Page 15 of Seduced By the Enemy

“And you’re okay with that?”

“My preference is for no one to find out.” He sat up straighter and pushed back so he was leaning against the plush bed head, his body half covered by a loosely draped sheet. “Stay and eat with me, and we can make a plan to ensure we keep this secret.”

Before she could answer, he was reaching for the phone and saying, ‘Room Service’. She stood there, frozen to the spot, as he began to reel off a large number of foods. She could still get dressed and go; the choice was hers. Yet, the decision seemed to have been made at some point, without her conscious decision, and then she was pushing towards the wardrobe and removing a fluffy white robe. She wrapped herself in it, ignoring the look of triumph on his features as she moved to sit in bed and reach for the champagne he’d poured much, much earlier. She couldn’t take a sip though without remembering the way he’d trickled the stuff all over her body, driving her quite wild with the different sensations, and her cheeks bloomed with heat as she quickly swallowed the bubbles.

“Good choice,” he said, and she tried not to let the praise, or the tone of his voice, get into her blood stream. Too late, though.Warmth flooded her and she blinked away quickly, to prevent him from seeing her smile.

“Okay.” And suddenly, despite the fact he was butt naked, Salvatore seemed to slip completely into a different persona. Now, he was all business like and authoritative, and it was easy to imagine him in a boardroom, commanding all and sundry. While she knew his family worked closely together—as did hers—she was also aware that Salvatore had differentiated himself by launching his own venture capital firm when he was in his early twenties, and become something of a titan of industry. Even Emilia, who’d grown up with two brothers who loved to dictate terms to everyone they met, was impressed by his confident aura. “We both know this is a bad idea.”

“I thought you didn’t feel that way?”

His eyes were no longer sparking and flirtatious, but rather, completely serious. “Of course I feel it. You’re a Valentino and I’m a Santoro. We might as well be Romeo and Juliet for how much sense this makes.”

“Except without the love. And suicide.”

“Definitely.” He nodded his agreement. “At the same time, I’m a realist. As stupid as this is, correct me if I’m wrong, but neither of us seems able—or willing—to put an end to it.”

“We have to,” she groaned. “Seriously, Salvatore. The risk to both of us, to our families, and for what? This is never going to go anywhere. There’s no future here. Why would we risk possibly harming everyone we love, just because the sex is?—,”

“Yes?” he prompted, teasing once more, before sobering.

“Fantastic,” she offered, aware the word was totally insufficient.

“Absolutely,” he agreed, and the warmth that was buzzing inside of her spread right to her fingertips. “Mind-blowing.”

She flushed. “I’m glad I’m not alone there.”

“Definitely not.”

But the sense of warmth and relief were short-lived. “This is a disaster.”

“It’s less than ideal,” he agreed. “But it doesn’t have to be.”

“I can’t see any way we can keep doing this…”

“We just need some firm rules,” he said, and once again, she could see that they’d moved firmly into his territory. He was confident and steely, results-oriented and determined. “As long as we’re on the same page, and do this carefully, I think it’s viable.”

“Viable?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll indulge you,” she said, slowly. “Talk to me about the rules.”

“First of all, we need to be realistic. This can only ever be a physical thing. I don’t want to like you, and I don’t want you to like me. Any problems with that?”

A smile tickled her lips. “Not only do I not have a problem with that, I think it would be physically impossible for either of us not to hate each other.”

“I don’t hate you,” he said, after a beat, frowning a little. “Your family, yes, but not you.”

“I’m a part of my family.”

He shrugged. “I probably wouldn’t hate either of your brothers, either, if I met them face to face. It’s more…the abstract concept of your family. The myth of the Valentinos…”

“For me, it’s actually your family,” she quipped, then nudged him with her shoulder.

“So not liking each other shouldn’t be a problem,” he said, with a confident nod.

“Definitely not. What else?”

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