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of white cheese into my mouth, chewing slowly. It tasted delicious, of fresh milk and herbs. I took
another one, followed by what looked like a meatball tasting of peppers and olives.
I looked up when he lifted his fork and helped himself from the same plate. The gesture was
so intimate it made my heart skip a beat.
Too intimate.
It wasn t what two strangers did.
 You re damn sexy when you eat, Jett whispered.  I m glad you re not one of those anorexic
girls on a diet.
I almost choked on my bite but continued to eat as if we were having a business conversation.  I
don t believe in diets.
He smiled.  It s not just your attitude I like. I love the way you get lost in every new sensation.
You show the same passion when you re under me.
Good gracious.
Red flags began to flash somewhere in the back of my mind. He was beginning to flirt with me,
piling on the sexy compliments, which given Jett and our history wasn t a good sign.
Before I could stop him, he leaned forward and brushed his thumb over my lips and then sucked
the tip of it into his mouth. I took a sharp breath and forced myself to let it out slowly.
In his absence, I had prepared all those kickass comebacks that would kick his ego to the curb.
In my head I knew what I wanted to say and how to infuse just the right amount of sarcasm into it.
Sitting in front of him, an arrogant, self-assured smile reflected in his eyes, my wit sort of dried up,
and I found myself staring like an idiot, fighting for words while my brain remained surprisingly blank
and my insides turned all mushy.
Dammit, I couldn t think of anything to say. Worse yet, I could barely breathe because of the
delicious pull between my legs. My panties were beginning to melt just from watching him do normal
stuff, reminding me of all the pleasure he and his fingers had once bestowed upon me. The awareness
came to me that I could sleep with him anytime. Pull him to me, yank his shirt open, run my fingers
down his chest to the happy trail I had once been more than eager to explore.
His sexy smile widened. As if he knew what I was thinking.
Damn him and his gorgeous body!
Damn him and his flirting!
Thankfully, our waiter arrived to ask whether we needed anything else. For a moment I
seriously considered asking the waiter to stay during the rest of our lunch. Figuring that might be a
little too awkward, I resisted the urge and watched the waiter leave again.
I was a grown woman, for crying out loud. I didn t need to hide behind anyone s back because
I couldn t deal with a hot guy. Or maybe I could.
Play it cool and play it cold, Stewart!
 Jett, I want you to forget what happened between us, I started, my tone infused with as much
frostiness as I could muster.  It s over. We can t go back to how things used to be.
Jett s eyebrows shot up.  It s never over. Not until every fight has been lost. And for you, I d
fight.
 There s nothing to fight for. You re not getting the estate.
 I already told you it s not about the estate, Brooke. This is about us. About your safety. His
voice came low and dark. Like a menacing warning that he wasn t going to give up.
 I don t need your protection. He s just an old man. What can he do to me?
Hesitating, Jett put down his fork and crossed his arms over his broad chest.  It s not that
simple.
 Then explain. I want to understand.
He took a sip of my drink before putting the glass down slowly, leaving his untouched. Hiding
my annoyance at the intimate gesture, I wondered whether he was trying to make a point by helping
himself, like wanting to say that what belonged to me belonged to him. Seriously, could he turn more
caveman-like on me? My blood began to boil in my veins. It started to boil harder when he touched
my hand. His fingers began to trace circles on the back of my hand, slowly but with just the right
amount of pressure the way he used to do when we were still together.
How the heck can you explain to a guy that it s over when you re having a hard time convincing
yourself? Why is telling others what they have to do always simpler than applying your own advice in
practice?
 Tell me what s going on. I want to understand, I said, pulling my hand away from him.
 That s the only reason I m here. Why do you think I m in danger?
I leaned back in my chair, regarding him coolly. The more I thought about this, the more his
assumptions seemed ludicrous. Scary, yes, because Jett was persuasive. But still absurd.
 Like I said, Alessandro s just an old man. What do you think he could possibly do to me from
a hospital bed where he s dying, Jett?
He frowned and a shadow crossed his features. I honestly thought he was going to start
talking& until he lifted his fork again and began to eat, taking all the time in the world.
I groaned.
Damn!
He did it again ignoring me. Letting me wait on purpose just because he felt like being in
control.
Assessing. Testing.
Testing what?
I felt like leaning over that table and shaking some sense into him. Maybe even strangle him
while I was at it, because his reasoning, or lack thereof, made no sense to me, and I was slowly
losing my patience at his reticence.
 It s not just Lucazzone I m talking about. It s the elite club he belonged to, he said slowly.
 My father, Robert, was involved many years ago.
 What club? I eyed him carefully, sensing the sudden change in the air.
Jett sighed and ran a hand through his tousled dark hair. His gloomy expression reflected the
countless emotions fighting to gain control inside. In the end his shoulders slumped like he d made a
decision he didn t want to make, but his dark expression didn t change.
 I ll tell you everything I know, okay? Jett said.  But I want you to just listen and listen
carefully. Whatever I say today doesn t leave this table. You cannot tell anyone.
The sharp edge in his tone instantly raised my alertness. He grabbed my hand and gave it a hard
squeeze until I nodded, silently giving him my word.
 A few years back, Alessandro Lucazzone was involved in my father s business. It was for a
brief time and he was never officially listed as a shareholder, so I couldn t figure out why my father
would let him make the decisions he made decisions that cost us millions. I stumbled upon it when I
checked our financial reports dating back to my time at college. A few weeks ago, Robert finally
came clean and admitted something that could harm the company.
Jett paused and his eyes narrowed, the angry line between his eyebrows saying more than a
thousand words. His grip on my hand tightened, hurting me just a little, but I didn t pull back.  They
were both involved in this sort of elite club. You know, drugs and kinky sex practices, and lots of
people to be paid off to keep quiet. My father and quite a few people many of them rich and famous [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]