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A ripple went through his jaw but before he could respond, an incoming text beeped loudly.
Panic rolled through Giada as she frantically tried to recall if her phone was still off.
They’d agreed on radio silence until Gigi found the heirloom, lest it tipped Alessio off, but Gigi marched to the beat of her own drum.
Relief coursed through her when Alessio fished his phone from his breast pocket. Irritation flashed across his face as he glanced at the text, his face clenching even tighter at whatever he read. Then she watched his fingers fly over the screen for a minute in a series of quick-fire responses before he thrust the phone away.
He exhaled, then pinned her with his laser gaze. ‘You have your deal, Miss Parker.’ Before she could accommodate the tiniest sliver of triumph, he was continuing, ‘But it will be conducted on my terms.’
With a flick of his strong fingers, the powerful engine roared to life.
Like a candle exposed to a gust of air, her relief snuffed out. ‘What’s that supposed to mean? What terms?’
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he leaned forward, making her shrink back in her seat as he reached for her seat belt. He saw her reaction, a thin, cruel smile curving his lips, content to keep her in alarmed suspense as he secured her belt, then dealt with his own.
Then with the adeptness of a man in supreme control, he shot the car into traffic.
It wasn’t until he’d pulled up at the first traffic sign that he answered. ‘I’ve wasted enough time chasing after you. From now until this farce is over and you accept that you don’t have what it takes to make it on any of my teams, I own your time. And you,’ he finished in a silken voice fat with satisfaction. ‘But a word of caution. Attempt anything underhanded and you’ll learn the true meaning of consequences.Capisci?’
She’d got what she wanted and bought Gigi the precious time she needed. So why were alarm bells tolling louder in her ears? Giada tried subtly shaking her head to dispel the klaxon, but it only grew louder.
‘I said, am I understood?’ he pressed, that false indolence making him all the more terrifying.
Giada realised then that the tolling wasn’t just in her head. The lights had turned green and horns were blaring behind them. Alessio ignored the irate drivers, his gaze fixed on her as he awaited her response.
‘Yes. I understand,’ she blurted, then gulped down her apprehension as satisfaction spread on his face.
His thigh muscles rippling beneath his trousers, he slid the car into gear and shot forward. Despite the glitz and glamour of Gstaad in winter, heads still turned as he cut through traffic.
Giada’s thoughts continued to spin, alternating between being thankful she’d bought Gigi much-needed time, and fretting about what exactly she’d let herself in for.
Which was why it took depressingly long minutes to realise Alessio had driven to the cheap hotel she’d booked into. It didn’t take as long to read the disdain on his face, however.
‘You have ten minutes to pack your things,’ he announced, his gaze flicking from the shady entrance to her face.
Her heart flung itself against her ribcage. ‘Pack my... Why, where are we going?’
One silky eyebrow arched. ‘Questioning me already?’
‘I’m not following you blindly, if that’s what you think,’ she whipped back, more out of apprehension than anything else. Because that bell? It was clanging louder and this time it had nothing to do with irate drivers. ‘And I suspect no one who works for you does either.’
Something glinted in his eyes, gone too quickly for her to decipher. ‘I’m returning to Sicily in the morning. Tonight, we’re spending the night at my chalet in Gris-Montana. Your interview will begin when we reach the chalet. You now have seven minutes, Miss Parker,’ he warned with deadly softness.
Fevered questions tumbled on her tongue, but instinct warned her that Alessio would leap on any excuse to default her. For Gigi’s sake, she couldn’t hand him that excuse.
Aware of the seconds ticking away, Giada opened the door.
The two-star hotel located on a quiet side street with dim lighting and kitsch decor had seen better days, and, unlike the plush resorts and five-star hotels, the icy pavements hadn’t been well swept or at all in some places.
Forgetting that she was wearing the sky-high heels her twin favoured and was way more adept at walking in, Giada stepped out, took a single step and immediately teetered wildly.
Dread and impending shame scrambled through her, a helpless cry breaking from her throat as the pavement rushed up at her.
At the last moment, and with dizzying speed that snatched her breath away, a thick, muscled arm swept her off her feet, as Alessio pulled her back against his hard torso.
Despite the layers separating them, his body heat suffused hers, his scent wrapping around her so entirely that Giada barely managed to bite back a moan it was so appealing.
