Summer Surrender. Sarah Morgan

anything other than sex, Alessio?’

      ‘Yes.’ Relaxed and in control, he scanned her flushed cheeks with disturbing intensity. ‘Sometimes I think about money.’

      Lindsay looked away briefly, furious with herself for giving him the opportunity to increase her discomfort. ‘Can we please just talk about Ruby?’

      ‘If we must.’ His tone shifted from bite to boredom and he glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘Obviously you’re still trying to exert your authority over her.’

      ‘It isn’t about authority. I love her and I care about her.’

      ‘As long as she is living her life the way you think she should live it. I don’t claim to be an expert on love, Lindsay, but I think it’s something to do with accepting people as they are and not trying to change them. You grip her like an eagle holding its prey.’

      Lindsay felt a stab of pain, hurt by his criticism of her relationship with Ruby. He had no idea. No idea what their lives had been like. The quicksand of her emotions shifted and she stayed still, not allowing herself to be sucked down by the past. ‘As you say, you know nothing about love.’ She wasn’t going to let her mind drift backwards. ‘She hasn’t phoned me for a week and that’s not like her. She isn’t answering her phone and when I called your office they said that she hasn’t been in but they don’t seem to know any more than that. I’m worried. Really worried.’

      ‘Worried that she’s slipped out of your grasp? She’s twenty-one. Old enough to make her own mistakes without any outside interference.’ He adjusted the towel. ‘And it appears that she’s done just that.’

      Lindsay stood still, tortured by a moment of self doubt. Was she interfering? No, this was her sister they were talking about. ‘Ruby is extremely vulnerable. When we met you and your brother last summer—well, she’d just come out of a very destructive relationship. She was devastated and—’ She broke off, reluctant to reveal anything about their past. ‘On the surface she seems all bubbly and together but—You may think you know her, but you don’t.’

      His eyes fastened on her face. ‘She’s been working for me for the past six months. I suspect that I know a great deal more about your sister than you do.’ His tone was dry. ‘And now you’ll have to excuse me. I’m seeing a client in an hour and I’m flying to the Caribbean after that. Which is where, incidentally, your sister should be. She was supposed to be assisting me with a big case.’ He strolled through a pair of swing doors and Lindsay hesitated briefly before following him.

      Client—case—

      He was obsessed with work; totally focused on generating still more wealth to add to his billions. Why?

      Frowning slightly, Lindsay dismissed the question instantly.

      She wasn’t interested in what had turned Alessio Capelli into a ruthless, money-making machine. All she cared about was her sister. And he’d just revealed a small amount of information. Not much—just a morsel, but at least it was something.

      ‘She knew you were expecting her to go to the Caribbean?’

      ‘Of course. She was in charge of all the logistics both before and during the trip.’

      ‘There’s no way Ruby would have just abandoned her responsibilities like that—’ Lindsay stopped dead, realising that she’d followed him into the changing room.

      Fortunately for her it was empty, but Alessio threw her a challenging glance, a sardonic gleam in his dangerous dark eyes. ‘You intend to continue this conversation while I shower?’ He pulled the tee shirt over his head, his lack of concern about his semi-naked state in direct contrast to her own growing discomfort.

      Faced with a full-on display of breathtaking male physique, Lindsay felt her heart thud hard against her chest. ‘Could you just—not do that for a moment—?’ Her voice cracked and she tried again. ‘All I’m asking for is a few minutes of your time to talk. Please.’

      ‘If all you want is to talk, then the going rate for a minute of my time is about a thousand dollars. Unless you’ve suddenly won the lottery, you couldn’t possibly afford me. However, if you don’t want to talk then I’ll consider a preferential rate.’ His gaze raking her flushed cheeks, he gave an unsympathetic laugh. ‘What’s the matter? If you’re shocked, then you have only yourself to blame, tesoro. If you follow a man into the shower then you need to accept the consequences. It probably isn’t the best action for someone who is trying to deny the sexual side of their nature.’

      ‘I’m not denying anything. Yes, there’s chemistry between us—’ incurably honest, she stumbled over the words ‘—but that doesn’t mean I have to act on it. Being an adult is about taking responsibility for your choices.’ His amused glance set fire to her cheeks and Lindsay lifted her chin. ‘You’re not my choice.’

      ‘No?’

      Somehow the conversation had become personal again and Lindsay lifted a hand and rubbed her fingers over her forehead. This wasn’t how she’d planned it. She’d been determined not to make it personal. ‘Please—can we just talk about Ruby?’

      ‘Of course. You talk. I’ll shower. If you’re so confident about your “choices”, it won’t bother you to see me naked.’ His hands dropped purposely to his shorts and she inhaled sharply and averted her eyes.

      He was trying to unnerve her, she knew that, and the best response would have been to stare boldly at him and say something cutting, but her brain had turned to treacle and her tongue wouldn’t move.

      ‘Outside,’ she muttered incoherently. ‘Perhaps I should wait for you outside—’

      ‘Why would you need to do that?’ His voice was silky soft. ‘Not having problems with your “choices”, are you? Not finding that famous willpower of yours tested? Is that why you’re wearing the formal suit and the prim hairstyle? You’re hoping that if you’re tightly buttoned up on the outside, the inside will follow?’

      ‘I came straight from work.’

      ‘Ah, yes—your work. Lindsay Lockheart, relationship counsellor. How’s that all going? The last time we were interviewed by the same radio show you were earnestly urging people to use RAP, your new Relationship Analysis Programme.’ He sounded amused. ‘I tried it out with my last girlfriend. Unfortunately I finished with her before we reached the end of it.’

      Lindsay bit her lip. ‘You don’t need my programme to identify that your relationships are all shallow and meaningless. The programme isn’t designed to factor in the emotional shortcomings of a cynic like you.’

      ‘So perhaps you should release a version called the Cynic’s Relationship Analysis Programme.’ He smiled. ‘Conveniently shortened to CRAP.’

      Her face burned. ‘I’m not here to rehash our professional differences.’

      ‘I’ve always been intrigued as to how you’ve managed to build a reputation as an expert on relationships when your own experience in that area is so limited.’

      It was as if he’d stripped off her clothes with the slice of a knife and left her vulnerable and exposed in front of him. Lindsay suppressed a helpless shiver, trying to find the weapons to fight him.

      But confrontation wasn’t her speciality.

      No wonder he was unbeatable as a lawyer—he identified a person’s weakness and then he pounced without hesitation or conscience.

      If it weren’t for Ruby she would have been out the door and back on the plane.

      As it was she forced herself to focus on Ruby again.

      ‘I need to know if my sister is involved with your brother.’ Please say no, she begged silently. Please say that isn’t what’s happened here. ‘She was definitely seeing someone, but she was very cagey about it and that isn’t like her. Normally she tells me everything.’