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So it was no wonder he’d broken a third rule, afterward, and fired her for sleeping with him.
That wasn’t the reason he’d given her supervisor, the head housekeeper, of course. But it had been obvious to Hallie. And clearly her lawyer, too.
But now, as Hallie stood across from him in his private office, biting her full, delectable lower lip, it was hard for him to think about lawyers when all he wanted to do was pull her back into his arms.
For a year, he’d done his best to forget her. He’d told himself he had. Now he knew that was a lie.
“Why are you here?” Cristiano demanded in a low voice.
“I came to...came to tell you...”
Her husky voice trembled, stopped. She looked at him.
Turning away, Cristiano set down the crystal lowball glass heavily on the dark wood bar. He clenched his hands at his sides to keep himself from the temptation of pulling her into his arms and kissing her to see if her lips were still as delicious as he remembered. He was drawn by the sweet sin of her mouth. Of her body. Of her deep brown eyes, luring him into their depths.
Possessing her once had not been enough. After he’d had her that night, he’d just wanted more. It didn’t help that, naked and soft in his arms, she’d looked up at him in bed as if she were half in love with him already. She’d lured him like a siren to give him more than just his body. More than just his money.
But sex and money were all he could give any woman.
So he’d sent her away, tossing her from the warmth of his bed when his body was still aching for more. After she’d gone, he’d still longed for her, like a sweet, forbidden poison. First thing the next morning, he’d contacted her supervisor and arranged to have her fired. For her own good. And his.
But he had never stopped wanting her. And now, as he stepped toward her, his breathing was hard. And not just his breathing.
“Tell me what you want.”
“I need to tell you something. Important.”
“So you said.” Cristiano’s voice was low as he looked down at her. He came closer, almost close enough to touch her. His mind was scrambling for rationalizations as to why he should.
Perhaps if he slept with her just one more time...
Got her out of his system...
Stop, he told himself furiously.
Hesitating, Hallie licked her full, pink lips. He nearly groaned. Was she purposely taunting him?
“This...isn’t easy to say,” she whispered.
Gritting his teeth, he glared at her. “Let me say it for you, then. I already know why you’re here.”
Her caramel-brown eyes went wide.
“You know?”
He set his jaw. “You never cashed the check.”
Hallie blinked, furrowing her forehead. “The check?”
“The morning after.”
Her cheeks colored and she looked away.
“No,” she said in a low voice. “I ripped it into a million pieces and threw it in the trash.”
“Because you knew, even then, you could demand far more.”
Hallie looked at him sharply.
