A week away hadn’t changed anything. Luca swivelled in his chair, restless and angry with himself for still responding to Hannah in such a basic and yet overwhelming way. The mere sight of her looking so poised and elegant had made him yearn to sweep her into his arms, pluck the pins from her hair and lose himself in the glories of her mouth.
While in New York he’d tried to distance himself from the memory of her touch by going out with a model he’d once been friendly with, but the elegant, gorgeous woman had left him completely cold. He hadn’t been able to summon the interest even to kiss her, and she’d been quite put out as a result.
Maybe, he mused, he was going about this the wrong way. Maybe instead of forgetting Hannah he needed to get her out of his system. He’d been able to tell, simply from that one small exchange, that she still reacted to him just as powerfully as he did to her. Why not have a fling? They’d work out this inconvenient attraction and then resume their professional relationship. He didn’t want to lose his PA, and he knew Hannah didn’t want to lose her job. Surely they could be sensible about this. Businesslike, even. They’d both agreed that neither of them wanted the risk of a real relationship, so Hannah should surely be amenable to the kind of arrangement he was thinking about. All he had to do was offer.
HANNAH HAD JUST put Jamie to bed and changed into comfy yoga pants and a fleece hoodie when the doorbell rang. She was exhausted, emotionally spent from having been on high alert with Luca in the office, and she wanted to do nothing more than kick back with a glass of wine and maybe some ice cream and watch several hours of soothingly mindless reality TV.
Suspecting her elderly neighbour needed help opening a jar or reaching something on a high shelf—Hannah was called on for these kinds of services several times a week—she opened her front door with a sunny smile pasted onto her face and felt it slide right off when her stunned gaze took in the sight of the powerful form filling her doorway.
‘Luca...what are you doing here?’
‘I want to talk.’ He bent his head so as not to hit the low stone lintel. ‘May I come in?’
Hannah had a kneejerk reaction to refuse. She didn’t want him in her house, overwhelming her life with his presence, his power. She glanced behind her, as if looking for assistance but none was forthcoming. ‘All right.’
She led Luca to the small sitting room, which, after a quick post-tea tidy-up, was free of any evidence of her son. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘Not exactly.’ Luca’s perceptive gaze took in the little room with its worn sofa and coffee table, the small TV in the corner. With framed prints on the walls and bookcases overflowing with paperbacks, it was homey and cosy but a far cry from the luxury Hannah knew he was accustomed to.
‘I’m not pregnant,’ she blurted. ‘If that’s why you came. It’s certain.’
‘Oh.’ Luca looked surprised, and then discomfited. ‘No, that’s not why I’m here.’
‘Oh. Okay.’ Flummoxed, she gestured to a chair. ‘Would you like to sit down?’ It felt surreal to have Luca in her little house, taking up all the space and air. She sat on the sofa and he sat in a chair opposite, his hands resting on his muscular thighs.
‘This isn’t working, Hannah.’
Her stomach lurched unpleasantly. She couldn’t pretend not to understand what he was talking about. ‘I’ll get over it,’ she said a bit desperately. ‘It can work—’
‘It’s not just you,’ he interjected. ‘I feel it too.’
Her heart somersaulted at that admission but she still felt wary. She couldn’t lose her job. ‘So what are you suggesting? I need my job—’
Luca grimaced in distaste. ‘Do you actually think I’d fire you over this?’
‘You might think of a convenient reason to let me go or at least shift me to another position in the company.’ The latter wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, even if she’d miss the status and salary, not to mention the challenge, of being the CEO’s executive assistant. And, she admitted painfully, she’d miss Luca.
‘That’s not the kind of man I am,’ he answered stonily, and Hannah thought she detected hurt underneath his hard manner.
‘I’m sorry, I’m just paranoid, I suppose.’ She spread her hands. ‘You hold all the cards, Luca.’
‘Then let me play one now. I want you, Hannah. I want you in my bed. Properly, and not just for a few mindless minutes.’
Hannah stared at him in shock, the blood draining from her head, making her dizzy. She could not think to string two words together.
‘I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t have an affair,’ Luca stated. ‘We’re obviously attracted to one another, and those feelings are not going away. I think it would be far better to explore this mutual attraction to our satisfaction, and then part on good terms.’ His eyes glittered as he pinned her with his stare. ‘I’m a very considerate and generous lover, Hannah.’
‘I know you are,’ she answered numbly. The shock was dissipating, replaced by anger, and, far worse, hurt. ‘I’ve arranged the courier from Tiffany & Co. enough times to realise,’ she added tartly.
Luca didn’t look remotely abashed at this statement. ‘Then you agree?’
‘To what, exactly? Being your mistress?’ Her voice rang out, making him blink in surprise. Hannah held on to her rage. Better to be angry than to break down into tears, bitterly disappointed that this was what he was offering her. No-strings sex. How could she even be surprised?
‘“Mistress” is an outdated term,’ Luca observed. ‘And not one I’m entirely comfortable with.’
‘But isn’t that what you have? Mistresses?’
‘Lovers,’ he corrected swiftly. ‘And one at a time. You’re an independent woman, Hannah. I’m not suggesting I take that away from you.’
‘But what are you suggesting? Because I’ve seen you with other women enough to know what you want.’
Ire flashed briefly in his eyes. ‘I had no idea you were so knowledgeable of my desires,’ he remarked. ‘What is it that you think I want?’
‘Availability,’ Hannah answered. ‘You like your women to drop everything when you crook your little finger. Yet at the same time you like them not to fuss when you don’t reciprocate.’
‘I’m a busy man.’
‘And I’m a busy woman,’ Hannah snapped.
Luca raised his eyebrows in eloquent disbelief. ‘Is that your only reservation? Because I feel quite confident that we can work something out.’
‘I bet you do.’
‘Why are you so offended?’
‘Because I don’t want to be your bit on the side,’ Hannah cried, rising from the sofa and pacing the confines of the room in her agitation. ‘I don’t want to be anyone’s bit on the side.’
‘You wouldn’t be. To say that is to suggest I’d be entertaining other women at the same time, and I assure you I am always faithful to my current partner.’
‘Oh, well, then.’ Hannah rolled her eyes. ‘That’s a relief.’
Luca pressed his lips together. ‘What, exactly, is your objection?’
Hannah stared at him, knowing she was being emotional and unreasonable. This offer was exactly the sort of thing she should have expected from Luca. It was what she’d been contemplating herself over that fateful weekend. So why was she acting all outraged now?
With