The Commanding Italian's Challenge

His stare was level. Almost neutral. ‘You think I shouldn’t be curious about where you come from?’

‘Um...no, I guess not.’ She tamped down her nerves. ‘What do you want to know?’

Their conversation over the past few days had been thrilling and engaging. The kind that effortlessly went on long into the night and kept her rapt, to the extent that she feared how attached she’d become to the time she spent with him.

And that was before their lovemaking. Just thinking about that drove sensations through her being she couldn’t comprehend. Faye understood the basics of chemistry, but this was entirely unfathomable to her. Had Maceo not confessed his uninitiated status she would never have believed it. From that very first time he’d leapt into another stratosphere. To say he was insatiable was an understatement.

Their second day onboard the yacht he’d pulled her into his arms right on the top deck and calmly freed her from her bikini. Her shocked laughter had elicited a dark chuckle in response, followed by, ‘I have more than a decade of sex to make up for. And you, dolce bellissimma, are so very responsive. How can I not have you like this?’

Every touch, every kiss, every wicked look from his flame-filled eyes surged through her, taking her from one peak to another.

‘Am I losing you?’ he murmured now, a knowing tone in his voice.

Heat crept up her neck as she recalled that, while their conversation had skirted the outside edge of personal, it ha

d never strayed this close to her past.

‘Mum’s been at New Paths for over twelve years.’

‘So you grew up there with her?’

She shook her head. ‘I only spent school holidays with her. The rest of the time I was away at boarding school.’

His eyebrows rose. ‘Boarding school?’

‘Yes. The school I attended had a special programme. Every year they picked five students to attend a top boarding school. I was lucky enough to get a place.’

‘Perhaps luck had nothing to do with it,’ he murmured, that pensive look in his eyes again.

‘What do you mean?’

He shrugged. ‘Your intelligence is exceptional. I’m willing to bet that alone earned you a place.’

Faye wasn’t sure why the compliment didn’t quite hit the sweet spot. Why it made the back of her neck tingle.

In the next moment he relaxed in his seat again. ‘Alberto has been singing your praises.’

Her heart leapt with delight, her befuddlement fading. ‘Really? He’s been alarmingly quiet about the emails I sent him.’

‘To me, he’s been positively exuberant,’ Maceo retorted drily.

Delight ballooned and she laughed. ‘Sneaky man.’

‘Si...’ Maceo responded indulgently. He set down his glass, his eyes resting on her with that intensity that made her aware of every inch of her body. ‘He even suggested I should give you a permanent position in the company.’

Her insides somersaulted in a mixture of alarm and something else she wasn’t ready to name. ‘I... Why would he do that?’

He shrugged. ‘Your contribution has made an impact. Perhaps he sees an asset that will benefit the company.’

Asset. Benefit.

Being discussed in such cold business terms should put her off. And yet... ‘And you? Do you concur?’ she asked, despite her glaring recognition that the question bordered on the personal zone.

Having sex with him because she wanted to was one thing. Casually inviting him to give a verdict on her worthiness to his business, when her future couldn’t include him, was an open invitation to pain and misery.

It terrified her enough to say, ‘You don’t need to answer that.’

‘I don’t? Why not?’ he invited.