Her Exquisite Surrender. Lucy Ellis

‘It’s easy to look at what’s reported in the press and think that the danger is widespread and unavoidable, but you’re disregarding all the positive parenting experiences that are out there.’

      ‘I just don’t want to go there,’ she said. ‘You can’t make me. No one can make me. You can’t force me to get pregnant.’

      ‘I sure hope you’re on the pill, then, because I haven’t always used protection.’

      ‘Did you do that deliberately?’ she asked with a hardened look.

      ‘No, of course not,’ he said. ‘You were on the pill in the past … I just assumed … OK, maybe I shouldn’t have. I’m clear, if that’s what’s worrying you.’

      ‘Yes, well, so am I,’ she said. ‘It’s not like I’ve been out there much just lately.’

      ‘Have you been “out there” at all?’

      She tried to look casual about it, but he saw her nibble at the inside of her mouth. ‘A couple of times,’ she said.

      ‘What happened?’

      She gave him a withering look. ‘I’m not going to discuss my sex life with you.’

      ‘Did you have sex?’

      She looked away. ‘It wasn’t great sex,’ she said. ‘More of a token effort, really. I don’t even remember the guy’s name.’

      ‘What were you trying to prove?’

      She looked at him sharply. ‘What do you mean by that?’

      ‘I’ve noticed you have a habit of using sex when you want to avoid intimacy.’

      She pulled her chin back in derision. ‘That’s ridiculous,’ she said. ‘What sort of pop psychology is that? Isn’t sex all about intimacy?’

      ‘Physical, maybe, but not emotional,’ he said. ‘Emotional intimacy takes it to a whole different level.’

      ‘That’s way too deep for me,’ she said, with an airy toss of her head. ‘I like sex. I like the rush of it. I don’t need anything else.’

      ‘You don’t want anything else because you’re running away from who you really are,’ he said.

      ‘I’m sure you’re a great big world expert on emotional intimacy,’ she said with a scathing curl of her lip. ‘You’ve had five different lovers in the last year.’

      ‘So you have been counting.’

      She stalked to the other side of the room. ‘The Texan heiress was way too young for you,’ she said. ‘She looked like she was barely out of the schoolroom.’

      ‘I didn’t sleep with her.’

      She gave a scoffing laugh. ‘No, I can imagine you didn’t. You would’ve kept her up way past her bedtime with your silver-tongued charm.’

      Angelo ground his teeth in search of patience. ‘I’m not going to wait for ever for you, Natalie,’ he said. ‘I have an empire that needs an heir. I’ve felt the pressure of that since I was twenty-one years old. If you can’t commit to that, then I’ll have to find someone else who will.’

      She gave him a stony look. ‘That’s why you forced me into this farce of a marriage, isn’t it?’ she asked. ‘It isn’t just about revenge or nostalgic past feelings. It’s a convenient way to get what you want. My brother played right into your hands.’

      ‘This has nothing to do with your brother,’ he said. ‘This is between us. It’s always been between us.’

      Her slate-blue eyes were hard and cynical. ‘Tell me something, Angelo,’ she said. ‘Would you have done it? Would you really have sent my brother to prison?’

      He returned her look with ruthless determination. ‘You’re still the only person standing between your brother and years behind bars,’ he said. ‘Don’t ever forget that, Natalie. His future is in your hands.’

      She put up her chin, her eyes flashing their blue fire of defiance at him. ‘I could call your bluff on that.’

      He nailed her with his gaze. ‘You do that, sweetheart,’ he said. ‘And see how far it gets you.’