Claimed by the Sicilian Tycoon(22)
“You’ll fit right in,” he said.
“Did you see what I was wearing last night?”
He glared some more. “My overwhelming memory is of you naked, which is why we’re doing this. I want you. I will have you. If this is the only way then so fucking be it.”
Lyra swallowed unsteadily, her heart racing. So she’d baited and played enough to push him into her plan. It was a weird feeling. Part of her was thrilled, the other part ever so slightly scared. To be Andros Casstellini’s mistress…
“I plan to see you naked often,” he added.
“Then you’ve decided?” she whispered.
“I have. And there will be rules.”
“Rules?”
“If we are going to do this as you suggested.” He paused. “Then I want it all to be clear between us.”
“Okay.”
He paced in front of her, a scowl still on his face. “For as long as I want you will be mine, Lyra. I will have you when and how I want. I call and you come running, is that understood?”
“Of course.”
“There will be no other men. You will be mine and mine alone.”
“Obviously.”
“And in return,” he continued, as if she hadn’t spoken. “I will make sure you are comfortable. I will house you and spoil you, and you will be mine. But, and you need to be clear on this, you are not my girlfriend, I will not treat you as such.”
“I don’t want you to.”
Another glare. “And you will not become my wife. Do not imagine that you will soften me, that I will fall for you. You will not, there is no chance of that ever happening. I want to fuck you, constantly, and I will, but that is all there is, or will be, between us.”
“I know.”
“We will have fun,” he added. “Do not doubt that.”
“So you…” She paused, wondering if there was even a need to ask what she’d been planning to ask. The answer was obvious wasn’t it?
“What?” he demanded. “Finish your sentence.”
“Had fun last night?”
He stopped his pacing, and laughed, actually laughed. The sound made her stomach clench, and Lyra sighed a little inside. He was very attractive when he laughed, when he smiled—hell, he was all round super-hot. There was nothing about him that she could pick out as a flaw.
“Lyra,” he said. “You are quite something.”
She grinned, his smile suddenly making her feel a million times lighter. “Why thank you, Andros. I had a wild time last night.”
The smile remained. Lyra preferred it immensely to the scowl, or the glare for that matter. “So your list has been met?” he asked.
“Uh huh. You’re dynamite in the sack. Don’t tell me a gal has never told you that.”
“Not in so many words.”
“Well I will then. You, Andros Casstellini, know how to fuck.”
He shook his head, and joined her on the couch. Close, too close. Lyra’s breath caught in her throat, and her nipples hardened. How she wanted him.
“So blunt,” he whispered, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.
“I always am, Andros,” she replied slowly. “I can’t help it, never have been able to. It got me into so much trouble when I was at school. Detention after detention for speaking my mind.”
“And college?” he asked.
She shook her head, her school grades—painfully bad grades—flashing through her mind. There had been no time to study, not when she had Penny and Rachel to look after, to keep safe. “Not a place I ever went.”
“So up until now what is it you have been doing with yourself?”
“You want my life story?”
His fingers trailed along her cheekbone, to the v-neck of his tee shirt. “Some information would be appreciated.”
Lyra inhaled sharply as his other hand found the hem of the tee shirt. “I’m sure you can get on your computer and find out everything you need to know in a few minutes,” she whispered, her thighs shaking as he ran a hand along them. “You have my full name.”
“Lyra Matthews.”
“Exactly.”
“And your middle name?” he asked as he moved the tee shirt up.
“I don’t have one, or if I did I don’t know what it is, and in truth, Andros, Matthews is not my original surname, though it is my legal one.
His hands stilled. “You have been married?”
“Didn’t I say I wasn’t the marrying kind?”
“Then…”
She laughed. “You know I resolved to be completely honest with you. Deception is not my style, but now I think about it maybe you should just leave me shrouded in mystery. Let me keep my secrets and leave it at that.”