CHAPTER SEVEN
It had been a mad decision. Amber should have known better than to accept Aurelio’s suggestion she accompany him to the premiere.
But what choice did he give her? If she hadn’t stepped in he’d waste this perfect opportunity to promote his wines. To promotehimself. For Aurelio De Laurentiswasthe brand. Young and sexy with those stunning dark looks and brooding air, he looked like any woman’s dream in a tuxedo.
His wines were all about quality, refinement and the allure of knowing you were drinking the very best.
To Amber’s mind, nothing spelled out the best quite the way Aurelio did with his broad shoulders and tall frame filling out those formal clothes to perfection.
Unlike most handsome men, he didn’t even seem to realise the effect he had on a woman, just by looking at her. He certainly didn’t deliberately tease or tempt, at least not outside the bedroom.
Amber sucked in a tremulous breath and surreptitiously checked the bodice of her strapless gown. The young designer who’d eagerly lent it to her for the red carpet event publicity had assured her it wouldn’t slide down. Yet Amber was acutely aware of how the fitted bodice revealed more of her décolletage than usual. And the way her breasts, more sensitive with pregnancy, felt the scrape of stiffened fabric with every breath.
It had to be that,nota reaction to Aurelio standing so close beside her.
She was aware of lingering stares even in the crowded, exclusive party. Women loved the elegance of the gown and her charismatic escort. But the men obviously appreciated how the figure-hugging dress clung to her curves, only flaring out from her thighs.
She’d chosen the ultra-sexy dress in shimmering silver because she wanted to look glamorous for the cameras. And because she was accompanying Aurelio, who, in a tuxedo, was breathtakingly mesmerising. She might be just his PR advisor, but Amber was determined to hold her own amongst the swarm of sophisticated women at tonight’s party. The ones watching Aurelio so avidly. Amber had jaw ache from biting back warnings that they keep away from him.
Notthe way to make friends and influence people! She was supposed to encourage them, not scare them away. Yet tonight she found it almost impossible to focus on work.
Part of the trouble was the dress. It didn’t just make others look, including women wanting the designer’s name. It clung in a way that made Amber more than usually aware of her body and its reaction to Aurelio. The close clasp of stiffened fabric in the bodice recalled the possessive way Aurelio used to fondle her breasts. The nipped in waist, his avid delight at discovering he could span her waist with his large hands. The whisper of the long skirt as she walked, the rustle of bed sheets and the soft scratching sound of his early morning whiskers against her fingertips.
Amber shuddered as erotic memories awoke. Of sharing Aurelio’s bed. Of him using his tongue to tease her in the most wicked ways.
She couldn’t afford to think of that.
Or of Aurelio’s appeal as anything other than a marketing tool to exploit. She hadn’t spelled that out to him because if he suspectedhewas the secret weapon in tonight’s marketing plan, he’d hightail it back to his precious grape vines and bury himself in one of the wine cellars. It had been like prising a bear out of its cave to get him to the city.
Besides, dwelling on his attractiveness was destructive. He wasn’t for her, could never be for her again. The best she could do was continue to work at establishing trust and respect between them so that when she told him about the pregnancy they had something to build on.
And ithadbeen working. Since his apology they’d been together every day. Amber sensed he even enjoyed her company, as she did his. Though of course he had the advantage of not being distracted by a yearning for more.
‘Are you okay?’ Aurelio’s deep voice was a buzz of warmth through her veins, making her snap her head round towards him.
How did he know she was unsettled when they weren’t touching? He couldn’t feel her tremble. He wasn’t even looking at her.
All evening he’d barely glanced her way, except for that single, scorching survey when they’d met. He’d scrutinised her from head to toe then back up again in a deliberate stare that made heat lick at her belly, her breasts and in all the secret places he’d once caressed.
‘I’m great. It’s such a fabulous party.’ She lifted a crystal glass of sparkling water to her lips and swallowed deeply.
‘But you’re not enjoying yourself.’ He turned, his ebony gaze capturing hers with an intensity that made everything in her still. ‘You’re not even drinking wine.Nota good advertisement for the brand.’
Amber pinned on a smile. ‘That’s because I’m here to work. Remember? I need to keep my wits about me. You’re the one here solely to enjoy your brother’s triumph.’ She nodded to the mob of people on the far side of the opulent room, clamouring for the attention of Matteo De Laurentis and his talented screenwriter wife, Angela.
‘You can go and chat with your family and leave me to my own devices.’
Maybe if he did that for a while she’d regain her equilibrium enough to focus on pursuing valuable contacts.
Besides, much as she’d liked the family members she’d met, she’d been conscious of their speculation about her. She’d expected Aurelio to explain they were just work colleagues, a point she was at pains to tell herself, when he stood at her side looking, in her opinion, far more attractive than his celebrated movie-icon brother.
But Aurelio had ignored his siblings’ curious glances and subtle questions as if impervious to them. Even when Lia, his gorgeous sister, had kissed Amber on both cheeks and said fervently how happy she was that Aurelio had finally shown up with a specialfriendin tow.
Amber turned away, knowing she really should concentrate on the job she was here to do. But before she could move Aurelio’s fingers closed around her wrist, a warm, unbreakable manacle, tethering her to him.
Her eyes snapped up and there it was again, that dark velvet gaze that felt like a caress. A tremor ran the length of her body and she bit her bottom lip. She shouldn’t be feeling this. She had to get past this desire.
Nothing good could come of it. He wasn’t in the market for anything more than physical pleasure. And though that pleasure was starkly, stunningly addictive, further intimacy would only make it harder to accept he didn’t want her the way she wanted him.