‘I’m impressed,’ she admitted. ‘All the other yachts are scrubbed white to within an inch of their plimsoll line, while you sail the devil’s own invention.’
‘It’s black,’ he agreed.
‘And massive.’
‘Larger than average,’ he agreed dryly.
‘I’m glad you don’t work on one of those floating office blocks.’
‘But rather the stuff dreams are made of?’ he suggested with a cynical lift of his brow.
‘Where I’m sure you fit right in. The pirate look?’ she prompted. ‘You’re only short of an earring and a parrot on your shoulder.’
Game on, he thought as they stared at each other and laughed.
CHAPTER THREE
SAMIAFROWNEDASshe weighed the evidence. ‘How did you get from ship to shore?’
Luca shrugged. ‘Swam from the deck.’
Her frown deepened. ‘That explains the thin film of sand on your skin.’
‘You’re quite the sleuth.’
‘Just interested,’ she admitted. ‘But, surely that deck’s too high for you to dive safely into the sea?’
‘There’s a marine deck at the stern where we keep the jet skis and power boats.’
‘We?’She pounced on this right away. ‘Does the owner know you make free with his possessions? I feel I should know who owns theBlack Diamond. I’m sure I read somewhere that he’s a tech billionaire with royal connections, and a reputation to make your toes curl...’ Her thoughtful frown sharpened into an appraising stare. ‘So you’re no barfly, but a superfit member of the crew on a fabulous yacht. Who might even be able to get me a job on board,’ she added with a winning smile.
Luca’s mouth tugged slightly. It could have been a smile if his eyes hadn’t been so calculating. She knew that feeling. Keeping a resolutely upbeat expression was making her muscles ache, but who wanted to employ a harassed-looking woman?
‘Please tell your employer I’ll do anything—within reason,’ she added quickly. ‘If you could arrange a meeting with whoever hires and fires, I won’t let you down.’
Relief dashed over her like a great, drowning wave when Luca agreed. Impulsively, she stood on tiptoes to plant a kiss on his chin. Not her best decision, she realised when she saw the look in his eyes. She wasn’t playing with fire, she was walking into it. She should be guarding her heart, not giving it away to the first man who offered to do something for her.
His overriding urge was to kiss her back. Which was crazy here in gossip central, aka the lobby of Saint-Tropez’s most fashionable watering hole, but Samia’s kiss was both a surprise and amazing. She felt so soft and warm against his hard frame, and smelled so good. He wanted nothing more than to kiss away the shadows in her eyes. Her zany sense of humour lifted him, while the sense of desperation he detected behind her jauntiness intrigued him.
‘My priority remains finding a job,’ she told him bluntly, in case he harboured any amorous notions, he presumed.
‘You’d do better in an interview if your stomach isn’t growling,’ he observed.
‘Then, you have my permission to feed me.’
And afterwards? She would join him on board or not. If she did, she would be one hell of a distraction from the ugliness banging in his brain that said he’d let his brother down. The world had judged Pietro a more than worthy heir to the throne of Madlena, while Luca was the spare, the bad boy, the rebellious teen; a dark and mysterious figure who was said to run dangerous missions, and who looked like a pirate, sailed like a pirate and, if the scandal sheets were to be believed, rampaged through countless love affairs like a pirate. He had a lot of work to do before he could convince his people that he was not the devil to Pietro’s saint.
Samia and her enormous backpack jostled him as they reached the door.
‘Hands off,’ she said when he offered to carry it for her. ‘I’ll have you know that this is a highly prized fashion item.’
‘In whose universe?’
‘And contains all my worldly goods.’
Why?he wondered. Her green eyes were dancing with laughter, but the shadows were still there. Samia might turn out to be an amusing coda to his trip, or a complete non-event. Either way, he’d board his yacht and sail home.
‘There’s just one more thing,’ she said as the doorman advanced.
