‘Thank you,’ Luca said gruffly. He hadn’t expected Stephen Tyson to be so friendly and sincere. It made it hard to hate him.

Somehow he managed to get through three courses, making small talk, smiling when necessary. He’d brought Hannah’s hand underneath the table after the first course to rest on his thigh and he wrapped his fingers around hers, clinging to her, craving her warmth. She didn’t let go.

As the coffee and petits fours were being served, Andrew Tyson rose to make a toast.

‘It’s such a pleasure to have three dedicated family men here,’ he began with a genial smile for all of them. ‘As someone who has always determined to put family first, it is of course important to me that the man who takes on Tyson Resorts share my values.’ He paused, his smiling gaze moving to his wife and then to his children. ‘While I am saddened that my own children have not chosen this task, I understand completely why they’ve decided to pursue their own dreams—as I of course wish them to. My children are my pride and my joy, the touchstone of my life, along with my wife. The happiness I’ve experienced with my family is what I wish for each of you, and for every family who visits a Tyson resort.’

Luca couldn’t bear to hear any more. He shifted in his seat, and Hannah squeezed his hand in warning. He couldn’t leave now, but he could at least tune out Tyson’s words.

Finally Tyson raised his glass and everyone else did as well, murmuring ‘Hear, hear...’ dutifully. Luca drained his glass of wine and then pulled away from Hannah.

‘Luca,’ she began, but he just shook his head.

‘Later,’ he managed, and then strode down the terrace steps, out into the darkness.

* * *

Hannah dabbed her mouth with her napkin, trying to cover the worry that she was sure was visible on her face. What kind of terrible history could Luca possibly have with Andrew Tyson? She glanced at the man who was now chatting with Simon and Rose Tucker, and decided she would make her excuses as well. If Luca left without her, it might look as if they were having a lovers’ tiff. If they both left, people might assume it was a romantic tryst instead.

She made her farewells to the Tysons, telling them that Luca had wanted to steal her away for a moonlit walk on the beach.

‘Ah, young love,’ Andrew answered with a genial smile. ‘There’s nothing like it.’

No indeed, Hannah thought grimly as she held handfuls of her dress to keep from tripping down the stone steps that led directly to the beach.

Away from the candlelit terrace, the beach was awash in darkness, the white sand lit only by a pale sickle of moon. Hannah couldn’t see Luca anywhere. Impatiently she kicked off the silver stiletto heels that made walking in sand impossible, and gathered a big handful of gauzy dress around her knees so she could walk unimpeded. Then she set off in search of her erstwhile fiancé.