Cipriani's Innocent Captive Read online

  Katy gaped, even though she knew very well why a woman would be flattered to be the object of attention from Lucas Cipriani. He was drop-dead gorgeous and a billionaire to boot. If he made a pass at a woman, then what woman was going to stalk off in the opposite direction and slam the door in his face? He probably had a queue of them waiting to be picked.

  Her lips tightened because what he saw as a flattering, complimentary approach was, to her, downright insulting.

  At least the creep Duncan had had the wit to approach her a little less like a bull stampeding through a china shop.

  But then, Katy concluded sourly, time wasn’t on Lucas’s side. They were here for a limited duration, so why waste any precious time trying to seduce her into bed the old-fashioned way?

  ‘That’s the most egotistical, arrogant thing I have ever heard in my entire life!’

  ‘Because I’ve been honest?’ But Lucas flushed darkly. ‘I thought you were all in favour of the honest approach?’

  ‘Who do you think I am?’

  ‘I have no idea where you’re going with this.’

  ‘You think that you just have to snap your fingers and someone like me will dump all her principles and come running, don’t you?’

  ‘Someone like you?’ But she had scored a direct hit, and he was guiltily aware that he had indeed compartmentalised her, however much he had seen evidence to the contrary.

  ‘The sort of person,’ Katy informed him with scathing distaste, ‘Who needs a good, long lecture on making sure her little head doesn’t get turned by being on a big, expensive boat—oh, sorry, super-yacht—with the great Lucas Cipriani! The sort of person,’ she added for good measure, ‘Who comes with a dubious reputation as someone who thinks it’s okay to hop into bed with a married guy!’ It made her even madder to think that she had fallen into the trap of forgetting who he really was, won over by his charm and the random confidences he had thrown her way which she had sucked up with lamentable enthusiasm.

  And what made her even madder still was the fact that he had managed to read her so correctly! She thought she’d been the model of politeness, but he’d seen right through that and homed in laser-like on the fevered core of her that was attracted to him.

  ‘You’re over-analysing.’ Lucas raked his fingers through his hair and sprang to his feet to pace the cabin before standing by the window to look at her.

  ‘I am not over-analysing,’ Katy told him fiercely. ‘I know what you think of me.’

  ‘You don’t.’ Unaccustomed to apologising for anything he said or did, Lucas now felt...like a cad. He couldn’t credit how she had taken his interest in her and transformed it into an insult, yet he had to admit to himself that his approach had hardly been handled with finesse. He’d been clumsy, and in no one’s wildest imagination could it have passed for honesty.

  ‘I know exactly what you think of me! And you’ve got a damned cheek to imagine that I would be so easy that I’d just fall into bed with you because you happened to extend the invite.’

  ‘I... I apologise,’ Lucas said heavily, and that apology was so unexpected that Katy could only stare at him with her mouth open. He looked at her with a roughened sincerity and she fought against relenting.

  Glaring, she stood up. Her good intentions of sweeping out of his cabin with her head held high, now that she had roundly given him a piece of her mind, were undermined by the fact that she was wearing next to nothing and had to hobble a bit because the grazes on her knees were killing her.

  ‘Katy,’ he murmured huskily, stopping her in her tracks. He reached out to stay her and the pressure on her arm where his fingers circled her skin was as powerful as a branding iron. She had to try not to flinch. Awareness shot through her, rooting her to the spot. ‘I don’t, actually, think that you’re easy and I certainly don’t take it for granted that you’re going to fall into bed with me because that’s the kind of person you are. And,’ he continued with grudging sincerity, ‘If there’s a part of me that is still wary, it’s because it’s my nature to be suspicious. The bottom line is that I want you, and I might be wrong but I think it’s mutual. So tell me...is it?’

  He took half a step closer to her, looked down and suppressed a groan at the delicious sight of her delicate breasts encased in stretchy fabric. ‘If I’ve misread the signals,’ he told her, ‘Then tell me now and I’ll back off. You have my word. Nor will I let it affect whatever lies down the line in terms of your position in my company. Say no, and this is never mentioned again. It will never have happened.’

  Katy hesitated. She so badly wanted to tell him that, no, she most certainly was not interested in him that way, but then she thought of him backing away and leaving her alone and she realised with a jolt how much she enjoyed spending time in his company when they were tossing ideas around and sparring with one another. She also now realised that underneath that sparring had been the very thread of sexual attraction which he had picked up with his highly developed antennae.

  ‘That’s not the point,’ she dodged feebly.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean...’ Katy muttered sotto voce, red-faced and uncomfortable, ‘It doesn’t matter whether we’re attracted to one another or not. It would be mad for us to do anything about it. Not that I would,’ she continued at speed, face as red as a beetroot. ‘After Duncan, I swore to myself that I would never make the mistake of throwing myself into anything with someone unless I really felt that they were perfect for me.’

  ‘I’ve never heard such nonsense in my entire life,’ Lucas said bluntly, and, feathers ruffled, Katy tensed and bristled.

  ‘What’s wrong with wanting the best?’ she demanded, folding her arms, neither leaving the room nor returning to the bed, instead just standing in the middle as awkward as anything. He, on the other hand, looked totally at ease even though he was as scantily clad as she was. But then, he obviously wasn’t the sort who gave a jot if his body was on display.

  ‘Nothing’s wrong with wanting the best,’ Lucas concurred. ‘But tell me, how do you intend to find it? Are you going to present each and every candidate with a questionnaire which they will be obliged to fill out before proceeding? I’m going to take a leap of faith here and assume that you didn’t know about Powell’s marital status. You went out with the man and presumably you believed that he was the right one for you.’

  ‘I made a mistake,’ Katy said defensively.

  ‘And mistakes happen. Even if you’re not being deliberately misled by a guy, you could both go out in good faith, thinking that it will go somewhere, only to discover that you hit obstacles along the way that make it impossible for you both to consider a life together.’

  ‘And you’re an expert because...?’ Katy asked sarcastically.

  ‘People are fond of self-deception,’ Lucas delivered with all-knowing cool. ‘I should know because I witnessed it first-hand with my father. You want something badly enough and you try and make it work and, if it all makes sense on paper, then you try all the harder to make it work. In a worst case scenario, you might actually walk up the aisle and then into a maternity ward, still kidding yourself that you’ve got the real deal, only to be forced to concede defeat, then cutting the ties is a thousand times more complicated.’

  ‘You’re so cynical...about everything.’ She harked back to the lack of trust that had made him think that the only solution to saving his deal was to isolate her just in case.

  ‘There’s no such thing as the perfect man, Katy. With Powell, you got someone who deliberately set out to deceive you.’ He shrugged. ‘You might think I’m cynical but I’m also honest. I have never in my life set out to deceive anyone. I’ve never promised a bed of roses or a walk up the aisle.’ He looked at her thoughtfully. ‘You had a crap time with some guy who strung you along...’

  ‘Which is why you should have believed me when I told you that I’d rather have walked on a bed of hot coals than have anything to do with him in my life again.’

  ‘Tha
t’s beside the point. At the time, I looked at the facts and evaluated them accordingly. What I’m trying to tell you is this: the world is full of men who will do whatever it takes to get a woman into bed, and that includes making promises they have no intention of keeping. With me, what you see is what you get. We’re here, we’re attracted to one another and that’s all there is to it.’

  ‘Sex for the sake of sex.’ That was something she had never considered and surely would never consider. It contravened pretty much everything she had been taught to believe in. Didn’t it? It was what Duncan had been after and that had repulsed her. Sex and love were entwined and to disentangle them was to reduce the value of both.

  Lucas laughed at the disapproving, tight-lipped expression on her face. ‘It could be worse,’ he drawled. ‘It could be sex for the sake of a happy-ever-after that is never going to be delivered.’

  The air sizzled between them. Katy was mesmerised by the dark glitter in his eyes and could feel herself being seduced by opinions that were so far removed from her own. Yet he made them sound so plausible. Instead of giving her the freedom to enjoy a healthy and varied sex life, to take her time finding the right man for her, her experience with Duncan had propelled her ever further into a mind-set that rigidly refused to countenance anything but the guy who ticked all the boxes.

  Wasn’t Lucas right in many ways? How could you ever be sure of finding Mr Right unless you were prepared to bravely face down the probability that you might have to risk some Mr Wrongs first?

  And who was to say that all Mr Wrongs were going to be creeps like Duncan? Some Mr Wrongs might actually be fun. Not marriage material, but fun.

  Like Lucas Cipriani. He had Mr Wrong stamped all over him and yet...wouldn’t he be fun?

  For the first time in her life, Katy wondered when and how she had become so protective of her emotions and so incapable of enjoying herself in the way all other girls of her age would. Her parents had never laid down any hard and fast rules but she suspected now, looking back down the years, that she had picked things up in overheard conversations about some of the young women in distress they had helped. She had seen how unwanted pregnancies and careless emotional choices could destroy lives and she had consigned those lessons to the back of her mind, little knowing how much they would influence her later decisions.

  Lucas could see the range of conflicting emotions shadowing her expression.

  The man had really done a number on her, he thought, and along with that thought came another, which was that the first thing he would do, provided the deal went through, was to sling Powell out on his backside.

  Whatever experiences she had had before the guy, he had clearly been the one she had set her sights on for a permanent relationship, and throwing herself into something only to find it was built on lies and deceit would have hit her hard.

  For all her feisty, strong-willed, argumentative personality, she was a romantic at heart and that probably stemmed from her background. Sure she would have enjoyed herself as a girl, would have had the usual sexual experiences, but she would have kept her heart intact for the man she hoped to spend the rest of her life with, and it was unfortunate that that man happened to have been a married guy with a penchant for playing away.

  ‘You may think that I don’t have the sort of high moral code that you look for,’ Lucas told her seriously. ‘But I have my own code. It’s based on honesty. I’m not in search of involvement and I don’t pretend to be. You were hurt by Powell but you could never be hurt by me because emotions wouldn’t enter the equation.’

  Katy looked at him dubiously. She was surprised that she was even bothering to listen but a Pandora’s box had been opened and all sorts of doubts and misgivings about that high moral code he had mentioned were flying around like angry, buzzing wasps.

  ‘I’m not the type you would ever go for.’ Lucas had never thought he’d see the day he actually uttered those words to a woman. ‘And quite honestly, I second that, because I would be no good for you. This isn’t a relationship where two people are exploring one another in the hope of taking things to the next level. This is about sex.’

  ‘You’re confusing me.’

  ‘I’m taking you out of your comfort zone,’ Lucas murmured, yearning to touch her, only just managing to keep his hands under lock and key. ‘I’m giving you food for thought. That can’t be a bad thing.’

  Katy looked at him and collided with eyes the colour of the deepest, darkest night. Her heart did a series of somersaults inside her chest. He was temptation in a form she was finding irresistible. Every word he had said and every argument he had proffered combined to produce a battering ram that rendered her defenceless.

  ‘You’re just bored,’ she ventured feebly, a last-ditch attempt to stave off the crashing ache to grab hold of what he was offering and hold on tight. ‘Stuck here without a playmate.’

  ‘How shallow do you think I am?’ Lucas grinned, his expression lightening, his eyes rich with open amusement. ‘Do you think I need to satisfy my raging libido every other hour or risk exploding? I’m tired of talking. I don’t think I’ve ever spent this much time trying to persuade a woman into bed with me.’

  ‘Should I be flattered?’

  ‘Most definitely,’ Lucas returned, without the slightest hesitation.

  Then he reached out, trailed a long finger against her cheek and tucked some strands of coppery hair behind one ear. When he should have stopped and given her time to gather herself, because she was all over the place, he devastated her instead by feathering his touch along her collarbone then dipping it down to her cleavage.

  Gaze welded to his darkly handsome face, Katy remained rooted to the spot. Her nipples were pinched buds straining against the bikini top. If she looked down she knew that she would see their roused imprint against the fabric. Her eyelids fluttered and then she breathed in sharply as he stepped closer to her and placed both of his big hands on her rib cage.

  He had been backing her towards the bed without her even noticing and suddenly she tumbled back against the mattress and lay there, staring up at him.

  She was about to break all her rules for a one-night stand and she wasn’t going to waste any more time trying to tell herself not to.

  CHAPTER SIX

  EXCEPT KATY WASN’T entirely sure how she was going to initiate breaking all those rules. She’d never done so before and she was dealing with a man who had probably cut his teeth breaking rules. He’d made no bones about being experienced. Was he expecting a similar level of experience? Of course he was!

  She quailed. Mouth dry, she stared at him in silence as he whipped off his shirt in one fluid movement and then stood there, a bronzed god, staring down at her. She greedily ate him up with her eyes, from his broad shoulders to his six-pack and the dark line of hair that disappeared under the low-slung swimming trunks.

  Lucas hooked his fingers under the waistband of the trunks and Katy shot up onto her elbows, fired with a heady mixture of thrilling excitement and crippling apprehension.

  What would he do if she were to tell him that she was a virgin? Run a mile, was the first thought that sprang to mind. Katy didn’t want him to run a mile. She wanted him near her and against her and inside her. It made her feel giddy just thinking about it.

  In the spirit of trying to be someone who might actually know what to do in a situation like this, she reached behind her to fumble unsuccessfully with the almost non-existent spaghetti strings that kept the bikini top in position.

  Lucas couldn’t have been more turned on. He liked that shyness. It wasn’t something with which he was familiar. He leant over her, caging her in.

  ‘You smell of the sun,’ he murmured. ‘And I don’t think I’ve ever wanted any woman as much as I want you right now.’

  ‘I want you too,’ Katy replied huskily. She tentatively traced the column of his neck then, emboldened, his firm jawline and then the bunched muscles of his shoulder blades. Her heart was thumping hard and every jerky
breath she took threatened to turn into a groan.

  He eased her lips apart and flicked his tongue inside her mouth, exploring and tasting her, and setting off a dizzying series of reactions that galvanised every part of her body into furious response. Her small hands tightened on his shoulders and she rubbed her thighs together, frantic to ease the tingling between them.

  Lucas nudged her with his bulging erection, gently prising her legs apart and settling himself between them, then moving slowly as he continued to kiss her.

  He tugged at her lower lip with his teeth, teasing her until she was holding her breath, closing her eyes and trembling like a leaf.

  Katy didn’t think that anything in the world could have tasted as good as his mouth on her and she pulled him against her with urgent hands.

  She wished she’d rid herself of her bikini because now it was an encumbrance, separating their bodies.

  She wriggled under him, reaching behind herself and, knowing what she wanted to do, Lucas obliged, urging her up so that he could tug free the ties. Then he rose up to straddle her and looked down, his dark eyes slumberous with desire.

  Katy had never thought about sex without thinking about love and she had never thought about love without painting a tableau of the whole big deal, from marriage to babies in a thirty-second fast-forward film reel in her head.

  Big mistake. In all those imaginings, her body had just been something all tied up with the bigger picture and not something needing fulfilment in its own right. The fact she had never been tempted had only consolidated in her head that sex was not at all what everyone shouted about.

  Even the momentous decision that desire had propelled her into making, to ditch her hard and fast principles and sleep with him, had been made with no real prior knowledge of just how wonderfully liberating it would feel for her.

  Yes, she had imagined it.

  In practice, it was all oh, so wildly different. She felt joyously free and absolutely certain that what she was doing was the right thing for her to do.