by Tina Duncan
No, his outrageous behaviour was the reason she was finding it impossible to get him out of her head.
Sighing, she picked up the box of chocolates again. Her fingers were hovering over a pyramid of dark, milk and white chocolate layers when the doorbell rang.
Uncrossing her legs, she put the chocolate box on the couch and pushed herself to her feet. Unbolting the door, she pulled it open.
She was so unprepared to find Luca da Silva standing on the doorstep that she stood staring up at him with her mouth open.
Tonight he was wearing a pair of tailored black pants and a cream ribbed sweater beneath a black leather coat. He looked dark and dangerous and far too handsome for his own good.
‘Don’t you know you should never open your door without checking who it is first?’ he said with a frown. ‘It could have been anybody.’
She clutched the neckline of her pale blue satin dressing gown together. ‘It was. What are you doing here, Luca?’
‘I would have thought that was obvious. I’m here to see you. Aren’t you going to invite me in?’
Her spare hand gripped the edge of the door, barring his entry. ‘No, I’m not going to invite you in. You’re not welcome in my home.’
‘You’d rather have our discussion out here in the hallway with your neighbours listening in?’ he asked, cocking his head to the left, where old Mrs Addison’s beady eyes could be seen glued to the door opening.
‘Since I have no intention of talking to you there will be nothing to listen to.’ She paused, her heart leaping into the back of her throat. ‘Unless you’ve changed your mind about having me fired?’
‘No. I haven’t changed my mind.’
Her heart fell. ‘Then we have nothing to discuss. Now, go away!’
She tried to push the door closed, but the tip of an expensive black leather shoe wedged itself in the doorway. ‘Let me in, Morgan.’
She was about to demand that he leave immediately or she’d call the police, but then she hesitated. Antagonising Luca wasn’t going to do her a damned bit of good. In fact, it could be counter-productive.
Where was the harm in listening to what he had to say? She might even be able to persuade him to get her her job back.
‘I guess I can spare five minutes,’ she said grudgingly. Pulling open the door, she held her arm out wide. ’Come in.’
Luca swept past her.
Her small lounge room looked even smaller with Luca in it. His height and the sheer energy he emanated seemed to shrink the room to half its normal size.
Luca looked around. When he saw the distinctive Da Silva packaging—rich, glossy black shell emblazoned with the silver embossed swirl of the Da Silva logo—he walked over and picked up the box.
‘This is the latest line,’ he said, inspecting the lid.
She shrugged. ‘If I’m going to market a product I have to know everything about it. Including what it tastes like.’
‘But you no longer work for Enigma Marketing. Remember?’
Her mouth compressed into a thin line. ‘How can I forget? If you must know, they happened to be the only chocolates I had on hand.’
‘And you’re working your way through the entire box?’ he asked, looking at the pile of scrunched-up wrappers on the coffee table.
She angled her chin into the air. ‘So what if I am? I’ve had a bad day, thanks to you.’
‘Hmm.’ Luca ignored her comment as he inspected the contents of the box. ‘Do you know you can tell a lot about a person by their choice of chocolate? Going by what you’ve demolished so far, I’d say that you are bold and adventurous.’ He looked up, his eyes meeting hers. ‘I’d also say that you’re not averse to taking risks.’
‘That’s all very interesting, but why are you here?’
Selecting a chocolate, Luca put it in his mouth. ‘You know why. It’s about one of those risks I just mentioned.’ His eyes narrowed to dark slits in a face carved from granite. ‘How dare you call Joseph when I expressly ordered you not to?’
‘Who said I called him?’ she asked, stalling for time.
‘I do. You called. I answered.’ He raised a brow. ’Remember?’
She angled her chin into the air. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Really? Why don’t we test that theory?’
She frowned, and then paled when he fished a mobile phone out of his coat pocket. He stared at her, a glint of challenge in his eyes as he pressed a button.
‘Don’t,’ she choked.
It was too late. The mobile phone sitting on her kitchen bench began ringing.
Luca pulled the phone away from his ear. ‘Aren’t you going to answer that?’
She shook her head and closed her eyes. ‘No.’ How was she to know that Joseph had left his phone with Luca? How was she to know that Luca would guess it was her calling? ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake—hang up, will you?’
Luca depressed the button and the apartment fell silent.
She angled her chin into the air. ‘I’ll call who I like. You can’t tell me what to do.’
He stared back. ‘Then you’ll suffer the consequences.’
Slamming her hands on to her hips, she glared at him. ‘Stop threatening me, Luca! It isn’t going to work.’
She could tell by the look on his face that her answer had surprised him. He remained silent for a long time, eyes fixed on her face.
Morgan stared straight back.
Finally, he asked, ‘Why did you call him, Morgan?’
‘Why do you think? I wanted to tell him you’d had me fired!’
He crossed the room until he was standing right in front of her, so close she could smell wine on his breath. ’Why? Were you hoping he’d get you your job back?’
She nodded. ‘I love my job. Working on the Da Silva Chocolate account is the opportunity of a lifetime. I know it. And so do you. I worked hard to get my position and I’ve worked hard to keep it. It’s not fair that you’re taking it away from me.’
‘You should have thought of that before you started sleeping with Joseph!’
She flung her hands into the air, then quickly gathered the sides of her robe together when she realised the action had pulled the neckline apart. ‘For heaven’s sake! How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not sleeping with him. And even if I was it’s not a justifiable reason for having me fired!’
‘I’m making it a reason.’
Morgan gritted her teeth. ‘You are so arrogant it makes me sick. I could lose my apartment. Have you thought about that? I have a mortgage. How am I meant to make the repayments without a job?’
Luca frowned, as if the thought had never occurred to him. ‘I’m sure your family will be happy to help you out until you find something else.’
‘Not everyone is as rich as you, Luca,’ she said, deliberately avoiding making any direct comment about her family.
Joseph would loan her the money if she asked him. But she wouldn’t ask. Not only would it be another thing he’d have to hide from his wife, but she didn’t want Joseph to think she’d contacted him because of what she could get out of him financially.
She’d contacted him out of a sense of personal identity. She’d needed to know where she came from. Who she was. She and her mother had been so different. She’d often felt like a square peg in a round hole. Meeting Joseph had given her a sense of herself she’d never had before. They connected in a way she and her mother never had.
‘I see.’ He was silent for a long moment. ‘I’d be willing to make you a loan.’
‘I just bet you would. With strings attached, no doubt!’
He nodded. ‘I’d give you a loan in exchange for your agreement to stay away from Joseph.’
She clamped her hands into fists. ‘Forget it!’
A sense of danger permeated the air. She felt as if she was holding a tiger by the tail. Every time she defied Luca it was as if she was pulling on that tail. Strangely, the thought didn’t frighten her. Instead, there was a t
ingle of something very akin to excitement rippling down her spine.
She could see by the glint in his eyes that Luca felt it too.
Suddenly the awareness was back, threaded like a spider’s web between them.
Barely able to breathe, she licked her lips and whispered, ‘No.’
Even before it happened she knew what was coming.
He tunnelled a hand under her hair and around her neck, then dropped his head and kissed her.
And she, God help her, kissed him right back.
Unlike the first time, she didn’t even pretend to resist.
Somehow her arms found their way up around his neck, her fingers digging into his hair. He smelled warm and sensually male. She pushed her aching breasts against the hard wall of his chest.
Their bodies came together as if they’d been programmed to do so. Each hollow was met by a corresponding curve, until they fitted together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
Softness met hardness.
Heated flesh met other heated flesh.
Luca groaned and pushed a thigh between her legs. Her body pulsed. Her blood thickened. Her breathing became non-existent.
She clutched at his shoulders, as much to hold herself upright as to feel the strength and power of him under her hands. In that moment it didn’t matter who he was. Didn’t matter that being in his arms meant she was playing with fire. All that mattered was the aching need he’d ignited inside her.
’Luca…’
Luca heard the breathless wonder and desperate need in Morgan’s voice.
Instead of giving him pleasure, the realisation chilled him.
Did she say Joseph’s name in that exact same tone as they made love? Did she shudder and hang on to Joseph the same way she was clinging to him?
Joseph again.
Ice filled his veins. He lifted his head. ‘I wonder what Joseph would say if he could see you now.’
She flinched and shoved against his chest but Luca refused to let her go. ‘Leave Joseph out of this!’
If only he could!
Life would be a lot less complicated if Morgan had never been involved with Joseph. They would probably already be lovers by now, Luca realised. He would have acted on the initial attraction and swept her off her feet.
‘I will if you will,’ he said, his heart suddenly beating strongly.
She tossed her head. ‘Meaning…?’
‘Forget about him.’ He pressed his hips against her, letting her feel his arousal. ‘If you need a lover, have me instead!’
Morgan gaped. Blinked. Shook her head. And all the while her heart was hammering away like a jack hammer in her chest.
‘What did you say?’ she gasped out.
He smiled. To Morgan’s way of thinking it was a very predatory smile. ‘You heard me. Forget about Joseph. If you want a lover, why not have me?’
That was what she’d thought she’d heard.
But she was sure she must have been mistaken.
One look at Luca’s face assured her she wasn’t. He was looking at her with an intense kind of hunger that immediately made her heart thrum even faster.
‘I’ve been told that I’m good in bed,’ he continued.
Morgan could believe it. If the way he kissed was anything to go by, then making love with Luca would blow her apart.
‘I’m also generous to my mistresses,’ Luca added.
He sounded as if he was reading a list of qualifications, Morgan thought with a tinge of hysteria.
‘I’d be happy to give you a demonstration,’ he murmured, his voice running like liquid chocolate down her spine.
Morgan exhaled sharply and pushed against his chest. ‘No! Don’t!’
Every time he kissed her he weakened her defences. She had to remain strong. Even though there was a part of her that wanted to know what it would be like to make love to this man she knew she would be crazy to do so. Getting involved with Luca would be inviting disaster.
He was Joseph’s brother-in-law; sleeping with him was out of the question.
‘But I insist.’
‘No…!’
‘No?’ He sounded surprised, as if he’d never been turned down before. ‘Are you sure about that?’
‘Of course I’m sure.’ To show him just how sure she was, she pulled out of his arms, stalked to the door and wrenched it open. ‘Your five minutes are up. Please leave.’
He strolled towards her, hands in his pockets, looking handsome and sophisticated and completely unconcerned. ‘Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear.’ His eyes drilled into hers. ‘What I meant was that you either agree…or face the consequences.’
Morgan gasped and paled. ‘There’s nothing you can say or do to make me agree to be your mistress.’
He smiled. ‘Do you really believe that?’
She nodded.
His smile widened. ‘When I want something, I always get it.’
‘Well, you’re not getting me.’
‘Oh, yes, I am.’ The gleam in his eyes made the gold flecks stand out prominently. ‘I just have to find your weakness. Your Achilles’ heel.’
She tossed her head. ‘I don’t have one…unless you’re talking about the heels on my feet.’
‘No.’ He met her gaze with a piercing look. ‘I’m talking about…Joseph.’
He said Joseph’s name as if it was a sword he was thrusting through her. She was so stunned she wasn’t able to hide her reaction.
She flinched.
Luca watched her with almost clinical detachment. ’I thought that might get your attention.’
‘What do you plan on…on doing to him?’ she asked, barely able to force the words out past numb lips.
‘I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.’ He gave her a narrow-eyed stare. ‘For some strange reason my sister loves him. So I won’t be able to do anything too dramatic. But I’ll think of something.’
Morgan swallowed around a lump the size of a football in her throat. Panic seized her. She didn’t know what to say—or do—as anxiety rushed at frantic speed around her body.
‘Perhaps if you can’t be relied on to stay away from him it’s time I started putting pressure on Joseph. A threat here, a warning there. It could work wonders.’
Her tension wound tighter, drawing her shoulders up towards her ears. She tried to imagine the kinds of threats Luca could employ against Joseph, but she couldn’t seem to string two thoughts together.
‘He has a fondness for his job at Da Silva Chocolate. Perhaps it’s time I replaced him.’ His eyes remained fixed on her face. Steady. Determined. Unrelenting. ’Olivia is doing a good job. Maybe it’s time I promoted her.’
Morgan gritted her teeth together, her eyes never leaving his face. Inside, she was trembling.
Was this how she was going to repay her father for unhesitatingly welcoming her into his life? By getting him fired?
Luca smiled, looking cool and relaxed. ‘That may not be enough, though. I should imagine he’s quite besotted with you. But I know what would work.’ He reached out and stroked a finger down her cheek. ’Aren’t you going to ask me what it is?
He was enjoying toying with her. Well, she was not going to play the mouse to his cat.
Angling her chin into the air, Morgan spat, ‘I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction!’
He laughed. ‘I can’t wait to find out if you have this much fire in bed.’
Morgan blushed to the roots of her hair. His comment was so unexpected. So was the sudden rush of heat that pulsed between her legs and tightened her nipples into tight beads of arousal.
‘I’m feeling generous, so I’ll tell you anyway. You see, what you may or may not realise is that Joseph loves Stefania. He might be temporarily captivated by you, but it won’t last. All I’d have to do is threaten to tell Stefanie about you and he’d kick you out of his life so fast your head would spin.’
‘I know he loves her. I’m not stupid. If it ever comes to a choice between Stefania and me Joseph will obvi
ously choose his wife.’
And, for the umpteenth time in her life, she would be relegated to second place, Morgan realised with a sinking heart. She should be used to it by now. Her mother had always put her lovers ahead of her.
Even though he loved her, her father would no doubt do the same. Even though he wanted her in his life as much as she wanted to be in his, his marriage would be his first priority
‘Only he’ll never have to make that choice,’ Morgan continued, angling her chin into the air. ‘Because we’re not having an affair! So you can stop threatening me.’ She gave him a look down the length of her nose. ’Besides, we both know you won’t say anything to Stefania. You wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.’
He gave her a grim-faced smile. ‘Want to bet?’
Her stomach began to churn, a cold sweat breaking out on her skin. ‘You wouldn’t!’
‘No? In the long run it could be for the best. She can do without a cheating husband. Our mother had one affair after another. Stefania saw what that did to our father. She’d hate to get caught up in the same kind of relationship.’
God! He was telling her the truth.
She couldn’t let Luca speak to Joseph—or Stefania.
Because Luca was right.
Joseph would drop her like a hot potato if she became a serious threat to his marriage. Worse, he would blame her for the break up and end up hating her. Worse still, the mere pressure of the confrontation and the choice he had to make could make those chest pains develop into something far more catastrophic.
She couldn’t let that happen.
Wouldn’t let that happen.
Joseph meant everything to her. He wasn’t just her father. He was also her friend and mentor, always ready to listen and generous with his advice and support.
She would do anything to keep him safe. Would do anything to keep him in her life and retain that sense of belonging she’d always longed for.
But did anything include becoming Luca’s mistress?
‘Have you decided?’
Luca sounded so sure of himself.
So sure of her.
‘No!’ She curled her fingers into her palm. ‘I can’t decide right now. I need time to think.’
He shrugged. ‘OK, think about it. You have until tomorrow morning to make your decision. And while you’re at it think about this.’