Marriage to a Billionaire 2 The Marriage Trap

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.Shepaused and slid the phone away from her ear.“Signore, is the first week in September acceptable?”The older man beamed.“Perfecto.”“Yes, that is fine.Give Shelly my love and tell her I’ll call her when I arrive home.Thank you.”She slid the phone back in her bag and smiled.“You are all set.I will make sure to give theinformation to Michael so you can set things up.I think it was all a misunderstanding.She is lookingforward to seeing you.”“Grazie.Not only beautiful, but efficient.”Half in shock, Michael followed them out of the restaurant and said his good-byes.With a casualgrace, his fake wife hooked her arm through his in an effort not to trip on the cobblestones and took adeep breath of the mild evening air.They walked in silence for a moment as he tried to wrap his brainaround the reality of the situation.“I thought you were going to screw that up for me,” he admitted.Her tinkling laugh stroked his ears and other places.Places that hardened instantly and ached to beburied inside her.“I know.I thought I’d make you sweat first.It was fun watching your face while youtried to keep the conversation neutral.Did you really think I couldn’t handle myself in businesssituations, Count?”The raw truth hit him full force.Yes.Because the alternate reality scared the crap out of him.If shewasn’t what she appeared, she was much more.A woman with soul and grit and passion.A woman ofsuch charm and intellect she’d never bore a man.A woman worth more than one night.A woman worth everything.His heart hammered and her scent swarmed around him.She led him toward a gelato stand andordered two chocolates, quickly paying and handing him the cup before he could protest.The centerof the square fluttered with activity and couples hand in hand, and he let his worried thoughts slideaway as he sank into the moment.“See that fountain over there?” he asked.“Yeah.”“My friend Max and I came into the square one night and dared each other to go skinny-dipping.”She quirked one brow.“No way.Did you do it?”“Max did.I bribed him to first.Bare-ass naked he stepped into the fountain and one of ourneighbors was out with his dog and caught us.He chased us out of the square, but Max had to leavehis clothes behind.”“What was the whole point of this male escapade?”“To see who had bigger balls, of course.”She laughed out loud, the sound spilling into the night, and he gazed down at her.A spot ofchocolate rested at the corner of her mouth.Her face was open and soft in a way he’d never caughtbefore.And without thinking, he lowered his head and kissed her.Michael didn’t linger.Just captured her lips with his for one brief moment.Tasted rich chocolate,red wine, and warm female.She kissed him back and relaxed, giving herself to him on borrowedtime.When they broke away, something had changed between them, but neither was ready to explore.She tossed her cup of gelato in the trash and they walked home the rest of the way in silence.But Michael wondered if it was already too late to deny what was between them.Too late tobelieve this was still a no-strings, no-emotion fake marriage.Chapter Seven“Okay, Decklan.Drop ’em.”His pants hit the floor.The harsh light accented the carved muscles under his oiled skin.The briefshugged the critical parts and left the rest of his flesh proud and bare.Already Maggie’s mind clickedrelentlessly about the best way to get the shot she needed, picking and discarding as she warmed up.These were a crop of new male models she worked with by invitation from the Italian designer, andthey were a bit green around the edges.Comfortable in her role, she let the pull of the camera take over.For a while, all thoughts shut offand she was captivated by the moment.She’d always been happier behind the lens than in front of it,as if the voyeur inside of her burst free and got permission to invade another person’s privacy whileremaining safely distant.She liked to push barriers and comfort zones in order to get the perfect shot,and she never quit until she hit pay dirt.Sweating under the hot lights, she called for a break and guzzled a bottle of water.Her makeupartist had whisked Carina away to transform her.Maggie still laughed at the expression on the younggirl’s face when she got a glimpse of the half-naked men onstage—like a female set loose on adesigner clearance sale.Hopefully, she’d gain a bit of confidence, have some fun, and Maggie couldsafely return her to Michael in a better mood.The image of Michael pushing her against the wall, ripping open her top, and sucking on herbreasts shuddered through her.Heat rushed and settled between her legs.What was going on withher? She’d never had such a strong reaction to a man.Attraction, yes.Raw, naked, crazy lust to jumphis bones? No.She’d been stupid, though.Hadn’t seen that move coming.The man distracted her with hiscomforting embrace.Men believed she hated cuddling, which she normally did, but when had a maneven tried to hold her without sex getting in the picture?The kiss last night was worse.Sweet, tender, and full of promise.Maybe if she slept with him, this wanting would go away.It always did.Maybe one hot, sweatynight would flush him out of her system, and she could go on with the rest of the week without teenagehormones [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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