A Pawn in the Playboy's Game

When had he become an integral part of her life? When had he stopped being someone she disapproved of and turned into someone who filled all the spaces in her head?

When had she fallen in love with him? How on earth could something as big as love happen so fast?

It was nothing like what she had felt for Colin. That had been a silly crush, born from her own insecurities and his persistent flattery.

Alessandro had seduced her with more than flattery. He had seduced her with his intelligence, his wit, his depth. She had lost her head and her heart to the way he looked at her, the way he smiled, the way he sometimes laughed. The way he had dealt with the upheaval in his life when his father had finally broken the ice and told him about his past. He hadn’t played to her insecurities and taken advantage of them. He had dispelled them and shown her what it was to feel beautiful and sexy.

Was that why she had slept with him? Had her heart driven her to do what came naturally, even though her head had not yet had time to play catch-up? She had fooled herself into thinking that she was filling a physical need and hadn’t looked deeper.

And this was why she felt so panicked and scared now. Because it was so much more than a fling, so much more than two people enjoying sex before it fizzled out.

She wasn’t comfortable, not at all, with the idea of deception, with thinking that her grandmother and Roberto were harbouring the illusion that this was some kind of serious relationship, and she was downright terrified at the murky waters into which she had waded.

‘Fallen asleep? Do you need your knight in shining armour to come and administer some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?’

Laura heard that deep, sexy drawl and changed out of her winter clothes into the sundress faster than the speed of light. There was a pale, silky cardigan amongst the bundle of clothes and she stuck that on.

‘Shame.’ Alessandro had spent the past couple of hours with an extremely painful erection and seeing her in a dress that could have been personally made to outline her curvaceous little body didn’t help matters. ‘I was looking forward to the mouth-to-mouth revival scenario...’

Laura smiled weakly. Now that she had recognised her feelings for what they were, everything about him seemed to affect her all the more powerfully. Draped in the doorway, he was so staggeringly beautiful that she could barely speak. He had stripped down to a T-shirt and his low-slung jeans, and he oozed shameful sexuality. When her eyes drifted south, she went bright red at the glaring proof of how she affected him.

His jeans bulged where a rampant erection sent her senses into a giddy tailspin.

‘I know.’ Alessandro followed the direction of her gaze and read her reaction with no trouble at all. ‘But, sadly, we haven’t got time. Although...I could tell the crew to—’

‘No!’ Laura yelped, as he made a move towards her. She remembered the way he had suckled her breasts at the side of the road, not at all fazed at the thought that someone might drive past them and figure out what was going on.

He was in charge of this situation because he wasn’t emotionally involved.

She nipped past him and smoothed down the dress with shaky hands. ‘It’s not really my style at all.’

‘You’re a knockout in it, though...’ He grinned because she might be as hot as a naked flame between the sheets, but out of them she was as skittish as a colt and still blushed like a teenager. ‘And you’ll be glad for it when we get to the other end. Baking hot.’

They were in their seats and he solicitously strapped her in, shooting her a wicked little look as his arm brushed against her breast.

‘What do you think your crew thinks of this...of us...?’

‘Don’t know. Don’t care.’

‘Is there anything you really care about, Alessandro?’ The sharpness of her tone was muffled by the roar of engines as the jet began taxiing to take off.

‘There’s a certain deal hanging by a thread.’ His voice was amused but his night-dark eyes were cool. ‘That’s getting my attention at the moment. I certainly care about that.’

‘But there must be more to life than deals.’

‘Are you about to start delivering a lecture on my life choices?’ Alessandro asked smoothly, angling his big body to look at her. ‘I immerse myself in what I know. Work. Business. Money. And when it comes to emotions, because I take it that’s what you’re talking about, I control them.’ He raised both eyebrows and tilted his head to one side.