‘It’s necessary.’

‘Are you telling me that I don’t cross your mind on the days when we don’t meet?’ he demanded. ‘If that’s the case, then why are we having this relationship?’

‘It’s not a relationship!’

‘No? Then tell me what it is.’

‘We’re attracted to each other and we’re…following that attraction…’ Yes, she had laid down the rules, but it still felt awful—cheap somehow—to refer to what they had as just sex. Furthermore, it was a lie. She thought about him a lot—analysed what they had over and over again. Did she mean anything to him? Was it really all about the sex for him and nothing else? Now he was telling her that it was more than just falling into bed and having fun twice a week. He was branching out from their arrangement. And while she didn’t want to go down any slippery slopes, the little hope thing was rearing its head once again, teasing her with scenarios she knew were wrong.

Or were they?

‘And would that be like dogs in heat?’

‘I don’t want you intruding into my life, Alessandro. You seem to have conveniently forgotten that I’ve been there before. I would have done anything for you back then.’

This, he recognised, was the sound of her raising the stakes, and it was reflected in the determined expression on her face. Take her on board in a full relationship, wherever that might lead, or else they kept what they had in boxes which were brought out on specific days and returned to their shelves as soon as the allotted time was over.

He could, of course, tell her that if the fairy-tale ending was what she was after then it was a promise too far. He could tell her that he had tried the total commitment thing with Victoria. It had crashed and burned, despite the fact that they were so utterly compatible in every way on paper, so there was no hope of it coming to anything with a woman who, theoretically, was the diametric opposite of him. But did he really want to do that? He was enjoying what they had, and when he thought about it it wasn’t just the mind-blowing sex. Why bring it all to an abrupt end and be left with that sour taste of unfinished business all over again?

That made no sense, and Alessandro prided himself on being someone who was coolly and unequivocally practical.

‘I’m not asking you to do anything for me,’ he drawled, although the concept was enticing. ‘But I’m not prepared to carry on a situation that involves us meeting up like thieves in the night and snatching a few minutes of passion before we slink back to our separate hideaways. I bet you haven’t told anyone about us.’

‘Charlotte knows.’

‘And would that be only because you share a house with her, so it would be virtually impossible to conduct any situation without her finding out?’ Her silence gave him the answer and he leaned towards her. ‘I want more of you, Megan. Why don’t we give what we have a chance? See where it leads and stop consigning it to some kind of artificial timetable?’

If she wanted to raise the stakes, then he was willing to go along for the ride.

Megan swallowed. She wanted to tell him that she would need a little time to think it through—that way she could maintain her control—but the way he was looking at her, his dark eyes steady and utterly, utterly mesmeric….

And wasn’t this what she had secretly hoped for? That he would begin to consider a proper relationship with her? One that might actually stand a chance of going somewhere? She felt her heart begin to beat quickly. This was a step forwards for them, and, while she would take nothing for granted, she could either agree to relax her rigid timetable or else accept a situation, as he had put it, which would eventually end up being stifled by her self-imposed straitjacket.

The fact that he wanted to introduce her to some of his colleagues was also a big plus, because it indicated that at least he wasn’t ashamed of her—which was what she had felt seven years ago, when he had dumped her. Ashamed of the girl who had it in her to pop out of a birthday cake in front of his Very Important Business Opportunities, as she had afterwards referred to the pinstriped trio whose meeting she had so rudely gatecrashed.

‘When you say that we could give this a chance,’ she prodded, ‘what exactly do you mean?’

Put on the spot, Alessandro refused to concede further ground. ‘Do you want to come or not?’

‘I’m honestly not sure if I have anything suitable to wear….’

‘Which is why I am suggesting we go shopping.’

‘Go shopping?’

‘It’s something people tend to do now and again. Women seem to fall victim to the trend more often than men.’

Tags: Cathy Williams Billionaire Romance
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