He would feel nothing.
Zip.
Nada.
Niente.
He smiled as he made his way down to the pool. This was going to be far more entertaining that he had first thought.
Rachel turned over and saw him by the pool, her sea-glass eyes blinking the water out as she stood and shielded her lace-covered breasts with her hands. ‘I—I didn’t hear you,’ she said.
Alessandro gave her a semblance of a smile as he tapped the wheels with his hands. ‘It’s the deluxe model,’ he said, ‘streamlined and stealthy.’
She bit her lip in that childlike way of hers that undid him every time. He would have to work harder at covering it, at conquering it. She was not a guileless child. She never had been. She was a manipulating, down-on-her-luck gold-digger. She had already sold herself once. She would do it again. It would be amusing to watch her game play this time around.
‘I’ll get out to give you some more room,’ she said, and moved towards the side of the pool.
‘I am sure there is room in there for the two of us,’ Alessandro said.
She stalled with her hands on the rails that led from the steps. ‘I just thought you might like some privacy.’
He sent his eyes over her slim form, taking his time over the upthrust of her breasts before he met her gaze. He felt the stab of lust deep in his groin, his body springing to life, aching, pulsing, filling and lengthening. ‘If anyone deserves some privacy it is you,’ he said, keeping his expression deadpan. ‘Hopefully the rest of your luggage will arrive within the next twenty-four hours.’
‘I didn’t think you would be down here this early,’ she said. ‘I had a bad night. I couldn’t sleep. I thought some exercise would help.’
He moved his chair closer to the pool. ‘It’s a great panacea for many ills.’
He was conscious of her watching him as he manoeuvred himself from the chair to the railing of the pool steps. He was able to take a couple of steps, which was better than even twenty-four hours ago. It spurred him on to work harder and harder at his exercises.
He would beat this.
He refused to consider any other alternative.
He swam a couple of lengths to loosen up his muscles and came back to where she was still standing, holding the rails of the steps. ‘I haven’t contaminated the water, you know,’ he said.
She frowned at him. ‘I wish you wouldn’t immediately assume the worst of me.’
‘Swim with me, then,’ he said. ‘We can train together. I could do with the company. It gets pretty boring going up and down by oneself.’
She stepped back down into the water. ‘You’re very good at this, swimming, I mean,’ she said. ‘No one would ever think that you … I mean …’
‘Half a man?’ he said.
‘I never said that,’ she said. ‘I never even thought it.’ ‘It’s what most people think.’
‘I’m not most people,’ she said. ‘I know you think I’m spoilt and shallow and I was before. I freely admit that. But the last few years have changed me. I don’t judge people on appearances or what they lack in terms of background or breeding. We are all the same on this earth. Everyone is equal.’
He gave a snort of derision. ‘You expect me to believe you have reinvented yourself? You haven’t got a clue how the other half lives, Rachel. You have never had to beg for a meal. You have never had to sleep rough when the cold creeps into your bones until you can barely move the next morning. You have never had to fight off predators who want your soul for the price of their next fix.’
His words seemed to hit her like physical blows and he instantly regretted revealing so much of his sordid past. As soon as he had done it last night he had wished he hadn’t. She could so easily use it against him. He’d had plenty of opportunities to tell her five years ago but he’d always held back. He hadn’t wanted to sully their budding relationship with the dark shadows of his past. He realised now part of her allure back then had been that air of sassy innocence she had perfected.
She bit her lip again. He saw the way her teeth pushed the blood away until her lip turned almost bone-white, and then how when she released it the blood flooded back, making her lips cherry-red. Damn it, why did she keep doing that?
‘I think I’ll go inside and shower,’ she said, moving back to the steps.
‘Rachel.’
She stopped and turned to look at him. ‘Yes?’
‘I have a proposition for you,’ Alessandro said.
She looked at him warily. ‘You do?’
‘I have decided to give you the backing you need,’ he said.
A gleam of excitement shone in her eyes. ‘You have?’
‘But I want something in return.’
The excitement faded. ‘Which is?’ she asked.
He nailed her with his eyes. ‘I want you to be my mistress for the rest of the month.’
Her eyes went wide and her cheeks flushed. ‘P-pardon?’
Alessandro smiled. Dio, she was good at playing the game. So coy, so convincing. ‘You heard.’
‘I’m sorry, but for a moment there I thought you said you want me to be your mistress.’ She gave her head a little shake. ‘I must have water in my ears.’
Alessandro waited for a beat. ‘I am willing to fully back your label as well as pay you generously for each day of our time together.’
Her expression tightened, her eyes narrowing in anger. ‘I knew you would do this. I knew you would change the rules to suit yourself.’
‘Whether you sleep with me will be entirely up to you,’ he said. ‘It is not a condition on the deal.’
She faltered for a moment, a frown pulling at her smooth brow. ‘I … I don’t understand … You just said you would pay me to be your mistress.’
‘In public, not necessarily in private,’ Alessandro said.
Her frown deepened. ‘You want me to act as if I’m your mistress?’
‘I am sure you can do it convincingly,’ he said. ‘After all, you have done it before, sì?’
Her mouth flattened in anger. ‘Do you have any idea of how much I hate you for doing this?’
‘Right back at you, little rich girl,’ he said.
She got out of the pool and snatched up her towel. ‘You expect me to say yes, don’t you?’ she said.
‘I expect you to think carefully before you throw away your only lifeline,’ he said.
She gave him a look that would have cut through a diamond. ‘Let me get back to you on that,’ she said.
‘I have so far managed to keep the news of my affliction out of the press,’ he said. ‘I realise that will be impossible if I am not able to regain my full mobility over the next few weeks, but I refuse to accept that outcome. I can now manage a few steps with support. My goal is to move to crutches in the next couple of days. That will make being seen in public a lot less complicated and no one will blink an eye about it. I will explain it as a sprain or something. You read and signed the disclosure contract. Do I have to remind you of the consequences of not playing by the rules?’
‘Do you think so badly of me that you think I would do something like that?’ she asked.