Da Silva's Mistress (5 page)

Joseph had presented it to her, along with a big container of chicken noodle soup he’d bought at a local Chinese restaurant, when she’d gone down with a heavy dose of the flu soon after she’d come into his life.

The poor man hadn’t been able to understand why she’d burst into tears the minute he’d explained why he’d shown up unannounced on her doorstep. But the simple truth was that the caring gesture had meant more to her than he could ever know. Her mother had always treated her childhood illnesses as a hassle that
she,
Sheila, had to endure rather than her daughter. She’d whinged to such an extent that Morgan had soon learned to pretend she was feeling well even when she wasn’t.

The memory of Joseph’s kindness that day made tears sting the backs of her eyes. He’d made her feel more welcome and more loved in the short time she’d known him than she had in the entire time she was growing up.

Last night, when Luca had given her his ultimatum, the scales had been balanced between two equally unsatisfactory options.

Her father’s illness changed everything.

Now one option clearly outweighed the other.

If Luca was her only link to her father then she had no choice.

But he wasn’t going to have it all his own way.

‘OK, Luca. You win. I’ll be your mistress.’ She paused and dragged in a breath. ‘But only if you agree to my conditions.’

His frown deepened. ‘What conditions? You’re hardly in a position to demand anything.’

She ignored the last bit. ‘Condition number one, we have equal rights within this relationship. How it will be conducted is up to both of us to decide. You
don’t
get to order me around.’

For a good minute Luca just stared at her through narrowed eyes. Then he sighed. ‘I suppose that’s fair enough. Stefania is forever telling me how bossy I am.
But it goes with the territory. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I was scared of making decisions or telling people what I want. So don’t expect me to change overnight.’

‘I won’t. But you will try?’

He nodded. ‘As long as it’s within reason. You’ll just have to remind me whenever I get too overbearing.’

‘I will. You don’t have to worry about that!’

Luca grinned. ‘I didn’t think I would. I’ve already noticed you’re not afraid of saying what’s on your mind.’

She cocked her head to one side. ‘Is that a compliment or a criticism?’

‘What do you think?’ he countered.

‘It has to be a compliment. You’re not exactly shy about coming forward yourself!’

Luca inclined his head, then raised an eyebrow. ‘Just how many of these conditions do you have?’

Morgan swallowed and squeezed her hands together. ’Just two.’

‘Two?’ he repeated. ‘What’s the other one?’

The tips of her ears began to burn. The nature of the remaining condition was something she wasn’t quite sure how to put into words.

‘The thing is—’ Her eyes found his, then nose-dived away. Her fingers fiddled with the long gold chain hanging around her neck. ‘The thing is…Well, the thing is I don’t want to sleep with you just yet.’

Luca stared at her and kept on staring.

Then he threw his head back and laughed.

‘That is—’ He was laughing so hard he had to stop speaking for a full minute. ‘That is the funniest thing I’ve heard in years.’

‘It’s not funny,’ she said stiffly. ‘I’m dead serious.’

The gravity in her voice wiped the smile from his face and made him jump to his feet. ‘You can’t be. The whole idea of becoming my mistress is so that we can sleep together.’

She blinked big dark eyes at him. ‘I know, but…but…’

She reminded Luca of a deer he’d caught in his headlights once. It had given him that same wide-eyed, frightened stare just before it had taken off into the forest.

‘But what?’

‘But I just can’t do it.’ She was really pulling on the chain now, so hard he thought it might break. ‘Not just like…like that. We barely know each other.’

Luca couldn’t believe his ears. Couldn’t believe she was serious. ‘We know we want each other. Or are you going to pretend you
don’t
go up in flames every time I touch you?’

Her eyes slid away from his but just as quickly returned. ‘No. I’m not going to pretend.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I…I do want you.’

His breath hitched. He captured one of her hands and curled his fingers around it.
’Dio,
Morgan. Did you have to say that?’

‘Would you rather I had lied?’ Her free hand continued to twist the gold bauble between her breasts. Luca didn’t even think she knew she was doing it.

‘Hell, no! Hearing you say you want me turns me on like you wouldn’t believe. But saying you won’t sleep with me at the same time is a sure way to twist a guy into knots.’

She didn’t say anything to that.

Because there was nothing to say?

Or because this was a carefully thought out strategy?

Give with one hand…take with the other.

His mother had been an expert at that particular tactic.

She’d used precisely that method to keep her marriage together despite her constant affairs. And she’d used the same technique with her children—vacillating between being the attentive and loving mother to the party girl totally uninterested in her offspring.

Was Morgan trying to manipulate him in much the same fashion?

His eyes narrowed. ‘Just what sort of game are you playing? You’ve agreed to be my mistress. Now you’re trying to renege?’

‘I’m not trying to renege. I’m just asking for a bit of time. I hardly know you. I can’t just go to bed with a perfect stranger. I just can’t. Don’t you understand?’

She was yanking on the chain so strongly now that Luca could see the metal digging into her neck. He wanted to reach out and stop her, but something held him back.

‘I’m not as experienced as the socialites that you usually keep as your playthings. I need some time to adjust. To get to know you a little before we…before we…’ Her face flamed. ‘Before we take the next step.’

Luca stared at her. She wasn’t faking her reaction; he’d bet money on it. She might be a good actress but she wasn’t
that
good. He’d seen performances on the stage that were far less convincing.

Which meant what, exactly?

That she was shy? Nervous?

Both of those things implied that she was inexperienced, and that was something he knew she was not. The fact that she’d persuaded Joseph into her bed, thus
betraying the wife he adored, proved she was seasoned in the art of making love.

Tension knotted his shoulder muscles until they were physically painful. His free hand raked through his hair and around the back of his neck, his eyes never leaving her face.

Her bottom lip trembled.

He remembered seeing his mother do the exact same thing.

And he remembered what she’d done next.

His jaw clamped tight as the memory washed over him.

His father had been pacing the entrance hall, waiting for his mother to come home. He’d often done that when she was having one of her affairs. Unbeknownst to him, Luca had often watched him from the top of the staircase.

When Margherita had finally arrived they’d argued, during which his mother had done what she so often had. Realising she was losing the argument, her face had crumpled, bottom lip trembling in just the way Morgan’s was doing now. Luca’s father had immediately stopped what he was saying and taken his distressed wife into his arms, little realising that she was smiling over his shoulder.

Luca remembered that smile.

Remembered the cunning, manipulative gleam in her eyes.

That day he’d promised himself he’d never be the sucker his father had been.

He would not let Morgan take advantage of him!

‘I’m not used to waiting for what I want.’ With renewed determination Luca swept an arm around her waist and pulled her close. The hand clenching the
bauble was caught between their two bodies and the chain finally gave out, collapsing like a strand of overcooked spaghetti between them.

‘Oh!’ Morgan looked down, clearly surprised. In doing so, she revealed the curve of her neck.

‘Dio!’
Luca lifted a hand to the red welt around her throat. ‘You’ve hurt yourself.’

Morgan lifted a hand and winced as she touched the tender flesh.

Luca released her waist, but kept hold of her hand. ’Do you have a first-aid kit?’

‘Yes. In the bathroom.’

Following her pointing finger, Luca led her down a short corridor to a brightly tiled bathroom. Opening the cabinet she indicated, he located the first-aid kit. Flipping open the lid, he riffled through the contents until he found a tube of antiseptic cream.

‘Hold your hair up,’ he instructed.

Morgan dutifully gathered the thick swathe of her hair between her hands and held it above her bent head. Luca watched her breasts lift in the mirror, then dropped his eyes to the back of her neck and frowned at the swollen red skin.

Twisting the top off the tube, he squeezed a small portion of cream onto his fingertip. ‘This might hurt.’

She nodded.

He heard the hiss of her breath as he gently applied the cream along the length of the wound. ‘That was a stupid thing to do,’ he remarked grimly.

She shrugged. ‘I didn’t realise I was doing it,’ she mumbled, confirming exactly what he’d thought at the time.

Which rather exploded his idea of manipulation, didn’t it?

It was also an indictment on him. He’d put her in such a stressful position she’d been unaware of damaging herself.

Screwing the cap back on, he tossed the tube onto the marble vanity unit and stared at their twin reflections in the mirror. ‘What if I say no?’ he asked quietly.

Her head shot up, her hands dropping her hair, which fell around her shoulders like black silk. Their eyes met in the mirror. ‘Then the deal is off!’

Luca knew Morgan possessed many talents, but he decided bluffing wasn’t one of them. He could see the resolution in her eyes. Could see the resolve squaring her shoulders.

Sighing heavily, he asked, ‘How long do you want?’

‘One month,’ Morgan answered, squeezing the words out through numb lips.

She didn’t know what surprised her more. The tender way Luca had attended to her neck or the fact that he was prepared to negotiate a reprieve with her.

‘One month?’ Luca repeated incredulously. He shook his head. ‘That’s too long. What about forty-eight hours?’

Morgan’s heart sank. She frowned and unlinked the fingers she’d automatically crossed behind her back. ’No. The whole idea is for me to get to know you better. I can’t do that in two days.’

‘I’m not waiting a month.’

The stubborn tilt of Luca’s jaw told her she’d be wasting her breath trying to convince him to wait for that length of time. She’d known it was a long shot, but it had been worth a try. ‘Two weeks. How about two weeks?’

A long minute passed while Luca just stared at her. Then he cupped the side of her face and rubbed her bottom lip with his thumb. ‘Forget it!’

‘A week,’ she gasped out. ‘How about a week?’

Luca took his time answering. Finally he sighed and nodded. ‘OK. Agreed.’

‘Good,’ Morgan said briskly. ‘I would suggest—’

She broke off as Luca swept an arm around her waist and pulled her in close. She pressed her hands against his chest and leaned back as far she could, away from the heat and the potent male smell of him.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’

‘Sealing our arrangement.’ Luca smiled a slow, sexy smile that made her heart somersault in her chest and liquid heat pool in her belly. ‘What better way to do that than with a kiss?’

‘But—’

‘But what? If you’re suggesting we do nothing more than hold hands for the next week, then you’re out of your mind. I’m a man, not a boy. If you want to get to know me then you can start getting to know me on a physical level, too.’

Her heart beat even harder, slamming against her ribcage as if it was trying to break free. ‘What…what exactly does that mean?’

‘It means that I intend to kiss you whenever I feel like it.’ His mouth curved in another of those slow, sensual smiles, and this time it was her knees that threatened to buckle. ‘And touch you whenever I feel like it.’

M
ORGAN SWALLOWED AS
Luca’s head descended.

His lips brushed hers and then retreated.

She tensed and told herself not to react.

His lips brushed hers again—only this time they didn’t retreat. This time they lingered, teasing her lips apart, tasting the tender flesh with his tongue.

It was a kiss unlike any other kiss they’d shared. Instead of demanding a response this kiss was a temptation, an invitation she could either reject…or accept.

Heat rushed through her, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Morgan braced her feet against the carpet, hoping it would help her resist the insidious creep of desire flowing through her blood stream.

She knew exactly what she should do.

Step back.

Break the connection.

Smile as if nothing had happened.

Instead, she groaned in the back of her throat, dug her hands into the hair on either side of his head and deepened the kiss.

Luca gathered her closer. So close it was as if their bodies were fighting to occupy the same space. The
smell of him was all around her, invading her senses, making them spin out of control.

It was only when she felt his hand cup her breast that Morgan realised just what she was inviting. She’d never intended the situation to get out of control so quickly.

But then, she hadn’t really been thinking at all, had she?

Grabbing his tightly corded forearms, Morgan drew back. ‘Let me go, Luca!’

Luca lifted his head and searched her face.
’Dio!
How can you say no to that?’

Morgan swallowed and looked away from him. He had no idea just how close she’d been to giving in. She cleared her throat. ‘I’d like to go to the zoo.’

Luca blinked. ‘I beg your pardon?’

‘I’d like to go to the zoo. For our first date.’

‘First date?’

She nodded. ‘Yes. Isn’t that what we agreed? Or did you think one kiss was enough for me to change my mind about sleeping with you straight away?’

The guilty look on his face should have made her angry. Instead, she laughed. His expression reminded her of a little boy with his hand literally caught in the cookie jar. In that instant he was so far removed from the man who’d tried to bribe and threaten her that it was easy to forget any of it had taken place.

‘Forget it, Luca. It isn’t going to happen. Now, do you agree?’ Seeing the blank look on his face, she said, ’We’ll go to the zoo?’

He grimaced. ‘If you insist.’

Morgan had given the location of their first date careful thought. Number one priority was to go somewhere public. She wanted to avoid an intimate dinner for two. ‘I do.’

‘Are you ready to go?’

Her eyebrow arched. ‘Now…?’

‘There’s no time like the present.’ His black eyes filled with sensual promise. ‘The sooner the week starts the sooner it will be over and I’ll get what I want.’

She swallowed when she realised he meant her. ‘I guess it will. I’ll just get my—’

She broke off as a phone started ringing.

‘I’m sorry,’ Luca said, fishing his mobile out of his jacket. ‘I forgot to switch it off.’

‘That’s OK.’

Luca looked at the screen, then at her, his expression alerting her as to who it was. ‘I have to take this.’

‘That’s OK. I’ll just get my things.’

Going into her bedroom, Morgan pushed the door until it was almost closed. What she was about to do was wrong. But surely the situation justified it?

Heart slamming against her ribcage, she put her ear to the crack and listened.

Luca waited until the door had closed behind Morgan before speaking.
’Ciao,
Stefania. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. How is he?’

Stefania didn’t return his greeting, instead getting straight to the point. ‘The doctor…the doctor said Joe has had a heart attack.’ She could barely get the words out through her tears.

‘Are you sure it was a heart attack?’

‘Of course I am sure,’ she said shrilly, her accent thickening. ‘The doctor has run several tests. They have confirmed my worst fears.’

‘Do they know what caused it?’

‘They suspect it is stress-related. Apparently he has
high blood pressure.’ She broke into another bout of sobbing.

‘Calm down, Stefania. You’re going to make yourself ill.’ He waited while she got herself under control. He could hear her breathing deeply before noisily blowing her nose.

‘I’m scared, Luca. I’m scared he’s going to die,’ she whispered.

‘He’s not going to die,’ Luca said firmly.

‘If he does it will be my fault,’ she sobbed. ‘The IVF treatments have been harrowing. I’ve been so focussed on myself I haven’t noticed the toll it’s taken on Joe.’

‘He is
not
going to die,’ Luca reiterated. And if he did his sister wouldn’t be the one to blame. No doubt trying to keep his affair with Morgan a secret from his wife was at least partly responsible. ‘High blood pressure can be treated with medication. Once they have it under control he’ll be out of danger.’

‘That’s what the doctor said,’ Stefania said, hiccupping over the last word.

‘There, you see,’ Luca said soothingly. ‘He’ll be back on his feet before you know it.’

‘But what if there is permanent damage to his heart?’ she wailed.

‘Does the doctor think there’s a chance of that?’ he asked.

‘He says no.’

‘Well, he’s the expert.’

‘But what if he’s wrong?’ she asked, sounding as if she was going to burst into tears again at any moment.

His heart wrenched. It was frustrating being on the other side of the world. Words of comfort spoken down a telephone line weren’t half as reassuring as actually
being there. But he’d already asked Stefania if she wanted him to fly to Australia and she’d said no.

There had to be something he could do to ease her concerns. ‘Would you like to get a second opinion? I’ll call in the best cardiologist in Australia if that’s what you want.’

‘Oh, would you? I’d feel so much better,’ she said, unable to hide her relief.

‘Consider it done.’

‘Oh, Luca! You spoil me rotten. So does Joe. How I managed to be so lucky to have both a husband and a brother who treat me the way you guys do I’ll never know.’

‘You deserve it,’ Luca said feelingly. After everything she’d been through—was still going through—she’d earned the right to be treated like a princess.

‘I’m sorry for making such a fuss,’ Stefania said, sounding a lot calmer.

‘Don’t be. You’re worried about your husband. That’s completely understandable.’

‘I have another favour to ask you,’ she said.

‘What’s that?’

‘I’m worried about Baci. You know she doesn’t like it when Joe and I go away. This thing with Joe…’ She paused for a moment. ‘I can’t help thinking something might have happened to her.’

Baci was the cat Luca had bought for her when they’d first moved to London, not long after their parents had died. Stefania had been having a difficult time adjusting to their new life. Luca had given her the kitten in an attempt to distract her. It had worked. Given something else to focus on—and worry about—she’d soon settled in.

‘You’ve got that wretched cat staying in the equiv
alent of the Hilton,’ Luca said with a smile, trying to lighten her mood. He nodded to Morgan as she reentered the room. ‘I doubt she’ll be pining away. In fact probably just the opposite. After living in the lap of luxury it’s highly likely she’ll be big and fat by the time you get home.’

‘Luca!’ she wailed, half-serious, half-not.

‘Don’t worry,’ he soothed. ‘I’ll check on her.’

He ended the call with another instruction for her to call him if there was any news, phrasing it carefully so Morgan wouldn’t guess what he was talking about.

He slid the phone back into his pocket. ‘Are you ready to go?’

As they stepped into the hallway Morgan felt as if her head would never stop spinning. Everything—Joseph’s illness and her agreement to become Luca’s mistress—had happened so fast she was still trying to come to terms with it.

But if she’d had any doubts that she’d made the right choice, then listening in on Luca’s conversation with Stefania had erased them.

Her decision had already paid off.

She now knew Joseph was suffering from high blood pressure and had had a heart attack. She had also learned the prognosis was good, although a second opinion was being sought.

Luca handed her into the same big dark car that had collected her the previous day.

Gino was behind the wheel.

‘Good afternoon, Gino,’ Morgan said.

His head turned so that his eyes met hers in the rear vision mirror. ‘Good afternoon, Ms Marshall,’ he said, putting the car in gear and pulling smoothly into traffic.

Her jaw dropped halfway to the ground when she
realised he’d spoken in almost perfect English, burred only slightly with an Italian accent.

‘You speak English,’ she accused the back of his head.

‘Yes,’ he said, nodding.

Heat rushed into her cheeks as she remembered what she’d said about him the previous day. ‘Gino…’

He glanced in the mirror. ‘Yes, Ms Marshall?’

‘What I said yesterday…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it,’ she said awkwardly.

He shrugged. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ve been called worse.’

‘Still, I shouldn’t have said it.’

‘Forget it. I have.’

She turned and found Luca staring at her with an odd expression on his face. ‘What?’ she asked.

He was studying her hard, as if she were a particularly interesting insect. ‘Most people treat Gino as if he’s invisible.’

She folded her hands in her lap. ‘Then they’re not very polite.’

As they drove through the busy London streets Morgan was very aware of Luca sitting beside her. The clean male smell of him mixed with the fragrant aroma of the leather seats. Every time they turned a corner his thigh brushed hers and a shot of electricity fired through her system. By the time Gino pulled into the zoo car park she could hardly wait to get out.

Several hours later, Morgan tugged on Luca’s shirtsleeve. ‘Come on, Luca. You can’t stand here watching Spike all day.’

Spike was the leader of the pack of lions at London Zoo. Luca had taken one look and had been captivated.
They’d been watching the big cats’ antics for well over an hour now.

Well, if she were honest, Luca had been watching the lions and
she
had been watching
him.

Staring at his profile.

Watching the flash of his smile when Spike did something he liked.

For the last five minutes, however, she’d been looking backwards and forwards between them. It had been a sobering moment when she’d realised just how much they had in common.

Strength.

Pride.

And a steely determination to protect their own.

Much to her shame, Morgan realised that not once—until now—had she looked at their situation from Luca’s point of view. She’d been so concerned about her own position—and Joseph’s—that she hadn’t given a thought to how their relationship must look to Luca.

It was public knowledge that Luca and his sister were close. And Joseph had told her just how protective Luca was of Stefania—to the point of being over-protective. She’d also heard it for herself when she’d listened to Luca’s end of his telephone conversation with Stefania.

Luca thought she was some husband-stealing trollop trying to break up his sister’s marriage. Of course he was going to do something about it; he wasn’t the kind of man to sit back and do nothing.

And when it came right down to it, she’d have thought less of him if he’d ignored the situation.

But it was
the way
he’d chosen to defend Stefania that bothered her.

Coming after her the way he had was wrong.

Forcing her to be his mistress was wrong.

‘I can’t believe you’ve never been to London Zoo,’ she said, pushing her thoughts aside.

‘Well, I haven’t. I never had the time. Stefania and I moved to London when I was eighteen. I was too busy studying and working and looking after her.’

‘You moved here when you were eighteen?’

He nodded. ‘Not long after our parents died.’

‘I’m sorry.’ She put a hand on his arm. ‘I didn’t realise you were so young when it happened.’

Luca stiffened and slowly turned in her direction. ’When what happened?’

Morgan swallowed at the cold look in his eyes. Once again she’d spoken without thinking first. She shrugged and tried to smile. ‘Nothing. Come on, let’s move on.’

She let go of his arm and turned away, but he snagged her wrist and spun her back around to face him. ‘When
what
happened?’ he asked through gritted teeth.

Morgan sighed. One of these days she’d think first and speak second. ‘When the accident happened,’ she said calmly, suppressing a sigh.

Luca dropped her arm as if touching her somehow contaminated him. ‘And just who told you about that? Or need I ask?’ His mouth curled. ‘Joseph has some pretty strange ideas about what passes for pillow talk.’

Morgan didn’t credit him with an answer. She just turned and stomped away, not caring whether he followed her or not.

‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Luca demanded, two seconds before his hand landed on her shoulder and pulled her to a halt.

Morgan threw him a scathing look as she tried to shrug away from his touch. ‘Anywhere. As long as it’s
away from you. If you think for one minute that I’m going to hang around and let you treat me like this then you have another thing coming. That remark was completely unnecessary!’

Luca stared at her for what felt like ages without saying a single word. Morgan stared straight back, her chin at a challenging angle.

Finally he said quietly, ‘You’re right. It was. I’m sorry.’

Luca heard the words emerge from his mouth and couldn’t believe he’d actually said them.

What was wrong with him?

He had nothing to apologise for.

Nothing.

Anger climbed the rungs of his spine.

Joseph had discussed the accident—the most traumatic experience of Luca’s life—with Morgan.

His teeth were gritted so tightly together he thought they might shatter. His hands clenched into fists, which he shoved deep into his pockets.