The Venetian One-Night Baby. Melanie Milburne

from every angle. His tall and lean and athletic build. The well-cut dark brown hair with a hint of a wave. The generously lashed eyes the colour of storm clouds. The faint hollow below the cheekbones that gave him a chiselled-from-marble look that was far more attractive than it had any right to be. The aristocratic cut of nostril and upper lip, the small cleft in his chin, the square jaw that hinted at arrogance and a tendency to insist on his own way.

      ‘Is your client female?’ The question was out before Sabrina could monitor her wayward tongue.

      ‘Yes.’ His brusque one-word answer was a verbal Keep Out sign.

      Sabrina had always been a little intrigued by his love life. He had been jilted by his fiancée Lydia a few days before their wedding six years ago. He had never spoken of why his fiancée had called off the wedding but Sabrina had heard a whisper that it had been because Lydia had wanted children and he didn’t. Max wasn’t one to brandish his subsequent lovers about in public but she knew he had them from time to time. Now thirty-four, he was a virile man in his sexual prime. And she had tasted a hint of that potency when his mouth had come down on hers and sent her senses into a tailspin from which they had not yet recovered—if they ever would.

      The lift stopped on Max’s floor and he indicated for her to alight before him. She moved past him and breathed in the sharp citrus scent of his aftershave—lemon and lime and something else that was as mysterious and unknowable as his personality.

      He led the way along the carpeted corridor and came to a suite that overlooked the Grand Canal. Sabrina stepped over the threshold and, pointedly ignoring the twin king-sized beds, went straight to the windows to check out the magnificent view. Even if her booking had been processed correctly, she would never have been able to afford a room such as this.

      ‘Wow...’ She breathed out a sigh of wonder. ‘Venice never fails to take my breath away. The light. The colours. The history.’ She turned to face him, doing her best to not glance at the beds that dominated the room. He still had his spy face on but she could sense an inner tension in the way he held himself. ‘Erm... I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about this...’

      The mocking arch of his eyebrow made her cheeks burn. ‘This?’

      At this rate, she’d have to ramp up the air-conditioning to counter the heat she was giving off from her burning cheeks. ‘Me...sharing your room.’

      ‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’

      ‘I mean, it could get really embarrassing if either of our parents thought we were—’

      ‘We’re not.’ The blunt edge to his voice was a slap down to her ego.

      There was a knock at the door.

      Max opened the door and stepped aside as the hotel employee brought in Sabrina’s luggage. Max gave the young man a tip and closed the door, locking his gaze on hers. ‘Don’t even think about it.’

      Sabrina raised her eyebrows so high she thought they would fly off her face. ‘You think I’m attracted to you? Dream on, buddy.’

      The edge of his mouth lifted—the closest he got to a smile, or at least one he’d ever sent her way. ‘I could have had you that night three weeks ago and you damn well know it.’

      ‘Had me?’ She glared at him. ‘That kiss was...was a knee-jerk thing. It just...erm...happened. And you gave me stubble rash. I had to put on cover-up for a week.’

      His eyes went to her mouth as if he was remembering the explosive passion they’d shared. He drew in an uneven breath and sent a hand through the thick pelt of his hair, a frown pulling at his forehead. ‘I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you.’ His voice had a deep gravelly edge she’d never heard in it before.

      Sabrina folded her arms. She wasn’t ready to forgive him. She wasn’t ready to forgive herself for responding to him. She wasn’t ready to admit how much she’d enjoyed that kiss and how she had encouraged it by grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling his head down. Argh. Why had she done that? Neither was she ready to admit how much she wanted him to kiss her again. ‘I can think of no one I would less like to “have me”.’

      Even repeating the coarse words he’d used turned her on. Damn him. She couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to be had by him. Her sex life was practically non-existent. The only sex she’d had in the last few years had been with herself and even that hadn’t been all that spectacular. She kept hoping she’d find the perfect partner to help her with her issues with physical intimacy but so far no such luck. She rarely dated anyone more than two or three times before she decided having sex with them was out of the question. Her first and only experience of sex at the age of eighteen—had it really been ten years ago?—had been an ego-smashing disappointment, one she was in no hurry to repeat.

      ‘Good. Because we’re not going there,’ Max said.

      Sabrina inched up her chin. ‘You were the one who kissed me first that night. I might have returned the kiss but only because I got caught off guard.’ It was big fat lie but no way was she going to admit it. Every non-verbal signal in her repertoire had been on duty that night all but begging him to kiss her. And when he finally had, she even recalled moaning at one point. Yes, moaning with pleasure as his lips and tongue had worked their magic. Geez. How was she going to live that down?

      His eyes pulsed with something she couldn’t quite identify. Suppressed anger or locked-down lust or both? ‘You were spoiling for a fight all through that dinner party and during the trip when I gave you a lift home.’

      ‘So? We always argue. It doesn’t mean I want you to kiss me.’

      His eyes held hers in a smouldering lock that made the backs of her knees fizz. ‘Are we arguing now?’ His tone had a silky edge that played havoc with her senses.

      Sabrina took a step back, one of her hands coming up her neck where her heart was beating like a panicked pigeon stuck in a pipe. ‘I need to get ready for the c-cocktail party...’ Why, oh, why did she have to sound so breathless?

      He gave a soft rumble of a laugh. ‘Your virtue is safe, Sabrina.’ He walked to the door of the suite and turned to look at her again. ‘Don’t wait up. I’ll be late.’

      Sabrina gave him a haughty look that would have done a Regency spinster proud. ‘Going to have your client, are you?’

      He left without another word, which, annoyingly, left her with the painful echo of hers.

      * * *

      Max closed the door of his suite and let out a breath. Why had he done the knight in shining armour thing? Why should he care if she couldn’t get herself organised enough to book a damn hotel? She would have found somewhere to stay, surely. But no. He had to do the decent thing. Nothing about how he felt about Sabrina was decent—especially after that kiss. He’d lost count of how many women he’d kissed. He wasn’t a man whore, but he enjoyed sex for the physical release it gave.

      But he couldn’t get that kiss out of his mind.

      Max had always avoided Sabrina in the past. He hadn’t wanted to encourage his and her parents from their sick little fantasy of them getting it on. He got it on with women he chose and he made sure his choices were simple and straightforward—sex without strings.

      Sabrina was off limits because she was the poster girl for the happily-ever-after fairytale. She was looking for Mr Right to sweep her off her feet and park her behind a white picket fence with a double pram with a couple of chubby-cheeked progeny tucked inside.

      Max had nothing against marriage, but he no longer wanted it for himself. Six years ago, his fiancée had called off their wedding, informing him she had fallen in love with someone else, with someone who wanted children—the children Max refused to give her. Prior to that, Lydia had been adamant she was fine with his decision not to have kids. He’d thought everything was ticking along well enough in their relationship. He’d been more annoyed than upset at Lydia calling off their relationship.