She swayed on her feet and tried to focus on one of the two of him that had appeared in front of her gaze. She couldn’t work out if it was because she wasn’t wearing her glasses or the third drink she’d had. Maybe a bit of both. ‘Ooo, that sounds like glooorious fun. Do you really mean it?’
His brows snapped together in a frown. ‘You’re drunk.’
She tiptoed two of her fingers from his sternum up to his chin but her fingers weren’t travelling in a straight line. ‘Do you think I wouldn’t want you if I wasn’t a leetle teeny bit tipsy?’
He captured her fingers before they could get to his mouth. ‘I’m not sleeping with you, Lottie. Drunk or sober.’
She made a little moue with her mouth. ‘I know you want me. That day we kissed—’
‘Was a mistake that won’t be repeated,’ he said in a clipped tone.
‘I liked you being rough with me.’ She pressed up against him brazenly. ‘It made me go all fizzy inside. I’ve never felt like that before. I thought I was going to come on the spot.’
‘Will you shut up, for God’s sake?’ His expression had gone from stern to exasperated.
Lottie giggled and wriggled her hips against him again. ‘I’ve never done it with a partner. Come, I mean. I’ve only pretended. I’m really good at it. I bet you couldn’t tell the difference. Do you want to hear me?’
Lucca swung her so quickly towards the exit she tottered on her skyscraper heels. ‘Not right now,’ he muttered.
‘I know why you don’t want to sleep with me. You’re worried you might want to sleep with me more than once, aren’t you?’ Lottie was enjoying this newfound freedom of speech. She could say whatever thought popped into her mind and she didn’t blush or cringe in embarrassment. ‘You might want to have a proper fling with me, like for weeks and weeks, maybe even months and months.’ She grinned at both of him. ‘You might even fall in love with me like it says in the paper. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?’
He let out a very rude word and tugged her towards the car.
Lucca carried the now-sleeping Lottie into the hotel. It was a relief to have her finally shut up. He couldn’t imagine what the paparazzi would make of her tipsy ramblings about him falling in love with her. Sheesh! Luckily there was no one about. In fact, the place looked a little deserted. There weren’t the usual crowds of guests checking in or checking out or people having drinks in the bar. It looked like a ghost-town hotel instead of the usual hub of activity even though it was only just past midnight.
A staff member came over hurriedly. ‘Oh, dear, Mr Chatsfield, is Her Royal Highness unwell too?’
‘No, just a little, er … tired. I’m taking her up to—to the suite.’
‘We left several messages on your phone,’ the man said. ‘We’ve had to quarantine the hotel.’
‘What?’
‘There’s been an outbreak of a virus.’ The staff member gave a very good impression of hand wringing. ‘The medical authorities want to keep things contained until they identify the cause. We’re not sure if it’s food poisoning or a highly contagious rotor virus. We’re not taking any more bookings until we know for sure and we’ve been advised to keep all the guests on-site for forty-eight hours to stop the spread of infection.’
Lucca mentally rolled his eyes. He’d planned to fly back to Preitalle as early as possible the next morning. He didn’t want Lottie under the same roof as him in case he was tempted beyond his endurance. ‘Do my father and his CEO know about this?’
‘Yes, we’ve informed them both. They’ve probably been trying to contact you. Have you had your phone off?’
‘On silent.’ Lucca hadn’t wanted to face the fallout from his father or Christos when the news broke of his ‘affair’ with Lottie. He could just imagine the spraying he would get. Not that he wanted their approval. Far from it. He enjoyed creating drama. It served them right for trying to control him.
Lottie opened her eyes and blinked at him owlishly. ‘Have I been sleeping?’
‘Yes, cara mia,’ Lucca said, conscious of the staff member watching intently.
‘I had the bestest time, Jean Rene,’ Lottie said to the staff member who had remained nameless to Lucca up until that point. ‘Lucca took me dancing. I had champagne cocktails that tasted yummy scrummy. And I had my first ever vodka chaser.’
Jean Rene to his credit didn’t blink an eye. ‘That is wonderful, Your Royal Highness. I’m so glad you had a good time.’
‘I had a marvellous time!’ Lottie crowed as she seesawed her lower legs up and down like an excited child while Lucca tried to hold her steady in case he popped a disc. ‘Lucca’s in love with me, aren’t you, Lucca?’
‘But of course, ma petite,’ he said, mentally grinding his teeth.
She touched his bottom lip with her salty fingertip. ‘You can’t resist me, can you? I’m not like your usual floozies. I’ve got class.’
‘You sure do, baby girl.’ He edged towards the lifts. ‘Keep me posted on the situation, er, Jean Rene, okay?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Jean Rene smiled a man-to-man smile. ‘Have a wonderful night.’
Lottie woke up with a blinding headache and a mouth that felt like she’d been sucking on a gym sock. She gingerly sat upright, wincing as the morning light threatened to laser her eyeballs. She reached for her glasses and blinked a couple of times to clear her vision.
Lucca was sitting in a wing chair in her suite … slumped would be more accurate. He was soundly asleep, his head lolled to one side, his feet crossed over at the ankles. He was still in the clothes he had been wearing last night; the top three buttons of his shirt were undone showing a rather delicious display of hard male muscle and wiry chest hair.
Why had he spent the night watching her sleep? Had he put her to bed? She looked down at her bra and knickers. Had he undressed her? She frowned as she tried to recall last night…. It was all a bit of a blur. A nice blur, however. She knew she’d had a good time. Lucca had been wonderful company. He’d made her laugh and he’d taken her dancing.
She carefully swung her legs over the side of the bed and tested her balance. Her head swam a little but she didn’t feel too bad, all things considered. Nothing a hot shower couldn’t fix.
She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later to find Lucca going through his messages on his phone. He looked up as she came in, his gaze running over her dressed in the hotel bathrobe and her hair in a towel turban on her head. ‘How’s your head?’
‘Did you undress me last night?’
‘Yes, but I didn’t lay a finger—’
‘Why not?’
He frowned at her. ‘What do you mean “why not?” You were off your face, that’s why not.’
Lottie tilted her head at him. ‘I never took you for the chivalrous type. I thought you’d make the most of an easy lay.’
He stood and shoved his phone in his trouser pocket, his expression tight with reproach. ‘There’s something you need to learn, young lady. You don’t need to be drunk to have a good time. You don’t know what sort of creeps are out there waiting to take advantage of you.’
‘Don’t you find me attractive?’ Lottie knew she was revealing her insecurities by asking but she couldn’t seem to help it. He’d had the perfect opportunity to seduce her and he hadn’t done so. Surely he’d had a little grope? Stolen