Maggie Cox - Pregnant by the Billionaire - Pregnant with the Billionaire's Baby / Mistress - Pregnant by the Spanish Billionaire / Pregnant with the De Rossi Heir

‘I don’t believe that nice is necessarily a Sinclair trait, Miss Harper-O’Neill.’ The elderly man chuckled. ‘What do you say, Sin?’ he prompted his grandson dryly.

‘I say you could at least let Luccy get to know me a little better before telling her that,’ Sin came back.

The elderly man gave an unrepentant grin. ‘Our bark is much worse than our bite,’ he confided in Luccy lightly.

Not in Luccy’s experience, it wasn’t!

Neither was she in the least comfortable with that possessive arm curved about her waist…

‘What do you think, Luccy?’ Sin felt, and ignored, Luccy’s attempts to escape his hold on her waist, the tightening of his fingers warning her to cease her squirming. ‘Is my bark worse than my bite?’ he queried huskily, his mouth quirking mockingly as he saw the blush that now coloured her cheeks.

‘Now, Sin, you really shouldn’t embarrass Miss Harper-O’Neill in this way,’ his grandfather admonished him laughingly.

‘Please call me Luccy,’ she invited the old man. ‘And where your grandson is concerned, I do assure you I’m beyond feeling anything as mild as embarrassment.’

Sin felt his grandfather’s briefly speculative gaze upon him, a gaze Sin met with cool deliberation. His grandfather might be eighty, but he was still one of the most astute men Sin had ever known. And Sin wasn’t even attempting to conceal his interest in Luccy.

He had spent a lot of the last two months thinking about this woman. Two months when he’d had no interest in looking at another woman, let alone going to bed with one…

His grandfather was smiling as he turned back to Luccy. ‘Perhaps you would care to accompany Sin to lunch at my home tomorrow?’

Luccy was no longer squirming in the curve of Sin’s arm, but had become absolutely rigid as she looked at his grandfather. ‘I don’t think so, thank you, Mr Sinclair,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I’m hoping to be able to get an earlier flight back to England tomorrow.’

Sin’s mouth compressed into a thin line. ‘A sudden change of plans?’

‘Very sudden,’ she confirmed defiantly, those blue eyes flashing warningly as she turned to look up at him.

‘See if you can’t get her to change her mind, hmm, Sin?’ his grandfather suggested speculatively. ‘It was very nice to meet you, either way, Luccy,’ he added warmly before taking his leave.

Luccy attempted once again to remove herself from the curve of Sin’s arm as soon as the two of them were alone. This time she dug her nails into the back of his hand when he refused to release her, her gaze turning triumphant as he gave a pained wince before stepping away to look down at the crescent-shaped marks her nails had left in his skin.

He scowled. ‘Now that definitely wasn’t nice, Luccy.’

Luccy eyed him with satisfaction. ‘I don’t believe that nice is necessarily a Harper-O’Neill trait, either!’

He narrowed silver-grey eyes. ‘My grandfather obviously wasn’t a good influence on you.’

‘Don’t you think so?’ she challenged brightly. ‘I thought he was charming!’

‘Unlike his grandson?’

‘Oh, definitely,’ she retorted sweetly.

Sin shook his head ruefully. ‘Obviously the sentiment was reciprocated. My grandfather isn’t in the habit of issuing luncheon invitations to every beautiful woman he meets,’ he explained dryly at Luccy’s questioning look.

Luccy was actually quite sorry that she hadn’t been able to accept the older man’s invitation. Surprisingly she had liked his forthright manner. But it really would be better if she went back to England as soon as possible.

Tonight had shown her irrefutably that the less she had to do with Sin, or his family, the better…

She turned away. ‘I really do have to go and circulate now, Sin—’

‘Where are you staying tonight?’ he asked suddenly.

Luccy eyed him warily. ‘Why do you want to know?’

Sin gave a humourless smile. ‘I thought I might offer to see you back to your hotel later this evening.’

As Luccy was actually staying at this particular hotel he wouldn’t have far to go!

But she had absolutely no intention of revealing that she had a suite booked on the fourth floor above them. As she had no intention of being alone anywhere with Sin, this evening or at any other time.

Coward, a little voice taunted inside her head.

Maybe. But she was too physically aware of Sin, remembered all too clearly where that physical attraction had taken her the last time they were alone in a hotel suite together, to want to tempt providence a second time.

Or herself!

‘I wasn’t intending to leave just yet,’ she informed him. ‘And even if I were, you would be the last person I would want to have take me back to my hotel!’ she added insultingly.

Sin narrowed his gaze on her, knowing that the flush in her cheeks was no longer caused by anger, the blue of her eyes now mistily shimmering, her breasts swelling creamily over the scooped neckline of her gown.

Luccy was aroused by him.

As Sin was once again aroused by her.

And considering they were both consenting adults, with absolutely no illusions between them this time concerning their motives, he didn’t see why the hell they shouldn’t have each other if it was what they both wanted!

‘Let’s get out of here.’ He firmly repeated his earlier suggestion.

‘No.’

‘Luccy.’ Sin became very still as he looked down at her with glittering silver eyes. ‘We can do this the hard way or the easy way. It’s your choice.’

Luccy looked up at him searchingly, knowing by the tightness of his mouth and that angry glitter in his eyes that he meant what he said.

But she meant what she had said, too! ‘Then it will have to be the hard way.’ She faced him challengingly.

Sin’s gaze narrowed on her speculatively for several long seconds, and whatever he saw there in her expression was enough to relax some of his tension. ‘At this moment you want me as much as I want you,’ he murmured confidently.

She could deny it, of course. But what would be the point…?

Instead she gave him a mocking smile. ‘And does the spoilt little rich boy always get what he wants?’

‘No.’ His teeth showed in a humourless smile of his own. ‘But Jacob Sinclair the Third does!’

‘Really?’ Luccy gave a softly derisive laugh. ‘Then he’s going to be awfully disappointed when he finally realises I’ve turned him down, isn’t he?’

Sin really couldn’t help but admire this woman. Almost as much as he desired her…

He quirked dark brows. ‘You’re leaving some time tomorrow, you said?’

‘Yes, that’s right,’ she confirmed warily.

‘I could always offer to fly you home on the Sinclair jet when you’re ready to leave.’

‘Is that supposed to impress me?’ she scorned.

‘It sure as hell impresses me every time I climb aboard it!’

‘It’s an indulgence I think I’ll manage to forgo, thanks,’ Luccy told him with saccharine sweetness.

This man—the Sinclair family, at least—owned their own jet!

She was way, way, way out of her depth…

She gave a bright meaningless smile as she prepared to leave. ‘I’m sure I don’t have to lie and say what a pleasure it’s been to see you again?’

He grinned unconcernedly. ‘The pleasure has been all mine, I assure you.’

‘If you enjoy being with a woman who holds you in nothing but contempt, then, yes, it would appear so,’ Luccy snapped.

His eyes narrowed dangerously, telling Luccy that she had probably gone too far with that last remark.

‘If you won’t have lunch with my grandfather tomorrow perhaps you would have it with me, instead,’ he bit out coldly.