Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire(24)

“So, why did you really want to find your father in the first place? After all this time?”

Lia considered the question, but there was no real reason not to tell him. The reasons no longer applied. Now that Pete was going to buy the land from her, there was no way Luc could use the information against her. “I told you, my mother died. I hadn’t realized until then that the situation was so bad—she’d been paying the mortgage by selling jewelry, paintings, anything and everything. Well, by the time she died, it was all gone. I knew my father had taken out a mortgage on the house before he disappeared. I wanted him to give the money back.”



“So why don’t you want to find him anymore?”

“I don’t need the money now. I’m selling the land that goes with the house. It’ll be enough to keep us going for the next few years.”

“Selling. Who’s buying?” Luc asked suspiciously.

“Pete.”

“I don’t want you taking money from him.”

Lia stared at him in amazement. “I’m not taking anything from him, he’s buying some land. And what business is it of yours anyway? Look, forget about it, it has nothing to do with you.” She got to her feet, impatient. “Why don’t you just tell me about your big plan? What do I need to do for you to destroy those pictures and let me go home?”

“There’s time for that later.”

“Why not now?”

He frowned at her. “Are you always this impatient?”

Lia thought for a moment. “Yes.”

“Well, sit down again, and I might tell you what’s going to happen. Can I get you a drink first?” he asked.

She cast him a snarky look. “Do I look like an absolute imbecile? Been there, done that, and it’s so not happening again.”

He laughed softly. “Don’t blame it all on the alcohol. You were amazingly easy to seduce.”

“Yeah, but only because I let you. And it won’t happen again.”

He relaxed back in his seat and studied her, his eyes half closed. “Is that a challenge, cara mia?”



She shivered at the sensual promise in his voice then made an effort to pull herself together. “No, it’s not,” she said, “and will you stop calling me that?”

“Calling you what?” he asked. “Cara mia?”

“I’m not your cara, I’m not your anything. I’m here because you threatened me and that’s the only reason.”

“Really?” He got to his feet, moving to stand in front of her. Lia stood up as well, not wanting to be at a disadvantage. A wave of apprehension passed through her, but she stood her ground. She was determined she wasn’t going to be intimidated, but he was just so big, and she’d always been better at dealing with horses than she was humans. Maybe she should treat him like a stallion she was training. Stand up to him, show him who was boss…and if all else failed—castrate him.

“What are you thinking?”

“Sorry?”

“You were smiling.”

“Really?” Tilting her head back, she stared him in the face. He was watching her through those half-closed eyes, the brilliant green almost hidden behind a thick fringe of black lashes. She dropped her gaze and again wished she hadn’t—his shirt was open, showing the strong, tanned column of his throat and the dark shadow of his body hair. She remembered the feel of it under her fingers, silky and amazingly soft.

Luc smiled, a slight curl of those stunning lips, and all of a sudden, she had a flashback to the feel of them moving on hers, moving on her body. She stared at them for a long, long moment until he laughed softly, breaking the silence.



He reached out and stroked the ball of his thumb across her lower lip, and that simple touch caused the heat to coil low down in her body.

“Don’t kid yourself, cara,” he said. “You want me as much as I want you.”

His words started a fire in her belly. She opened her mouth to deny it, but she didn’t want to push him into trying to prove his point. The truth was, he might be a blackmailing bastard, but he was also the most gorgeous guy she had ever met, and for some reason he got to her like no other man ever had. So instead, she took a deep breath and sat down. The sooner they got this over with, whatever “this” was, the sooner she could go home and get on with her life.

“So tell me this plan of yours.”

“We’re going to get engaged.”

Lia’s mouth fell open. She managed to close it, but stared at him for long, long moments. Had he really said they were getting engaged? “Never going to happen.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I don’t expect to have to go through with the actual fuss of a wedding, though we could consider the consummation part.”