Page 82 of The Tycoon's Affair: Tempted By Desire
‘It’s no longer available; someone else took your place there.’
‘Well, that’s hardly my fault, is it?’ she retorted hotly.
Luca’s jaw firmed. ‘It’s either here, Serena, or if you insist, the charity will be put to the expense of finding you somewhere else.’
‘No!’ she shot out, aghast. ‘But it’s just—’
He cut in coolly. ‘You’re staying here. I’m sure you can put up with it for two weeks.’
This was what she was afraid of. He made her emotions and blood pressure see-saw out of control.
Luca looked at Serena and narrowed his gaze. She was skittish, nervy. A million miles from the woman who had melted in his arms just a short time before.
‘Serena, what is it?’
She was angry, her cheeks growing pink. ‘I’ve agreed to sleep with you to get a job—how do you think that makes me feel?’
Luca’s conscience pricked but he pointed out, ‘You’re not sleeping with me yet.’
She went redder.
Luca felt something give inside him and ran a hand through his hair impatiently. ‘Look, I behaved like a boor earlier. The very least you deserve is a trial period. I would have given it to you anyway.’
She looked at him, surprised, and it affected him more than he’d like to admit.
‘You would? And what about a job?’
Luca schooled his features. ‘That depends on your trial period—as it would for anyone else.’
He moved closer then, and put his hands on her upper arms. ‘And you arenotsleeping with me to get a job. You’re sleeping with me because it’s what you want. What webothwant.’
She just looked at him, and something desperate rose inside Luca. He ground out, ‘The door is behind me, Serena. You can walk out right now if that’s what you want and you’ll still get your trial.’
For an infinitesimal moment she said nothing, and he was reminded of telling her where the door was before, willing her to use it. Now he’d launch an army if she tried to leave. He had to consciously stop his hands from gripping her arms tight, as if he could restrain her from walking out. He could see her throat work as she swallowed. Her eyes were wide, pupils as black as night.
She opened her mouth and he kept his eyes off the seductive temptation of those soft lips. He needed to hear this too badly. Needed her to stay.
‘Serena...’
Her tongue moistened those lips. Luca’s pulse jumped.
Her voice was husky. ‘I just want a chance.’
The tension in Luca’s body spiked.Damn her. ‘And? What else?’
She turned her head away and bitterness laced her voice. ‘You know I want you. In the tent...you made me show you. You humiliated me.’
Luca’s chest was tight enough to hurt. An alien sensation. He cursed softly and felt as if some layer of himself was being stripped away when he admitted, ‘Do you know how hard it was for me to stop myself from taking you that night?’
Those blue eyes locked with his. She whispered, ‘You made me feel as if you just wanted to prove your dominance over me.’
Luca tipped her chin up with a finger and felt her jaw clench. He smiled, and it was wry. ‘You credit me with far too much forethought. I needed to hear you say it...that you wanted me. You mademefeel that much out of control.’
Instantly something flashed in those piercing eyes—something that made some of Luca’s tightness ease.
‘You’re so in control. It’s almost scary.’
Now Luca was the one to grit his jaw as he recognised that no one had ever said that to him before—certainly not a woman. Serena’s gaze seemed to see right through him to where he stood as a small boy, witnessing the awesome power parents had to rip your life apart. He knew his desire for control and respectability stemmed from that chaotic, messy, tumultuous moment. And here he was, skating far too close to the edges of losing it all again. And yet...he couldn’t walk away.
