Читать книгу The Innocent's Emergency Wedding - Natalie Anderson - Страница 12

ALESSANDRO STARED, FLOORED by the husky innocence of her reply. He just needed to ask? He ground back the inappropriate, obvious response. Why was he degenerating into some lame jerk who took every chance to turn the conversation towards the sexual? Why was he thinking of sex at all around her? He refused to be no better than the bastard prospective fiancé she was escaping—full of unwanted amorous attention…

But at the same time Alessandro had never met a woman he couldn’t seduce. That wasn’t to say he’d slept with every woman he’d met, and he was hardly about to seduce Katie. That would be like a lion playing with a lamb. Disastrous for her and unsatisfying for him.

But as he studied her closer he discovered more—her delicate chin, her high cheekbones—and then he returned to her complex coloured eyes that changed with the light, or perhaps with her mood. Elfin-featured, fine-boned…she was stunning when he teased that worry from her eyes and replaced it with excitement.

And she was as aware of him as he was of her. He needed very little of his vast experience to know that.

Temptation tugged.

No.

He whirled away from her fascinating features, dismissing those wayward thoughts, and picked up his phone again instead.

‘Dominique, I need a report on Brian and Susan Fielding, owners of White Oaks Hall—business dealings as well as personal. I also need a complete update on Zetticci Foods. Latest financials, forecasts, reviews, analysis, new product offerings from the last couple of years, plus their performance and internal management structure. The same with any company Carl Westin is involved with. I want everything. Email it ASAP.’

He needed information and ammunition.

‘I also need the jet ready to leave for the States in an hour. Cancel all my meetings for the next…’ He mulled for a moment and factored in the travel time. ‘Five days.’

As always Dominique simply said yes, and Alessandro hung up.

‘I need your passport.’ He gestured to Katie, who was sitting with her mouth ajar. ‘For the flight manifest, border control conditions and so on.’ He waggled his fingers impatiently.

Katie snapped her mouth shut, wordlessly rummaged in her bag and handed the document to him. As he strode out to give it to Dominique he quickly flicked through it. None of the pages was stamped—which didn’t mean she’d hadn’t travelled, at least within Europe—but it looked almost brand-new. His curiosity sharpened.

Back in his office, she was still clutching the bag like it was some kind of protective shield.

‘Did you leave your suitcase out in Reception?’ he asked.

‘I…uh…no.’ She shook her head.

‘You don’t have any clothes with you?’

Her eyes widened.

He bit back another laugh, refusing to verbalise the next obvious innuendo.

‘Not even a toothbrush?’ A hit of pleasure warmed his blood at the prospect of getting her out of that plain skirt and into something that fitted her better. ‘It doesn’t matter. We’ll get you something over there.’

He had five days—an eternity in his usual high-speed schedule. This was a chance to lay old ghosts to rest and to enjoy a mild distraction. Hell, in five days he could easily seduce her into surrender—not complete, of course, just enough to soothe the irritation she’d inflicted on him. She might think he was a shameless playboy, but for all her protests she was not immune.

He smiled to himself. The satisfaction of her acknowledging that was going to be good.

All of which proved he’d been working too hard lately. It was past time for some play.

It was all happening so much faster than Katie had imagined—though frankly she hadn’t imagined any further than getting into his office, let alone actually convincing him to go to Vegas with her.

But not for five days. That was far too long to leave Susan. They needed to fly over today and back tomorrow. She’d suggest that to him a little later, though. She didn’t want to say anything that might make him change his mind before they were married.

Nervously she accompanied him to the basement, where a car and driver waited. A few moments later they were on the road to City Airport.

Alessandro took calls for the entire journey. In the majority of them he spoke in Italian, meaning that Katie didn’t understand a word, but his urbane, confident tones slipped beneath her skin, stirring a secret response she couldn’t bear to acknowledge.

She stared fixedly out of the window, trying to minimise his impact on her senses. He was too handsome, too powerful, too full of wicked humour that made her want to smile all the time.

And he’d agreed to go with her to Vegas.

Get a grip.

But the knots tightened in her stomach as they arrived at the airport.

Another assistant was waiting at the entrance to the private jet terminal and he handed Alessandro a folder of paperwork and a large paper bag. As they walked through the building Alessandro showed her the Sybarite deli logo stamped on the side.

‘I’m looking forward to tasting your work.’ His lips twitched and he leaned closer. ‘Lots of things you can do with sauce…sharpen up even the blandest of dishes, correct?’

She sent him a death look.

He laughed. ‘You’re easy to bait, Katie.’

Breathless, she failed to think of a reply. Why did she keep reading innuendo into everything he said?

Because he means you to.

He was an outrageous tease. While he’d been intimidating when she’d first arrived in his office, it hadn’t taken long till he’d flipped the switch to a playful side that was his natural, wicked self. It wasn’t actually anything to do with her. Except she kept overreacting.

She had to keep her response in check and not take him seriously—that would be no problem at all, right? All her life she’d played it safe—almost always backing down from causing a scene even when she’d wanted to, rarely disobeying Brian, never fighting back because Susan had been so anxious the few times she had. She’d invariably stayed within the rules her authoritarian foster father had set.

But Alessandro barely seemed to bother with rules at all.

‘You own this?’ she muttered as they swiftly walked through the terminal and onto the tarmac. To her ignorant eyes the immaculate plane looked brand-new.

‘I own a stake in a jet leasing company. Better for the environmental footprint if we share the private planes around a bit.’

He laughed at her withering look of disbelief.

Yes, Alessandro Zetticci had interests in as many companies as he had in women. Fiendishly energetic and astute, he had a knack for knowing what people wanted, what they liked, before they were even aware of it.

She knew he’d used that innate sophistication as a youth and set up his first venue. It had rapidly become the ultimate nightspot for high society, celebrities, models, wannabes… Then at the height of its popularity he’d sold it, taken the stellar profits and reinvested them into a new company—again using that innate foresight.

He created and then flicked on companies with the careless ease with which he traded women. From one company to the next, amassing a property portfolio and personal fortune at the same time.

‘What?’ Alessandro prompted as she paused to look up at the plane again.

‘It’s bigger than I expected.’

It seemed massive for just the two of them.

That smile hovered on his lips. ‘Oh?’

She shot him another death look. ‘Do you put sexual innuendo into all of your conversations?’

‘As much as I can, of course,’ he drawled, the wickedness in his smile deepening. ‘Being the lascivious playboy that I am.’

‘You’re only doing it to antagonise me now,’ she said.

‘Am I?’

‘Or you’re just practising your flirty banter. Which you don’t need to.’

‘Don’t I?’ A flicker of astonishment lit his eyes. ‘Why not?’

No man had ever spoken to her this way, and she’d certainly never answered back. But with a man like Alessandro offence was the best defence, wasn’t it? Surely she should fight fire with fire?

She glared at him. ‘Any woman with eyes would say yes to you. You don’t even have to open your mouth.’

He burst out laughing—all warmth and wicked energy. ‘But a closed mouth isn’t as good, Katie.’ He chuckled again and teased her. ‘Don’t you want to know what my tongue is really good at?’

Refusing to reply, she stomped up the stairs. She was still unable to believe he’d agreed to marry her. But that was him, right? Mercurial, maverick, mischievous. This must appeal to that renegade element within him that enjoyed wild, spontaneous adventures. Indeed, she heard him chuckle again close behind her.

‘You react so prudishly, how am I supposed to resist?’ he murmured.

She turned her head, taking the chance to look down on him for once. ‘You could just try being polite instead of trying to embarrass me.’

He sent her a fake wounded look. ‘But, Katie, I’m unfailingly polite.’

She knew he didn’t mean it. He was still laughing at her. She had the horrible feeling he knew she was too aware of him. Somehow she needed to keep him at a distance.

At the top of the stairs she shyly followed a uniformed crewman through to the main passenger section of the plane. She drew in a deep breath because it was stunning—luxury leather, gleaming chrome, plush carpet and an outrageous sense of space.

The crewman demonstrated how the extra-wide seats reclined and pointed out the stack of reading material stowed in a gorgeous side table with a glossy finish. Then he showed her a partition further down the back of the plane, beyond which was a beautiful linen-clad bed and a polished bathroom facility. It was pure decadent elegance.

‘Thank you,’ she murmured as the crewman disappeared back the way he’d come.

‘We have three pilots and one assistant for a flight of this duration,’ Alessandro explained as he put his folders, bag and tablet down. ‘If there’s anything you need just ask and it will be done.’

Three pilots? Some oxygen might be good right now.

‘Where are they?’ she asked.

‘Crew quarters.’ He sat in the seat opposite the one she’d taken and smiled as she fumbled with the seatbelt. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I haven’t travelled that much,’ she confessed with an embarrassed smile.

His eyes narrowed. ‘You’ve flown before, though, right?’

‘I went to Paris on a school trip, but we went on the train.’

‘You’ve never flown at all?’ he queried keenly, but then he smiled, and it was that wicked one. ‘Well, it’s always good to begin with the best. Start as you mean to go on, si?’

This was definitely the best. And Katie couldn’t quite contain her smile as she leaned back and looked out of the window as the plane taxied to the end of the runway.

‘You’re not scared?’ Alessandro asked, watching her curiously.

She shook her head, determinedly keeping her attention on the window as they took off. The view of the city was incredible. ‘It’s amazing…’ she breathed.

After a few minutes she glanced back at Alessandro, absurdly disappointed to see him engrossed in reading something on his tablet. She watched quietly as he swiped through page after page. His frown deepened as he took notes with the pen and notepad he’d balanced skilfully on his knee.

He might be a playboy, but he also knew how to work. That was what those ‘most eligible bachelor’ articles gushed about—not just his legendary woman-slaying status, but his second-to-none work ethic. He had to be driven to have achieved the success he had in only ten years. How had he managed it? Intelligent, determined, decisive…known for his deals…he was always ahead of everyone else.

She just didn’t want him to change his mind. So she sat silently, trying to blend into the background the way she did when Brian was in one of his moods. But she felt hot and uncomfortable, ridiculously aware of that bed behind her.

No doubt Alessandro would bring women on flights with him all the time—hit that mile-high club time after time in complete comfort. The crew certainly hadn’t batted any eyelids when they’d seen her with him. Who knew how many women he’d had in there? It was a den of debauchery.

‘You don’t want to lie down and rest for a while?’ He suddenly glanced up and seemed to pick up on the direction of her thoughts. ‘You’ve had a long day of travelling already.’

‘No, thanks,’ she answered immediately, her skin burning at the thought. ‘I’m fine.’

As he held her gaze his expression turned wickedly quizzical. ‘What are you thinking about Katie?’

‘Nothing,’ she lied.

‘So “nothing” makes you blush like that?’

Katie pointedly turned away and buried her nose in the nearest magazine.

Alessandro huffed out a tight breath. He was trying to keep his temper in check, but the reports Dominique had emailed over just before their departure were making it impossible. Brian Fielding might be hyper-controlling over his wife and Katie, but he was very much out of control in his own life. He was one of those jerks who thought he could have it all without doing any work—gambling not only with cards and chance machines, but with get-rich-quick schemes and insecure investments. One of which, ironically, was Zetticci Foods.

His father’s former company was in worse shape than Alessandro had realised. While Aldo had been a creative genius—an instinctive, outstanding chef, with innate knowledge and a passion for his work—since his death the company’s direction had faltered.

As CEO, Naomi had clearly gone for a splatter gun approach, throwing out a ton of new products and hoping one would hit the market. None had. She’d sacked every one of the chefs she’d brought on board over the years and then turned to her brother Brian for a cash injection.

And what Brian had told Katie was correct. They were on the brink of losing White Oaks, Susan’s home and inheritance. According to the brief report, the older woman was now wheelchair-bound and being cared for by family at home. Being cared for by Katie—because Brian was regularly travelling to conferences, active on local government board meetings…

Alessandro grimaced. Brian was all about the show.

He glanced up from the report, his gaze unerringly landing on Katie again. When she’d mentioned her sauces earlier she’d lit up enough to nudge his curiosity. He’d got an assistant to track down a sample from that deli and bring it to the airport.

‘Are you hungry?’ he asked.

She sent him a startled look, then swiftly averted her gaze. He watched with mild incredulity as yet another blush washed over her skin.

‘Katie,’ he mocked in a low voice, ‘you’re the one reading innuendo into everything I say.’

He had to admit he found it both amusing and arousing. The fact that she was so aware of him was a kind of balm—because her effect on him wasn’t just arousing, it was irritating.

‘It’s the way you look when you say it,’ she grumbled, glancing back to shoot him daggers yet again.

Hugely entertained, he cocked his head and muttered coyly, ‘Oh, I forgot…it’s my looks…’

‘You have no idea what it’s like for us mere mortals,’ she ground out.

She didn’t think herself attractive? He arched his eyebrows at her and waited.

‘We’re invisible,’ she explained when she finally got sick of his silence.