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Ice slid down her spine. How could he make such a simple statement sound so threatening?
He pulled open the top drawer and extracted something which he tossed down in the middle of the desk.
‘What’s that?’ she croaked, staring at the rectangular piece of paper.
He leant back in his chair. ‘Why don’t you look for yourself?’
Shifting to the front of her seat, Morgan reached out and picked it up by the edge, as if it might bite. She looked down. It was a cheque. A cheque made out in her name for the sum of fifty thousand pounds.
Her fingers started to shake, her insides shrinking. She looked up, the blood draining from her head and settling like a dead weight in the pit of her stomach. Then she jumped to her feet and, with a vicious flick of the wrist, flung the cheque at his face. ‘Don’t be insulting!’
With lightning-quick reflexes he caught the wedge of paper in mid-air. ‘Isn’t it enough?’
Her breath caught, the insult catching her on the raw. Furious, she slammed her hands palms-down on the top of the desk and bent towards him. ‘Do you really think you can bribe me to stay away from Joseph?’
‘Yes!’
She shook her head. ‘Well, you’re wrong. Friends don’t come with a price tag attached—nor do they come with a dispose-by date.’
He shrugged. ‘It’s a lot of money.’
It was a lot of money. Money she could no doubt do with now she was out of a job.
Four years at Oxford University had been expensive. Although she’d worked part-time—waitressing initially, followed by a stint as a marketing assistant—it hadn’t been enough to cover her fees, books and general living expenses.
She’d had to borrow money to get through.
Fifty thousand pounds would wipe out her student loans, plus provide enough for her to live on and make her mortgage payments for the next few months while she looked for a new job.
But, while the money would be a godsend, Morgan wasn’t in the least tempted to take it.
The price was too high.
Much too high.
Joseph and her self respect meant a hell of a lot more to her than any amount of money ever could.
‘I don’t care how much it is,’ she said forcefully. ‘I don’t want it.’
He frowned, as if her response bothered him in some way. Then his expression changed and he rose to his feet and mimicked her position on the desk.
Their faces were so close Morgan could smell the clean male smell of him, could see the flecks of gold in the darkness of his gaze. Her eyes settled on his mouth and suddenly she wondered what it would be like to kiss him.
The thought made her move sharply back from the desk.
‘Everyone has a price. What’s yours?’ Luca asked, in a voice that grated like sandpaper down her spine.
‘I don’t have one.’
‘No? We’ll see. When Joseph comes back to London you won’t be seeing him again. And that’s a promise.’
Seemingly satisfied by her stunned silence, Luca sat down, pulled a folder towards him and began to read.
Morgan stared at the dark pelt of his hair, not quite sure what to say. Or do. She’d heard every word he said but only two had registered.
As if he sensed her gaze on him, Luca looked up, his eyes like black chips of ice. ‘What are you still doing here? This conversation is over.’
‘But—’
‘But nothing. Now get out. Or do I have to get Security to throw you out?’
Although Morgan knew she was being foolish, she couldn’t go just yet. She had to ask him something first. Dragging in a deep breath for courage, she asked quietly, ‘Back from where?’
Luca’s head shot up so fast she was surprised he hadn’t pulled a muscle. ‘What did you say?’
She swallowed. He looked dark and dangerous. But she didn’t care.
Joseph had said nothing about a trip. That was unusual in itself. He always called her before he went away. Given the way Luca had confronted her, she was worried he’d said something to Joseph.
She gripped her hands tightly together in front of her, a ball of anxiety wedged firmly in the back of her throat.
Joseph had been suffering from chest pains for the last few months. He hadn’t told anyone…except her. He refused to see a doctor, convinced the episodes were the result of stress.
If Luca had confronted him…
She shuddered to think what could have happened. Barely daring to breathe, she said tightly, ‘Just tell me where Joseph is and that he’s all right.’
It was like waving a red flag at an already angry bull. Luca went berserk, rounding the desk so fast her head spun. He grabbed her shoulders and dragged her close.
He put his face close to hers, lips curled into a snarl. ‘You have no right to ask such questions! Dio! Don’t you get it?’ His hands tightened on her shoulders. ‘Joseph Langdon is dead as—’
His words hit Morgan like a sledgehammer, each syllable an individual blow she felt right through to her bones. She swayed on her feet as the floor rose up to meet her. Luca’s face, fuzzy around the edges, was the last thing she saw as she slid into a dead faint, completely unaware of the stunned expression that crossed Luca’s face as he caught her before she hit the floor.
Chapter Two
LUCA TENSED AS Morgan’s long, sooty lashes fluttered. Good, she was coming round. She’d scared the life out of him when her eyes had rolled back in her head and she’d slid into a dead faint. He was only thankful he’d managed to catch her before she’d fallen and hurt herself.
She whimpered as if she was in pain, then mumbled something under her breath. Luca moved closer.
The scent of orange invaded his nostrils again. He drew back, just far enough to stare into her unconscious face.
She really was magnificent. Skin the colour of magnolia petals. Silky hair the colour of a raven’s wing spread like a glimmering halo against the cushion he’d tucked under her head. A mouth that, while slightly too wide, had a sensually full lower lip that just begged to be kissed.
She stirred on the leather couch he’d laid her down on, lashes flickering.
‘Joseph,’ she muttered.
Luca jerked away from her as if he’d been burned, his stomach muscles contracting into a tight ball.
There was no mistaking what he’d heard this time. He’d been close enough to hear every damning syllable.
How dared she wake up with Joseph’s name on her lips?
Fury rose up inside him like a two-headed monster. He could feel it bubbling away inside him.
One part of his brain recognised that his outrage was way out of all proportion, but another part of him, a far more primitive part, accepted the emotion for what it was.
Jealousy.
As crazy as it sounded, he was jealous of his brother-in-law.
His hands balled into fists as he stared into Morgan’s face.
It was his name he wanted on her lips when she wakened.
It was his name he wanted her to cry out in the throes of passion.
Her lashes fluttered open. Eyes shadowed with pain gradually refocussed on his face. She stared at him for a long moment, awareness pulsing in the air between them, then swung her boot-clad feet to the floor, pushing him out of the way in the process.
She touched a hand to her forehead and frowned. ‘You said…’ She stopped and dragged in a breath. ‘You said that Joseph was dead.’
Luca grew still, his insides clenching down hard.
The emotions etched on her face were genuine. He would bet a million pounds on it.
Morgan Marshall genuinely cared for Joseph.
Rising abruptly to his feet, Luca strode over to the window and stared out. The pale milky sunshine that had been struggling to warm the morning had finally given up, hiding behind a bank of metallic grey clouds.
The change in the weather suited his mood.
He resented Morgan’s feelings for Joseph. He also recognised that persuading her to leave Joseph alone could prove more difficult than he’d first thought.
Not that her feelings changed anything.
Luca was determined nothing would affect the outcome of their meeting. Stefania was his number one priority. The affair had to end.
But he couldn’t let her go on thinking Joseph was dead.
He wasn’t that cruel.
‘Joseph is alive and well and currently on my private jet on his way to Sydney, Australia, for a well earned holiday with my sister,’ he said, without turning from the window.
The silence that filled the room had an eerie quality to it. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. A warning flash of movement reflected in the glass window made him spin on his heels just in time to ward off the blow Morgan had aimed at his head.
In one smooth motion he twisted her arm behind her back and pulled her up close against him.
‘You bastard!’ she spat. ‘Did you enjoy lying to me like that?’
Once again she reminded him of a firecracker going off. The energy emanating from her was powerful. She was so full of life-force she made every other woman he’d ever known pale in comparison.
And just like that the wanting was back.
A surge of lust threatened to kick his legs out from under him. Her body was plastered against his, the cushioning softness of her breasts pushing against his chest, the warmth of her hips cradling his sex.
He dragged in a breath and forced himself not to act on the hormones raging through his system. ‘I didn’t lie,’ he replied calmly. ‘You passed out before I could finish my sentence. What I was going to say is that Joseph is dead as far as you are concerned.’
She just stared at him. She looked shell-shocked.
Another burst of sympathy flowered inside him, but he hardened his heart against it. ‘From this minute you are not to contact him. In person. By phone. Or by any other means. Capisce?’
‘Oh, I understand all right,’ she spat, eyes glittering up at him. ‘But as far as I’m concerned you can go to hell!’
His blood pressure soared.
Why didn’t she just do as she was told?
It might sound arrogant, but people—particularly women—were usually all too eager to do what he asked of them. This woman was like a beacon of defiance, beaming her lack of co-operation like a lighthouse gone crazy.
Infuriated, he tightened his arms around her. ‘Say that again,’ he snarled.
Her eyes widened.
And then she licked her lips.
Dio, but she shouldn’t have done that, Luca decided.
She had sealed her fate with the swipe of a pink tongue.
With a groan, he grasped her shoulders, pulled her towards him and fused his mouth with hers.
Her lips were soft. And sweet. She tasted like nectar. Or honey. A wave of lust rocked him, so hard and so fast he wanted nothing more than to pull up her skirt and take her right that very minute.
He cupped the back of her head, then ran his fingers over the thick swathe of her silky hair. The action set off a fresh wave of orange scent, making him decide that what he could smell was her shampoo.
He stroked a hand down her back, stopping at the base of her spine. And still he kept on kissing her.
And slowly, inch by inch, the stiffness melted out of her body and she began kissing him back.
The top of Luca’s head almost exploded. She had a taste all of her own. A feel all of her own. She was like heaven in his arms.
Luca backed her towards the desk. Something fell to the floor with a loud crash but he didn’t bother looking to see what it was. He wanted the kiss to go on and on, wanted the vision in his head—the one where she was naked except for the black leather I’m-in-charge boots—to become reality.
He urged Morgan onto her back without breaking the connection of their mouths. She didn’t protest. Instead, she wound her arms around his neck and clung to him as if she never wanted to let him go.
It was then that he smelled it.
Cologne.
Expensive cologne…but cloying.
The kind Joseph always wore.
Luca jack-knifed straight and staggered backwards. The taste of her on his tongue changed from sweet to sour in the blink of an eye.
He wiped a hand across his mouth, bile rising up in the back of his throat as he stared at her.
Morgan had pushed herself up onto her elbows. She was breathing heavily. The top two buttons of her blouse were undone. Luca didn’t remember undoing them but he must have. He had a glimpse of lilac lace and the creamy swell of her breast before she clutched the open sides together.
And suddenly the image of her lying naked except for the boots was back. Only this time it wasn’t his body entwined with hers…it was Joseph’s.
His stomach clamped down tight, a wave of nausea clutching at the back of his throat.
He found the thought of Joseph and Morgan together totally repugnant.
And not just because Joseph was married to his sister…but because he wanted her himself!
His eyes snapped back to her face.
She looked so innocent.
And at the same time so sensual.
It was a seductive mixture.
So much so that he could almost forgive Joseph for being tempted to stray from his marriage and into Morgan’s bed.
Almost.
But not quite.
Honour had to come before lust.
Just as duty had to come before pleasure.
Joseph had married Stefania; it was his duty to honour those vows.
No matter how tempting the package.
And it was very, very tempting…
‘Keep your hands off me!’ she spat.
Luca rocked back on his heels, fury riding his spine like a bucking bronco. ‘Why? Are you afraid I’ll tell your lover about how you fell apart in my arms? Don’t you think Joseph would like that?’
Lover?
Luca thought Joseph was her lover?
Morgan scrambled off the desk and turned her back on him. She was shaking so hard it took three attempts to rebutton her blouse.
She didn’t know what shocked her more. Kissing Luca da Silva as if she wanted to devour him or the fact that he’d just suggested…Well, what he’d just suggested.
She shook her head.
When Luca had challenged her about her relationship with Joseph she’d assumed he’d discovered the secret that they were father and daughter. Instead, he thought they were lovers.
If the idea wasn’t so ludicrous she’d have laughed in his face.
Instead, she almost cried.
What was already a complicated situation had just got one hell of a lot more complicated.
‘Nothing to say?’ Luca prompted behind her.
Although she knew he was goading her, Morgan spun around to face him. ‘Joseph is not my lover! How can you suggest such a thing? The idea is ridiculous!’
‘Is it?’
She angled her chin into the air. ‘Of course it is. The man is old enough to be my—’ She broke off and swallowed. What she’d been about to say was too close to home to utter out loud. ‘He’s a lot older than me.’
‘You aren’t the first young woman to have an affair with a wealthy older man.’
She was so tempted to fling the truth at him she could taste the words on the tip of her tongue. But Morgan forced herself to swallow them back. She’d promised Joseph she wouldn’t say anything. And, while she thought they were digging a deeper hole for themselves by keeping the details of his paternity a secret, she wasn’t prepared to go against his wishes.
It might have been different if Joseph were feeling a hundred percent. But these chest pains were no laughing matter. The last thing he needed was for her to present him with another problem when he already had enough on his plate.
Besides, she owed him.
Joseph had given her so much in terms of love and support. Honouring his request to keep their relationship a secret didn’t even begin to repay him for all that he’d done for her.
‘Except I’m not having an affair with him!’ she flung back at him. ‘You can’t throw around outrageous accusations like that without a shred of proof!’
His jaw squared. ‘I have proof.’
Her insides stilled at the same time as her heart took off at a gallop. ‘You do?’ she choked out, barely able to squeeze the words out past numb lips.
‘You were seen.’ His voice was hard. ‘Together.’
She blinked, swallowed, felt her stomach muscles cramp. Maybe she should have kept quiet and not challenged him. She had a bad habit of letting her mouth run away with her.
‘Who saw us? When? Where?’ she demanded, thinking attack was the better form of defence. ‘I want a list of dates. Places.’
His mouth compressed into a thin line. ‘I’d rather keep that information confidential.’
She slammed her hands on her hips. ‘And I’d rather you tell me!’
His skin tightened across his bones until it looked as if each feature had been carved from the most unyielding granite. ‘Let’s just say it’s someone who works here who has been suspicious about your relationship for some time.’
Morgan couldn’t think of anyone she dealt with here at Da Silva Chocolate who would say such a thing. All the people she worked with were friendly and professional. ‘I see. So you’re taking the word of one person over another? They could just be some kind of trouble-maker.’
‘It is not.’
She bit back a frustrated sigh, tension forcing her shoulders to lift towards her ears. ‘Damn it. This isn’t fair! You’re not giving me a chance to defend myself.’
His head went back, as if he was offended by the remark. ‘I’ll say this much, I believe you’re rather fond of a pub called The Minstrel.’
She nodded. ‘The food is terrific. You should try it some time.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘So you admit it?’
‘I admit we’ve had lunch there together, but that doesn’t mean we’re having an affair.’
His hands clenched at his sides. ‘You kissed him. He kissed you.’
Morgan was sure they had. ‘I’m not surprised. We often greet each other with a hug and a kiss. We often say goodbye that way too.’
His face hardened. ‘That isn’t funny.’
‘I’m not trying to be funny. How do you greet your female friends?’ He didn’t answer, but his expression told its own story. ‘You see. You do it, too.’
‘There are kisses…and there are kisses.’
‘I agree,’ she said with an emphatic nod, trying and failing not to think about the kiss they’d shared several minutes ago. On a heat scale of one to ten, she’d rate it as a twelve: blistering. ‘So, did your informant—’ She made it sound like a dirty word. ‘—fill you in on the details? Did we kiss on the cheek or on the lips? Were our mouths open or closed? There’s a hell of a difference, you know. How long did it last for? Were—?’
He grabbed her before she had the chance to finish, his fingers tight around her shoulders, his face so close to hers she could almost taste the feel of his mouth on hers. ‘I didn’t ask for all the sordid details.’
She reached out to push him away, but somehow ended up holding onto him instead. ‘Then you should have,’ she said. ‘I’m no lawyer, but surely what you’ve just described is nothing more than circumstantial evidence?’
His mouth curled. ‘I’m sure it wouldn’t take much digging to find enough evidence to bury you right up to your pretty little neck.’
‘Don’t do that!’ The words were out before she could stop them. The last thing she wanted was for Luca to start investigating her. It wouldn’t take long for a detective agency to uncover her relationship to Joseph.
He stared at her through narrowed eyes. ‘Why not?’
She scrabbled around for a suitable reply. For a moment her mind remained frustratingly blank. And then the simple answer presented itself. ‘Because you’d be wasting your time, that’s why,’ she said, angling her chin into the air. ‘There’s no way you can find proof of something that doesn’t exist.’
The look on his face told her he didn’t believe her.
She huffed out a sigh. ‘I really don’t know why you find it so difficult to believe Joseph and I are friends. With everything he’s been going through he needs someone to talk to. Joseph has been very concerned about Stefania’s mental state. Although she’s been a real trouper about the IVF treatments, the failure of their latest attempt really shattered her. He doesn’t think she can take any more.’
Luca froze. His eyes glazed with anger.
Morgan clapped a hand to her mouth. She’d done it again! Hadn’t thought before she spoke, her mouth running off before her brain had a chance to catch up.
Luca’s hands tightened on her shoulders. ‘How do you know about my sister’s infertility problems? Who told you about the failure of the IVF treatment?’
He was so angry Morgan trembled, her heart pounding out fear in her chest. She opened her mouth. Closed it again. She’d dug herself a hole. Saying anything more would merely give him ammunition to bury her.
Besides, they both knew there was only one answer to those questions.
Luca must have simultaneously drawn the same conclusion. His nostrils flared, hands tightening on her shoulders. Then he thrust her away, such a look of disgust and contempt on his face that she shuddered.
‘We both know the answer to that, don’t we?’ he bit out through clenched teeth. ‘The only person who could have told you is Joseph himself.’
Morgan didn’t deny it. She couldn’t. There was no one else who could have told her. Stefania and Joseph had been treated in a private clinic that was paid very well to be discreet.
Luca’s lips curled into a snarl. ‘And you dare to look me in the eye and declare you aren’t lovers. It wouldn’t be my idea of pillow-talk, but that’s obviously when you prised the information out of him.’ He gave her a glacial stare. ‘I don’t know what turns my stomach more. The fact that he’s sleeping with you or the fact that he’s been so indiscreet.’
‘I—’
He held up a hand and she snapped her mouth closed.
‘If you so much as breathe one word of what you’ve learned to the press I’ll sue you for everything you own,’ Luca slated, back in control again as he stalked around the desk and resumed his seat. ‘And if you come within shouting distance of Joseph again you’ll regret the day you ever met me!’
‘You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, Luca,’ Michaela complained, touching him on the arm to get his attention.
She was right. He hadn’t. Not a single word.
His mind was elsewhere.
With Morgan Marshall.
He kept thinking back to their meeting. The more he thought about it, the more it bothered him.
The way Morgan had flung the cheque back in his face disturbed him. Somehow it just didn’t fit with the kind of woman she was. She should have taken the money and run.
Only she hadn’t.
And then there was the way she’d kept on defying him.
That didn’t make sense either.
She should have taken the opportunity to try and attract him, not argue with him. After all, he was far wealthier than Joseph would ever be—not to mention younger and better-looking.
But Morgan hadn’t given a damn what he thought of her.
It was those apparent anomalies that were making it so damned difficult to put thoughts of her out of his head.
It had nothing to do with those wicked black I’m-in-charge leather boots. It had nothing to do with thickly lashed black eyes and slanting cheekbones. And it certainly had nothing to do with the seductive curve of her mouth or how she’d tasted when he kissed her.
‘Luca!’
Luca blinked and frowned at the blonde sitting across from him. ‘What?’
‘I was talking to you.’ Now that she had his attention she was all smiles. ‘As I was saying…’
Luca tuned her out again.
He’d had enough of Michaela. Her company had begun to pall.
Since when? a little voice asked inside his head.
He hadn’t been the least dissatisfied when he’d made love to her the night before. He hadn’t thought about ending things until—he dragged in a deep breath—someone he wanted more had crossed his path.