A Night of Living Dangerously (2 page)

“Ah,” he said softly, looking down at her. “At last, I understand.”

Her shoulders sagged. He was going to tell her to gather her things and get out of his building.

The prince’s gaze was full of darkness, an ocean at midnight, deep enough to drown in. “You were in love with him?”

“What?” Lilley blinked. “Who?”

The corners of his sensual mouth curved upward. “The man.”

“What makes you think I was crying over a man?”

“Why else would a woman weep?”

She laughed, but the sound was almost like a sob. “Everything has gone wrong today. I thought I might be happier if I lost some weight. I tried to go for a jog. Big mistake.” She looked down at her old running shoes, at her baggy sweatshirt and sweatpants. “My roommate thought I’d left for work. When I came back to the apartment I found her with my boyfriend. In bed.”

Alessandro cupped her cheek. “I’m sorry.”

Lilley looked up at him, shocked by his unexpected sympathy. Then her lips parted. Sparks spread from his touch, zinging from her earlobes to her scalp, down her neck and spine, causing heat to whirl like lightning across her skin. Her breasts felt strangely heavy, her nipples tightening beneath her workout bra.

His eyes narrowed in surprise. “But you’re beautiful.”

Beautiful?
It was like a slap in the face. She ripped away. “Don’t.”

He frowned. “Don’t what?”

His cruelty took her breath away. She blinked fast, glaring up at him. “I know I’m not beautiful. And it’s fine. I know I’m not smart either, and I can live with that. But for you to stand there and taunt me like that …” She gripped her hands into fists. “It’s not just
patronizing
, it’s heartless!”

Alessandro looked down at her gravely, not saying a word. And Lilley sucked in her breath, realizing she’d just told off her boss.

She clasped her hands together. “I’m fired, right?” When he didn’t reply, a shudder of grief went through her. Her hands shook as she picked up a file from the floor and reached for the metal cart. “I’ll finish my work,” she said miserably, “then collect my things.”

He grabbed her arm, stopping her. “So a compliment is a taunt?” Staring down at her, he shook his head. “You’re a strange girl, Lilley Smith.”

The way Prince Alessandro was looking at her, for an instant she’d almost thought—but no.
Strange
was a code word for
helpless failure
. She said over the lump in her throat, “So my father has always told me.”

“You’re not fired.”

She looked up at him with the first glimmer of hope. “I’m not?”

Leaning forward, he took the file from her hand and set it on top of the metal cart. “I have a different sort of penalty in mind.”

“The guillotine?” she said weakly. “The electric chair?”

“You’ll come with me to the ball tonight.”

Her lips fell open. “W-what?”

His dark eyes were as warm as molten chocolate and hot as embers of fire. “I want you to be my date.”

Lilley stared at him, her eyes wide, her heart pounding. Had she fallen into some strange dream? Prince Alessandro could have the most beautiful women on earth—and he’d already had quite a few of them, according to the celebrity tabloids. Frowning, she turned around to make sure he wasn’t talking to some movie star or lingerie model behind her.

“Well,
cara?
” he said huskily. “What do you say?”

Lilley turned back. She felt dizzy from his attention, half-drunk beneath the intensity of his dark gaze. She said slowly, “I don’t understand.”

“What’s to understand?”

Lilley cleared her throat. “I don’t get the joke.”

“I never joke.”

“You don’t? Too bad. I joke all the time,” she said. “Usually by accident.”

He didn’t even smile. He just looked down at her, his face unmovable and oh, so handsome.

“You’re serious?”

“Yes.”

“But—it’s the Preziosi di Caetani ball,” she stammered. “The biggest charity event of the summer. The mayor will be there. The governor. The paparazzi.”

“So?”

“So you could have any woman you want.”

“And I want you.”

His four simple words made Lilley’s heart twist in her chest. She clasped her trembling hands together. “But you have a girlfriend. I’ve read—”

His expression hardened. “No.”

“But Olivia Bianchi—”

“No,”
he said tersely.

Biting her lip, Lilley looked up at him. He wasn’t telling her the whole truth. And the waves of danger emanating off his body nearly scorched her. If he found out who Lilley really was, she would lose her job—or possibly get dragged into court on charges of corporate espionage. Every instinct of self-preservation told her one thing:
Run.

“Sorry,” she said. “No.”

His eyes widened. She’d clearly shocked him. “Why?”

She bit her lip. “My work—”

“Give me a real reason,” he bit out.

A real reason? How about the fact that she was the daughter of a man he hated, and the cousin of another man he hated even more? Or the biggest reason of all: his strength, power and masculine beauty terrified her, making her heart pound and her body break out in a hot sweat? No man had ever had this effect on her, ever, and she didn’t know what to do. Except run.

“My boyfriend … my ex-boyfriend,” she stumbled, “will be at the ball tonight with my friend—Nadia. So you see I couldn’t possibly go.”

“He’ll be at the ball?” Alessandro’s eyes sharpened. “Do I know him—this man who made you weep?”

“He works in the Preziosi jewelry-design division.”

His eyes gleamed. “All the more reason to go. When he sees you on my arm, he will remember your value and beg you to come back to him. You can accept his groveling or spurn him, as you choose. And the woman will suffer when she sees you as my date.”

She stared up at him in amazement. “You don’t have self-esteem issues, do you?”

He looked at her with an even gaze. “We both know it is true.”

Lilley pressed her lips together, knowing he was right. If she went as his date, she would be the most envied woman in the city—possibly in all of California.

The thought of Nadia and Jeremy groveling at her feet and begging for forgiveness was a delicious one. All the times Lilley had worked late, all the times she’d asked Nadia to please explain to Jeremy and entertain him, and they’d betrayed her. She had no friends in this city now. None.

She lifted her eyes to Alessandro’s. “I’m not a very good dancer.”

He slowly looked her over. “I find that hard to believe.”

“I took ballroom-dancing lessons as a kid, and my teacher asked me to quit. I was like one of those dancing elephants with tutus. All my boyfriends have complained about me stepping on their feet.”

His expression changed, became softer. “Even if that were true,” he murmured, “the fault would be your partner’s, not yours. It is the man’s responsibility to lead.”

She swallowed. “Um. I… I never thought of that. I just assumed I was to blame.”

“You assumed wrong,” he said simply, then lifted his eyebrow. “But just out of curiosity, how many is all?”

“What?”

“
All
your boyfriends.”

Oh heavens. She couldn’t tell him her pathetic number. She lifted her chin and said with false bravado, “A few.”

“Ten?” he persisted.

The heat in her cheeks deepened as her shoulders slumped. “Two,” she confessed. “A boyfriend in high school, and …” A lump rose in her throat. “… and Jeremy.”

“Jeremy. That is his name? The man who broke your heart?”

“He betrayed me.” She looked at the floor. “But that’s not what broke my heart.”

He waited, but she did not explain. “So go out tonight. Your dancing skills are irrelevant, because we will not dance.”

She looked up at him with a crooked grin. “Afraid of getting your toes stomped?”

“I do not dance.”

Her eyes widened. “What—never?”

“No.”

“But you’re the sponsor of the Preziosi di Caetani ball!”

“It raises money for my favorite charity and gets good press for Caetani Worldwide,” he said coldly. “That’s what I care about. Dancing does not interest me.”

“Oh,” Lilley said uncertainly. She bit her lip. “I see.”

But she didn’t see at all. How could a man like Prince Alessandro, the heartthrob of women around the world, sponsor a ball and not dance? It didn’t make sense.

He started to reach for her hand. “Come. We must hurry.”

She backed away. She was afraid to let him touch her again, afraid of his strange power over her body. She gulped. “Why me?”

“Why
not
you?”

Setting her jaw, she folded her arms. “You’re famous for many things, Prince Alessandro, but taking file clerks on charity dates isn’t one of them.”

He threw back his head and laughed. Turning, he went to the large modernist painting above his desk and swung it open to reveal a safe. Turning the combination to open the door, he pulled out two platinum and diamond cufflinks, then faced her with new intrigue. “You interest me, Lilley Smith. Not one woman in a thousand would have asked me why before saying yes.”

“I guess I’m weird that way.” She watched him put on his expensive cufflinks one at a time, saw the strength of his wrists and the sensual movement of his hands. He paused.

“My date for the ball fell through ten minutes ago.”

“Miss Bianchi?”

“Yes.”

She’d seen pictures of the Milanese heiress, who was blond, thin and beautiful—everything Lilley was not. She looked down. “I’m nothing like her.”

“That makes you perfect,” he said harshly. “Olivia will learn how I respond to ultimatums. I need a date, and I found you in my office. It is fate.”

“Fate,” she whispered. He came back around his desk, his body a dark, powerful shadow. His eyes locked with hers.

“I need a date. You need revenge. This Jeremy will be on his knees for you before the night is through.”

A low current went up her spine. No matter how much they’d hurt her, she knew revenge was wrong. And being close to Alessandro scared her. She wasn’t just afraid for her job. He made her feel so … so strange.

“Why do you hesitate?” he demanded. “Are you in love with him?”

She shook her head. “It’s just …”

“What?”

Swallowing, she turned away. “Nothing.”

“I’ve watched you for weeks, little mouse, trying to avoid me.”

Her lips parted in shock. “You saw me?”

He gave a single nod. “Scurrying the other way when you saw me in the halls. This type of behavior from a woman is very … singular. It puzzled me. But now I understand.”

“You do?” she croaked.

He touched her cheek, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Most women I’ve met would have deserted their lovers in an instant to be with me. Loyalty is a rare quality. This man who betrayed you, he is a fool.”

She couldn’t argue with that. She stared up at him, mesmerized.

He dropped his hand. “But you have nothing to fear,” he said simply. “Our romance will be only an illusion. I will not call you tomorrow. I will not call you ever. After tonight, you will again be just my employee, and I will be your boss, pretending not to notice as you avoid me in the shadows.”

Lilley swallowed, still feeling his touch on her cheek. “You mean if I go with you to the ball tonight,” she whispered, “you’ll ignore me tomorrow? You’ll ignore me forever?”

“Yes.”

Lilley exhaled. She had to make him forget her existence. It was the only way to guarantee he wouldn’t be curious enough to discover the omissions on her résumé. But in her heart of hearts, she knew that wasn’t the only reason.

You’re always running away, Lilley.
Jeremy’s stinging indictment rang in her ears.
You said you came to San Francisco to pursue your jewelry business and spend time with me. Instead you’ve avoided us both since the day you arrived here. Either you never really wanted me or the business, or you’re the worst coward I’ve ever known.

Lilley closed her eyes. That morning, she’d been too angry to listen to his words. Jeremy and Nadia had betrayed her, pure and simple. She’d done nothing wrong. Right?

Right?

But suddenly all she wanted to do was prove Jeremy wrong. To be one of the glamorous, carefree, fearless girls who wore sparkly clothes and danced, laughed and drank champagne. To be the girl courted by a knight in shining armor.

To be the girl who attended a ball with a prince.

She wasn’t a coward. She wasn’t. She could be as brave and ruthless as anyone. She could watch Prince Alessandro and learn!

Lilley opened her eyes. “I accept.”

He looked down at her. “Do you understand, Lilley?” he said evenly. “It’s not a real date. There will be nothing between us tomorrow. Absolutely nothing.”

“Yeah, I get it,” she said. “Monday I’ll go back to the file room. You’ll go back to Rome and probably Miss Bianchi, when you’re done teaching her your little lesson. I’ll continue to work for you and you’ll never bother me again. Perfect.”

He stared at her, then snorted a laugh, shaking his head. “You continue to surprise me, Lilley,” he murmured, wrapping his hand around her waist. “Come. We haven’t much time.”

As he led her out of the office, she felt a rush of sensation from the heaviness of his arm around her. Trying to ignore the wobble of her knees, she glanced back at the file cart. “But I haven’t finished my work—”

“It will be arranged.”

“And I don’t have a dress!”

His lips curved. “You will.”

She looked up at him, annoyed. “Who am I, Cinderella? Are you supposed to be my fairy godmother? I’m not going to let you buy me a dress!”

In the hallway, he pushed the button to summon the elevator then took her hand in his own. “Of course you will.” He gently pushed some strands of brown hair out of her eyes. “You will let me do exactly as I please, and I will give you an evening of pleasure. A beautiful gown, the envy of your coworkers and revenge against the people who betrayed you. It will be … an interesting night.”

Lilley breathed in his scent of clean skin and sandalwood, of seduction and power. She felt his palm against her own, rough and hot, and her pulse quickened, sending shivers up and down her virgin body. “All right. Yes.”