The Boss's Nine-Month Negotiation. Maya Blake

But he’d turned away.

      ‘Come, the food will be getting cold.’

      She followed him into the dining room and pinned the smile on her face as he held her chair and saw her seated. Again she anticipated his touch on her bare shoulders, a drift of his sensual mouth across her temple. She received neither.

      She watched him take his own seat, the neutrality of his expression underlined with a grimness that lodged a cold stone in her stomach.

      ‘Emiliano...’

      ‘I belayed ordering oysters. I didn’t want them to be ruined in transit. We’ll have your second favourite.’

      She waved him away as he opened the first of the specially packed gourmet dishes. ‘It’s fine. I don’t care about the food. We can have oysters some other time.’ Her blush at the mention of oysters and the special significance they held for them was suppressed beneath the blooming disquiet. Even then she couldn’t help but be disturbed that he’d made the order without speaking to her first. ‘Tell me what’s going on.’

      His firm mouth thinned for a split second and the eyes that met hers were closed off, bordering on cold. ‘Querida, I don’t wish to upset your birthday celebration.’

      She frowned. ‘Why would telling me how your trip went ruin my birthday? What happened?’ she pressed.

      His gaze swept away from hers, back to the dish in his hand. Shutting her out. ‘My parents happened.’ He looked up, tawny-gold eyes piercing her. ‘And since they come under the numerous subjects we don’t discuss, perhaps we can drop it?’ he drawled.

      The statement hurt a little, but Sienna couldn’t deny that it was accurate. There were swathes of their private lives they avoided, their common threads of familiarity were business and the bedroom. Again she experienced the ominous sense of shifting sands, prompting her to go against her better judgment.

      ‘Maybe...this one time we can make an exception? And, before you bite my head off, I only request it because I can see that whatever happened is affecting you, Emiliano.’

      ‘You are kind, querida, but I would also caution you against making those sorts of statements. There are some things you can’t take back. Besides, I believe you’re exaggerating things a little.’ He dished the seafood salad starter onto her plate, served himself and poured them both glasses of chilled white wine.

      ‘You think I’m exaggerating things?’ She hated herself for the tiny catch in her voice and the needy words that spilled in the bid to make her point. ‘Then why haven’t you kissed me since you walked in the door? Usually, you can’t keep your hands off me, yet you haven’t so much as touched me. And, if you clench your jaw any tighter, it’ll snap.’

      ‘I’ve told you, you look breathtaking. I’ve wished you happy birthday. I showered you with presents all day, even in my absence. Perhaps I’m saving the rest for later. I know how much you love the anticipation,’ he drawled before he raised his glass to her and took a large gulp.

      Sienna caught a glimpse of the banked desire in his eyes. Her heart resumed its erratic thumping, but she couldn’t dismiss the other, more terrifying feeling residing beneath her breast. Because there was something else lurking in his eyes. Something cold, bracing and soul threatening.

      ‘Six days of anticipation is more than enough. “One day is too long.” Isn’t that what you said last month when you returned from that two-day business summit in Athens?’ That she had to remind him of that was even more shocking, the unusual recounting of gestures received but never spoken about making her reel.

      ‘Careful, Sienna, or you’ll have me thinking these declarations you’ve previously led me to believe are over the top are in fact secretly yearned for.’

      A flush crept up her neck to stain her cheeks but she didn’t drop her gaze. ‘As I said, perhaps I wish to make an exception.’

      His shrug was almost...bored. ‘There is no need. I’ve had a long and turbulent flight, amante. Right now, I want to relax and see you sated with food. Is that too much to ask?’ His voice held a definite bite. A warning to leave well enough alone.

      She shook her head, convinced more than ever that something was seriously wrong. ‘Whatever it is that’s bothering you, I...I want to help.’ Throwing caution to the wind, she abandoned her glass and, in a first move that made her insides quake, she initiated touch by placing her hand over his.

      He tensed, his nostrils flaring as he gazed down at her hand.

      Then he removed his hand from under hers.

      Her heart stopped as another thought sliced through her mind.

      ‘Emiliano? Is it me?’

      The eyes that held hers were completely devoid of emotion. ‘Sienna, leave this alone...’

      ‘Oh, God, are you annoyed with me for finalising the Younger deal without you?’

      ‘What?’

      ‘You gave me carte blanche, remember? You said I should go ahead and offer whatever we needed to land the deal. And that’s what I did. I know it was another five million more than we initially agreed, but I did the figures and judged that it was worth it.’

      His brow clamped in a frown as he yanked his tie loose with his free hand. ‘Santo cielo, not everything is about business—’ He ruthlessly checked himself and drew in a breath. ‘Rest assured, I’m not annoyed with you about the deal. Without your quick thinking and acting, we’d have lost it. I believe I had Denise send you an email commending you for it today.’

      She’d seen the email from his executive assistant, and again wondered why Emiliano hadn’t contacted her himself. ‘Okay, but—’

      ‘You want further commendations from me? More flowers? More accolades on top of the presents you’ve already received? Is that what this show of neediness is about?’

      Shock and anger scythed equal swathes of pain through her. ‘Excuse me?’ Despite having called herself the same only minutes ago, the label stung badly.

      He drained his glass and set it down with more force than necessary. Charging to his feet, he rounded the table. His impressive height and bristling demeanour would’ve made a lesser woman cower. Hell, she’d seen grown men wither beneath the look displayed on his face now.

      But she’d never been one of them.

      Surging to her feet, she faced him, their untouched food abandoned. ‘Did you just call me needy?’

      ‘Am I wrong? Now that we’re behind closed doors, where your precious reputation isn’t at risk, do you not need something from me? Have you not been full of needful words since I walked in the door?’ he accused.

      ‘Don’t twist my words. I just want to talk to you, find out what’s—’

      ‘I don’t want to talk, querida. You’re usually adept at picking up simple cues like that. Has my absence affected you that much, or is there another agenda going on here?’ he taunted.

      The tightly furled subject she’d tentatively intended to broach with him tonight knotted harder, congealing into stone that chafed against her heart. Incisive eyes dragged over her face, probing her expression and then widening upon witnessing the evidence she couldn’t quite disguise.

      ‘Sí, another agenda,’ he bit out. ‘Do I get three guesses or shall I strike for gold and deduce that you’re breaking your unique mould to broach the predictable “where do we go from here?” conversation women feel the need to have at the most inappropriate times?’

      Sienna wasn’t sure whether it was his uncanny acuity or the abrasive tone that alarmed her more. ‘You’re turning this around on me, Emiliano. We were talking about you.’

      ‘A subject I’ve clearly expressed my abhorrence for. Now, are we to go around in circles, or are we going to eat?’

      She