Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire by Nina Croft Read Free Book Online Page B

pleasure.
    She’d had to walk away that night; she couldn’t stay. Luc was supposed to have been a means to an end, nothing more, but somehow he’d turned the tables on her. He’d asked about her father. Lia knew what sort of man her father had been and now it seemed as though Luc was somehow connected, which couldn’t be good. Besides, if she found a way through this, she was determined to put that part of her life behind her.
    So she had run.
    Now, it seemed he had caught her, and she needed to understand why. She searched his face, but his expression was concealed behind dark sunglasses.
    “You found me,” she said. “Why?”
    “Why what?” His voice was without emotion.
    “Why did you bother? I know I left without saying good-bye, but it must have been obvious I didn’t want your job.”
    “Maybe I was curious as to why you changed your mind.”
    His eyes were hidden, but she knew he was watching her closely, examining her from behind his dark glasses, and she squirmed. She was finding it almost impossible to believe she had ever been intimate with this stranger.
    “I don’t normally do that sort of thing.”
    “What sort of thing would that be?” he asked.
    He wasn’t going to make this easy on her and staring into that hard blank face, it was slowly dawning on her that for some reason he was angry. Coldly, furiously angry, and again, she couldn’t understand why. So, she had left without saying good-bye. That was hardly a crime. He’d probably left dozens of women in the same way.
    “Sleeping with men I’ve only just met.”
    “I’m aware of that. Your lack of experience was obvious.”
    What the hell could he possibly mean by that? That she’d been no good? She shook her head. “Anyway, all I’m saying is that I was off-balance that night. I was scared, and you sort of saved me and…” she floundered.
    “…and you slept with me to say thank you,” he said. “How sweet.”
    Lia winced at the sarcasm in his voice.
    “Or perhaps,” he said, “the truth is, you slept with me so you would get a chance to search my office, and if that’s the case—” He paused and took off his dark glasses. “—then I’m curious to know just what it is you were hoping to find.”
    Lia stared into those icy, green eyes and shivered.
    “What were you looking for, Lia?”
    Her heart plummeted. This was a nightmare. It had to be. How could he know? He must be guessing. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    Luc laughed, but the sound held no amusement. “You were caught on CCTV.”
    “On what TV?”
    “There’s a closed circuit TV camera set up in my office. I have you on film.”
    Lia turned away to give herself a moment to think. A truly horrible thought struck. She turned back to face him. “Just your office?” she croaked.
    Luc smiled. “Don’t worry, your performance in the bedroom wasn’t caught on camera.”
    Relief flooded her. The thought of what they had done being filmed was enough to break her out in a cold sweat. The thought of him watching it made her flood with heat.
    “Mind you,” he said, “even putting aside the idea of industrial espionage, which I’m sure the police would be more than willing to investigate, there are a couple of extremely good shots of you—pretty much naked—that might possibly make a good pinup.”
    “What?”
    “You’re a good girl, aren’t you, Lia? Treacherous, deceitful, but basically a good girl.” He made the words sound like something dirty. “Or at least I’d bet the people you work with think you are. How would you like those pictures posted on the Internet?” He paused, no doubt to let the idea sink in. “Perhaps e-mailed to your friends, colleagues, the local newspaper.”
    Lia shook her head, bewildered. “Why would you do that?”
    “I won’t need to if you tell me what I want to know.”
    Faintness washed over her. “You wouldn’t.”
    He didn’t reply, and looking at that hard, implacable face, Lia knew he