The Italian's Secretary Bride by Kim Lawrence Page B

acid jibe. God, why did he never react the way she expected?
    â€˜Are you on some sort of medication?’
    â€˜No, I am not on medication!’ she retorted indignantly.
    â€˜I wasn’t accusing you of being a junkie. I meant prescription drugs.’ Eyes that were far too penetrating for her liking swept across her face. ‘Have you seen a doctor recently?’
    â€˜No, I have not seen a doctor.’
    One dark brow lifted. ‘Will you?’
    â€˜Yes,’ she hissed from between clenched teeth.
    He laughed. ‘You’re a very bad liar.’
    â€˜I’m also very fed up with ridiculous cross-examination. For the last time,’ she yelled, ‘I am not ill, I’m just…’
    He stilled, his vivid eyes narrowing suspiciously. ’Pregnant?’
    There was a palpitating silence.
    Alice’s small hands clenched into fists at her sides. Of all the extraordinary explanations, Luca had to come up with one that made her look bad. She attempted to treat the accusation calmly. ‘No, I am not pregnant!’
    â€˜Who is the father?’ he asked, acting as if she hadn’t spoken, which was Luca all over. He wasn’t interested in anyone else’s opinion…well, not mine anyhow, she thought. This quality might make him a force to be reckoned with in the business world, but when it came to a personal level it made him a total pain!
    â€˜Didn’t you hear me? Oh, silly me, I forgot, you’re far too fond of the sound of your own voice to listen to what anyone else says!’
    As someone who broke out in goose-bumps every time she heard that distinctive velvet drawl, she felt pretty uniquely qualified to discuss his voice.
    Luca’s attention, which had been fixed on his shoes, suddenly switched back to her face. ‘It would explain your over-emotional erratic behaviour,’ he contended. ‘Your hormones are obviously all over the place.’
    She exhaled and closed her eyes…wasted breath did not cover this! ‘For the last time I am not pregnant!’ she repeated, her voice tight with frustration.
    His sensual lips twisted in a cynical smile. ‘Would you tell me if you were?’
    â€˜Only if you happened to be the father.’

CHAPTER SEVEN
    S OMETIMES I don’t believe the stuff that comes out of my mouth…!
    Luca being the father of her baby would require that they had…Inhaling sharply, Alice bit her lip as she was helpless to control the tide of heat that washed over her fair skin.
    â€˜That is of course good to know, but as I do not indulge in unprotected sex that would be unlikely.’
    â€˜Neither do I!’ No sex at all was about the safest you could get! ‘And,’ she choked, ‘you’re not going to indulge in any sort of sex with me!’
    â€˜Imagine my devastation,’ he said drily.
    Alice’s eyes glowed with dislike as she glared up at him. ‘You’re the very last man in the world I would have sex with.’
    â€˜Which is why you shake every time I touch you.’
    Alice didn’t even dignify this taunt with a response. ‘Let me say this slowly, so that even someone of your limited mental capacity can understand. I am not pregnant. I don’t actually carry a medical certificate to that effect concealed about my person—’
    â€˜I think it would be physically impossible, given what you’re wearing, to actually conceal anything about your person.’
    To her horror she felt her body react to his scrutiny. ‘Then you’ll just have to take my word for it.’
    Mortified, she quickly turned away; the darned dress left her precious few secrets, she thought as her nipples pressed stiffly against the silky fabric. The friction created as she moved to open the door was almost painful.
    â€˜Permit me.’
    â€˜You make it sound as if I have a choice,’ she snarled sarcastically as she was forced to stand by and watch him