He stared at her for a beat longer, then sat back. ‘I’m meeting with my R&D department today to discuss your evaluation. This is a chance for you to warn me of any...irregularities.’
Returning to firmer ground, she smiled. Learning how Casa di Fiorenti went about selecting new flavours for their exclusive brand had been enlightening. And unexpectedly thrilling. ‘Thanks for the heads-up, but I’m not worried in the least about my performance.’
‘Bene. I hope that “performance” holds up under more rigorous scrutiny next Saturday.’
‘What’s happening then?’
‘Casa di Fiorenti holds a pre-summer party for its top executives and their families, and its business partners. Two hundred people will spend the afternoon here at the villa. You will be required to attend.’
‘But...I’m not an executive.’
‘No, you’re not. But while I’m perfectly happy for you not to attend, it was one of Carlotta’s wishes for you see the famiglia side of the company. The party is a tradition she started. We haven’t missed one in twenty years.’ There was a definite bite in his tone when he used the Italian word, but again his face was devoid of emotion.
‘Why did she want me there?’ Faye asked, something tugging in her chest.
‘I can’t answer for her. But you will attend. And while you’re there you will ensure nothing you do or say brings the company into disrepute.’
Faye bristled. ‘Am I allowed to even speak at all, or shall I pretend to be mute?’
‘We agreed that revealing yourself as Luigi’s stepdaughter will be at my discretion. I’m simply reminding you to weigh the options and be prepared to deal with the outcome should you decide to out yourself.’
She couldn’t help but wonder if this was another test. A way to discover whether she was worthy of the gift Luigi and Carlotta had bestowed on her from beyond the grave. But, again, while she’d have loved to throw his invitation in his face, attending this party might deliver the answers she sought.
‘I’ll be there. And I’ll do my best not to disgrace the family name.’
For the briefest second his fists balled. Then eased. ‘That’s all I ask,’ he replied mockingly.
He rose, caught up the bespoke jacket draped over a nearby chair and shrugged into it. The act of watching him don his jacket held her immobile, heat swirling in her belly.
‘Are you coming?’ he drawled, staring down at her.
‘What?’
He glanced pointedly at his watch. ‘Your evaluation is scheduled for eight a.m. Do you plan on being there?’
‘I... Of course.’
He stepped close to her chair and Faye scrambled up, unwilling to be disadvantaged by Maceo towering over her. Flustered, she nudged her chair back with a little too much force and stumbled.
The sequence of events was swift and dizzying. With lightning reflexes Maceo caught the toppling chair with one hand and her waist with the other as she tottered on her heels. Then, in direct contrast to the preceding moment, the world stilled.
Faye wanted to ignore the sizzling intensity of the hand holding her, the thawing of his cool tawny regard, the heat fluttering in her chest and the flood of hot awareness through her veins.
She could do none of the above.
Without uttering a word Maceo Fiorenti commanded her body, her speech, the very air she breathed. Or the air she couldn’t breathe because he’d commandeered that too.
Fierce eyes stared down at her, as if he was trying to see beneath her skin. Had his hand just tightened on her? Had he drawn her closer? Or was it all in her fevered imagination?
As a child, she’d foolishly stuck her finger into an electric socket. That was nothing compared to the sensation coursing through her now as Maceo tugged her closer. The look in his eyes was no longer indifferent. Or dismissive. His eyes smouldered with a definite fire. One that promised consumption. Annihilation.
And, far from shying away from it, denying the sort of danger that could destroy her, for a suspended moment in time Faye yearned to embrace it. To feel that electric shock. Experience that burn.
That insanity was the reason she raised her hand with a compulsion she couldn’t deny, caressed the swathe of skin just above his collar where a vein pulsed, then brushed her fingers against the chiselled perfection of his jaw to the thin but characterful scar halfway between his chin and his mouth. She lingered, explored, while her heart banged hard against her ribs and electricity consumed her from temple to toes.
Maceo inhaled sharply, his gaze dropping to her mouth before darting back to her eyes, his look of hunger so intense she gasped.
The sound forked between them, alive and demanding.