The Arrangement .(2)

Alexa’s eyes widened. It was amazing how he managed to state so calmly a sentence that obliterated every ounce of oxygen from the room and shattered what little peace of mind she had left.

She laughed, stunned. “What did you say?” She must not have heard him correctly.

“You heard me,” Leonardo replied, his face betraying no emotion. He walked over to the desk in front of which she sat and braced one hip against the edge, crossing his powerful arms and looking down his hawklike nose at her.

Alexa shook her head, nervously running her fingers through her short black curls in a futile attempt to calm the erratic beating of her heart. His unexpected request rattled her more than she wanted to betray. She took a calming breath.

“You’re being absurd, Leo,” she said, looking up at him. From her seated position, he looked formidable. “I wouldn’t move back into the mansion if you were the last man on …” Alexa let her voice trail off when she realized what she had been about to say. She forced herself to calm down and think of Xander. She couldn’t screw this up. He was depending on her.

Leonardo lifted one thick eyebrow in mock inquiry. “If I were the last man on earth who could get Xander out of the mess he’s in?”

Alexa pressed her lips together before answering, taking time to formulate her words carefully. “We’re getting a divorce.”

“Are we? Did I miss something? I was never served with divorce papers.

Should I contact my attorney to find out if he’s forgotten to send me the documents?” His tone was mocking.

“You’re going to divorce me.”

She was certain of it. It was only a matter of time. She had embarrassed Leonardo by leaving him, and there was no doubt in her mind he would eventually eradicate her from his life completely. That’s how he operated.

When he was done, there would be no trace of her left in his life.

“I’m not the one who walked out,” he said pointedly. “You did. I never wanted our marriage to end. Have you forgotten?”

Alexa took a deep breath and got to her feet. “I haven’t forgotten, and you know why I left.” She threw all caution to the wind. “It’s not as if you paid me any attention when I was there. You never acted like a man who was married. Between the long hours at work and the women falling all over you everywhere we went, I’m surprised you even noticed I was gone.”

A muscle in his jaw tensed. “Oh, I noticed.”

He spoke quietly, but Alexa heard the menacing undertone as loudly as a drumbeat. She knew she had grated on a still raw nerve.

Alexa took another deep breath. “Leo, this is ridiculous. I’m not moving back in with you.”

She turned around, about to snatch up her purse from the chair, when he said, “So what are you going to tell your brother?” His voice was still quiet.

Gritting her teeth, she flashed him her most withering gaze. “You’ve reached a new low,” she bit out.

Leonardo smiled, completely unmoved by her disparaging remark. He had the upper hand.

“There’s the fire that I’m used to,” he murmured. “That little helpless act you came in here with was not very convincing.”

“It wasn’t an act,” Alexa said, standing tall. “But it seems you prefer for me to come out fighting. I would have thought you’d want me begging for your mercy—groveling, on my hands and knees.”

He tilted his head, as if contemplating what she said. “Hmm … just on your knees … doing those amazing things you do with your … mouth.”

Alexa inhaled sharply, shocked at the suggestion and the images it conjured. Her heart rate picked up as she recalled a time when she had done just that in this very office, unselfishly offering pleasure to the husband she adored. The honeymoon period didn’t last long, though. About one month, to be exact, before business took precedence in his life and her own self-doubt exacerbated the tension between them.

“That was out of line.”

“No, it wasn’t, querida.” He smiled, the devastating smile she found irresistible. “You’re my wife, and you do have an amazing mouth.”

Alexa clenched her purse, ignoring the heart-wrenching familiarity of the Portuguese endearment and fighting back the sensuous images that were now emblazoned in her mind’s eye. “Yes, I’m your wife, but we both know that’s in name only. We haven’t lived together as husband and wife for months.”

“That’s easily rectified by a mutually satisfying arrangement,” Leonardo reminded her.

“What is it that you’re suggesting? That we just pick up where we left off and act as if we’re reconciled?”