Her eyes flashed fire. ‘Are you trying to buy my silence? Are you worried I’m going to go back to shore and suddenly sell my story?’ She paced across the room, turning back to berate him in a furious whisper. ‘I will never tell a soul what you told me about Alessia. Not a word. Nothing about this trip. Nothing about us. Not ever.’
‘I never for a second thought you would.’ That wasn’t why he’d mentioned this at all. He knew he could trust her. She understood too well how it was to be judged.
‘I don’t want to be dependent on a lover for my lifestyle. I don’t want to be my mother.’
‘This isn’t like that.’
‘It’s exactly like that,’ she snapped back.
He paused as the whomp-whomp-whomp sound of the helicopter echoed. The boat’s interior had amazing soundproofing, which meant that the helicopter had to have arrived for them to be able to hear it at all. Sure enough, within another second the whirring began to fade as the pilot powered the engine down. They wouldn’t leave until Antonio gave the word.
He wasn’t ready to do that yet. He walked towards where Bella stood glaring at him. ‘I just want to help you.’
‘Why? You won’t let me help you.’
That was different. This was an easy kind of help. This was just money. ‘Bella—’
‘I’m not a prostitute, Antonio. I’m not your concubine or courtesan. Don’t treat me like one.’
He drew up short, feeling out of his depth now. ‘You’re a friend. Friends help each other.’
‘Not like this they don’t,’ she said. ‘We’re not friends. And I’m not using you for this, Antonio.’
‘You won’t be using me.’
Why did she look so wounded? His anger boiled over. He should have known she’d reject his offer. He’d never put himself out for anyone. Never offered another woman what he’d offered her. Couldn’t she appreciate that? She was so damn stubborn and independent and now acting as if he’d somehow insulted her?
‘Why can’t you accept I’m just trying to help you?’ he asked.
‘Why can’t you accept that that kind of help isn’t something I can ever be comfortable with?’
‘Then pay me back,’ he exploded back at her. ‘We can make it a loan. Just as you have a loan from the backer of BURN. He’s not as nice a guy as I am and yet you’re happy to accept his assistance.’
‘Ours is a strictly professional relationship. Always has been, always will be.’
‘And our relationship?’
‘We don’t have a relationship. We can’t have a relationship.’
He knew she was right but her refusal angered him anyway. He loathed being told what he could or couldn’t do. ‘No?’
‘Of course not.’ She turned and walked towards the nearest door. ‘We need to get on that helicopter. We need to stop this.’
‘Stop?’ He strode over to her. ‘What do you mean “stop”?’
She paused and glared up into his eyes. ‘You know exactly what I mean. It was fun while it lasted—’
‘You’re saying we’re over?’
‘I think that’s for the best, yes.’
‘Because I offered to help you?’
‘It’s really nice you wanted to help, but it’s not appropriate.’
‘What am I supposed to do?’ he asked her in frustration.
‘I’ve never asked you to do anything for me.’
No. She hadn’t. And that angered him even more. She didn’t want anything from him. Other than hours in his bed.
Which was all he wanted too, right? Because as he’d told her just moments ago, he was never hurting anyone the way he had Alessia. Yet here he was, feeling as if he’d just hurt Bella. Badly.
‘You’re not ending this.’ He turned her towards him, then backed her up two paces to the wall. ‘This isn’t finished. You know it. I know it.’
‘Antonio—’
‘Shut up and kiss me.’
He needed to vent the frustration rushing along his veins. Sex would help. Sex right now would help a lot. And he knew it would help her too.