‘I didn’t call you a gold-digger. I warned you of the pitfalls of becoming one. And, no, you don’t get turned on by being insulted. You just get turned on by me...’ He unceremoniously dumped her on the bed and shot her a wickedly sexy smile as she scrambled into a sitting position to glare at him. ‘I’m sick of talking.’ He stripped off his black polo shirt and flung it to the floor. ‘Get naked for me.’
Chase continued to glare but already her flustered mind was forgetting the hurt inflicted and keening towards the feel of his hands on her body. Still, she didn’t rush to obey, but as he led the way, removing his shirt then his jeans, she could feel herself melting.
Their love-making was fast and urgent. She wanted to lose herself in it and forget the things he had told her, the coldness in his voice when he had reminded her of what their relationship really was all about. Did he honestly imagine that she was the type of woman who could look at someone else’s possessions and work out how she could get her hands on them? Yes, of course he did. The distance between a liar and a gold-digger was very small.
She wanted to make love until she lost the hurt, and she did. She touched him, kissed him, dominating him in one move before yielding in another. She caught a glimpse of his back at one point and saw the marks of where her fingers had scored into his skin. He ordered her to talk dirty to him and she wondered how she did it so easily when she hadn’t a clue what she was supposed to say. It was a complete release of all her inhibitions and it turned her on. It turned her on even more when he talked dirty back to her.
This was what it was all about—having sex. The most amazing, fulfilling sex she could ever imagine. It was all he wanted and, if it wasn’t all she wanted, then that was something she would just have to live with.
Her orgasm was long and deep and filled every single part of her body. It dispelled all her dark thoughts. It made her feel as though she was soaring through space, out of reach of anything that might hurt her. She longed for it to last for ever. In fact, she closed her eyes and kept them firmly shut even after Alessandro rolled off her. He was breathing as unevenly as she was. She could picture every inch of his face, every line, the sweep of his dark lashes, his gleaming black eyes that could make her body go up in flames with a single glance. She had absorbed all the details and stored them in her head with the efficiency of a state-of-the-art computer housing data.
‘Are you going to fall asleep on me?’
‘I’m dozing.’
‘Should I be flattered that I can send a woman to sleep?’
‘Actually...’ Chase opened her eyes reluctantly and propped herself on her side so that they were facing one another on the bed, front to front, her breasts brushing his chest. ‘I was thinking...’
What would happen if she ever told him the truth about how she felt? Would she find it liberating? ‘About work. How much I’ll have to get done when I return. I may even go in tomorrow evening after we’re back. Have I told you about the work that’s due to start on the shelter? Beth keeps asking if I’m sure that the costs will be covered.’ She ran her finger lightly along his shoulder blade, tracing muscle and sinew. ‘She has a morbid fear of bailiffs banging on the front door because she hasn’t been able to pay her creditors.’
Alessandro frowned. As pillow talk went, it left a lot to be desired, yet he realised that he should be feeling relieved. He had laid down his dictates and she hadn’t blinked an eye. In fact, he need not have bothered. She had no interest in taking things between them beyond their natural course. Thank God. And, to prove how misguided he had been in imagining that she might get a little too wrapped up in this, here she was now, chatting about work. Did it get less romantic?
But who the hell wanted romance? ‘I need a shower,’ he said abruptly.
‘Are you okay? I shouldn’t have mentioned the shelter. I wouldn’t want you to think that I don’t trust you...’ She sat up, slightly panicked by his sudden mood swing, and it occurred to her that this was something she would have to get accustomed to if she decided to stick it out. He didn’t care about her. Why should it bother him if he was dismissive, if he decided to have a mood swing?
‘You clearly have a way to go if you think that I would ever back down on my word, despite my assurances.’ Alessandro eased himself off the bed. ‘I can bring the flight forward if you have work issues. In fact, might not be a bad idea. I have a couple of major deals about to reach boiling point. I need to be back sooner rather than later. A few hours makes all the difference sometimes.’