Free Dante's Ultimate Gamble by Day Leclaire Page B

intentions?”
    The question caught Luc off guard and Conway picked up on that fact. He pounced with something akin to triumph. He rocked onto the balls of his feet with a quick bounce and jabbed his index finger toward Luc. “Exactly. Are you really here to ensure a smooth transition, or is this about the renewal of our contract? If you’re looking for a better price…”
    Huh. Luc cocked his head to one side. “Can you offer one?”
    “No, I just meant…” He eyed the two, his suspicion deepening. “I hope you don’t think Téa will offer you a better deal because she’s a woman, and therefore susceptible to masculine influence.”
    “Masculine influence,” Luc repeated. He didn’t need to fake how much the comment offended him. “By that I assume you mean sexual influence.” He slowly stood, allowing every intimidating inch of his six-feet-three to loom over Billings’s five-feet-squat. “Just who the hell do you think I am? Who do you think she is?”
    Conway retreated toward the door. “No! I didn’t mean—” A heavy flush stained his cheeks and he made a production of checking his watch. “Since I have an urgent appointment in a few minutes, we’ll have to finish this discussion some other time.” He fumbled for the door handle behind him. “Téa, you and Luc carry on. I’ll be in my office if you need me.” With that, he exited the room with as much dignity as he could muster.
    Luc waited until the door banged closed before glancing at Téa. To his relief, he saw amusement glittering in her eyes. He edged his hip on the corner ofher desk again, managing not to wince this time. “I’m curious,” he said. “Could I use sex to persuade you to give Dantes a better deal?”
    “Not a chance.”
    He heaved a disappointed sigh. “Didn’t think so, but I had to ask. Sev would have been annoyed if I hadn’t at least tried.”
    “I understand.”
    “In that case, we better do what Conway ordered.”
    A delightful confusion spread across her face. “I’m sorry?”
    Luc grinned. “Didn’t you hear him? He told us to carry on. I suggest we get started.” He leaned in, feeling the pull of The Inferno and allowing it to consume him. “He is, after all, the boss.”
    Her smile turned grim. “Only for six more weeks.”
    And then she, too, surrendered to the heat.

Five
    T he next week passed, at moments feeling as though it were on wings. Other times Téa was certain some sadistic creature had paused the minutes in order for her to fully experience the weight of desire building with each additional day she spent in Luc’s company.
    It was a desire she couldn’t allow. One she didn’t have time to explore, not when she faced so many more urgent demands. Mostly it was one she didn’t deserve, not after the destruction she’d left in her wake all those years ago—a destruction she could never fully repair even though she’d do her best to mend the few rents within her capability.
    Luc kept his word. Except for the single embrace they exchanged after the confrontation with Connie, he hadn’t touched her. At least, he didn’t touch her the way she longed to be touched. He kept their physical interaction as brief and distant as possible, though shesensed that it was as much a struggle for him as it was for her.
    His struggle wasn’t implicit in what he said, but she caught his reaction in small and significant ways. The deepening tenor of his voice. The slight hitch in his movement when he reached for her, as though he were deliberately switching gears from intimate to impersonal. A flash of awareness that turned his golden eyes molten with hunger before he deliberately banked the flames.
    She didn’t find the process any easier. She had an urgent job to accomplish right now—to learn everything she could about her grandfather’s company before assuming the reins, while still carving out enough time each day to care for her family’s needs and demands…not to mention the unending