Poppy had never experienced any sort of passion, hence her virgin status, but when Sebastiano looked at her with those knowing emerald-green eyes she wanted him to do things to her. She wanted him to reach for her and put his hands on her, as she had imagined him doing the other day in his office. She wanted to run her hands through the mat of hair on his manly chest and press her aching body against his until she couldn’t think of anything else.
She shifted in the soft leather seat, an uncomfortable heat flaring between her thighs.
Even if he saw her in a remotely similar light, she wouldn’t want anything to happen between them. Unfortunately, to a man like Sebastiano she would just be another fish swimming in his very large ocean, one he would cast off as soon as he’d had his fill of her. Anyway she couldn’t afford to be distracted from her goals by a man who was only out for a good time.
She glanced at him working in the seat near the front of the plane. She should also be going over study notes for an exam she had to sit in a couple of weeks, so she pulled her ancient lapt
op out of her satchel even though she doubted she’d take in a word.
The problem was that she had responsibilities. A teenaged brother to take care of, and a plan to be top of her class so that she could get any job she wanted straight out of university. She didn’t need a man to derail her or, worse, weaken her. That had been her mother’s plight and it wouldn’t be hers.
And yet here she was, mooning over a man who broke hearts like they were china at a Greek wedding. She scowled at her notes. She wasn’t mooning, exactly, she was... She was... She sighed, her mind turning to the three wishes he had promised her. Accepting his deal came too close to relying on someone else for her liking, though at the same time she couldn’t deny that he had thrown her a lifeline. That was if he kept his word—and so far it certainly seemed as if he would. And that was another thing. She wasn’t used to that kind of follow-through from anyone other than Maryann and it made her feel jittery because deep down she knew it was most likely too good to be true.
She sighed. If only she didn’t feel so conflicted when she was around him. On the one hand, she wanted to push against all that dominant male energy to find the flaws in his armour, and on the other she wanted to lean into it and hope that there were no flaws. She wanted to lean into it, soak him up and learn what it felt like to be cherished by someone who would love her enough that he would want to know everything about her.
The latter being the most dangerous inclination of all, and one she could never afford to give in to.
‘Poppy?’
Startled out of her reverie, Poppy glanced up, not realising that Sebastiano had come to sit beside her. Immediately her nerves tightened and the blood fizzed in her veins. Forcing out a slow, relaxed breath, she collected herself. ‘Yes?’ she queried mildly.
‘I have something for you.’
Poppy stared at the oblong-shaped blue velvet box. ‘What is it?’
‘A gift to show you my appreciation,’ he drawled. ‘Open it.’
Reluctantly she did and gaped at him when she saw a stunning, luminous pearl surrounded by diamonds. ‘This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’
Pleased, glittering green eyes stared down at her. ‘I’m glad you like it. I think it will look perfect against your skin.’
Poppy stared at the jewels that twinkled under the plane’s halogen lights, her heart beating too fast. No wonder women fell for him hook, line and sinker. Rich, good-looking, generous and entitled, she reminded herself.
‘Please tell me these are fake.’
Sebastiano smiled. ‘I don’t do fake.’
Her eyebrows hit her hairline and she saw that he had immediately picked up on her train of thought.
‘Jewellery. I don’t do fake jewellery,’ he amended.
Poppy closed the box before she became too dazzled to give the precious jewels back. ‘If I wore these, I’d be mugged.’
‘You will if you continue to live in the neighbourhood you’re in now.’ He frowned. ‘I hope that third wish you’re holding on to includes a new home somewhere more salubrious.’
He hadn’t tried to keep the contempt out of his voice and it raised her hackles. ‘Not everyone can be born rich.’
‘I know that. But I’m giving you a chance to improve yourself.’
‘Oh, really?’ It was all Poppy could do not to tell him what he could do with his chance. ‘Why thank you, kind sir.’
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ‘That wasn’t what I meant and you know it.’
He suddenly looked tired and Poppy suspected he was as tired as she felt. She knew from the legal team that he’d had back-to-back meetings all week and maybe their current situation had played on his mind more than he let on. Or maybe that was just her imagination going wild, and the dark circles beneath his eyes were because he’d followed back-to-back meetings with back-to-back sex.
‘I admit my neighbourhood isn’t brilliant,’ she said, forcing herself to be conciliatory. ‘But it’s not that bad either.’
‘I suspect you know how to make the best of a bad situation, bella. But I saw a group of teenage boys working the corner of your apartment block and they weren’t selling lemonade.’ He smiled once more, as if everything was right with his world, and no doubt it was. It was just hers that had become topsy-turvy.