The Correttis (Books 1-8). Кейт Хьюит

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СКАЧАТЬ would have thought you needed an army for that.’

      ‘Fortunately for me I now have a fiancée.’ The tyres crunched on the gravel and he sprang from the car and opened the door for her in an old-fashioned gesture that surprised her. ‘I hate the word, but the institution might prove more useful than I could ever have imagined.’

      ‘So now you’re using me as a female defence system?’

      ‘Something like that.’ He relieved her of the car keys. ‘You drive well for a woman.’

      ‘That is so patronising. If I’d known you were going to say something like that I would have wrapped your precious Ferrari round a lamppost.’

      The banter felt so much more comfortable than confidences but just being with him unsettled her. She was used to spending her time around ridiculously attractive men—men who spent their days working on their physique, men who spent a considerable time in front of the mirror, none of whom tempted her. Luca was different. He was spectacularly handsome, that was true, his Sicilian bloodline evident in his darkly brooding features and his volatile personality, but for her the attraction lay deeper. She was drawn to his self-confidence, his lack of pretentiousness and, most of all, his innate honesty. Luca Corretti didn’t waste time putting a barrier between himself and the world and if they came too close, he simply shrugged.

      As his arm brushed against hers she felt sensation flutter across her skin and float through her body. She was tall but he was significantly taller, much taller than her current leading man, who needed heel lifts and clever camera angles to increase his height. Luca needed no such help.

      It was only as he closed the bedroom door behind them that she realised they hadn’t discussed this part of their arrangement.

      ‘Where am I sleeping?’

      ‘In my bed, where all good fiancée’s sleep.’

      Keeping her expression in place she dropped her purse on the soft white sofa. She realised that she was exhausted. She hadn’t slept well since hearing the film role was hers and now wouldn’t sleep until she knew she hadn’t lost it. ‘I will sleep in your bed, but not if you’re in it.’

      ‘Sleeping apart is not one of the habits of happily engaged couples.’

      ‘Unless you’re expecting hoards of slavering women to break into your room tonight, I assume we’re not going to have an audience for the next part of our deception?’

      ‘We might. It would strengthen our story if Geovana deserves to hear you moaning with pleasure as she walks past the door.’

      ‘I’m not a moaner.’

      He smiled as he undid the buttons of his shirt. ‘You’d moan if you were with me, bellissima.’

      ‘Sure of yourself, aren’t you?’

      ‘I’ve never subscribed to the benefits of false modesty. I can have you moaning in under thirty seconds. Want to try it out? Practice the scene?’

      Her heart was pounding. ‘I don’t need to practice. I’m a one-take wonder. And the only way I’d moan is if it was written into the script.’ Her mouth dried as he shrugged off the shirt, revealing bronzed shoulders and muscles that could have featured in an action movie. The hardness of his physique contrasted with the effortless elegance of his clothes and she clenched her jaw and dismissed the thought that he was better looking than any of the actors she’d worked with.

      ‘Admit it.’ Fully aware of her scrutiny, he dropped the shirt over the back of the nearest chair. ‘You can’t stop thinking about that kiss.’

      ‘What kiss?’

      He smiled. ‘How does it feel to spend your life pretending to be someone you’re not? Uncomfortable? Frustrating?’

      ‘I’m not pretending. This is who I am.’

      The smile faded and this time when he looked at her there was no sign of the flippant playboy. ‘No. You present the world with a plastic, perfect version of yourself. No flaws. You show the person you think the world wants to see, not the real you. Maybe that’s what some men want, but not me.’ The hardness of his tone surprised her and she took a step backwards, wondering what had triggered that response.

      ‘But this isn’t real so what you want is of no relevance.’

      ‘If I’m expected to spend time with you then it’s going to be with the real you. The real you is the woman who was with me in the maze. That woman interests me extremely. Any chance she could come out and play?’ His tone had lightened again but it was too late because already there was an electric tension in the atmosphere.

      She was so aware of him, almost blinded by the raw sexuality that radiated from every throbbing, muscular inch of his powerful frame. From that silky dark hair to those moody black eyes, he was all man. And the most dangerous thing of all was that, somehow, he knew her. Not the public her that she’d created, but the real her. ‘That woman is a figment of your imagination.’

      ‘You had your hands on me. My imagination had nothing to do with it.’

      ‘You had your hands on me first.’

      ‘I never said it wasn’t mutual.’ Those eyes were dark as night, seeing everything she was hiding.

      ‘It isn’t mutual.’

      ‘Sweetheart, you should know that I have a highly competitive nature and you’re tempting me to prove it.’

      ‘No.’ She looked away from him, trying to snap the connection. Trying to pull together the torn threads of her protection. ‘It was just a kiss. A badly timed kiss as it turns out.’

      ‘Maybe not. We’re here because of that kiss.’

      ‘Precisely!’

      Without warning he slid his hand behind her neck and drew her towards him. ‘Once again we see things differently. You see this as a bad thing, but because of this situation I finally have the board listening to me and you—’

      ‘I’m on a film that currently has no director.’ His mouth was so close to hers she was afraid to breathe. ‘How is that good?’

      His phone buzzed and he paused, his eyes locked on hers.

      For a moment she thought he was going to ignore it and then he let his hand drop. Instantly she stepped backwards, creating distance, and he gave her a mocking smile as he drew his phone out of his pocket and read the message. Dark brows rose. ‘Apparently you do have a director.’

      ‘We do?’ Taylor’s heart was pounding in her chest. ‘He found someone? Who?’

      ‘Rafaele Beninato.’

      Just hearing the name made her feel sick.

      ‘Are you sure?’ It was her worst nightmare and the irony was that if she hadn’t been caught in the maze with Luca, it wouldn’t have happened. The first director would still be in place. But Rafaele had found a way to infiltrate her life, as he always had.

      ‘His name is familiar. Didn’t you СКАЧАТЬ