His body shifted, moving ever so slightly closer to hers—by only a matter of degrees, but it was enough. Enough for everything about him to become bigger, stronger and more overpowering and for all the temptations she’d been fighting off to threaten to consume her. ‘Do I strike you as a man who would come to a meeting like this—or to any meeting, for that matter—unprepared?’
‘No.’ The answer was intuitive.
Approval warmed his face and he nodded, just once, not moving his eyes from her face. ‘So you’re, what—bait?’
She frowned, not understanding.
‘Did Laurence think that having you at the table would distract me sufficiently to make me rush into this investment? That I’d put aside common sense and offer to buy into his hedge fund to the tune of half a billion pounds just because the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen happened to be fluttering her lashes at me all evening?’
It wasn’t really a compliment, yet butterflies beat their wings against the sides of her belly. There was an insult in there, or at the very least the hint of condemnation. A need to defend her cousin stiffened her spine. ‘On the contrary, Laurence simply wanted it to feel like a pleasant evening rather than purely business.’
Cesare’s wolf-like smile showed how little he believed that statement. ‘This is business.’ He growled the words out. ‘And I never let anything affect my judgement where business is concerned.’ He moved closer, so now his arm brushed against hers, and she had to suck in a sharp breath of air—which was a mistake, because it tasted of him, all hyper-masculine and citrusy.
‘Although, you have made that hard to remember at times.’
Another compliment buried in a tone that was somehow derisive. She stared up at him, the pale overhead light catching her hair so it shone like threads of precious gold. ‘Have I?’
His expression was droll. ‘As I’m sure you’re aware.’ He lifted a hand, running a finger across her cheek, and she trembled in response. ‘It was an excellent gambit.’ His thumb padded across her lower lip and desire sparked like flames against her sides. ‘I can see why he would think you might win me over.’
‘That wasn’t his intention.’ Her voice came out stiff and cultured, her tone plummy enough to please even her mother.
Cesare’s laugh spread through her veins like warmed caramel. ‘Yes, it was. Perhaps he didn’t inform you of that, but I have no doubt your cousin believed that serving you up on a silver platter would make this deal go through more smoothly.’
‘I’m not being served up, to you or anyone,’ she demurred without moving backwards, even when she knew she had to. ‘I often accompany Laurence on business meetings.’ It wasn’t particularly convincing.
‘Really?’ He lowered his hand to her shoulder, his eyes chasing the gesture, fixating on the exposed flesh there, pale cream with a pearl-like translucence.
‘You find that hard to believe?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘Because it’s hardly your scene, is it?’
‘My scene?’ Her heart threw an extra beat into its rhythm.
‘International supermodel attends dinner meeting r
egarding finance fund?’
His mockery made her pulse skitter. ‘You think the two are mutually exclusive, Mr Durante?’
‘Call me Cesare.’
She found she couldn’t resist. ‘Cesare.’ His name in her mouth was erotic. She pronounced it as he had, ‘Che-zar-eh’, then swallowed, trying to quell the buzzing that was spreading through her. ‘It doesn’t matter what I call you. It doesn’t change the fact that your opinion is pretty offensive.’
‘Name three of the companies your cousin has stakes in.’
She blinked.
‘Any three. There are twenty-seven in the hedge fund.’
Heat bloomed in her cheeks. ‘I’m not interested in the details.’
‘No, you’re not. And you’re not here to talk business.’
‘You honestly think I’m here as some kind of inducement to you?’