by Sarah Morgan
‘So now you’re using me as a female defence system?’
‘Something like that.’ He relieved her of the car keys. ‘You drive well for a woman.’
‘That is so patronising. If I’d known you were going to say something like that I would have wrapped your precious Ferrari round a lamppost.’
The banter felt so much more comfortable than confidences but just being with him unsettled her. She was used to spending her time around ridiculously attractive men—men who spent their days working on their physique, men who spent a considerable time in front of the mirror, none of whom tempted her. Luca was different. He was spectacularly handsome, that was true, his Sicilian bloodline evident in his darkly brooding features and his volatile personality, but for her the attraction lay deeper. She was drawn to his self-confidence, his lack of pretentiousness and, most of all, his innate honesty. Luca Corretti didn’t waste time putting a barrier between himself and the world and if they came too close, he simply shrugged.
As his arm brushed against hers she felt sensation flutter across her skin and float through her body. She was tall but he was significantly taller, much taller than her current leading man, who needed heel lifts and clever camera angles to increase his height. Luca needed no such help.
It was only as he closed the bedroom door behind them that she realised they hadn’t discussed this part of their arrangement.
‘Where am I sleeping?’
‘In my bed, where all good fiancée’s sleep.’
Keeping her expression in place she dropped her purse on the soft white sofa. She realised that she was exhausted. She hadn’t slept well since hearing the film role was hers and now wouldn’t sleep until she knew she hadn’t lost it. ‘I will sleep in your bed, but not if you’re in it.’
‘Sleeping apart is not one of the habits of happily engaged couples.’
‘Unless you’re expecting hoards of slavering women to break into your room tonight, I assume we’re not going to have an audience for the next part of our deception?’
‘We might. It would strengthen our story if Geovana deserves to hear you moaning with pleasure as she walks past the door.’
‘I’m not a moaner.’
He smiled as he undid the buttons of his shirt. ‘You’d moan if you were with me, bellissima.’
‘Sure of yourself, aren’t you?’
‘I’ve never subscribed to the benefits of false modesty. I can have you moaning in under thirty seconds. Want to try it out? Practice the scene?’
Her heart was pounding. ‘I don’t need to practice. I’m a one-take wonder. And the only way I’d moan is if it was written into the script.’ Her mouth dried as he shrugged off the shirt, revealing bronzed shoulders and muscles that could have featured in an action movie. The hardness of his physique contrasted with the effortless elegance of his clothes and she clenched her jaw and dismissed the thought that he was better looking than any of the actors she’d worked with.
‘Admit it.’ Fully aware of her scrutiny, he dropped the shirt over the back of the nearest chair. ‘You can’t stop thinking about that kiss.’
‘What kiss?’
He smiled. ‘How does it feel to spend your life pretending to be someone you’re not? Uncomfortable? Frustrating?’
‘I’m not pretending. This is who I am.’
The smile faded and this time when he looked at her there was no sign of the flippant playboy. ‘No. You present the world with a plastic, perfect version of yourself. No flaws. You show the person you think the world wants to see, not the real you. Maybe that’s what some men want, but not me.’ The hardness of his tone surprised her and she took a step backwards, wondering what had triggered that response.
‘But this isn’t real so what you want is of no relevance.’
‘If I’m expected to spend time with you then it’s going to be with the real you. The real you is the woman who was with me in the maze. That woman interests me extremely. Any chance she could come out and play?’ His tone had lightened again but it was too late because already there was an electric tension in the atmosphere.
She was so aware of him, almost blinded by the raw sexuality that radiated from every throbbing, muscular inch of his powerful frame. From that silky dark hair to those moody black eyes, he was all man. And the most dangerous thing of all was that, somehow, he knew her. Not the public her that she’d created, but the real her. ‘That woman is a figment of your imagination.’
‘You had your hands on me. My imagination had nothing to do with it.’
‘You had your hands on me first.’
‘I never said it wasn’t mutual.’ Those eyes were dark as night, seeing everything she was hiding.
‘It isn’t mutual.’
‘Sweetheart, you should know that I have a highly competitive nature and you’re tempting me to prove it.’
‘No.’ She looked away from him, trying to snap the connection. Trying to pull together the torn threads of her protection. ‘It was just a kiss. A badly timed kiss as it turns out.’
‘Maybe not. We’re here because of that kiss.’
‘Precisely!’
Without warning he slid his hand behind her neck and drew her towards him. ‘Once again we see things differently. You see this as a bad thing, but because of this situation I finally have the board listening to me and you—’
‘I’m on a film that currently has no director.’ His mouth was so close to hers she was afraid to breathe. ‘How is that good?’
His phone buzzed and he paused, his eyes locked on hers.
For a moment she thought he was going to ignore it and then he let his hand drop. Instantly she stepped backwards, creating distance, and he gave her a mocking smile as he drew his phone out of his pocket and read the message. Dark brows rose. ‘Apparently you do have a director.’
‘We do?’ Taylor’s heart was pounding in her chest. ‘He found someone? Who?’
‘Rafaele Beninato.’
Just hearing the name made her feel sick.
‘Are you sure?’ It was her worst nightmare and the irony was that if she hadn’t been caught in the maze with Luca, it wouldn’t have happened. The first director would still be in place. But Rafaele had found a way to infiltrate her life, as he always had.
‘His name is familiar. Didn’t you and he have a thing once?’
‘I—yes. But it was a long time ago.’ She’d been seventeen years old and had been thrown out of the house by her mother. She’d been young, vulnerable and desperately lonely. A perfect target for a calculating opportunist like Rafaele. How had he got himself on the movie? He must have been stalking Santo Corretti as well as her.
Whatever the reason, her relationship with trouble had stopped being long distance and was suddenly right up close.
Luca glanced up from his phone. ‘Bit old for you, isn’t he?’
She was struggling to think. ‘Is this the part where we talk about our past relationships?’
He looked at her steadily and then slowly put his phone down. ‘I’ll assume from your defensive response he was one of the ones who let you down. Is it going to be difficult to work with him?’
‘I’m a professional,’ Taylor croaked. ‘I’ll work with anyone I’m expected to work with. No problem. I’m just pleased to have a new director.’
‘Are you sure?’ His tone was deceptively casual. ‘Because I can rough him up a little if you like. I’m your fiancé after all.’
She gave a choked laugh. Was it pathetic of her to wish, just for a minute, that their engagement was real and for once in her life she had someone who cared enough to offer support? ‘If you rough him up we’ll be minus a director again. And I want to act. I must do this film.’ Not just because the complexity of the role would finally earn her a reputation as a serious actress, but also because she didn’t want to give Rafaele the slightest reason to use what he had against her.
Luca stared down at her for a long moment. ‘All right. But he’d better not step out of
line. I’ve met him a couple of times. The guy gives me the creeps. They want you on set at eight tomorrow morning to start filming the docklands scenes. He said he texted you but you switched your phone off.’
She hadn’t wanted to see another text from Rafaele. In the past she’d blocked him and changed her phone but he always managed to find a way to contact her.
‘I like to relax when I’m off set.’ She didn’t confess that she never relaxed because lurking in the back of her mind was the knowledge that her secrets could be revealed at any time.
Secrets that Rafaele knew.
And now he was back in her life.
Luca glanced at his watch. ‘I’ll drop you on set with a large fuss and dance and then pick you up later. And Randy Rafaele had better keep his hands to himself.’
He was seriously proposing that they spend the night together? In the same room?
Suddenly she realised that she had more immediate problems than Rafaele and that problem was six foot two of insanely sexy man.
‘They have a trailer for me,’ Taylor stammered. ‘I should stay there. It’s usually pretty luxurious.’
‘There is no way I’m spending the night in a trailer for anyone, however luxurious.’ Luca’s appalled expression was almost comical. ‘I’m strictly a five-star guy.’
‘I wasn’t inviting you to stay with me. I was suggesting we don’t spend the night together.’
An incredulous dark eyebrow rose. ‘People are no doubt struggling to believe I’m engaged. If we don’t spend the night together the whole thing is blown. We’ll stay here and I’ll drive you. That’s much more romantic. What’s the film about anyway? I probably ought to know what my beloved is spending her day doing.’
Her gaze skidded round the room. If he wouldn’t sleep on the couch then she would. There was no way she was sharing the bed with this man. No way.
‘The heroine’s husband was missing in Iraq, presumed killed. She goes to bed with his friend, gets pregnant and then the husband turns up alive. It’s a film about forgiveness, I suppose. It’s a very emotional role.’
Luca shuddered. ‘Chick flick. Don’t invite me to the premiere.’
‘No chance of that. Do you have another room I can use? I need to read through the script if I’m filming first thing tomorrow. It’s part of my routine and I don’t want to keep you awake.’
‘My routine is to have hot sex the night before a big meeting and I definitely do want to keep you awake.’ His smile was slow and lazy, his gaze unapologetically sexual as he focused on her mouth.
She felt her limbs weaken. He was gorgeous. Too gorgeous. ‘You’re winding me up.’
‘Maybe I’m not.’ Dark eyes grazed hers from under long, sinfully thick lashes. ‘Maybe I think you and I would be explosive together, Taylor Carmichael. Maybe I think we might as well take advantage of this situation.’
‘Yeah, right—and tomorrow you’d sell the story to the press.’
‘I’d never do that.’ His voice was suddenly cold. ‘Anything the press printed wouldn’t have come from me.’
She thought about Portia and realised he suffered from the same problem. ‘Doesn’t it upset you? When women talk to the press about you—doesn’t that make you mad?’
‘No, because I haven’t the slightest interest in what the general public think of me.’
‘So what do you care about, Luca Corretti? There must be something.’
‘I care about living my life the way I want to live it. I’m not a people pleaser—’ his eyes mocked her gently ‘—except in bed. That’s the one place I’m willing to make an exception to my rule.’
‘Then go ahead. I’m not stopping you. If you can find a woman brainless enough to have sex with you then call her. I’d rather sleep in the spare room anyway.’
‘No, you wouldn’t. Admit it, Carmichael—you’re tempted.’
‘I’m so not tempted.’
‘Yes, you are. But you won’t give in to it—’ his hand cupped her face and he stroked her cheek with his thumb ‘—because you’re scared to death of being yourself with anyone any more. You are so busy holding yourself back you’ve almost forgotten how to live.’
Her heart was pounding.
He was supposed to be a shallow playboy so how did he manage to read her so well?
‘I know this will come as a shock to you, but the fact that I don’t want to rip your clothes is because I just don’t find you attractive.’ His response to that was to laugh and she pulled away from him. ‘You are so arrogant. You just can’t imagine there is a woman who doesn’t want you, can you?’
‘I’m sure somewhere in the universe there may be a woman who doesn’t want me—it just doesn’t happen to be you. But we’ll see how long that self-control of yours lasts when it’s really tested, dolcezza. You can sleep in the bed tonight. I’ll take the sofa.’
And with that he walked into the bathroom leaving her fuming, confused and more desperate for a man than she could ever remember feeling in her life before.
CHAPTER SIX
THE SET WAS heaving with people when Luca dropped Taylor off the next morning.
He’d been intending to leave immediately, but he took one look at her white face and parked his car in a no-parking zone.
‘Are you going to be all right?’
She turned her head to look at him, her expression blank, the dark shadows under her eyes telling him she’d lain awake for most of the night. ‘Pardon?’
And Luca realised the reason she hadn’t responded to a single word he’d said during the journey was because she hadn’t heard him.
And the cause of her distress lurked at the edge of the set like a lion waiting for an injured impala to leave the safety of the herd and limp into the open.
Rafaele.
Luca knew the director was going to take one look at her pale face and see a potential victim.
With a soft curse, he unclipped his seat belt and she looked at him in confusion.
‘What are you doing? You’re going to be late for your meeting.’
Luca stroked her pale cheek with the backs of his fingers. ‘I hope the make-up department on this film is good because you look like hell, Carmichael. Shame you’re not making a vampire movie.’
‘Make-up…?’ She gasped and scrabbled for her bag. ‘How could I have forgotten make-up?’
Because she’d been distracted. Scared.
Luca tapped his fingers on the wheel and thought quickly. ‘I suppose I should apologise.’
‘For what?’
‘It’s my fault you couldn’t sleep last night. You should have just taken me up on my offer, dolcezza, instead of lying awake desperate for me.’
‘Desperate for you?’ Her voice rose slightly. ‘You think I was desperate for you?’
‘I know you were. You should have just admitted how you felt. There’s no shame in finding me irresistible. It happens.’
‘Not to me.’ Two streaks of angry colour highlighted her cheekbones and Luca smiled and sprang from the car.
‘Bene. Forget the make-up. You don’t need it and he doesn’t need to see you putting it on. You’re ready.’
‘Ready for what? Ready to kill you? You make me so mad I could—I could—’
‘You could thank me. Two minutes ago you were the colour of mozzarella. Now you look human. Anger is instant blusher. So is sexual arousal, by the way, but I’ll save that trick for when we’re alone. And by “ready” I mean ready to face him.’ Sliding his hand around her waist, he hauled her against him and lowered his voice. ‘Never go up against a man like Rafaele showing you’re afraid. Go out there and fight.’
Her eyes were wide. ‘You made me angry on purpose?’
‘Sì. Making a woman want to kill me is my special gift. It ensures they don’t exceed their sell-by date.’
She made a sound between a sob and curled her fingers into the front of his shirt. ‘You’re—you’re—’
‘I’m perfect. Now smile—’ he kissed th
e top of her head ‘—we have company. Not the company I would have chosen, but such is life. Ah, Rafaele, I saw you admiring my car. Work hard and maybe one day you’ll be able to afford one.’
Rafaele ignored Luca and looked straight at Taylor. It was like an eagle spotting a vole.
To give her credit, Taylor managed to look relaxed as she greeted him. ‘Rafaele.’
‘Querida. We have so much to catch up on.’ The sentence was loaded with subtext and Luca frowned slightly and was about to intervene when Taylor stepped forward.
‘My name is Taylor.’ Her voice was steady and strong. ‘And we don’t have anything to catch up on.’
‘And soon she’ll be Taylor Corretti,’ Luca said coldly, ‘so you might want to bear that in mind before you call her “querida” or anything else that implies intimacy. I don’t tolerate other men hitting on my woman. Unlike the wimp in your movie, I don’t forgive or forget.’ He draped a possessive arm around her shoulders, his eyes fixed on the older man’s face in blatant challenge. He thought of Taylor as she must have been at seventeen and then looked at the man standing in front of him and decided he didn’t like what he saw.
Rafaele stepped forward, eyes narrowed. ‘I read about the engagement. I see her taste in men hasn’t improved over the years.’
‘I disagree.’ Luca delivered his coolest smile. ‘Any time you want to treat yourself to a suit that fits properly, just give me a call. Well-cut quality fabric can transform even the most unfortunate of body shapes. I’m sure we can do something for you.’ He could sense Taylor’s tension. And something more. Nerves. This man made her nervous.
Clearly her history with Rafaele upset her deeply and it was obvious the director knew it and used it.
‘I hope all this personal stuff isn’t going to distract you from your work. This is a challenging role for someone like you.’ With every carefully chosen word he chipped away at the woman Taylor had become, exposing the vulnerability underneath.
Luca, who loathed bullies, resisted the urge to rearrange the other man’s features. ‘Taylor is the most talented actress of her generation. When you worked with her she was hampered by bad direction.’