CAROL MARINELLI: Bought By The Billionaire Prince

‘She paid for her own bet, though,’ Dario added, listening to some information being relayed through a head piece, and, if it was seemingly a useless piece of information, it was relevant on two counts for Luca. On a professional level it made things easier for the security staff to deal with—her escort had no claim on her, there could be no pointless argument about whose money had aided the bet—but for far more personal reasons, for reasons he could barely fathom, somehow, to Luca it mattered.

It mattered a lot.

‘The croupier just let us know—things are starting to get out of hand.’ Dario ground out the cigar he had been smoking and focussed more cameras on the area. ‘She’s trying to leave, but the men insist that she stay and celebrate with them—the croupier wants the floor security to come over.’

He could sense Meg’s nervousness. Those gorgeous eyes were darting, glancing around the room as if hoping to be rescued, flicking to the surveillance camera for a single second, holding his gaze without knowing it, seemingly asking him for help.

‘Do it.’ Luca snapped his fingers impatiently, watching on another screen as almost instantaneously the security guards made their way through the busy gaming room, the well-oiled machines of the casino moving into swift action—any potential situation swiftly dealt with before it escalated. Luca knew his hand-picked staff were more than capable of dealing with this, knew that in a matter of moments things would easily be brought discreetly under control and the small crowd dispersed, so why then was he pulling on his jacket, filled with something, a need almost to get out there and help her himself?

He snapped his fingers again—ordering his cheque-book and writing out a figure in his impressive violet scrawl, then stalking out of the room as his bodyguards followed without a word. They were more than used to Luca Fierezza’s routine when a pretty girl won: most of her winnings would be delivered personally by cheque, so that she couldn’t spend it, which got him straight to second base because it showed her he was looking out for her best interests—first base had already been passed courtesy of his stunning good looks—and for the final run, with the percentage of cash he handed her, he’d invite her to join him in the high-rollers club.

Home run.

‘Congratulations!’

His voice was instantly recognisable—and Meg started in recognition as she heard it, her startled eyes swinging round to his, actually grateful for his presence. Since her number had come up the table had been a frenzy of activity, everyone around her eager to celebrate, pressing her to join in, to carry on and party into the night, when all she wanted to do was disappear, for the glare of the spotlight to dim from her—and now it had.

Luca was the only one who held the spotlight, the only man in the place who could instantly regain control by his mere presence, and regain control he did. Meg’s unwelcome companion actually melted away without even a murmur of protest as Luca ushered Meg over to a quiet table, pouring her a glass of water, which she accepted gratefully, before handing her her winnings.

‘Most of it is in a cheque—you can come tomorrow morning and cash it.’ He smiled at her frown. ‘People often blow their winnings, by tomorrow morning you will be more restrained.’

‘I’m more than in control now.’ She gave a tight smile. ‘In fact all I want to do is get the hell out of here. Is it always so…?’ She fumbled for a word for a moment and failed to come up with one, but Luca, even with his rather more limited disposal of the English language, found the one she was looking for, or at least one that came close.

‘Frenzied?’ he offered as Meg gave a nod. ‘Always. Especially when a…’ His voice trailed off as he realised somehow that she’d had an earful of shallow compliments tonight, that telling her she was beautiful was probably the last thing she wanted to hear right now. ‘Join me upstairs.’ He watched her eyes widen, and smiled. ‘I mean, there is a quieter gaming room upstairs—a little more civilized, perhaps…’ She knew where he meant—the high-rollers club. She’d seen it when she’d arrived, the elevator neatly roped off with security ensuring that only the richest and most beautiful went there, but it held little appeal for Meg.

‘I’m actually really tired, but thank you for the offer,’ Meg politely declined. ‘I think I’ll just go to bed.’

‘Meg!’ She hadn’t realised Jasmine was standing behind her, but her indignant wail alerted Meg, followed by a very harsh whisper in her ear. ‘You simply cannot turn down an invitation like that. Come on, please say yes—I don’t know how to get rid of these guys!’

The same guys she’s been accepting drinks and gambling chips from all night, Meg thought, but she felt herself relenting; as much as Jasmine had provoked things by accepting so much hospitality, she couldn’t just turn her back on her. Maybe a quiet escape to somewhere more civilised would give her a chance to talk to Jasmine and tell her how precarious her situation was with those guys, and surely one drink with Luca couldn’t hurt….

Who was she kidding?

The memory stick of her camera was full of photos of her travels, packed with exotic locations she’d wanted to capture for ever, but nothing came close to the man sitting opposite her at the table—whether she went for a drink or not, already his image was branded in her mind. As arrogant, as presumptuous as he’d been earlier, still she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling he evoked.

‘Can my friend Jasmine come?’ Meg watched as his eyebrows furrowed slightly, wondered at the thought process behind the tiny gesture.

Luca didn’t want her friend to come, didn’t want the brash woman to join them—strange, he’d actually thought till now they might be sisters. They were both blond, both fairly tall, only this Jasmine was like a crude caricature of Meg. She had none of her delicacy, none of her subtle beauty and her conduct certainly wasn’t befitting of the high-rollers club—yet Luca knew it was the only way he could get Meg to join him, that if he didn’t act quickly, at any moment she was going to terminate the evening, so, forcing a smile, he gave a small nod.

‘Of course!’

But, for once, Luca had misread a woman, because it wasn’t Jasmine forcing Meg to take Luca up on his invitation, it wasn’t some misguided sense of duty that had her standing up and heading towards the velvet rope that was pulled back as Luca approached.

It was something else propelling her tonight—something Meg usually chose to ignore. Whether it be hunger or emotion, it was something she usually stifled—only not tonight.

Feeling his hand on the small of her back as Luca guided her into the exclusive VIP lift, Meg acknowledged what she was feeling….

Want.

And this was a want she somehow couldn’t deny.

Some friend, Luca thought scornfully as within seconds of arriving Jasmine disappeared into the thick fog of smoke, her inbuilt radar homing in on the richest, loudest table, and, frankly, Luca was happy to see the back of her, more than happy to turn his attention to the rather aloof woman who sat before him.

‘Normally people smile when they win.’

‘I was actually hoping to lose.’ Meg gave a small laugh at his bemused frown. ‘I wasn’t particularly enjoying myself!’

‘You don’t like my casino?’

‘No,’ Meg admitted, but softened her rather brittle response with a smile. ‘Though don’t take it personally—I’m not really a big fan of clubs and bars, people shouting over each other just to be heard…’ Conversation here was surprisingly easy. After the noise from below, the exclusive upstairs area was quieter with no gaming machines. Luca had selected a secluded area for them at a low couch well away from the tables, but it wasn’t just the ambience that made talking easier—without his entourage, seated beside her, those brooding eyes and haughty features softened by the dim lighting, he was far less intimidating. In fact, after the pandemonium of before and the unwelcome company she’d been keeping, Luca Fierezza’s controlled demeanour was a refreshing change—only it wasn’t relaxing for Meg. Far from it!