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CHAPTER SIX

POPPY SANK INTO the guest-roo a pillow She was incredibly tired but so wired she was convinced that she would not sleep a wink

She was going to eous, filthy rich, super-successful Gaetano Who sent her body into spasle kiss If she was honest with herself, she really hadn’t needed a night to think it over He would help her protect herback onto a career path Really,Gaetano would be hichever way she looked at it, wouldn’t it be?

As long as she didn’t get too carried away and start acting as if it were a realas she didn’t fall for Gaetano Well, she wasn’t about to do that, was she? He was almost thirty years old and had never been in love The closest he had come to love ith a woman who had married his friend And he had acted as best est to her that it had been very close to love at all Gaetanoto love her and he wasn’t going to keep her either It would be a tee and it would uiltily, because faking it for the older man’s benefit still troubled her conscience He was such a kind, genuine sort of man and so unlike Gaetano, who kept the equivalent of a coffin lid slammed down hard on his emotions

While Poppy was ruence, Gaetano was subjecting himself to yet another cold shower She had to marry hirip of a raging inferno of frustrated lust he felt as though he would spontaneously coet Poppy spread across his bed as the perfect wedding gift The definitive wedding gift, with those ballerina legs in lace stockings, those pert little breasts in satin cups, that voluptuous pink reen spellbinding eyes He groaned out loud He couldn’t credit that he had barely touched her when he wanted so much more

But if they married, a feeeks down the matrily The challenge would be gone The lust would die once he could have her whenever he wanted her He would soon be hiain, cooler, calmer, back in control, fully focussed on the bank Hoas it possible that just the fantasy of sinking into Poppy’s illing body excited him more than he had ever been excited? What was it about her?

Maybe it was the weird clothes, ue Maybe it was her cheeky texts that h The fact she could still blush? That was strange Every ti outrageous She couldn’t possibly be that innocent, although he illing to allow that she ht well have considerably less experience between the sheets than he had acquired

Gaetano shook Poppy awake at the ungodly hour of six in theher heartfelt moans to insist that she join him for breakfast After a quick shower and the application of a little make-up, Poppy teah heels and sauntered down to the dining room Gaetano was already ensconced with black coffee, a horrendously unhealthy fry-up and the Financial Times

She was gloriously conscious of his attention as she helped herself to cereal and took a seat at the other end of the table, her ruby cluster ring catching the light Gaetano put down the newspaper and regarded her levelly, dark golden eyes steady as a rock and full of an impatience he didn’t need to voice

‘Yes, I’ll ht off

‘Does that ht?’ was Gaetano’s first telling question

‘You are incredibly goal-orientated about entirely the wrong things!’ Poppy censured immediately ‘You can wait until we’re married’

‘Nobody waits until they’re married these days!’

‘I haven’t had sex before I want it to feel special,’ she told him stubbornly

His expressive dark eyes flared with incredulity ‘I refuse to credit that I saw you with Toby Styles’

‘I hate you!’ Poppy launched at him in a sudden tempest of furious embarrassment, her pale skin flushed to her hairline ‘Of all thethat one up and throw it at me!’

‘Well, it was one of those unforgettable mo out of the shrubbery covered in blushes and grass stains,’ Gaetano co amusement ‘So, why lie about it? This is purely about sex, bella mia, and I’in or a secret slut matters not a damn to me’