Summer Surrender: Capelli's Captive Virgin / Italian Boss, Proud Miss Prim / The Italian's One-Night Love-Child

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.’

‘Everything? So that you can enjoy a vicarious sex life?’

Lindsay gritted her teeth. ‘Could they be together? Could she be having an affair with Dino?’

‘I’m sure she could. They seemed to find each other—entertaining.’

A cold trickle of dread ran through Lindsay’s veins. ‘And you didn’t try to stop them?’ Even without looking she was conscious that he’d removed the rest of his clothes and she kept her eyes firmly fixed on the wall. ‘It didn’t occur to you that they’re totally unsuited?’

‘Unlike you, I don’t make it my business to interfere. My control streak doesn’t extend to managing other people’s relationships. And I am not my brother’s keeper.’ Arrogantly confident, he strolled towards the showers and she caught a glimpse of hard male muscle, strong thighs and bronzed skin. Then he closed the door and she heard the sudden rush of water.

Momentarily released from his presence, Lindsay sucked in a breath and blinked back tears of frustration and worry. If circumstances had been different she would have walked away because when it came to verbal sparring she was no match for him. He tied her in knots. But his words had left her deeply worried for her sister and frustrated by his lack of support.

As far as she was concerned, this was the worst-case scenario. It appeared that Ruby was involved with his brother, to the extent that she no longer even cared about her job.

If Alessio was telling the truth, then her sister had abandoned her responsibilities.

What would have made her do that?

Why would she have behaved in such a reckless, irresponsible fashion?

And why hadn’t Alessio put a stop to it when it was obvious that the whole thing was going to crash and burn in the most disastrous way possible?

Couldn’t he see? Couldn’t he see that a relationship between Ruby and Dino was an accident waiting to happen?

Lindsay stared angrily at the shower cubicle.

Yes, of course he could see that. But he didn’t care about anyone but himself.

He had no idea what that sort of relationship would do to Ruby.

It crossed her mind to tell him the whole tragic story in the hope that it might appeal to his sense of decency. But she honestly didn’t think Alessio Capelli had a decent side.

What had possessed her to come here?

It had been a completely wasted journey.

They were so, so different in their approach to life, their beliefs—everything.

Feeling another rush of concern for her sister, Lindsay tried to think as she might. Where would Ruby have gone? What exactly had she done? And why had she done it? ‘Did you encourage them?’ She raised her voice to be heard above the shower and the sound of water stopped suddenly.

He emerged from the shower, a towel looped around his lean hips, his mouth curved into a cynical smile. ‘Even you can’t be that naïve. Two hormonal adults don’t need encouragement, Lindsay. All they need is opportunity.’

‘And I’ve no doubt you created that opportunity.’ Rubbing her forehead with the tips of her fingers, Lindsay tried to think clearly. ‘You encouraged them, I know you did. You knew how strongly I felt about the two of them becoming involved. When we first met, I told you Ruby was just getting over a broken relationship. She was—incredibly vulnerable. Still is. Your brother is the last thing she needs at the moment.’ Lindsay swallowed. ‘Did you do this on purpose? To punish me because I refused you? Was this about your ego, Alessio?’

Dark lashes veiled his gaze. ‘If you’re looking for somewhere to lay blame for your sister’s behaviour, perhaps you should look a little closer to home.’ His tone several shades cooler, he gave a careless shrug. ‘If anyone is to blame for the way your sister lives her life, then it’s surely you.’

‘Me?’ Genuinely shocked by that harsh analysis, Lindsay gaped at him. ‘That’s ridiculous. I’ve always warned her against having meaningless affairs and I certainly warned her to stay clear of you and your brother.’

‘Precisely. For a relationship counsellor, you clearly know very little about human nature.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘That the forbidden and the dangerous is always more exciting than the permitted and the safe,’ he said flatly. ‘I can guarantee that the day you warned her to stay clear of me was the same day she showed up at my office looking for a job.’

‘And you gave her one.’ She couldn’t keep the reproach out of her voice and he gave a dismissive shrug.

‘There was a vacancy in my administrative team. Ruby is decorative, sociable and a relatively competent secretary.’

‘Relatively?’

Alessio’s mouth curved into a faint smile. ‘Well, she’s not here, is she? She does have a tendency to become—easily distracted.’

‘By your playboy brother, presumably.’ Frustration mingled with anxiety and Lindsay shook her head. ‘You didn’t think that throwing the two of them together might not be a good idea?’

‘I allow my sibling to lead his own life. And unlike you I don’t see anything wrong with animal passion. On the contrary, I endorse animal passion. It’s one of the few truly honest human emotions.’ With a casual movement Alessio unhooked the towel and threw it carelessly over the nearest bench. ‘You ought to try it some time.’

Blinded by a disturbing vision of raw masculine perfection, Lindsay felt her mouth dry and looked away quickly. ‘You’re doing this on purpose,’ she muttered hoarsely, ‘trying to unnerve me.’

‘Does it unnerve you my being naked?’ As relaxed as she was tense, he ripped the packaging from a fresh shirt and thrust his arms into the sleeves. ‘That’s interesting. Next time you’re analysing behaviour, you might want to dwell on that. Deep down, buried underneath that layer of control, is a real woman trying to get out.’

‘Ruby.’ Her voice hoarse, Lindsay kept her eyes fixed on a point on the wall, trying to erase the shockingly vivid image of dark body hair and substantial manhood. ‘We were talking about Ruby. You don’t even care that she might have gone off with your brother.’

‘On the contrary, I do care. I’m as keen as you are to contact her. You can look. I’m decent.’

‘You are? I mean—you want to know where she is, too?’ Relief flooded through her. Perhaps she’d misjudged him. He did, after all, have a human side. ‘Then what have you done so far? Have you tried to contact your brother?’

He’d pulled on a pair of beautifully cut dark grey trousers, but the white shirt still hung loose, affording a tantalising glimpse of masculine chest hair shading hard muscle. ‘Like your sister, he isn’t answering his phone. I suspect they’re otherwise occupied.’

Lindsay made a distressed sound. ‘But you can find them. I know you have contacts. It won’t take you long to track them down.’

The snowy-white silk shirt seemed to emphasise his masculinity and Alessio threw an amused look in her direction as he fastened the buttons with slow, deliberate movements of his long fingers. ‘Your belief in the degree of my influence is quite sweet. Do powerful men turn you on, Lindsay?’

‘Please stop it.’ A hoarse whisper was all she could manage because her body was in such a turbulent state. ‘Please, please stop it. I’m just relieved that you’re as keen as I am to intervene before this relationship goes too far.’

‘I have no intention of intervening in the relationship.’

Confused, Lindsay frowned. ‘But you said—’

‘I said that I am as keen as you are to find out where Ruby is—’ he reached for his silk tie ‘—but not because I intend to counsel her on her choice of men. I believe in letting people make their own mistakes in life.’

Lindsay just stared at him. ‘Then why are you keen to find her?’

‘Under the terms of her contract, your sister was obliged to give notice if she intended to terminate her employment. She hasn’t.’ With skilful grace his fingers produced a perfect knot and he eased the tie up to his bronzed throat. ‘If she doesn’t turn up for work by four o’clock this afternoon, she loses her job. I thought it only fair to warn her of that fact.’

There was a buzzing in Lindsay’s ears. ‘You’re going to fire her?’ The words came out as an appalled squeak. ‘That’s ridiculous.’

‘That’s business. I employed her to do a job. She’s not doing it. Be grateful I’m not suing her for breach of contract.’ His tone hardened and she gazed at him in shock.

‘Even you can’t be that hard-hearted.’

His eyes held hers. ‘What would you say if I went back to my office this afternoon and fired someone on the spot?’

‘I’d say you were a megalomaniac,’ Lindsay said faintly and a smile flickered at the corners of his mouth.

‘You’d say I was unfair. Employers and employees have a certain responsibility towards each other. I’m a fair employer but I expect the same degree of fairness in my employees. I expect a certain code of behaviour. Your sister broke that code. I intend to make an example of her.’

Lindsay closed her eyes. If she’d thought things were bad before this conversation, they were fast becoming worse.

‘No.’ She shook her head in disbelief. ‘Please don’t do this—Ruby really likes working for you.’ Although she’d never understood why. ‘Losing her job would be devastating.’

‘It will send a clear message to other employees to think twice before they wilfully abandon their contracts.’ Showing not a glimmer of remorse or uncertainty, he reached for his jacket. ‘Your sister has until four o’clock. If she isn’t on my plane, ready to do the job for which she is employed, then her time with my company is over.’

‘Alessio, I’m begging you not to do this—’

His gaze lingered on her face. ‘Normally I have no problems with a woman begging, but on this occasion you’re wasting your time. If she isn’t here within the hour, she’s fired.’

CHAPTER TWO

LINDSAY stood in stunned silence, wondering how a bad situation had suddenly become so much worse.

Ruby was about to lose everything. ‘Please don’t take her job away from her. When her relationship with your brother crashes, Ruby is going to be devastated.’

‘Only if she has unrealistic expectations about relationships, which, being your sister, she undoubtedly will have.’

Reminding herself that an argument on that topic would get her nowhere, Lindsay bit her lip. ‘If she loses her job as well, it will finish her.’

‘Or perhaps it will teach her an important lesson about loyalties, priorities and the fact that actions have consequences.’ His tone was unsympathetic. ‘Ruby is employed by me to do a job. If she can’t or won’t do it, then I don’t want her on my team.’

‘She’s a junior member of your secretarial staff. I’m sure you have literally hundreds of people who could easily take her place on this trip of yours.’

‘That isn’t the point. This is Ruby’s responsibility. If she lets me down, she’s out.’

‘If she lets you down then you should fire your brother!’ Lindsay glared at him. ‘He’s as much to blame for this situation as Ruby. More because he’s eight years older than her!’

‘My brother runs his own area of the business—his actions are of no interest to me.’ Displaying not a whit of sympathy, he slipped his Rolex onto his wrist and fastened it. ‘Stop trying to run her life. You can’t protect her from everything. This might be just the wake-up call that Ruby needs. I’m sure it will prove to be a useful life experience for her. There’s nothing quite like a few knocks to toughen a person up.’

What did someone like him know about knocks? He went through life giving them, not receiving them. Someone with his wealth and confidence knew nothing about struggling to survive. Nothing about uncertainty and insecurity.

‘Ruby needs this job. And she’s usually very responsible. This isn’t like her. I don’t understand it.’

‘My brother and Ruby couldn’t keep their hands off each other. It’s called passion,’ he said dryly. ‘It happens to the best of us.’

‘But they didn’t have to act on it. They’re not children,’ Lindsay said tartly. ‘They should have known better.’

His gaze dropped to her mouth and lingered there with disturbing intensity. ‘You’ve never been so overwhelmed by passion that you throw caution to the wind?’

Her face burned scarlet. ‘I’m an adult, Alessio, not a teenager. And one of the characteristics of adulthood is the ability to exercise self-control when the need arises.’

For some reason he seemed to find that amusing. ‘That comment makes me wonder whether that legendary self-control of yours has ever been truly tested.’ His gaze lifted to hers, his dark eyes burning with sexual challenge. ‘When did you last struggle not to rip a man’s clothes off, Lindsay?’

When she’d first met him—

Before she knew who he was and what he did for a living.

Her heart was bumping against her chest. ‘We were talking about Ruby.’

He smiled. ‘So we were. Well, your sister is either lacking your iron self-control, or she is a master tactician who has her eye on a higher prize. There’s always the possibility that she’s hoping that my brother will marry her.’

‘Ruby isn’t interested in marriage.’

‘All women are interested in marriage if the prize is high enough.’ His tone was deeply cynical and Lindsay shook her head.

‘Ruby knows that your brother isn’t the marrying kind any more than you are.’ But he’d scattered doubt in her mind. Did her sister know that? Or was she deluding herself, as so many women did once they were in the throes of passion? ‘We both know that their affair isn’t going to last five minutes.’

Alessio raised his eyebrows. ‘They did your CRAP test?’

Lindsay flushed. ‘We both know that they’re not in love. Theirs is a relationship based on casual sex. To be successful, a relationship has to be founded on real intimacy. But that’s something I don’t for a moment expect you to understand.’

He gave a slow smile. ‘I don’t have any problems with intimacy, Lindsay. In fact, intimacy is my favourite method of relaxation.’

Her entire body warmed under his lazy scrutiny and she straightened her shoulders, instinctively rejecting her response. ‘I’m talking about emotional intimacy.’

He leaned his wide shoulders against the wall, a wicked sparkle in his eyes. ‘By emotional intimacy I assume you mean a cuddle after sex.’ Tilting his glossy dark head to one side, he pretended to consider the point for a moment. ‘I’m not totally averse to that, providing the woman in question has pleased me. I can be generous when it suits me.’

She knew he was winding her up and she also knew that she was getting herself deeper and deeper into trouble. The atmosphere was suddenly impossibly tense and she told herself that it was just because they were talking about sex. ‘Let’s just not even discuss this,’ she muttered faintly. ‘You and I will never agree on what makes a good relationship.’

Under the penetrating force of his dark gaze she felt heat rush through her body.

‘A good relationship is one that ends when it is time for it to end,’ he said dryly, ‘and doesn’t struggle along for years in mortal agony.’

‘Oh, please.’ Determined to ignore everything that was happening to her, Lindsay made an impatient sound. ‘Next you’ll be telling me that divorce lawyers do the human race a favour.’

‘Not the whole human race. Just a select few who I believe to be worthy of my particular skill set.’

‘You make money out of people’s misery.’

‘So do you,’ he returned instantly, the glint in his eyes suddenly hard. ‘The difference between us is that I’ve built a successful business based on reality, whereas yours is based on fantasy. You peddle dreams. Fairy tales. Happy ever afters.’

‘That isn’t true—’

‘Expecting a relationship to last in today’s society is the stuff of fantasy.’

‘That isn’t true either—’

‘Then why is my phone always ringing? Why am I busier than I’ve ever been?’ Cool and calculating, he watched her. ‘Because people are finally accepting that expecting to be hooked to someone for life is totally unrealistic. Better to do what my brother and your sister are currently doing—have wild exciting sex until it is no longer exciting. Then move on.’

Listening to him rip holes in everything she believed in, Lindsay felt her limbs tremble. ‘I completely disagree with you.’

His eyes lingered on her mouth. ‘Well, of course you do. If you didn’t, you’d be out of a job. I watched you on television last week, recommending ways in which a certain Hollywood actress could save her marriage. Lindsay Lockheart, relationship expert. You look cute on the screen, by the way.’ His voice was dangerously soft. ‘Cute and convincing, which is all the more surprising when you bear in mind that Lindsay Lockheart, relationship expert, has never actually had a relationship herself.’

Ignoring the mockery in his eyes, Lindsay defended herself. ‘It’s true that I’ve never been married, if that’s what you mean.’ Her heart pumped hard because he was pressing in close to a subject she avoided.

He studied her in silence, his expression thoughtful. ‘It wasn’t what I meant. Do your clients know that you’re a fraud, Lindsay?’ His tone pleasant, he slipped his arms into his jacket and her face flamed.

‘I’ve had relationships, Alessio.’

‘I’m not talking about a dinner date or a dignified trip to the opera.’ With unconscious grace, he strolled purposefully towards her, suddenly looking every inch the sophisticated, successful lawyer. Gone was the street-fighter image of moments earlier. The transformation from rough and tough to slick and sophisticated was complete. Dressed in a dark grey suit that moulded his powerful shoulders to perfection, he exuded wealth and success. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the air of raw power that clung to him like a second skin.