An Invitation to Sin(45)
‘I’ve seen photos of your mother. She’s always so elegant.’
Luca’s fingers tightened on the stem of his glass. ‘Appearance was—still is—important to her.’
‘The daughter of Marco Sparacino—how could it not be? So how did you handle him? I can’t imagine you did what you were told.’
‘I got so fed up with my grandfather telling me I was wearing the wrong thing that I once turned up to a lunch stark naked.’ Luca drained his glass. ‘When he bawled me out I told him there was no point in getting dressed because he always told me to get changed anyway. He never criticised me after that.’
Taylor laughed. ‘I can imagine you saying that. How old were you?’
‘Nine, I think. I don’t remember. All I remember was learning that pleasing people is a thankless task and you’re much better off pleasing yourself.’
‘But you made him proud. You’ve turned Corretti into something that people associate with luxury and elegance.’
‘When I took over, the focus was on couture. I persuaded them to take a more integrated business model. We expanded into ready-to-wear and accessories and then we launched Corretti Home. Furniture, lighting, bed linen…’ He gave a mocking smile. ‘You can date in your Corretti dress and then go home and have sex on your luxurious Corretti sofa wrapped up in Corretti sheets.’
‘Is that your tag line? Corretti—Bedlinen for Better Sex?’
‘Not officially but I think it’s possibly an improvement on the one we picked for the campaign. Thank you, by the way—’ his tone was casual ‘—you were brilliant tonight. I haven’t had a chance to ask how it went today on set. Did Rafaele behave himself?’
‘It went well.’ She chose not to divulge just how awful the day had been but Luca’s gaze was steady on her face and she had a feeling he knew.
‘If he steps out of line, tell me.’
‘He’s my problem.’
‘You’re my fiancée.’
Her stomach curled and knotted. And that, she thought, was turning out to be more complicated than she’d ever imagined.
A week later, exhausted after days of filming with Rafaele and sleepless nights in Luca’s bedroom, Taylor slid a pair of dark glasses onto her nose, took a deep breath and left her trailer. Blinded by a storm of camera flashes she struggled to keep the smile in place and it came as a relief to see the red blaze of Luca’s Ferrari. He was leaning against the bonnet, talking into his phone.
‘No, I haven’t heard from my brother. No, I don’t have any comment on his behaviour,’ he drawled, grabbing Taylor’s hand and hauling her against him. ‘I’m the last person to comment on anyone’s behaviour… . I don’t have a comment on my own either because frankly it’s none of your business.’ He hung up and pulled her into him. ‘Cristo, you’re sexy. How was your day?’
‘Exhausting. I filmed the scene where my husband appears from the dead and discovers I’m carrying his best friend’s baby.’ And she’d worked harder than she’d ever worked in order to make sure no criticism could be levelled at her but still the director had managed to make her feel inferior with his constant sniping. He’d made her redo each scene repeatedly even though she knew it had been perfect the first time. He’d wanted her to lose her temper and she’d been determined to hang on to control even if it killed her.
‘What you need is to chill or, better still, get hot and naked with someone and that someone is me.’
She found herself looking into sultry, sexy eyes fringed with impossibly thick, dark lashes and wishing she could do just that. And then she found herself wishing she could turn off her senses because she didn’t want to feel this way.
Spending so much time in his company was creating a level of tension she hadn’t thought possible. He was supposed to be a solution to a problem, instead of which he was becoming the problem.
Her instinctive response was to pull back but she was expected to play her part so when he flattened his hand against her back and drew her against him, she lifted her mouth to his. She’d intended it to be a brief kiss but his hands came up to her face and he kissed her slowly and hungrily. And because he was so good at this, because he somehow knew everything there was to know about exactly the right way to kiss her, she didn’t even try to fight it.
Seduced by the heat of his mouth and the skill of his kiss, Taylor felt will power drain from her like rain water down the gutter. If it had been up to her she never would have stopped. Who would choose to end something so perfect? And in the end he was the one who slowly lifted his head and broke the connection.