The Secret That Shocked De Santis

And she couldn’t resist. Her lips parted and his wicked tongue stroked deep. She almost moaned. But at the moment of surrender he drew back and looked down at her, his eyes hooded, his jaw set.

‘Sign the document, Stella,’ he said bluntly, his voice rising in volume.

The fire in his eyes was anger at her questions, not desire or jealousy or possessiveness. But all three of those things she felt. And the worst thing was that she was turned on—by the kiss, by the demand.

So stupid.

‘Sign it so we can get back to better things,’ he added.

The blatantly sensual implication stole her breath. Heat burned her cheeks when she saw him turn to glance arrogantly at Matteo.

Claiming territorial rights, much?

She straightened in her seat, pulling the neatly typed document closer. It was all very well planned, so nothing could be left in any doubt.

‘Ms Zambrano...’ Matteo spoke formally. ‘I know prenuptial contracts can seem discomfiting, but I’m here more as your representative than the Prince’s. He is well qualified to safeguard his own interests. So please be assured that this is a very generous offer.’

He was Eduardo’s friend; they’d been law students together, so he was on Eduardo’s side. And she didn’t want any kind of ‘generous offer’. She didn’t want a wedding. She didn’t want to go into this knowing they were going to fail. Here they were preparing for that very eventuality. But she didn’t know what it was she did want.

The impossible? The fairy tale? Such things never happened in real life.

Eduardo was trying to protect their future. Reluctantly she appreciated his integrity, but it irritated her at the same time that he could be so coolly rational about this nightmare. Clearly he wasn’t thrown by their sexual chemistry the way she was.

It might be ungrateful, but something in her made her want to fight. A lifetime of training, she supposed. But if she tried to argue some more in front of the lawyer Eduardo would only get angrier and more determined. It might be better to sign now and fight when they were alone.

She picked up the gleaming fountain pen and made a scratchy mess of her signature.

‘May I offer my congratulations?’ Matteo gathered up the documents and put them into his briefcase.

‘You may offer your hasty departure, my friend.’ Eduardo escorted Matteo to the door. ‘And your absolute discretion.’

‘You don’t need to tell me again.’ Matteo turned and offered a small bow to Stella. ‘It was an honour to meet you, Ms Zambrano.’

The ease of Eduardo’s falsity alarmed her. Was he so well practised at presenting a façade and lying, even to his friends?

Restlessly she stood and walked the length of a bookcase, vaguely noticing the piles of personal papers and small ornaments tucked into the recesses amongst the leather-bound masterpieces.

‘You don’t trust me,’ she said when the door had closed. Did he honestly think she would betray him?

‘I don’t know you,’ Eduardo answered lightly, walking back towards her.

‘Then get to know me.’ She would never sell her story to the press. She was loyal to the core and deeply private.

‘I intend to.’ He smiled that wolfish smile. ‘Intimately.’

Of course he’d reduce this to sex. Sex was so easy for him. She’d been so easy for him. Too late she realised the ramifications weren’t as easy for her to handle.

‘Do I get to do the same?’ she questioned. ‘Do I get to know you beyond “intimately”?’

His withdrawal was palpable. The easygoing façade fell in a blink, revealing a tense distance. And it wasn’t just the smile that he dropped, but the warmth. That ruthlessness was exposed once more, making her realise just what a stranger to her he was.

‘Of course.’

She ran her fingers over a smooth jet-black glass sculpture that stood on a low table. ‘So you studied law?’

‘For a couple of years, yes.’ He turned away from her, choosing to sit at the table.

‘Contracts and business and wheeling and dealing?’ Like his sharp-suited friend?

‘I preferred evidence—criminal law.’ Another bare minimum answer.

‘You wanted to be a courtroom lawyer?’

‘It is impossible for me to work as a lawyer.’

‘But you wanted to be one?’ she pressed, curious about this side of him.

‘We all want things we can’t have.’

‘Not princes.’