What she wouldn’t do to go back to high school and get a little experience under her belt—literally. If only she’d actually ever been intimate with a guy, she might not be so completely bowled over by her first run in with sexual chemistry. But she hadn’t. She’d kept to herself, avoided the unsophisticated advances of her charmless classmates, and now she was a twenty four year old virgin with a seriously hot husband. A hot husband who didn’t want sex to be a part of their arrangement.Ughhhh.
On the one hand, this marriage pact was her salvation. On the other…it was like being tormented. Still, she’d at least been able to wire the full repayment amount to the account her lenders had given her, putting paid to the very idea of her body being used as collateral instead.
Inside the jet was unlike anything she’d ever seen. It was as big as a commercial airliner—at least, it looked to be, from the outside—but it had been completely reformatted to resemble an apartment rather than a plane. There were seats, of course, but they were more like armchairs, set around a gleaming table. Every single item was luxe.
“The flight to Italy is about fifteen hours,” he said, gesturing to one of the armchairs. She eased herself into it, trying to act like this was normal for her, when it was a very far cry from the cramped, distinctly ‘no frills’ flight she’d been on a couple of days ago. “Whenever you’re ready, you can make use of one of the cabins.”
Her brows inched upwards. Cabins? More than one?
She nodded quickly, and kept her gaze fixed on the window as the flight crew ran through the last preparations before takeoff. Luca took the seat opposite her, and she really wished he hadn’t, when his long legs kicked beneath the table and inadvertently brushed against hers. She swallowed quickly and tucked her feet further against her own chair, needing space. Needing to be able to breathe a little better.
“Would you like something to drink? Eat?” he offered, glancing up from the papers he’d pulled from somewhere and was flicking through.
She shook her head and then changed her mind. Perhaps food would settle her stomach? She’d been too anxious to even attempt a meal that morning, and it was almost lunch time now.
He lifted a hand to beckon a crew member, spoke a few words in Italian and then turned his attention back to the papers. Ally watched as the crew member disappeared.
She wished she’d thought to bring a book. She’d thought she’d have a chance to buy one at the airport, or at least grab a magazine, but the terminal the chauffeur had delivered her to was nothing like any airport she’d ever been into. There was no newsstand to stop at. Just an elegant lounge, a discreet customs area and that was it.
How the other half lived, she thought, settling back in her seat and tapping her fingers against the arm rests.
She felt his gaze on her without so much as looking up. “You’re a nervous flyer?”
His accent tickled down her spine. She wanted to tell him she was a nervous bride, but it was the kind of confession that might weaken her.
“No. I haven’t flown often enough for the novelty to have worn off,” she said, a tight smile crossing her lips.
“No?”
She shook her head. “I only have a passport because?—,”
Because the lenders had made her get one. A shiver ran down her spine again, as that started to lodge in a suspicious part of her brain. Why would they want her passport? To take it and blackmail her? Or to use for identity fraud? Or to somehow get her out of the country? Her heart rate increased as she thought again of how risky her dealings with them had been. How completely she’d put her faith in such awful people.
Then again, she’d been desperate.
So desperate to do whatever she could to save her father, even paying a fortune for a high risk, low chance of success operation. Emotions tightened in her belly and she dug her nails into her palms to try to stop them from taking over completely. The last thing she wanted was to cry in front of her ‘husband’.
“Tell me about what I should be expecting.” She changed the subject clunkily, but to her relief, he didn’t interrogate her further.
“We’ll keep social interactions to as much of a minimum as possible. The less we do, the more likely we are to succeed.”
“Okay, good,” she agreed, on a shaky breath of relief.
“The most difficult challenge will be obligatory visits home. My grandfather will not let the company change hands without being convinced that this is for real.”
Her brows furrowed. “Why does it matter so much to him?”
Luca’s eyes burrowed into hers. “It’s not important.”
“I have a right to know, don’t I?”
A muscle throbbed at the base of his jaw. He stared at her a long time, his eyes almost lancing her with their intensity, and then he let out a short nod.
“He thinks my lifestyle puts the company in jeopardy.”
Her lips pulled to the side as she contemplated that. “What lifestyle?”
“My lack of commitment.”
