His mouth was tilted in that half-smile again. ‘Try another lap without thrashing the water,’ he said. ‘Let the water support you as you move through it.’
Rachel went back and it did seem a little easier this time. She wasn’t quite so breathless, although that soon changed when she saw the way Alessandro glanced at her breasts. Heat flowed through her at the intimate contact. It felt as if he had touched her, cupping her with those broad strong hands of his. Her skin tingled in response, her nipples peaking as if he had just brushed the pads of his thumbs over them. There was no way of hiding her reaction to him. Could he tell? Did he know what he was doing to her? Was he remembering how he had once brushed his hot mouth against her tightly budded nipple in a stolen moment in the summer house?
His eyes came back to hers and held firm. ‘How about trying some breaststroke?’ he suggested.
Rachel gave him a look. ‘I just bet you’re an expert at that.’
His eyes glinted. ‘You could say I’m very experienced.’
Her belly flickered and fluttered at his double entendre. She slipped back into the water and did her version of the stroke, which she had always felt was more of a combination of a dog trying not to drown and a frog with a wonky leg. That Alessandro thought so too was more than apparent when she saw the grimace on his face when she stopped at his end. ‘Needs some work?’ she asked.
‘What a pity you aren’t staying longer than forty-eight hours,’ he said. ‘I could have given you some free tuition.’
‘I could always stay a little longer,’ she said, blinking the droplets of water out of her eyes. ‘My return ticket isn’t until the first of September.’
He held her look for a pulsing moment. ‘Two days, Rachel. That’s all. I want you out of here by tomorrow morning.’
Rachel felt her resentment building all over again. He was practically throwing her out on the street. What had happened to good old-fashioned hospitality? Did he really hate her that much? ‘But what if my luggage doesn’t turn up by then?’ she asked.
‘You’ll have to buy some clothes with the money I gave you.’
‘But practically all the money you gave me is going to be used up to pay off debts back home,’ she said.
‘Then you will have to find a job to tide you over.’
Lucia came out at that point and Alessandro frowned when he saw the harried look on her face.
‘Lucia? Is something wrong?’ he asked in Italian.
‘Sì, Signor,’ Lucia said, wringing her hands agitatedly. ‘I am afraid I have a family emergency to attend to. My daughter-in-law has been admitted to hospital. There is a problem with her pregnancy. My son needs me to babysit my grandsons. I am so sorry. I must go. I will hopefully only be away for a night, two at the most. I called Carlotta to fill in for me but she is visiting her mother in Sicily.’
Rachel had no real idea of what was being said since they spoke in such rapid Italian but it was clear Alessandro was not happy about something. A heavy frown pulled at his brows and his jaw tightened like a clamp.
Lucia glanced at Rachel before turning back to her employer, this time speaking in English. ‘What about Miss McCulloch?’
‘No. Non è assolutemente,’ he said firmly.
‘But she is already here with nowhere else to go until her luggage arrives,’ Lucia continued. ‘She could fill in until I get back or until we find a replacement.’
‘Is there something I can do to help?’ Rachel offered.
Alessandro frowned heavily. ‘No. I do not need your help.’
Lucia wrung her hands some more. ‘Signor, please, I beg you. I must leave as soon as I possibly can. My son is waiting for me so he can be with his wife. I need to pack a few things before I go.’
‘All right,’ Alessandro said. ‘Do what you have to do. I will see what can be arranged.’
Lucia bustled off, her flat sensible shoes almost flying across the flagstones in her haste.
‘I take it there’s been some sort of an emergency,’ Rachel said.
‘Yes,’ Alessandro said. ‘It seems I am without a housekeeper for the next day or two unless I can find a replacement.’
‘I could always fill in for Lucia,’ she said. ‘I can cook and I can clean.’
Alessandro looked down at her upturned face. Could he risk it? Could he employ her for the next couple of days and wear the consequences? It would solve one problem even if it threw up some others. He knew the press was already wondering why he was here without a mistress. Since his breakup with Lissette there had been speculation over who would take her place. Who better than the young woman who had turned him down in the past? It would be different this time of course. He would employ her. It would be a business deal. They would both get what they wanted. No emotional involvement, just cold hard cash. He would have to protect himself legally, of course. He would get his legal people to draw up an agreement immediately. One indiscreet word to the press from her and his business deal could be jeopardised. But he was prepared to risk it if it meant he could have Rachel at his beck and call even for a day or two. She had no idea what she was taking on. That was part of the appeal for him. She would leave as soon as she found out, he was sure of it. It would prove to him all over again that she was without compassion, without a care for anyone but herself. And right now he needed reminding of it. Having her here had already awakened urges he had soused with cynicism years ago. Her sassiness and spirited and wilful nature excited him much more than any of the compliant partners he’d had over the years.
‘You really want to work for me?’ he asked.
She nodded. ‘If working for you for a few days will convince you to consider backing my label, then yes, I will do whatever you want me to do.’
Alessandro hooked one brow upwards. ‘Anything?’
A flicker of uncertainty came and went in her gaze. ‘Anything within reason,’ she said.
‘Just how far are you prepared to go for the financial backing you require?’ he asked.
Her teeth snagged at her full bottom lip. ‘Pretty far …’ ‘I am known to be a hard taskmaster, Rachel,’ Alessandro said. ‘Do you think you’ll be able to satisfy my exacting standards?’
Her cheeks flushed with delicate colour as she valiantly held his gaze. ‘I will do my best to give the best service possible,’ she said.
‘Do you realise that by sharing the villa with me even for a couple of days that people will jump to conclusions about what exactly is the nature of our relationship?’ he said.
The colour on her cheeks deepened. ‘It’s been my experience that people will think what they like no matter what the truth is,’ she said.
‘As long as you understand you are under my employ as a fill-in housekeeper,’ he said. ‘Don’t go getting any ideas of filling in other areas of my life.’
She gave him a withering look. ‘You would have to pay me a king’s ransom to become your latest mistress,’ she said.
Alessandro felt his lower spine zap with searing heat at her defiant words. His groin burned with the sudden flash fire of longing, a burgeoning heat that threatened to overthrow every bit of his resolve to have nothing to do with her. He had always wanted to tame her shrewish streak and now was a perfect opportunity to do it. ‘Dangerous words, Rachel,’ he warned silkily. ‘Don’t go throwing challenges down at me like that. I might just take you up on it.’
RACHEL glared at