by Croft, Nina
For once, Mike didn’t want to get out of the car at the park, so they left him sitting in the driver’s seat, small hands gripped on the steering wheel. Lia got out to stretch her legs and then stood under the shade of an oak tree, keeping an eye on the car, while Luc went to get ice creams. The place smelled of sunshine and freshly cut grass, and a sense of peace stole over her. She watched as Luc strolled over, moving with an easy grace of a thoroughbred racehorse, lean and long-legged. He handed Mike a cone through the window and came to stand beside her.
“You’re not worried about getting ice cream all over your car?” she asked
“No.” He handed her the second cone.
“You not having one?”
“I’ll share yours.”
“I might want it all myself.” She licked the cold ice cream, peering up at him from under her lashes. He was watching her intently, and she swirled her tongue over the top, then sucked the sweetness into her mouth. She was teasing him, but somehow it felt safe out here, with Mike only feet away.
He stepped up close, pushed her gently back against the tree, and she didn’t feel so safe anymore. Then he leaned in and swiped his tongue across her lips.
“Later,” he whispered against her mouth, and she wasn’t sure whether it was a threat or a promise.
…
Back at the house, Lia sat on the steps and watched as Luc showed Mike the engine and explained how it worked. They were far enough away that the murmured words washed over her. Resting her chin on her hand, she relaxed in the afternoon sunshine, only glancing away as Sally came out of the house and sat down beside her. “You okay?” Sally asked.
“I guess.”
“I was worried about you. This”—she nodded in Luc’s direction—“all seemed too sudden. But he seems like a nice guy.”
Lia considered him for a moment. He was laughing at something Mike had said, and he looked utterly gorgeous. But nice people didn’t use blackmail or keep secrets.
“No, he’s not nice.”
At that moment, he leaned over the hood to point at something, the denim of his jeans stretching tight over his butt.
“Well, he’s got a nice ass,” Sally said.
Lia let out a shocked laugh. “Sally!”
“What? I’m not allowed to recognize a nice ass when I see one?” She leered. “I’m betting it’s not the only nice bit of him.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. “Seriously, though,” Sally said, “I’m not sure what this is about, but if it’s not working, come home.”
Lia sighed. “It’s not that easy.”
But maybe it was. Did she really still believe Luc would go through with his blackmail threats? She could walk away. Take her chances. Trust him. Never see him again.
No, she wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
…
Lia watched him out of the corner of her eye as he threw the car keys onto the table by the door. She’d seen a whole new side to him today. Mike had loved the trip and seeing him happy made it worthwhile.
“Thank you,” she said. “You were good with him.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“You have?”
“I have a brother the same age as Mike.”
“No way.”
“Well, a half-brother and two sisters. My mother went back to Italy after my father died. She married an Italian. They live in Rome, but I spend as much time as I can with them.”
“I never imagined you with a family.”
“What, you think I materialized fully formed out of a puff of brimstone?”
“Something like that, though I suppose I knew you had a mother.” She frowned. She didn’t want to see him as human, with brothers and sisters.
He walked past her into the sitting room.
Lia loitered in the doorway. Common sense told her she should head straight to her room, but she didn’t want to. She didn’t know what she wanted. Or maybe it was more truthful to say she wasn’t willing to admit what she wanted.
How could she desire him when he still held those pictures over her head? When she knew that at any time, he could turn on her—post them for all to see and ruin her image. Those pictures would make things very difficult, especially with the sponsorship deal hovering on the brink of being signed. She was coming up to a crucial time in her career—she couldn’t afford any distractions. And what a distraction he was becoming!
Mike wouldn’t be happy when she and Luc went their separate ways. Her brother had managed to drag a promise of a repeat trip out of Luc, and she hadn’t had the heart to tell him that the relationship was temporary, that with luck, in the not-too-distant future, this would all be somehow resolved, and she and Luc would part ways forever.
Why did that thought not make her happy?
Still, she couldn’t make herself leave. Instead, she stepped into the room and looked out the window, her whole body tense, as though it knew something was about to happen.
Luc came up behind her, so close she could feel the heat from his body. A deep, burning craving awoke inside her. Her breasts felt heavy and swollen, and a pulse throbbed between her thighs. When his hands came to rest on her shoulders, she almost jumped. His fingers kneaded her tense muscles, then he lowered his head and his open lips brushed the side of her neck. Every nerve ending quivered as he licked the skin of her throat, then nipped the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder. His hands glided from her shoulders to her rib cage and she looked down.
As she watched, he undid the buttons of her shirt and spread the sides to reveal the swell of her slight breasts in the white bra, her nipples clearly visible, pushing against the lace. One hand splayed against her belly, the other brushed across one swollen peak, and she felt it like an arrow at the very core of her body.
Cupping her breast in his large hand, he squeezed. Lia rested back against him and let the amazing sensations roll through her body, feeling the hardness of his erection nudging at her bottom. She pushed back against him, and he groaned into her hair. The hand on her stomach slid down. He flicked open the button on her jeans and pushed inside, slipping his fingers beneath her panties. She held her breath, not daring to move in case he stopped.
He dipped inside her, then back up to stroke the swollen little bud between her thighs, pressing upward.
“Oh God.” The words were torn from her. The sensations were almost too much.
“Come to bed with me, Lia,” he whispered in her ear.
When she didn’t answer, he removed his hand, turned her around in his arms, and searched her face.
“You want me inside you,” he said. “Give in, give us both what we want.” As if to persuade her, he lowered his mouth. She’d expected a forceful kiss; instead she felt the lightest brush of his lips on hers. He kissed the curve of her chin, slid his tongue along her lower lip, sucked it into his mouth, and nibbled her with his teeth. No way could she move as his big hands came up to frame her face, his thumb stroking her cheeks. He kissed her full-on, slanting his mouth over hers in a hot scorching caress full of promised passion. His tongue parted her lips, thrusting into her, filling her with the taste of him, and hot wetness flooded between her thighs.
She clenched her fingers in the soft material of his shirt, but he took her hand, guiding it down his body, pressing her palm against the hardness of his erection where it pushed insistently against the fly of his jeans. Her fingers tightened instinctively, and he groaned then whispered against her lips.
“I want to make love to you, Lia. But this time, it has to be your choice, your decision. Forget your father, forget everything except the two of us.”
But at the mention of her father, the sensual spell shattered, and she went still. What he wanted was her total capitulation, but how could she give him that when he offered nothing of himself in return? She pulled out of his arms and stepped back.
“Give me those pictures, and I’ll think about it.”
Chapter Eleven
The n
ight of the party, Maggie was true to her word. Claire and Debbie had turned up on the doorstep two hours before Lia was due to leave. Claire explained that when she wasn’t working for Maggie, she was a trained beautician. Debbie was a hairdresser. They had come armed with suitcases of equipment and immediately set about getting Lia prepared for what they assured her was going to be the most magical night of her life. Lia wasn’t convinced, but apparently Luc’s parties were famous; people would do absolutely anything to get an invite. Claire had sighed pointedly while telling her this.
“Have you really been living with Luc?” Claire asked. “What’s it like?”
Lia glanced at the girl. What was she supposed to say to that? She thought back over the last few days. Of course, Luc hadn’t given her the pictures. He had walked away from her that night, as she’d known he would. And he’d been distant ever since, but she had felt him watching her whenever they were in the same room together, a puzzled expression on his face.
He left early in the morning, not returning until evening, and she hadn’t repeated the mistake of interrupting his morning swim again. There was only so much temptation a girl could take. And face-to-face with a naked Luc was way past her limit, so she’d loitered in her room until she heard him leave in the morning.
They shared the evening meal, where Luc was invariably charming. She was snarky in return. She knew it was a defense mechanism, but the alternative was succumbing to that charm, and that was not an option. And after dinner, he disappeared into his office.
Resisting temptation aside, she’d actually enjoyed her time in London. The possible loss of her home had been weighing on her since her mother’s death. That, combined with her grief, had made the last few months emotionally exhausting. Now it was as though a huge weight had been lifted from her.
She’d done some sightseeing, and spent the rest of the time in the roof garden, swimming in the pool, lying among the lush vegetation, reading books from Luc’s extensive library. Waiting for him to come home. She’d also done a lot of thinking; the truth was, she didn’t believe Luc would do anything with those pictures. While he wanted to find her father, he wouldn’t hurt her in the process; whatever else he was, he was an honorable man. So there was nothing to hold her here. The thought had not produced the happy effect she would have expected.
“I don’t actually see much of him,” she said in reply when she realized Claire was still waiting for an answer.
Claire sighed, obviously disappointed by the lack of details. “Well, you’re finished,” she said. “Want to look?”
Lia stood up, took off the protective cover she was wearing over her dress, and turned to the full-length mirror.
“I’m not quite sure I believe that’s me,” she said, staring at herself. She peered down from her reflection to the perfection of her French manicured nails and almost grinned. Kelly would die when she saw her.
They had performed magic. Her hair was up in a smooth chignon with tendrils curling over her ears. Very elegant—Lia almost laughed as the word flickered through her mind. It was not a word she had ever expected to use regarding herself, but she had to admit she looked pretty good. She’d been a bit worried when Claire had opened her makeup case that she would end up like a painted doll. And Claire did seem to have spent ages applying the cosmetics, but the effect was so subtle it appeared as though she were wearing none. Except her eyes looked huge, deep blue, her mouth glossy pink, and her skin luminous and flawless.
The dress was a dark midnight blue that did indeed bring out the color in her eyes. With a halter neck and floor length, it clung to every line of her body. Her shoes were silver sandals, with a modest two-inch heel. Maggie had tried to persuade her to wear higher heels, but Lia pointed out that it didn’t matter how elegant high heels are if she spent all night tripping over them. She’d won her case.
“You look like a princess,” Debbie said dreamily.
The front door slammed.
“Is that Luc?” Claire squeaked.
The girl had been asking the same question every few minutes. It was obvious how Maggie had persuaded her to come. The possibility of catching a glimpse of Luc was well worth the effort.
A minute later, a knock sounded at the door. She heard Claire’s indrawn breath and almost smiled.
“Come in,” she called. Her own breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. She stared, her eyes wandering over his tuxedo-clad figure. The suit was obviously made for him; it fit perfectly, emphasizing the broad shoulders and lean hips of his powerful physique.
The two girls stood beside her, openmouthed, all sophistication vanished.
“You look beautiful,” Luc said as he came into the room.
“Well, you can thank Claire and Debbie for that—they’ve been working on me for at least two hours.”
Luc glanced briefly at the girls and nodded. Claire almost swooned.
“Luc?” she asked quietly as the two girls packed away their equipment while casting not-very-subtle glances at Luc. “Is it a big party?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Quite big.”
“Would you notice two more?”
He frowned.
“Claire and Debbie,” she said. “They’ve worked really hard. They had a tough job. Look at what they had to start with.”
Luc ran his gaze over her and smiled. “Why not.” He took out a card and scribbled something on it. “Tell them to give this to the man at the door. He’ll let them in.”
Lia went over and told the two girls, handed them the card. “You can come.”
“Really?”
Claire squealed and hugged her, but carefully so as not to mess up her finery. She almost dragged Debbie from the room. “Come on, we need to get ready. It’s going to take hours!”
“Thank you,” Lia said, as the door closed behind them. “You’ve made their day. Well actually, their life probably.”
She turned to him; he was resting against the dressing table, watching her. His eyes were hooded, showing nothing, and a wave of shyness washed over her. Her heart started a deep throbbing inside her rib cage, and her legs wobbled.
He held out a hand, and she took a step toward him and placed her palm in his.
“Lia, you are beautiful.”
“It’s amazing what makeup can do. At least, if you’ve got your own beautician and hairdresser that is,” she added nervously. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
He smiled. “I want to talk to you before we leave.”
She peeked up into his face but couldn’t read his expression. “You do?”
“Hmm.”
“What about?”
He considered her for a moment. “I wondered if we could have a truce tonight.”
Lia pursed her lips. “What sort of truce?”
“Oh, just enjoy ourselves.”
“How do we do that?” Lia found she was holding her breath.
“Forget your father for the night. Forget why you’re here. Just enjoy the party.”
She studied Luc, so beautiful, then glanced behind him at her own reflection in the mirror. This wasn’t real—it was some sort of fairy tale, and she was filled with a longing to do as he asked. It might be pretending, but wasn’t that okay? Couldn’t she be Cinderella for one night?
She nodded, and he smiled, then lifted her hand and kissed her palm. A ripple of sensation shivered through her.
“Good,” he said. “I have something for you.”
Releasing his hold on her hand, he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small box. He flipped it open. Inside was a ring. Lia stared at it; she knew little of jewelry, but even she could tell it was fabulous—a deep, dark blue sapphire. Luc took the ring from the box and picked up her hand once more, stroking his fingers across the sensitive skin of her wrist before slipping the ring onto her finger.
It was beautiful but heavy, weighing her hand down.
“Don’t you like it?” he asked.
“It’s gorgeous. I wasn’t expecting it, th
at’s all. This whole fake engagement thing makes me feel a little uncomfortable. I’ve never been very good at lying. I know you think I’m some sort of actress, but honestly, I’m totally crap at it.”
“Well, leave the lying to me,” he said smoothly.
She looked at him closely. “Are you a good liar, Luc?”
“When I need to be.”
His words sent a ripple of apprehension running through her. What did she really know of him? She studied her pink-tipped toes, peeking out of her silver sandals, for a moment, unsure what to say. Luc sighed and slipped a finger under her chin, lifting her face so she couldn’t avoid his gaze.
“Don’t you like the ring?” he said. “I thought all women liked jewelry.”
He sounded almost bewildered and she patted his arm. “I do like it, honest. It’s beautiful—though I really can’t see myself grooming the horses in it.” She shook her head. “I wish I could tell Kelly and Pete the truth.”
“No.” The word was implacable. “Trust me,” he said. “Everything will be fine. Now come here.”
His warm hands rested on her bare shoulders, drawing her toward him. She stiffened for a moment, then allowed herself to be pulled gently into his arms. Staring into his face as it came closer, she was quite unable, or unwilling, to do anything to prevent the kiss she sensed was coming. His lips were on hers, and she melted against him, her hands sliding around his waist beneath his tuxedo jacket. He deepened the kiss, his lips hard against hers, demanding, and she opened her mouth to him. His tongue pushed boldly into her mouth, tasting her, probing as he pulled her closer against the hard length of his body.
It seemed as if she had waited forever for that kiss. She never wanted it to stop, meeting him more than halfway, her own tongue sliding against his.
He groaned. His hands on her shoulders tightened, then he raised his head and put her away from him. “We have to go.” Reaching out, he ran a finger over her lips. “I’ve ruined your lipstick,” he said when she remained silent. “I’ll give you five minutes. But Lia, tonight after the party, we need to talk.”
