Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire(46)

Chapter Thirteen




“I want to talk to you.”

It was two days since she had been driven back alone in the limousine. Two days since she had seen Luc. Or heard from him. Now, she watched through narrowed eyes as he came into the room, threw his jacket onto the back of a chair, and sank down opposite her. He stretched his long legs out in front of him, sighed, and closed his eyes. He appeared tired, but at least he didn’t seem angry anymore.

She’d done a lot of thinking over the past two days, and she had come to realize something important. It had come to her slowly. At first, she had been way too hurt to think clearly, but then she had analyzed the whole scene. Luc was a proud man, and she had hurt him by what he obviously perceived as her lack of trust. He’d lashed out at her in the one way he knew her to be vulnerable, and that was what scared her most—that Luc should realize how much she wanted him and use that against her. Her father had done the same thing to her mother, using her love for him until her mother had turned into a shadow of the woman she should have been.

Right now, Luc only knew that she wanted him. If he ever got the notion that her feelings might go beyond mere lust, she was sure he would have no compunction about using that against her as well. The thought had brought her up short; she knew her feelings had started to deepen. That day with her brother. And then the night at the party, before it all went wrong, she had seen another Luc, one she could easily care for. It wasn’t going to happen, not if she could help it. Lia hardened herself.

“Did you hear me? I said I want to talk to you.”

He opened his eyes. “Really,” he said, running a hand through his thick dark hair. “I somehow got the impression you’d never want to talk to me again.”

“Hoped I wouldn’t, you mean.”

“I thought we had pretty much covered all the bases with our last conversation. I don’t believe I have anything further to add. Except”—he took a deep breath—“that I overreacted, and I’m sorry.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You’re only saying that because you’re ashamed.”

His gaze drifted over her. “Ashamed?” He pursed his lips. “Maybe. But if it makes you feel any better, I’ve had a hell of a two days.”

She looked at him questioningly.

“I’ve had a hard-on the whole time. Damn thing won’t budge. Want to help?” Lia gave him a narrow-eyed stare. “No, I guess not,” he said.



Lia hadn’t meant to bring up the subject, had decided that the whole episode was better off forgotten, but now she found she couldn’t leave it alone. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Just which ‘that’ are we talking about?”

She stared at him, and he smiled. “You mean, get you all excited and then walk away.” He watched her pensively, as though she were some insect under a microscope. “You’re right,” he said finally. “I shouldn’t have.”

Lia felt a wave of disbelief. “What?”

“No, in retrospect, I should have taken you against that wall and made love to you until neither of us could stand, then taken you on the carpet and anywhere else available.” He studied her through heavy lidded eyes, and Lia’s traitorous heartbeat increased, her whole body coming to life. “Perhaps we could rectify that,” he said quietly.

It took her a moment to understand him. “Go to hell!” she said but even to her ears it sounded ineffectual.

Luc laughed softly. “I probably will,” he said. “Now, if it’s not concerning the fulfillment of every one of my sexual fantasies from the last two days, what could we possibly have to talk about?”

“I want you to let me go.”

“Let you go where?”

“You know what I mean. I want to go back to my home and my job. I don’t want to stay here any longer.”



“Really, and I thought we were having so much fun.”

Lia glared. It was obvious he wasn’t taking her seriously. “I’m going anyway.”

“I think you’re forgetting something.”

“What? You mean those pictures? I don’t think you’ll do anything with them.”

“Maybe you think I won’t do anything, but you don’t know. Are you really willing to risk it? You made it pretty clear the other night that you don’t trust me.”

Suddenly, she felt angry with him. She stood up and stalked over to where he sat, coming to a halt out of reach, just in case.

“Why the hell would I trust you?” she snarled. “What have you ever done to gain my trust? You slept with me, then you blackmailed me into staying here. You want me to help you find my father, but you won’t tell me why. I find out you’ve been in prison, but you refuse to talk about it. You…” she paused then forced herself to go on, “…you make me want you, and then you walk away as if I don’t matter at all.” To her dismay, she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. Luc was staring at her with something unidentifiable in his eyes. He reached out a hand toward her, and she stepped back quickly.