‘I’ll see you at dinner,’ he said as he turned for the door, ‘and we’ll talk.’
The offer was both a promise and a puzzle. What did he want to talk about? Her job on board? He seemed in no hurry to assign her any duties.
A leisurely bath and a good think were called for, she decided, to work out where she was going from here. Luca’s expression gave her nothing to worry about. It was warm, sexy, brooding...and settled, as if she had inadvertently answered a question. Had he thought she was frigid too? And was that the only thing on his mind? She wasn’t frigid, but she was frightened of penetrative sex, and with good reason. Her ex had been a brute and a bully with no thought for anyone but himself.
‘Shall I escort you back to your cabin?’ Luca suggested, resting his hand lightly on her shoulder.
His comment shook her out of these thoughts and returned a smile to her face. ‘I can still walk—just.’
‘Don’t get lost,’ he cautioned, matching the warmth of her smile.
Too late. She was already lost. Now they’d started down this road, she wasn’t interested in detours.
Her mood had changed by the time she reached her suite. A feeling of uncertainty was growing. She wanted Luca with a fierce longing, while common sense told her it could never be. His joke about her being a princess was just that—his idea of humour. Why he even wanted to keep her around was a bit of a mystery. It wasn’t as if he’d got anything out of their sexual encounter. For her it was an exercise in trust. Giving herself...showing her most vulnerable self to Luca in that moment of release was huge. Trust in another human being didn’t come bigger than that. Her ex had planted so many seeds of self-doubt inside her, but if she were that frigid, overweight pain in the ass he’d always called her, why did Luca want to be with her? There could be no faking that run through the ship, when hunger for each other had gripped them equally. And why would he trouble to give her so much pleasure and demand nothing for himself? She’d seen no mockery in his eyes, heard no scathing note in his voice. There hadn’t been a single unkind comment. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Throughout everything, she remained a hopeless romantic, she decided, while Luca was a pragmatist with a disciplined, logical mind. Was she just another of the Pirate Prince’s casual love affairs, and, if that were the case, was she happy to stick around until he tired of her? That didn’t strike her as being captain of her ship and taking her destiny into her own hands.
Maybe she should cut them both some slack, Samia concluded. There was huge change looming in Luca’s life. Of course he was living every day to the full. He had advised her to do the same, so why didn’t she?
Sex was an exercise at which Luca excelled, and that was all it had ever been to him in the past. Samia had changed that, changed him. He had never been so determined to pleasure a woman, or felt so consumed by desire that common sense had deserted him. The deal between them was supposed to be straightforward, an agreement that brought benefits to both parties. He gained a bride to reassure his people that his days of rampaging were over, while Samia was free to do as she pleased. Free from fear of her ex-husband, who was already being dealt with by Luca’s lawyers, and free from money worries for the rest of her life. She would join him in Madlena as a princess of that country for as long as it suited them both.
All well and good so far, but what he hadn’t factored into his plan was caring for her to this extent. And now it was too late. Samia in the throes of passion had changed her, but it had also changed him. Her vulnerability in those moments had touched him. After all she’d been through, she had chosen to show her raw self to him. He’d always been able to switch off his feelings before. Why couldn’t he do that now? As a child, he had quickly come to understand that he could never be as precious as his brother, the heir. Pietro had helped him to accept this, and when their parents were killed, and first his grandmother, and then Pietro had assumed responsibility for Luca’s welfare, Luca’s main aim had been not to put any additional burden on his brother. That was why he’d chosen a career in special forces, while Pietro had taken the role that would eventually suck the lifeblood out of him.
He’d been out of the country on yet another covert mission when Pietro took his own life. His brother’s note had explained that the pressure of ruling a country was too much for him, and that Luca would make a far better Prince than he had. Luca lived with that guilt, and it made his concern for Samia all the more intense. He’d been on the point of proposing when she broke apart in his arms, but, remembering how impatient he’d often been with his brother when Pietro had doubted himself, he couldn’t rush something so important now. Samia was so much more than he’d thought her, but instead of intimacy clearing his head, as it usually did, she had only doubled his distractions. Outwardly vulnerable, even prim, she had a very different side to her character, and he was more determined than ever to set that part of her free.
The discovery of a simple column of ivory silk tucked away between all the glitz and glamour hanging in her dressing room thrilled Samia. Sleeveless and ankle-length, with a boat neck that exposed her shoulders rather than her breasts, it had a split up one side, but only to just above the knee. The fabric felt lovely, and as light as air as she slipped it on over a lacy bra and thong.
She found Luca at the bow rail, dressed in jeans and a top. His hair was still damp from his shower, and the stubble that had abraded her mouth when he’d kissed her was thicker than ever. Swinging around at her approach, he exclaimed, ‘Excuse my appearance. I’ve been up the mast making repairs, and I lost track of time.’
And must have ripped off his clothes and dived under the shower, she mused, picturing the scene as she took in his glorious body.
‘You look amazing,’ he commented matter-of-factly.
‘You like the dress?’
‘It’s a great improvement on the sparkling cucumber you wore last time.’
She laughed and relaxed. ‘That green dress must have cost a fortune.’
‘Then someone clearly wasted their money—and I’m sorry to say that was me. Whilethisvision of loveliness...’ walking up close, he took hold of her hands and held out her arms to admire her chosen outfit ‘...is worth every penny.’
The touch of his lips on hers, his hands on her body, his clean man scent, and warm minty breath and the fire in his dangerous black eyes were everything she could ever want. When Luca kissed her, she felt complete. He stirred her emotions and filled her with fire.
‘I thought we’d eat here on deck,’ Luca said, indicating the comfortable casual seating area. ‘We can serve ourselves beneath the stars.’
‘Perfect.’ What could be better, especially when they were both so relaxed?
But he got down to business right away. ‘I hope you haven’t had second thoughts about signing that document?’ he said as they sat down.
Yes, it niggled. She’d be lying if she denied it. She didn’t like being thought of as untrustworthy, but she could see that Luca had to protect himself and his country. ‘I can’t say I like the necessity of it,’ she admitted, ‘but if I were you, I’d think it a wise precaution.’
‘But you’re not me, so how doyoufeel?’
She told him frankly in two caustic words, and he laughed.
‘Do you forgive me?’ he asked.
‘Maybe,’ she offered, curving a smile. ‘We’ll have to see.’
