On Her Terms

“You both went to Oxford Law,” Tate says. He gives a shrug of one shoulder and adds, “Then again it’s a big campus, and Luca was probably a year or two ahead of you.” The overhead lights dim, and the music picks up. Tate turns to Summer. “Dance with me.” She smiles up at her fiancé, and I grin. Those two were made for each other. I knew it the first time she came into the bar here in St. Moritz, where Tate and I were working six months ago. He was undercover as a bartender, trying to prove Summer was a fraud who was out to steal billions from his granddad. At the time, I was hanging out in the Swiss Alps, enjoying the commoner’s life. For years now I’ve been travelling around, doing odd jobs, trying to live a full life before duty catches up to me and I have to settle into my rightful position as Luca Marino, Duke of Massara.

Brianna opens her mouth, no doubt to excuse herself, when her granddad’s cane hits the floor as he saunters up to the bar. “I’ll have a brandy,” he says.

“Granddad, I don’t think you should be drinking,” Brianna says.

He waves a dismissive hand her way. “Foolishness, child. I’ve got more brandy in these veins than blood. Now, what’s this I hear about you two knowing each other?”

I shake my head, having no idea how he could have heard us from the other side of the room. He settles himself onto the stool next to me, and the bartender slides him a drink. He drains the amber liquid in one easy swallow, slams his glass on the mahogany top and then gestures for another.

“We don’t know each other,” Brianna says quickly, her gaze darting to mine, like she’s worried I might claim otherwise.

“Well then, get out there on the dance floor and start getting to know each other, already.”

Brianna briefly closes her eyes, and I catch something in Granddad’s smile, something that looks an awful lot like mischief. What is the old man up to? Tate told me his grandfather was behind him and Summer meeting and falling for each other. I look him over, take in the statuesque way he carries himself. Something tells me he’s not as frail and sick as he lets on. Maybe the others can’t see it because they’re too close. But I sense there is something more going on with James Carson.

“I’m tired, Granddad. It was a long flight and an even longer day. I just want to go back to my room and call it a night.”

“I’m headed out, too,” I say, picking up on the tension between Brianna and her grandfather. Wanting to help her out, I add, “I’ll walk you to your room.”

“That’s okay,” she says quickly, her smile forced. “I forgot a few things and have to hit up the gift shop.” She drops a kiss onto her granddad’s cheek and hurries from the room, once again avoiding my gaze and pretending she doesn’t know me. Although I’m pretty goddamn sure she does. What the hell is going on with her?

“I guess I should call it a night, too,” I say to James as he downs another ounce of brandy. “I have some forms I need to go over.”

“I just bet you do,” James says to me, an almost sinister smile quirking his lips, like he’s been inside my head all night and knows all the dirty things pinging around in my brain. I can’t imagine he’d be too happy with my thoughts, considering Brianna is his granddaughter.

Tate and Summer come back to check on their granddad and I use that opportunity to excuse myself. I leave the room and head outside. I’ve opted to stay in one of the family’s chalets instead of the grand hotel. I have always preferred the solitude.

I nod to a group of women as they wave to me, and keep my head down as I make my way to my cottage. The warmth of the night falls over me, and my clothes stick to my skin. Since I know the resort like the back of my hand, I turn left instead of right. Forgoing rest, I take one of the lesser-known paths that leads up the mountain. There are plenty of suitable swimming lakes scattered throughout the town, but this high up on the hill, most are untouched. The frigid temperatures a bit too much for visitors. The wind picks up as I climb, and I dodge a few puddles, compliments of the afternoon downpour. I start to unbutton my shirt, tug it away from my body, anxious to jump into the water to cool myself down. But that’s when I realize I left my suit jacket back at the hotel. Good thing I brought a couple of extras.

The path narrows, and up ahead a bunny scurries into the underbrush. The temperature has dropped significantly, but I don’t mind. As I approach my favorite private spot, I’m about to unzip my pants, but humming reaches my ears. What the hell? Only Tate and I know about this place, and he’s back at the hotel. I slow my steps, not wanting to frighten whoever happened to stumble upon my spot, but when I see a pile of clothes on the ground, my heart jumps into my throat. That skirt. That blouse. A certain woman from my past was wearing those tonight.

CHAPTER THREE

Brianna

I CAN’T FOR one minute believe that Luca and Tate know each other, let alone work together. I dunk myself under the cold water, letting it cool my heated body—which just might have more to do with the man I hate than the humidity of the night. Luca Marino is a complete and utter asshole, but my body can’t deny he’s as gorgeous today as he was all those years ago. Okay, maybe that’s not entirely true. Back in the day he was a boy who looked good in his blue Oxford hoodie. Today he’d fill that sweater out like a man. Damned if I wouldn’t like to see that.

Heat trickles through my blood despite the frigid water, and I swim from one side to the other, my mind going back to that mortifying night he walked me to my room and left me there. Alone. Every girl in my dorm wanted Luca Marino, myself included. I’d seen the women he gravitated toward and as a chubby girl, I never thought I had a chance with him. Until that one party.

He’d been wearing that comfortable hoodie, and he had smiled at me. At first I thought he was looking at someone else, but when I turned, no one was behind me. My girlfriend encouraged me to go for it, and I was so damn nervous, I kept drinking. With enough alcohol to cloud my judgement, I sauntered up to him. This was it—I’d finally have a real conversation with him. We talked for a few minutes and he asked where I lived. I totally freaked out, inwardly of course. The Luca Marino wanted to know where I lived! I told him and as he walked me back to my dorm, I could barely put one foot in front of the other. Not because I’d been drinking but because I was going to have the night I’d been fantasizing about forever, with the man of my dreams, and come tomorrow I’d be the one wearing his sweater, a symbol of our relationship. I stepped into my room, and when I turned back to him, he was pulling his phone from his pocket and closing the door in my face.

I can just imagine he was calling his friends. I wonder if they all had a good laugh about it afterward. Let the chubby girl think you’re into her, and then dump her at her door. Was it some kind of cruel prank? One nasty rumor spread around my dorm after that night certainly had suggested that.

Goddammit, I was such a cliché.

Stop thinking about him.

Needing to clear my head, I begin humming, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t get that man out of my thoughts. A laugh I have no control over bubbles in my throat. I went out of my way to avoid him on campus until he graduated at the end of that year. But there’s no avoiding him here, now is there? Nope. We’re in the same bridal party, for God’s sake.

After the introductions, I panicked and pretended not to know him. He didn’t correct me, which leads me to believe he doesn’t remember me. Why would he? Since graduating law school a few years back, I lost the weight and changed my hair. Inside, I’m no longer that shy, self-conscious girl, either. Though I can’t deny that even as I moved on, I never forgot him or that experience. It took me a while to feel confident on a date afterward. Meanwhile I’m sure he hasn’t given me a thought. As I consider that, my mind races down a dark path, calculates all the ways I could get back at him for humiliating me. Maybe I could get him to take me back to his place and then walk away, the same way he walked away from me. It’s juvenile for sure, but maybe revenge would help me finally get him out of my head once and for all.

Exhausted, I stop swimming and climb from the lake. I shiver as the cool mountain air washes over me. I should have brought a towel but I ran from the hotel so fast, needing a reprieve from Luca, I never thought to grab one. I fold my hands over my naked body and go in search of my clothes. Wind whips over me, and I dart a glance around, combing the exact spot I left them.

I shake my head when my hunt comes up empty. “What the hell?”

“Looking for these?”

My head jerks up to find Luca standing close, his outstretched arm holding my clothes.

“What are you doing here?” I ask and snatch the clothes from his hand. At least he has the decency to keep his eyes closed. “Turn around,” I say. He does as I ask, and I struggle into my clothes, a difficult task with my body dripping wet. I fight with my skirt and finally get it over my damp hips.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he says. “Bri, isn’t it?”

Okay, he’s either messing with me, or he really doesn’t remember who I am. “Brianna. My friends call me Bri. What are you doing here?”

“I came for a swim. I didn’t expect anyone else to be here.”

“How do you know about this place?”

“Tate showed it to me.”

I nod, even though he can’t see me. I hurry into my blouse and button it. “Okay, you can turn around now.” He slowly turns, and his heated gaze rakes over my body, a slow, leisurely inspection that steals the air from my lungs. He presses his thumb to his bottom lip, and when his head lifts and his eyes meet mine, I damn near bite off my tongue.

My mind quickly revisits my juvenile plan. From the way he’s looking at me, I have no doubt I could get him to take me to his bed. But isn’t that just like this type of guy? Only interested in me now because I fit his standards. My ex, Ryan, was the same way, telling me I was beautiful one day and then hounding me when I gained a pound or wore something he didn’t like. I squash my anger and slowly blink my lashes, trying my best to be flirtatious, but that’s so out of my wheelhouse, I’m not sure I can pull it off.

“I should get out of your way then, let you have a swim,” I say and let my lashes fall slowly, hoping I’m giving him all the right signals.

Curiosity moves into his eyes as he angles his head, his gaze raking over my face. He probably thinks I’ve escaped the asylum. One minute I’m raging on him, and the next I’m doing my best to be flirty.

A cool breeze washes over me, and my teeth clamp together. “You’re freezing,” he says. While I want to shoot back with, way to state the obvious, I bite my sharp response and hug myself tighter. “Come here.”

He steps up to me and drags me to him. My face goes to his chest, and I breathe in the clean, soapy scent of his skin. His natural aroma, combined with a hint of cologne—likely named Panty Remover—makes me want to do just that. Holy God, no man should ever smell this good. I breathe deeply, fill my lungs with his scent, and then hold my breath.

He runs his hands up and down my arms, creating heat with friction, but I only shiver harder. Although I’m not so sure the goose bumps breaking out on my flesh are from the cold this time.

“You need to get off this mountain and inside somewhere warm,” he says and steps back. I wince at the dismissal. So much for my efforts. His fingers go to the last buttons on his shirt. I turn toward the path, giving him his privacy to undress and swim. “What are you doing?” he asks.

I turn back toward him. “Going back to the...” My words fall off when he peels the shirt from his shoulders, exposing a beautiful bronzed body and a six-pack my fingers suddenly itch to touch.

“Here.” He closes the distance between us and wraps me in his shirt. Warmth sinks into my bones as he throws his arm around me and guides me down the hill.

I probably shouldn’t be touched by the gentlemanly gesture. Once an ass, always an ass, right? Which begs the question: Now that I’ve got his attention, should I go through with my plan of payback?

The air warms as we descend, and night is fully upon us by the time we reach the village. My body is still quivering, and so is the needy juncture between my legs. Jeez, with the way I’m reacting, I’m not so sure I could seduce him and walk away.

You hate this guy, Bri. He humiliated you.

“I’m still so cold,” I say.

“Let’s hurry. You’re staying at the hotel with the others, right?”

“Yes, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m in one of the chalets.” He points off in the distance, but I know where the chalets are located. I’ve stayed in them many times over the years.

“Maybe we should go there,” I say. “It’s closer, and I’m afraid I’m going to freeze to death.”

He goes still, and his brow furrows as he stares off into the distance, like his mind is a million miles away.

“Luca?” I ask. “It is Luca, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what my friends call me,” he says, a small grin on his face. Touché. “Come on. I’ll get you warmed up and then see you back to your hotel.”

With his arm still around me, he guides me down a narrow path leading to his chalet. He opens the door for me and guides me in. The place is perfectly neat, much of what I’d expect from a guy like him.

“So tidy,” I say, walking down the hall leading into the main area, which has a kitchen, island and dining table on one side of the big room. I glance to the left to take in a sofa facing a fireplace. Beyond that there is a big king-size bed and a door leading to an outside deck. “How long have you been here?”

“Got in yesterday.” His gaze moves over me again. “Do you want to get out of those clothes?”

My pulse leaps. But then it settles quickly when I realize what he’s asking. Oh, how I wanted to hear those words from him all those years ago.

“Yeah, I probably should,” I say. Okay, Bri, this is the perfect opportunity for seduction. “Do you have something I could slip into? A pair of sweats, maybe.”

“I have a T-shirt,” he says. “And gym shorts. No sweats.”

“That should do.”

He goes to the dresser and comes back with a T-shirt that will float on me and a pair of shorts with no drawstring. I point to them. “Ah, those won’t work.”

“Probably not.” He puts them aside and hands me the shirt. He gestures with a nod. “Bathroom is in there.”

“I know where it is,” I say as I saunter across the room.

“That’s right. Your granddad owns the resort, doesn’t he?” I nod as I step into the bathroom and leave the door slightly ajar as I change. “What’s with you and him, anyway?”

“What do you mean?”

“You seem tense around him.”

Luca always was a smart guy. Very astute. I’ll have to play it careful around him. “He won’t stop pushing me to get married,” I say truthfully. No need to fib about that.

“Ah,” he says.

I take off my wet clothes—bra and panties included—and shrug into his warm shirt. “Ah, what?”

“Nothing,” he says, but before I can press he continues with, “So, you’re not interested in marriage?”

“Hell no.”

I come out from the bathroom and walk to the closet housing the washer and dryer. I bend slightly and toss my clothes in. When I stand and turn around, Luca’s glance is slowly lifting from where my ass had just been.

Okay, girl, here goes nothing.

CHAPTER FOUR

Luca

MY EYES LIFT from her ass, and when I catch a small smile on her lips—clearly I’m busted—I tear my gaze away. What is going on with her? One second she’s acting like she doesn’t know me, and the next she’s aiming her sexy ass my way. I’m pretty damn sure she’s aware of what she’s doing and is trying to get a rise out of me.

Well done, Brianna. It worked.

I turn from her and pretend to do something in the kitchen sink as I adjust my cock. Her bare feet graze the wooden floor as she walks around the chalet and it’s all I can do to keep my shit together. A whooshing sound reaches my ears and I turn to find her flicking on the propane fire.

“Still not warm?” I ask, even though the sun’s been beating in through the windows of the chalet all day and it’s a million degrees. She holds her hands out in front of the fire to absorb the heat.

“Not yet,” she says.

“Maybe you should jump in the shower,” I say as beads of perspiration dot my bare chest.

“You think a warm shower will help?”

“For you, yes. Personally I need a cold one,” I say, and when she wipes her tongue over her bottom lip, I groan. “It’s so hot in here,” I explain, not wanting her to think I need a cold shower to cool down my dick, which just happens to be the truth.

“Well, you weren’t swimming in an ice-cold lake,” she says and pokes the air with the tip of her finger.

I shrug. “You’re right, I wasn’t.”

“Go ahead and take a cold shower if you want.” She turns back to the fire. “My clothes will probably be ready by the time you get out.”

“No, I’m good, but I’m going to change into shorts.” I grab the pair I’d offered her and make my way to the bathroom. As I pass Brianna, she’s adjusting the thermostat, turning it up higher.

“Keep that up and I’m going to end up in my birthday suit.” I say without thinking and close the bathroom door. What the hell? Get your mind off nakedness. Her soft chuckle reaches my ears and I wonder if she’s really that cold, or if she’s just jacking up the heat to get me out of my clothes. Shit, all she has to do is ask.

Wait, no. I am not going to have sex with Brianna. No way. No how. Not even if she asks.

Okay, maybe if she asks.

Cazzo!

I kick off my pants, and as I glance at my swollen dick, I take it into my hands and consider rubbing one out. In my current state it wouldn’t take long, and Brianna would be none the wiser. I pull from the base to the crown. Heck, I should probably ease the tension before something ruptures.

“Maybe the hot tub will help,” she calls out. The click of the patio door opening reaches my ears, and I close my eyes and try not to visualize her in that hot tub naked.

Again with the nakedness.

“Good idea,” I say. Fuck, is that my voice? I open the bathroom door and walk to the patio just in time to see her peel my shirt from her shoulders and climb into the water. Naked.

My God, she has a beautiful body. Her curves are less pronounced than they were years ago, but she was as breathtaking then as she is now. She settles into the tub, leans her head back and stares up at the night sky.

Not wanting to startle her, I speak quietly, avert my eyes even though she’s covered now by the water frothing from the jets. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Do you have any wine?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.” I hurry to the kitchen, and my hands are a bit shaky as I pour her a glass of wine and grab a beer from the fridge. I pop the cap and down half of the liquid in one swallow. With my cock jumping in my shorts, I step outside and the heat of the night falls over me.

“Join me,” she says as I hand her the glass.

I wipe moisture from my brow. “I’m too hot as it is.”

She presses the glass to her parted lips and takes a drink. A drop settles on her bottom lip, and it takes every ounce of strength I possess not to lean in and lick it away.

I clear my throat and her gaze settles on me. “So, your grandfather is after you to get married,” I say for lack of anything else.

“Yes.”

“And you don’t want to.”

“No.” I settle into one of the Adirondack chairs, and her eyes narrow in on me. “What?”

I shrug. “I’m not sure I believe you.”

She lifts her chin slightly. “You don’t know me well enough to make that call. In fact you don’t know me at all.”

I take a pull from the bottle. “I know a few things.”

“Oh?” she says, an almost worried look crossing her face.

“I know you went to Oxford, and that you’re a lawyer. I know you’re Tate’s cousin, and that you two were close growing up. I know you make a mean apple pie.”

“I guess I know a few things about you, too,” she says, almost under her breath.

I lean toward her. “Such as.”

She waves her hand and water splashes over me. “You’re a corporate lawyer and work for my cousin.”

I settle back in my chair. “So, really, you know nothing about me,” I say, a bit relieved. The less anyone knows, the better.

“Well, I also know you like to sneak up on girls when they’re swimming naked.”

I laugh at that, and she laughs with me. “You said you were going back to your room. How was I to know you’d be in my spot?”

“Your spot, huh?” she says.

“Yep. Let’s just say next time you use it, be warned that I might not be such a gentleman.”

Stop fucking flirting, man.

She sits up a little straighter in the tub and I want to punch myself in the face for engaging in sexy banter with her. I need to end this now and get her out of my chalet before I do something I can only regret later.

I open my mouth to tell her it’s time to go but stop when she says, “Maybe I don’t want you to be such a gentleman.”

Perspiration breaks out on my body as her nipples pop above the water line. “Brianna...” I begin, but as my cock thickens, my brain cells stop functioning.

“I think I’m warm now,” she says, and lifts a little more, water splashing around her bare body. Unable to help myself, my gaze drops to her beautiful breasts, and a groan I have no control over crawls out of my throat.

“If you’re warm, then why are your nipples so hard?”

Holy fuck, what the hell are you doing?

My blatantly sexual question takes her by surprise, but she recovers quickly. “The night air. I should probably get inside to warm up by the fire.”

Walk away, Luca. Walk away.

I stand, about to do just that, but my cock has other ideas. Before I can stop myself, I slide into the tub with her, shorts still on. A gasp catches in her throat as I go to my knees in front of her and my gaze latches on to hers.

“Or I could use my mouth to warm you,” I suggest, and when her chest rises and falls, everything in her eyes and her body saying yes, I lean into her and close my lips around her hard nipple.

At first she stiffens beneath my touch, and I wonder if I’ve made a colossal mistake. Have I read this situation wrong? Has she not been coming on to me? I’m about to pull back, but then my name is spilling from her lips, and her hands are circling my head, gripping my hair and holding me to her.

Hell yes.

I swirl my tongue over her turgid bud and draw her deeper into my mouth, sucking and tasting until she’s murmuring something incoherent. A small part of my brain warns me not to start this, but at the moment, the throbbing head between my legs is the one calling the shots. I’ve wanted this for so fucking long, it would take this entire village to pull me off her.

Warm water heats my already hot body, and I lift her a bit higher, wanting to see all of her. The night air is warm, so I’m not worried about her getting cold, plus it’s easy to tell she’s burning up. I break the kiss and inch back, take in her glossy, lust-filled eyes.

“Where else are you cold?” I ask as I press my lips to hers. Her mouth parts, welcoming me in, and the second my tongue enters her sweet mouth, need grips my balls.

She moans into my mouth and kisses me back, and I take everything she’s willing to give. I move my mouth to her neck. “You cold here?”

“Yes, very,” she murmurs and leans her head back to give me better access. I lick the long column of her neck and then burrow my face into the soft hollow there. Her hips move restlessly beneath the water, telling me what she wants, and I grip them, hold her still. “Don’t worry,” I whisper. “I’ll warm all your cold spots.”