LITMIR.BIZ

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is no need to come up with me.’ Her words were so cold they almost froze him out, and he wondered about the passionate woman he’d glimpsed as his lips had brushed hers. Did she ever let her guard down enough for that passion to take over? Was that why she hadn’t dated recently? The challenge to find out more about the ice princess was immense, but it would get in the way of his real purpose and he couldn’t be distracted by a beautiful woman, no matter how attractive the prospect was.

      ‘We need to arrange our next date,’ he said as he held open the lobby door for her and nodded at the doorman.

      As they waited for the elevator, he thought of seeing Bianca again. He pushed aside thoughts of kisses and passion, focusing instead on the thrill of sparring with her. The thought of coming closer to the moment he could avenge his father’s demise by finding out about Dario Di Sione’s latest product launch and using it against ICE pushed him forward even though his conscience was beginning to tug with something he didn’t want to acknowledge.

      The elevator doors swished open and he followed Bianca in, more aware than ever of the crackle of tension which still simmered around them.

      ‘Yes, I suppose we do if we are to be believed. Shall I arrange something this time?’ Her voice distracted him from thinking of things he had little right to think about. The moment his lips had met hers something had changed, and although a public kiss was necessary, he had never meant it to be one so filled with such explosiveness as that lingering touch of lips to lips.

      ‘Not this time.’ He forced his mind to focus, not prepared to admit that he intended to test just how far and fast the news of their engagement was spreading. The elite of New York’s restaurants were always able to accommodate those who moved in Bianca’s high circles, and it was time to test if he was yet ranked among them. ‘Just keep next Friday evening free.’

      ‘Friday it is, then.’ Her voice trailed after her, as did her perfume, as she left the elevator. For a moment he watched, bewitched by the sway of her hips, encased in emerald green silk.

      Following her, he shook his head and blinked. He had to stop wondering what really dating Bianca Di Sione would be like. If he didn’t, his whole plan, one that had taken years to come to fruition, was at stake. And he couldn’t let that happen.

      As a teenager living rough on the streets of St Petersburg, he’d vowed he would do all it took to seek revenge for his parents, for the life together they should have had, and if it hadn’t been for the underhand dealings of ICE, he wouldn’t need Bianca to gain him acceptance into any society.

      If it hadn’t been for ICE, he wouldn’t have been forced to steal just to feed himself and the other poor urchins he’d met while living rough. He wouldn’t have been caught and sent to the youth prison camps, hidden away in the country. The gruelling years he’d spent there had made him a man before his time and now that man was ready to exact payment. So what if the delectable Bianca Di Sione was part of it.

      ‘Goodnight, Liev.’ Her voice pierced the past he’d slipped into and he quickly focused his attention on the woman who stood before him.

      ‘Goodnight, Bianca.’ He lifted her fingertips to his lips and kissed them gently. ‘Until next Friday.’

      Before he could do anything else, he turned and marched away, because if he didn’t he was in danger of giving everything away by either allowing the past to get the better of him and demanding answers from her about the company her brother now headed, or by giving into the urge to kiss her—really kiss her.

CHAPTER FIVE

      THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY Bianca sat at the intimate candlelit table of one of New York’s most exclusive restaurants and looked out at the unrivalled view of the city. If Liev had been able to secure such a table at short notice, she knew that word of their engagement was spreading through society.

      Not only was it spreading through society. It was spreading through her family and she was ashamed to say that she hadn’t yet been able to tell them herself, as if by not doing so made it less of a lie.

      She’d first had a call from Matteo and had hated that she’d had to deceive her older brother, telling him she was so happy, that she’d met the man of her dreams and hadn’t wanted to wait a moment longer. He had been sceptical, questioning her, and that had almost pushed her to tell the truth. But how could she say she was being blackmailed—for a bracelet?

      Then calls from some of the others had followed and she had been forced to tell the lie over and over. She also agreed that once Dario’s launch was over they could all get together and meet the man who’d swept her off her feet. Except by then she would be nearing the end of her ridiculous deal with Liev Dragunov and hoped she would be able to stall them until she got the bracelet back. Once it was all over she could tell them she’d made a mistake, because under no circumstances did she want any of her family to know just what she was doing for her grandfather until she had the bracelet. She couldn’t risk Liev taking it back to Russia, not when it meant so much to her grandfather.

      ‘I’m impressed.’ She turned her attention from the view to the man opposite. The angles of Liev’s face, which had once made him look hard and unyielding, now made him appear more handsome. Or was it because he was actually smiling?

      ‘With our engagement making the headlines this week, there was no question of not getting a table at any of New York’s finest restaurants. It was, of course, a test to see just how far being engaged to you has brought me.’ His voice held a new lightness to it but she couldn’t relax.

      She couldn’t afford to, not when he’d been on her mind all week, lingering on the edge of her thoughts as she worked on Dario’s forthcoming launch. When she’d opened a file for Liev, and had begun filling in the few details she’d overheard on their first date, she realised she knew very little else about him and checked again on the internet to find nothing much existed. There was nothing about his family, his education or his love life. Nothing. As if he’d never existed before he arrived in New York.

      ‘And are you happy with the progress so far?’ She watched the champagne bubble up in her glass, unable to maintain eye contact with him because of the whispers of awareness which brushed over her. They reminded her of how it had felt to be kissed by him and how much she’d wanted that kiss to continue.

      ‘It is a start, but not yet enough.’ His sharp words forced her to look again at him. His tailored suit showed off his physique, giving him a razor-sharp business look she couldn’t help but admire. It was also blatantly obvious he wasn’t going to settle for anything less than he wanted.

      ‘We now need to begin planning your launch, which means I need to know a little more about you.’ She kept her tone as businesslike as she could, but with those grey eyes watching her so intently, it was almost impossible. Shyness began to creep over her. Something she hadn’t shown publicly for many years, preferring to hide behind a hardened mask of professionalism for which she was renowned. She was also well aware that she was referred to as the ice princess and had seen the gossip columns all week speculating if Liev was the man to melt that heart.

      If only they knew the truth.

      ‘Is that something we should be doing on a date?’ His suggestive smile as he sat back to allow their first course to be placed on the table sent nerves skittering down her spine, closely followed by a tingle of awareness. Was that because he’d called tonight a date or because he’d smiled at her?

      ‘I need to know more about you and, if you recall, we are not dating. We merely have an agreement. One I would prefer to think of as business—unless you’d like to use the more unsavoury term of blackmail?’ She couldn’t quite keep the tartness from her voice. Saying it aloud reminded her of the anger that she was allowing him to do this to her, making her feel as insignificant as she had that night of the prom.

      ‘Very well. What do you need to know?’ The smile had left his lips and his eyes now glittered with barely concealed mistrust, confirming he was hiding something or that his reasons

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