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Scarlett couldn’t breathe; she wasn’t game enough to draw in a breath in case he heard the betraying flutter of her pulse beneath her skin.
She stood very still as he reached out again, this time with just the index finger of his right hand, brushing it against the softness of her bottom lip, his eyes still locked on her mouth. The temptation to sweep her tongue over and around his finger was suddenly overwhelming. She had to clamp her teeth together to stop herself taking him in her mouth and sucking on him, as she had done so many times before.
And not just his finger…
His eyes came back to hers, a tiny frown pulling at the dark slashes of his eyebrows, the line of his mouth losing its inherent cynicism for just a brief moment.
‘I had forgotten how very soft your mouth is,’ he said in an even deeper, more gravelly tone than he’d used before.
Scarlett rolled her lips together, more to stop them buzzing with sensation than to draw his attention back to her mouth—but his eyes dipped again, and this time she felt the heat of his gaze like a brand on her lips.
‘I-I think it might be time for you to leave,’ she scratched out through her too-tight throat. ‘I have nothing further to say to you. I don’t want the work. You’ll have to find someone else.’
He looked down at her for a long moment. ‘I am not quite ready to leave, Scarlett. There are still some things I would like to discuss with you.’
Panic prickled at her insides as she stood stock-still in front of him. She couldn’t step back because her desk was in the way, and stepping forward was out of the question, with the possibility of brushing against him to get past.
She was trapped.
‘Four years ago you told me you were pregnant,’ he said into the silence.
Scarlett felt her throat tighten even further, but somehow she managed to maintain eye contact with him. ‘Yes…yes I did.’
‘You also told me the child was mine.’
A glitter of anger lit her unblinking gaze. ‘Yes, I did.’
‘Did you go through with the pregnancy?’ he asked after an infinitesimal pause.
She kept her gaze locked on his. ‘At the risk of repeating myself—yes, I did.’
His expression remained as unreadable as a book with the pages glued together. ‘Does your child have contact with its father?’ he asked.
She frowned at him, angry at the way he was cross examining her. ‘What’s with all these questions, Alessandro? You were the one who insisted the child couldn’t possibly be yours. Why the sudden interest now? Have you suddenly changed your mind and decided I wasn’t lying to you after all?’
He gave a little shrug of insouciance. ‘No, of course I have not changed my mind. There is no way I could be the father of your child.’
Scarlett sent him a caustic glare. ‘So you think.’
‘I do not think, Scarlett,’ he said with a granite-hard stare. ‘I know it for a fact.’
She stood before him, silently fuming at his arrogance, her simmering hatred for him threatening to spill over.
His mouth tilted into a sardonic smile as his eyes roved over her lazily. ‘Anyway, you do not look as if you have had a child. You are as slim and attractive as you were four years ago.’
She gave him a withering look. ‘Thanks for insulting every mother out there who’s put on a bit of weight after childbirth.’
‘I did not mean to insult other mothers.’
‘No, you’re here to insult me,’ she shot back. ‘You can keep your contract, Alessandro Marciano. I don’t want anything to do with a man who thinks I am a liar and a cheat and a whore.’
‘So even after all this time you are still determined to have me nominated as the sire of your offspring, are you?’ he asked with a curl of his lip. ‘Why is that, Scarlett—because the other possible candidates would not pay up?’
She ground her teeth as she glared at him. ‘There were no other candidates, and you damn well know it.’
The cynicism in the line of his mouth increased. ‘You do not like admitting you got it wrong by singling me out, do you, Scarlett? You thought you had landed yourself a meal ticket for the rest of your life when you met me. I wondered at the time why you had fallen into bed with me so quickly. It all made sense, of course, when you told me your news. You needed financial security, but you got it wrong in selecting me.’
She clenched her fists by her sides. ‘I loved you, Alessandro. I really loved you. I would have given anything to have spent the rest of my life with you, but not for the reasons you’re assuming.’
‘Love?’ He snorted. ‘I wonder if you would still have claimed to love me if I’d told you at the beginning of our affair that I was not interested in having children—ever.’
‘Why didn’t you?’
Something moved in his gaze, like a shifting shadow. It was there one second, gone the next.
‘We had only been seeing each other for three months,’ he said. ‘I was going to tell you within the next week or two, as I was concerned that you would have hopes for a future of marriage and babies with me. I realise it is a lot to ask of a woman, to relinquish her right to have a child with the man she loves.’
‘So you do acknowledge that I loved you?’
The cynical slant to his mouth returned. ‘I believe you loved the idea of marrying a multi-millionaire. Nothing awakens love so much as money, I have found.’
‘Why are you so against having children?’ she asked, still frowning. ‘I thought all Italians loved children—having a loving family is everything to them, not to mention having an heir.’
‘That has never been in my plans,’ he said. ‘I have other things I want to do with my life. Being tied down with a wife and children holds no appeal at all.’
Scarlett searched his face, wondering what had led him to such an intractable stance, but his expression was inscrutable.
‘I will see you in two days’ time, Scarlett, to discuss the terms of the contract.’ He handed her a card with his business details on it. ‘My private phone number is on the other side, if you should wish to contact me before then, otherwise I will see you at the Arlington Hotel on Thursday at ten a.m.’
Scarlett looked down at the gold-embossed card with its serrated edges, the pad of her index finger running over each and every letter of his name. But it wasn’t until she heard the tinkle of the tiny bell hanging on the studio door that she realised he had left.
She looked up and watched as he went to his car parked outside, his tall, muscular body almost folding in half to get behind the wheel. He fired the engine and, just before he pulled out into the street, he glanced back and met her gaze, a small frown playing about his brow.
Scarlett turned from the window and drew in a scratchy breath, and held it inside her aching chest until the sound of his car had faded into the distance.
CHAPTER TWO
‘I’M WARNING you, Scarlett, that if you don’t take this Marciano contract on I’m out of here,’ Roxanne threatened early on Thursday morning. ‘This is what I’ve been hoping for ever since I graduated. It’s what we’ve both been waiting for. You can’t do this to me—damn it, you can’t do it to us.’
Scarlett bit her lip, her eyes flicking to the clock again, which seemed to be gathering momentum every time she looked at it. She had less than twenty minutes to get into the city to meet Alessandro and give him her final answer. She had barely slept for the last forty-eight hours, agonising over what to do. Seeing him again had brought everything back, all the heartache and crushing despair of his disbelief and rejection.
‘I know you’re worried about some of the clauses in the contract,’ Roxanne said. ‘But we’ve handled complicated contracts before and sailed through without a hitch. This is an offer too good to pass up. Besides, you know how tight this industry is. If word gets out you turned aside a deal as big as this for personal reasons, how will we hold our heads up professionally?’
Scarlett sank her teeth into her lower lip. ‘I know, but…’
‘Don’t blow this, Scarlett,’ Roxanne said. ‘If you haven’t signed on the dotted line when you get back to the studio later today, I want you to buy me out of the business.’
Scarlett felt her chest begin to thud with alarm. ‘You know I can’t afford to do that, Roxanne. It will ruin me. I have no savings, and getting a personal loan would be impossible right now.’
‘You’ve lied to me for close to four years, Scarlett,’ Roxanne said bitterly. ‘You told me Matthew’s father had died in a car accident in Italy. Do you realise how that makes me feel? Totally betrayed. I thought I was your best friend.’
Scarlett met her friend’s wounded gaze. ‘I know I should have told you, but I was so upset and confused when I came home. It seemed easier to tell everyone Matthew’s father had been killed in an accident. I couldn’t bear the questions from Mum and Sophie. They would have driven me mad. I wanted to tell you so many times, especially after all you’ve done for me, but I had to consider Matthew too. How is he going to feel in the future to hear his father wanted nothing to do with him?’
‘I realise all that, but what’s so hard about taking on several-hundred thousand dollars or more of business?’ Roxanne returned. ‘Get in the real world, Scarlett. So what if he doesn’t believe Matthew’s his kid? That’s his loss. This is a business transaction. Put your private issues aside and get on with the job.’
‘It’s not that simple…’
Roxanne gave her a penetrating look. ‘You’re not still in love with the guy, are you?’
‘No, of course not,’ Scarlett said with an affronted huff. ‘It’s just that he’s…he’s…’
‘Very attractive,’ Roxanne offered helpfully. ‘And super-rich.’
Scarlett glared at her. ‘You know I’m not that sort of person, Roxanne.’
Roxanne blew out a breath. ‘No, you’re not, more’s the pity. You’re way too kind to people. You let them walk all over you.’
‘If you’re obliquely referring to the Underwood account, then don’t,’ Scarlett said with a little scowl. ‘I felt sorry for Louise Underwood—her husband was a total brute. I couldn’t leave her with all those bills to pay when he ran off with his mistress.’
‘We’re running a business not a charity, Scarlett,’ Roxanne said. ‘And, speaking of business, you’d better scoot or you’ll never get there in time.’
‘I’ll get a cab rather than try and park,’ Scarlett said as she grabbed her bag and sunglasses. ‘God, I wish there was some way out of this.’
‘There is,’ Roxanne said. ‘You sign the contract, you do the work, you say goodbye. Easy.’
Scarlett opened the studio door and grimaced. ‘You think.’
When Scarlett arrived at the old Arlington in the city there were various workmen on site, as the building was in the first stages of being gutted. Scaffolding was wrapped around the outside, and the front doors were pinned back to keep them open, but even so the fine dust in the air made her nose start to twitch.
She walked across the threadbare carpet-runner to the reception desk, but she had to step aside as a worn sofa was carried past her to the service lifts. She carried on once the men had moved past, but the reception area was deserted, as the hotel had closed down several weeks ago.
She turned and looked up at the winding staircase and locked gazes with Alessandro, who was standing on the next floor looking down at her. She felt her stomach fold over itself and her heart start to race as he came down the stairs, the sound of his footsteps echoing throughout the cavernous foyer.
‘Hello, Scarlett.’
Scarlett felt the skin on her bare arms lift in goosebumps as he came to stand in front of her. His slightly wavy hair was glossy black with moisture, as if he had not long showered. She could smell the exotic spices of his aftershave, and the clean, male scent of his body, and her brain flooded with images of how he had looked wet and glistening in the shower.
‘I was not sure you would come,’ he said.
She blinked at him, her mind still back in the shower, her heart beating so quickly she could hear a roaring in her ears. ‘Um…I need the money…’ she said, but instantly regretted it when she saw the way his eyes hardened slightly. ‘I mean, business has been slow over summer, and I don’t want to get in too far over my head…or anything…’ She bit her lip, hating that she sounded so unprofessional. She was usually so brisk and efficient with potential clients, but Alessandro was not just a client.
He was her little son’s father.
Alessandro looked down at her for a lengthy moment. He had spent the last two days thinking about her, wondering what it would be like to have her in his bed again.
This reaction hadn’t really surprised him; after all, he had felt the same way the first time he had met her. He could feel it now, the pulse of sexual attraction crackling in the air that separated them. Seeing her again had brought back a rush of memories of how responsive she had been in his arms. He had never experienced anything like it before or since. He felt his groin tightening even now, thinking about the pleasure her body had given him so uninhibitedly. Her slim, golden sun-kissed limbs had snaked around his, her body rocking and shuddering with the spasms of release, until he had exploded with mind-blowing pleasure time and time again.
He was glad now he hadn’t told her he had fallen in love with her four years ago—certainly not after the way she had tried to deceive him. That would have been the ultimate in humiliation, to have had her know how deeply he had cared for her while she had been cleverly masterminding her plot to hoodwink him.
‘So you have decided to work for me after all, Scarlett?’ he said into the too-long silence.
Scarlett moistened her mouth with her tongue, her stomach feeling as if a large nest of bush ants had been disturbed inside it. ‘Yes… Yes, I have…’
‘Because you need the money.’
She swallowed twice before she could find her voice again. ‘It’s as you said—a big contract. It’s also a very time-consuming one. I have some other clients that I—’
‘Your business partner Roxanne Hartley can see to those while you work for me.’
‘This is too big a job to do single-handedly,’ she said. ‘Roxanne will have to be in on it, as well as one or two other freelance designers.’
‘I will leave you to make the necessary arrangements,’ he said. ‘I am sure you are more than capable of assembling a design team to manage this project.’
‘It’s not just that.’ She took a breath to calm herself and continued. ‘I’m concerned about how things are…between us.’
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. ‘What do you mean?’
She hoisted her handbag over her shoulder as she ran the palms of her hands down the sides of her skirt. ‘We’re not exactly friends, Alessandro.’
‘We do not need to be friends in order to get down to business, Scarlett.’
‘As long as this remains strictly a business arrangement,’ she said with a pointed glance.
His expression contained a hint of mockery. ‘Are you saying that for my benefit or your own?’
Her eyes flared. ‘What do you mean by that?’
The brown flecks in his eyes darkened to the colour of espresso coffee. ‘You can still feel it, can’t you, Scarlett?’ he said in a low, sexy drawl. ‘You can feel that throbbing tension that fills the air as soon as we are in the same room together. I felt it the other day, and I know you did too.’
‘That’s complete and utter nonsense,’ she said with a little toss of her head. ‘Anyway, I told you, I’m seeing someone.’
‘What is his name?’
Scarlett stared at him, her mind going completely blank. ‘Umm…I’d rather not say.’
‘How long have you been involved with him?’ he asked, still pinning her with his gaze.
Scarlett pursed her mouth and glared at him irritably. ‘I thought I was here to discuss the refurbishment of this building, not the details of my personal life. Now, can we get on with it, please? I have a full list of appointments, and I have to pick up my son at five-thirty.’
He held her gaze for a pulsing moment, but she couldn’t decide what was going on behind the screen of his hazel eyes.
‘Excuse me,’ he said as his mobile started to ring.
Scarlett watched as he looked at the caller ID and frowned as he moved a few metres away. It gave her a chance to observe him while he wasn’t watching, but she couldn’t help wondering who he was talking to in such rapid-fire Italian, his voice sounding edgy and annoyed.
She drank in the sight of him—the long legs, the flat stomach, and the black silky hairs at his wrists where his shirt cuffs were casually rolled up. He looked every inch the successful and powerful man; the world was at his fingertips, and there was nothing he couldn’t do if he put his mind to it.
Except acknowledge his son as his own.
