Once on board, she would untangle her thoughts. Beneath her blasé front she was still reeling from the effects of living with a bully. And yes, she’d been frightened of him...frightened of his power and reach. Divorce had not divided them, as she’d hoped, but had only made him more vindictive. Once on board, she’d be safe from him—for the duration of the voyage, at least. She must make the most of learning how the super-rich lived, and maybe write about it one day in general terms. There was no need to mention Luca specifically.
‘Is this where we wait for transport to the yacht?’ she asked, gazing around in wonder at the luxuriously appointed seating area, manned by uniformed attendants serving canapés and champagne.
‘Not to your liking?’ he teased while she trembled. The frisson was all due to him. Luca only had to look at her for her body to yearn for the excitement it had missed. Escaping the past was the light at the end of the tunnel, and she was eager to get there, desperate to march forward into a better future. ‘A glass of sparkling water would be great.’ Keeping a clear head would be better still.
Luca also refused champagne, saying he would be sailing later.
A pang of disappointment reminded her that a new recruit for the prince’s yacht would hardly be at the top of his agenda. Regret still formed like a ball in the pit of her stomach, while Luca paced like a tiger with a thorn in its pad. They were both eager to get on board, but for different reasons. She might be hungry to continue the getting-to-know-you process, but he was returning to an activity he loved, and an unimaginably privileged lifestyle that defined him.Grow up. Get real.If she was lucky she might get that job, and occasionally see him in passing.
But she couldn’t help herself. She never could. Her mother used to say she was born asking questions.‘So... Madlena?’ she prompted.
‘I’ll answer questions when we’re on board.’
Luca’s tone was clipped, as if to discourage all further conversation. She couldn’t blame him. He was a prince.
A prince in mourning.
He owned the yacht.
And soon his freedom to sail will be cut short.
At best, she’d be a lowly member of crew.
But I could still help him.
And how exactly would she do that?
I’ll find a way.
‘And when we’re on board you’ll ask no questions.’
She pulled back her head with surprise, then remembered he’d been hounded by the press, and must have had his fill of questions. When news of his brother’s death broke, press opinion had been heavily weighted against the Pirate Prince taking over from Prince Pietro, who had never been known to put a foot wrong. Even she had to admit it would take something special to restore his reputation. Could she help him do that? Almost certainly not. Any influence she might have had in the press had gone down the tubes on the day she’d agreed to marry the newspaper mogul who owned the paper she wrote for. He’d used every threat in the book to make her change her words for his, and after her mother’s suicide, when she’d thought it couldn’t get any worse, his threat to ruin her father’s life had proved her wrong. She would have done anything to save her father from more grief, and she had.
‘You’ll need to take those boots off when you board.’
‘Of course I will.’ She could have kissed Luca for giving her something so straightforward to think about. He’d stopped pacing, and was standing close enough to touch. Their hands were almost brushing against each other, and hers were tingling, as was her thigh closest to his. Luca was so overwhelmingly masculine, her body was acutely aware of him. The power he exuded was very different from that of her ex, but he’d been a bully, while Luca offered choices. Sex with her ex had been brutal and fast, which had resulted in Samia dreading the act, while Luca, for all his rampant masculinity, only filled her with the yearning to be touched with tenderness and skill.
Maybe there was hope for her yet, she reflected wryly as Luca, having noticed her interest, stared keenly at her. Notmuchhope, she concluded, remembering she was about to step into the unknown with a man she hardly knew.
‘At last,’ he announced as a sleek black powerboat cruised to the side of the dock.
Taking a risk had surely never felt this good. She was excited. And why not? A threadbare, penniless nomad, without a job or a home to go to, and a past so bleak it threatened to swamp her, was on her way to a billionaire’s yacht.
As Luca went to help his men, she took the chance, while ropes were secured and fenders tossed over the side to prevent the hull scraping against the dock, to do some research on her phone. What she discovered about Prince Luca Fortebracci only made her hungry to learn more. The Pirate Prince had quite a history. Where romance was concerned, he appeared to be a generous lover, yet had never formed a lasting attachment. An entrepreneur almost by accident, who’d started his global business in his bedroom as a boy, whatever was written about him in the press—or whatever Luca thought about himself—he was considered a national hero in Madlena, so why was he so tense going home? For all his wealth and success, he seemed a solitary figure, apart from the beloved grandmother he so often quoted in the press.
‘Ready?’ he prompted.
Any minute now, she would be stepping from her world into his, so it was time to pull herself together, get ready to embrace whatever came next.
Don’t get ahead of yourself, her nitpicky inner voice warned.If you’re lucky, you might get a job on theBlack Diamondwhere Luca will most certainly be your boss, and so high above your lowly status you might not see him again. This is a chance to escape the shadow of your ex and plan the rest of your life, and that’s all it is.
And do a bit more research about Luca, surely—to satisfy her curiosity, if nothing else. Supposing her inner voice was right about not seeing much of Luca once they were on board, surely with her history in the bedroom she should be relieved. Anything more than a business relationship came with its own set of complications.
Shouldn’t I, of all people, be wary of powerful men?
Turning for one last look around the shore, she saw so many things to reassure her—children playing, families sipping drinks—and yet the rope was playing out and soon she’d be leaving those familiar scenes far behind.
‘I’ll put a boat at your disposal if you change your mind once we’re on board.’
