‘We’ll discuss it in the limo,’ Sergio intoned smoothly.
Disconcerted by that proposal, Kathy finally dragged her attention from Sergio for long enough to notice her immediate surroundings. A uniformed chauffeur was holding wide the passenger door of a huge gleaming limousine, while several men with the build of professional bodyguards hovered in a protective circle. Extreme discomfiture assailed her; she felt out of her depth. Even so, she also recognised that getting into the car with him was the price of continuing the dialogue. She climbed in and tried hard not to gawp at the opulent leather interior and the sleek built-in bank of business and entertainment equipment.
‘Naturally you’re annoyed. It is most regrettable that you should have suffered unjust treatment,’ Sergio intoned.
The dark, deep timbre of his voice sent a sinuous little frisson snaking down Kathy’s spine. But it also crossed her mind that he was clever enough to know exactly what to say and how to say it on any given occasion. Distrust slivered through her and she stiffened like a cat stroked the wrong way. ‘I’m glad that you recognise that it was unfair.’
‘You don’t need to worry,’ Sergio countered with supreme assurance. ‘I’ll ensure that you get another job. ‘
‘Easier said than done. I’ve only got a good reference as a waitress.’ Kathy was already planning to take on extra shifts at the café to make ends meet. But the cracking pace of waiting tables for longer hours would exhaust her and her studies would suffer, so that option would only be useful in the short term.
‘Would you prefer to work in the catering trade
?’
‘No.’ Kathy closed her hands together in a taut movement. Even though it was his fault that she was in a tight corner she had a lot of pride and found it very hard to ask anyone for help. But if he had the influence he seemed to think he had, there was a chance that just for once a piece of bad luck could be turned into something more positive. ‘I would love an office job,’ she confided in a rush. ‘It doesn’t matter how junior it is. Even a temporary position would do, because it would give me some experience. I’ve got good IT skills…and a rather empty CV.’
‘It’s not a problem. I own a chain of employment agencies. I’ll organise it today.’
‘I’m not asking for any special favours,’ she said defensively.
‘I’m not offering any.’ Sergio closed a confident hand over hers, unfurling her taut white fingers to tug her closer.
Her green eyes were wary. ‘Look, I’m not here for the seduction routine.’
‘Your pulse says otherwise, bella mia,’ Sergio traded huskily, his thumb and forefinger encircling her fragile wrist while he challenged her with smouldering dark golden eyes.
That single look was so hot that Kathy felt as though she were burning inside her skin. A lightning strike of desire slivered through her, stinging her nipples into straining needle points, creating a knot of tension in her pelvis. In a sudden compulsive movement that had nothing to do with thought she leant forward and found his shapely sensual mouth for herself. A split second later she could not believe that she had made the first move, but she could no more have resisted that primitive prompting than she could have stopped breathing.
His powerful libido ignited by that boldness, Sergio drove her soft pink lips apart with answering passion. He delved into the moist interior of her mouth with a rhythmic eroticism that drove her wild with longing. Her fingers raked through his gleaming black hair, holding him to her. One kiss only led to the next and the exchange was frantic, increasingly forceful and infuriatingly unsatisfying for both of them. With a groan of frustration he hauled her slim body closer, closing his hand over hers to guide it down to the furious power of his erection.
Her fingers spread over the swell of his male arousal, outrageously obvious even through the fabric of his trousers. Wanton damp heat flowered at the tender heart of her body and she quivered, shot through and weak with sheer longing and excitement. She knew what he wanted and she knew what she wanted to do, though it was something that had never before had the slightest appeal to her. The shock of that sexual intensity made her eyes fly open.
It was disconcerting to recognise that it was still broad daylight and that they were in a moving car in traffic. She had forgotten everything, where she was, who she was. She felt out of control and it scared her. Tearing her reddened mouth from his, she sucked in a steadying breath and shifted her hand onto his long powerful thigh.
A lean brown hand closed into her copper hair to stop her moving back out of reach. Scorching golden eyes held her fast. ‘You shouldn’t start anything you’re not prepared to finish.’
‘I’ve got work to do.’ Kathy lifted her chin, her cheeks burning.
Accustomed to instant compliance with his wishes, Sergio studied her with shimmering dark eyes of hauteur. Then he flung his arrogant head back and vented an appreciative laugh. He liked her nerve. ‘What work?’
‘I have another part-time job. I’m also studying.’
‘And I have a flight to catch.’
Her heart thudded heavily inside her ribcage. He ran a slow caressing forefinger across the swollen curve of her lower lip. Her nerve-endings prickled with awareness. It took all her self-discipline not to lean forward and invite a greater intimacy.
‘I’ll see you when I get back to London—in a couple of weeks, delizia mia,’ Sergio murmured softly.
‘A couple of weeks?’ Kathy queried in bemusement.
He explained his schedule. Intense disappointment filled her that he would be abroad for so long. She veiled her eyes, irritated by her juvenile response, her previous doubts setting in again. What was the point of seeing him again? Did she have novelty value? Even if he was interested in her, it would only be for all of five minutes. She needed no great experience of men to know that all she had to offer on his terms was her face and body. Was that enough for her?
Sergio checked his watch, only to rediscover for the tenth time that morning that it wasn’t on his wrist. Fortunately a replacement awaited him at the airport. ‘I took off my watch last night. Did you notice where I put it?’
Her smooth brow furrowed. ‘It was lying on the carpet. I stepped over it. Look, us seeing each other again isn’t a good idea—’
His dark stare was unnervingly direct. ‘Try keeping me away.’