PunishingPhoebe by Kit Tunstall Read Free Book Online Page B

have no choice.”
That was an understatement. “Do you want to come home and return later for
treatment?”
    After a hesitation, Anya said, “That
doesn’t make sense. I just don’t know if I can do this alone.” She sounded on the
verge of tears.
    Phoebe’s stomach cramped in reaction. “I
have faith in you, Anya. You’re going to do just fine.” She forced herself to
sound cheerful. “You know I’ll be back just as soon as I can.”
    “I know.” She cleared her throat. “Maybe
I’ll be done with the program by the time you can get away from work again.”
    “Maybe.” Just how long would Luca expect
her to play his revenge game? When would he decide she had paid him back
sufficiently by using her body as payment?
    “I love you, Phoebe.”
    “I love you too.” She set the phone back on
the handset gently, her fingers lingering on the device for a moment, wishing
she could take back the phone call she’d just made, along with the reason for
having to make it.
    As she turned, Phoebe bumped into Luca.
Gasping with surprise, she clutched her chest. “You startled me.”
    “Sorry to interrupt such an intimate
conversation.” His eyes glowed darkly with anger.
    “Luca—”
    “Get dressed. Our plane leaves soon.” He
turned his back on her, and his posture communicated he wasn’t open to a
discussion regarding what he thought he’d heard.
    With a small shake of her head, she turned
away from him. Futility weighed on her, making it almost impossible to summon
the energy required to shower and dress. There was an irreparable breach between
them now, and all the sex in the world wasn’t going to heal it. Any hopes she’d
had of a meaningful relationship had died the moment she’d accepted Salvatore’s
offer. Yet, what other choice could she have made? The worst part was Luca
would never know her reasons because he refused to hear them—not that he would
believe anything she told him now.
    An hour later, Phoebe sat beside Luca on
his private jet, pretending to read a magazine she’d found on the table. He was
absorbed in a stack of paperwork probably related to the Giovanni merger. Other
than the occasional brooding glance cast in her direction, he might as well
have been set in stone.
    Her fingers itched to reach for her cell
phone to call Anya, but she hesitated. Even if the call would go through, she
didn’t want to speak in front of Luca. A part of her liked having him think
there was another man in her life. It made her feel safe and protected to have
a buffer between them, however flimsy. As long as an imaginary lover stood
between them, he would maintain an emotional distance. It could be vital to her
self-preservation and might be the only thing to keep her from doing something
stupid, like falling in love with him.
    He abruptly closed the file as they neared
the private landing strip. “We’ll go straight to your apartment.”
    She arched a brow. “I’m a little…sore from
last night.”
    “So you can pack,” he said in a cool tone.
    Phoebe frowned. “Pack? For what? Are we
going on a business trip?”
    Luca opened his briefcase to place the file
neatly inside. “You’re moving in with me.”
    Her mouth dropped open and she closed it so
quickly her teeth clicked together. “What? Are you crazy?”
    “I’m not letting you out of my sight
again.” He looked up from the briefcase to watch her with narrowed eyes. “I
don’t trust you not to run off again. You obviously have a lover in Boston. Who
knows where else you might have men waiting for you?”
    “I’m not a whore.” She spoke loudly enough
to worry the crew in the cockpit had heard her, even through the door
separating it from the main cabin.
    Luca snorted. “What else do you call a
woman who trades her body for money?” His cool façade cracked slightly,
revealing a hint of anger and something more. “How many other men have you done
this to, Phoebe? Was Seaton’s family the first you extorted money from, or