It was the hardest thing in the world, but he let her go and stepped back. ‘I have work to catch up on—some conference calls to make. And I’m sure you’ll appreciate a night in a real bed again. My assistant will be here in the morning to take you down to the charity offices where you’ll be working. And tomorrow evening I’m taking you to a charity function.’
Serena’s heart palpitated with a mixture of relief and disappointment. So he wasn’t staying tonight? And then shame lanced her that she hadn’t been strong enough just to walk away. That a part of her wanted to explore what this man was offering, almost more than she wanted to prove herself or ensure her independence.
The last three and a half years had been all about finding and nurturing an inner strength she’d never known she had. But Luca made her feel weak, and it scared her. But not enough to turn away from him. Damn him.
‘Okay.’
Luca said nothing for a long moment and then he said quietly, ‘Boa noite, Serena. Até amanha.’
Till tomorrow.
He turned and walked away and the slick, modern apartment was immediately cavernous without him. They’d only spent four days together but it felt like a lifetime. Serena battled the urge to flee, once again questioning her rationale... But her decision to stay had nothing to do with being rational. That had fled out of the window as soon as Luca had pulled her onto his lap on the plane and kissed her witless.
Doubts and fears melted away. She wasn’t going anywhere. She couldn’t.
As soon as that registered in her body fatigue and exhaustion hit her like a freight train. Along with the realisation that she had hot water at her disposal and could finally wash.
Pushing all thoughts of Luca and what the immediate future held out of her head, she unpacked, took the longest and most delicious shower she’d ever had in her life, fell face-down onto an indescribably soft bed, and sank into oblivion.
* * *
Luca stood at the window of his office a floor below the apartment. Rio was a carpet of twinkling golden lights as far as the eye could see. He spoke into the mobile he held to his ear.
His voice was tight. ‘Let’s just say that I have my doubts about whether she did it or not, and I’d appreciate your help in finding out.’ There was a pause, and then Luca said curtly, ‘Look, Max, if it’s too much trouble—’ He sighed. ‘Okay, yes. And, thanks, I appreciate it.’
Luca cut the connection and threw his phone down on the table behind him. It bounced off and hit the carpeted floor. He ignored it and turned back to the view. Any conversation with his brother drove his blood pressure skywards. He knew that Max didn’t blame Luca specifically for the fact that they’d been split up the way they had between their parents...but guilt festered inside Luca even now. He was the elder twin and he’d always felt that responsibility keenly.
Pushing thoughts of his brother aside, Luca hated to admit it, but he felt altered in some way. As if some alchemy had taken place in his head and body since he’d stood looking at this view the last time—just before Serena had arrived almost a week ago.
He scowled at his fanciful thoughts. There was no alchemy. It was physical attraction, pure and simple. It had been between them from the moment their eyes had first locked. And now he was going to sate it. That was all.
The fact that he was prepared to allow Serena DePiero to sign an agreement which would potentially offer her employment with his company for the foreseeable future, and to be seen with her in public, were things that he pushed to the deepest recesses of his mind.
He focused instead on the increasing anticipation in his blood and his body at the knowledge that soon this ever-present hunger would be assuaged.
THE FOLLOWING EVENING Serena waited on the outdoor terrace that wrapped around the entire apartment, a ball of nerves in her gut. The fact that Luca had said he was taking her to a charity function had been conveniently forgotten when she’d succumbed to exhaustion the previous evening—and in the whirlwind of the day she’d just had.
She’d woken early and had some breakfast just before his sleek assistant Laura had arrived, cracking a minute smile for once. She’d handed Serena a sheaf of papers and hot embarrassment had risen up when she’d seen it was the contract assuring her of work if she completed her trial period successfully. The contract she’d demanded.
To her relief there was no mention of the more personal side of their agreement. Luca’s cool efficiency was scary.
After she’d signed, Laura had taken her down to the first floor, where the offices for the charity were based, and introduced her to the staff. Serena had spent such a pleasant day with the friendly Brazilians, who had been so nice and patient with her rudimentary Portuguese that she’d almost fooled herself into forgetting what else awaited her.
But she couldn’t ignore it any longer. Not when she’d returned to the apartment to find a stylist and a troupe of hair and make-up people waiting to transform her for Luca’s pleasure. Or delectation might be a better word. She felt like something that should be on display.
An entire wardrobe of designer clothes seemed to have materialised by magic during the day, and this whole process brought back so many memories of her old life—when her father had insisted on making sure his daughters had the most desirable clothes...for the maximum effect.
The thought of the evening ahead made her go clammy. Right now, weakly, she’d take a jungle full of scorpions, snakes, bullet ants and even an angry Luca Fonseca over the social jungle she was about to walk into.
And then she drew herself up tall. She was better than this. Was she forgetting what she’d survived in the past few years? The intense personal scrutiny and soul-searching? The constant invasion of her privacy as she’d faced her demons in front of strangers? And not only that—she’d survived the jungle with Luca, who’d been waiting for her to falter at every step.
Although right now that didn’t feel so much of a triumph as a test of endurance that she was still undergoing. They’d exchanged the wild jungle for the so-called civilised jungle. And this time the stakes were so much higher.
At that moment the little hairs all over her body stood up a nano-second before she heard a noise behind her. She had no time to keep obsessing over whether or not she’d picked out the right dress. Squaring her shoulders, and drawing on the kind of reserves that she hadn’t had to call on in years, Serena turned around.
For a second she could only blink to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Her ability to breathe was severely compromised. Memories of Luca seven years ago slammed into her like a punch to the gut. Except this Luca was infinitely harder, more gorgeous.
‘You’ve shaved...’ Serena commented faintly. But those words couldn’t do justice to the man in front of her, dressed in a classic tuxedo, his hard jaw revealed in all its obduracy, the sensual lines of his mouth even more defined.
His thick dark hair was shorter too, and Serena felt an irrational spurt of jealousy for whoever had had his or her hands on his head.
She was too enflamed and stunned by this vision of Luca to notice that his gaze had narrowed on her and a flush had made his cheeks darken.
‘You look...incredible.’
Luca’s eyes felt seared, right through to the back. She was a sleek, beautiful goddess. All he could see at first was bare skin, arms and shoulders. And acres of red silk and gold, sparkling with inlaid jewels. A deep V drew his eye effortlessly to luscious curves. There was some embellishment on the shoulders and then the dress fell in a swathe of silk and lace from her waist to the floor. He could see the hint of one pale thigh