Free A Reputation to Uphold by Victoria Parker

couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a date, never mind her age. No wonder his legendary control was tauter than a tightrope and just as hazardous.
    ‘You were saying?’
    ‘I do not consider age when I take a women to my bed.’ He didn’t. Did he? ‘The only thing I ensure is that they know the rules.’ His rules. And he supposed women in their early twenties were less complicated. They were perfectly happy with what he offered. Good sex and a lucrative farewell.
    ‘In any case, I am older than you. Four years at least,’ he said, wanting to get off the topic of sex and beds before he grabbed her small waist and hauled her atop his lap to straddle him. Then she’d know exactly what age, make and model he was currently lusting after.
    ‘It’s different for men,’ she said, warming to her topic, hands wafting in the air. And Dante felt a small smile tug at his lips. She’d always been expressive. At least some things were still the same. ‘Look at George Clooney. Or Sean Connery. The older they get, the yummier they get.’
    His lips flattened with the speed of an express train.
    Yummier ? ‘You find older men attractive?’ What was the black emotion swelling in his chest, pinching his ribcage, making him shift in his seat? ‘But you have only just turned twenty-seven.’
    ‘I...’ Head whipping round, she searched his face. ‘You remember my birthday?’
    November fifth. Bonfire night. How could he forget? She was born to cause havoc. ‘I remember your eighteenth birthday party. The Masquerade Winter Ball.’
    ‘Oh. No wonder you remember the season. You brought that dark-haired French actress who went skinny-dipping in the lake and almost contracted pneumonia. What was her name again?’
    No idea.
    ‘My point, Eva, is no one will believe our break-up is due to upgrade requirements. We will give a short statement to the press claiming irreconcilable differences and we only wish to be friends.’
    She ‘ pfff ’d, the vibration rippling over her lips. ‘Irreconcilable. How very apt. Except friends tend not to hate each other.’
    ‘ Hate is a strong word, cara .’ While he felt a hyperbolic spin of emotions, not all of them were of the hostile variety. ‘Haven’t we just had this conversation?’
    ‘Lust is different,’ she said huskily. ‘We’re ignoring that bit. This is business. Safe.’
    How long would she last without sex? If her sexual appetite were anything like his today, she would be hungry by Wednesday, famished by Friday. And on Saturday...
    A flashback seared his retinas and he glanced at the blinding sun in an attempt to burn the image from his mind. Utter waste of time and effort. For still he could see her as if it were only yesterday. Eva locked in the arms of her rock star...his filthy hands fanning the upper curve of her ass. His Tequila-drenched mouth buried in her neck. Mere hours after Dante had done the exact same thing.
    Bitter acid flooded his tongue. Maledizione , what was it with women? Why couldn’t they honour one man? But hadn’t his father told him this from the day Dante had walked onto the Vitale estate, no more than fifteen years old? That his own mother had been a whore just like any other.
    Dante hauled air into his tight chest. He wasn’t used to this wild emotional state. He was calm. Nothing rattled him. Except her .
    Keeping his voice steady and even, betraying none of the tumultuous churn of his thoughts, he turned on her. ‘It’s time we discussed the rules.’
    She visibly stiffened before him. ‘Rules?’
    ‘ Sì. Rules,’ he bit out. ‘No provocative dress. No drinking. And, most important of all...you will remain faithful to me, comprende ?’
    Eva drew back, blinking over and over. And he wondered then how much of the darkness was showing on his face. ‘F...faithful?’
    ‘ Sì . Completely. Utterly. Faithful.’ Diving into her eyes, he attempted to curb the lash of his tongue but it was a useless pursuit. ‘When the furore