Page 43 of Lovers' Dance

Matt nodded, eyes lingering on my dress. It was a spaghetti-strap yellow number, tight over the boobs, then falling into a light flow of material that covered me to the knees. Summer was almost over, and I wanted to get wear out of my dresses before it became too cold.

“Do you use it much?” I asked, trying my best to ignore his come-hither vibes.

“Yes, you know I travel a lot with work. Come over here, poppet.”

“Nuh uh.” I looked around the plush interior, conscious that somewhere in the jet there were two people who had taken our bags and gotten us the champagne. The pilot was in the cockpit. He seemed a friendly person, shaking Matt’s hand energetically when we’d arrived, and shooting me openly curious looks when Matt wasn’t looking.

“Why not?” Matt asked. He leaned back in his seat and arched a unamused eyebrow at me.

“Because,” I answered unhelpfully.

“That is not a properly constructed sentence, poppet. Come over here.”

I put my glass down, noting the satisfied smile on his face as I stood up. I walked past him, throwing over my shoulders a carefree, “Need to pee, hon.” I hurried to the bathroom and made sure the lock was turned. This was insane. I was on a private jet with a rich white man ten years older than me and heading to his place in Italy. It had been getting easier to ignore the race issue. In fact, the more time we spent together, the less it was apparent. He was Matt to me now. Not white Matt or mega-rich Matt, just plain ole Matt.

My reflection in the mirror was a sceptical one. I might no longer be focusing on the race subject, but he most likely was. I pondered our unusual relationship.Where was this heading?Nowhere, I reminded myself. It was only a matter of time before Matt and I stopped seeing each other. My gaze flickered around the bathroom that was tastefully done in marble. Sheesh. This bathroom was better than mine. After freshening up my sparse makeup, I returned to our seats, pausing to bend over and press a kiss to Matt’s cheek.

“Stop being bossy, Matt.”

He chuckled, grabbing my waist and tugging me onto his lap. “I am trying, poppet. Are you looking forward to your first visit to Italy?”

I nodded vigorously and he chuckled, a hand stroking up my back lightly.

“Is there anything in particular you would like to do?” he asked, staring intently at my lips. “Or see?”

“Venice, Rome, the Vatican City, Milan.” I started counting them off on my fingers. “The Amalfi coast. Oh, and Pompeii.”

Matt laughed before slipping one hand up my neck and pulling me into a deep kiss. What seemed like a lifetime later, he leaned back, tongue tracing his lips slowly and a burn of desire igniting in his grey eyes. “The house is in Venice, so that’s no problem. We could spend a day in Milan, maybe fly over to Rome at some point, but we’re only in Italy for a week, and I plan to spend most of that time in bed with you.” He wagged his eyebrows at me, lecherous and comical at the same time. I couldn’t help my laughter as I wriggled from his hold and returned to my seat.

“Mr Bradley.” I kept my voice strict, although I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. “I’m beginning to think you only want me for my body.”

Matt blinked at me, the previous teasing on his face gone in an instant. “Is that what you think, Madison?”

My smile faltered at his serious demeanour. He was back to looking stern. I hated that expression on his face. It made me feel like an errant child who’d committed a great wrong and was deserving of punishment. I shrugged, reaching for my half-drunk glass of bubbly.

“It was a joke, Matt.”

His mouth tightened as he observed me silently. The air between us got uncomfortable, to say the least, and I averted my confused gaze towards the window.Why was he acting so weird?It was a joke.

Matt kept his eyes on her as she fiddled with her glass and stared out the window. Now was not the time nor the place to admit his desire to make things official between them. Her flippant remark had caused him a moment of extreme frustration though. He wanted to shake sense into her. Making a joke like that, as if she was nothing more than a sexual conquest to him. Matt reminded himself that she was young, inexperienced in the ways of relationships. But, bloody hell, her comment had stroked his anger. Matt noticed her scratching her pinkie finger, and attempted to arrange his features into something that hid his displeasure. He forced a playful smile to his lips and moved seats. She glanced shyly at him as he sat next to her.

“We should be landing soon,” he advised, after checking his watch. “Are you hungry, poppet? You said before you didn’t have time for breakfast.”

She shook her head, eyes unsure as she tried to smile at him. Matt felt like an arse. The look on her face was his fault. He needed to work on his tone of voice when conversing with his poppet.

“You’ll love the house,” he said, stretching an arm over her bare shoulders. “It has great views and an indoor pool…I’ll take you sailing sometime this week. Have you ever been sailing, Madi?”

She shook her head. This time her smile blossomed into a real one and Matt felt his lips curl up in delight. He would do almost anything to keep that smile on her face.

“Sailing is dangerous,” I said, snuggling closer to Matt. He wasn’t wearing that angry expression anymore. “I can’t risk getting knocked overboard by a falling mast. I might break an important bone. Same thing goes for horse riding, skiing, skydiving, any sport where the possibility of bodily injury is higher than normal. I stay away from them.”

Whatever Matt was going to say got put on hold as the woman who’d poured our champagne earlier came sauntering from the back. I immediately moved out from under Matt’s arm. I didn’t want his staff gossiping. Matt stiffened and twisted his head to give me an unreadable stare.

“Mr Bradley,” she said with a beaming smile when she stopped a few feet away. “We’ll be arriving in thirty minutes. Would you like any light refreshments before we land?”

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