The Undoing of de Luca by Kate Hewitt Page A

of the night they’d shared, not to mention the pain and sorrow she’d felt afterwards, but she could hardly voice that sentiment.
    Larenz rose from the table, coming around to her side. He reached down and took her hand, tugging her upwards. Ellery didn’t resist. She stood up, savouring his closeness, the scent of his aftershave, the heat and strength of him. He’d already become familiar. He laced his fingers with hers. ‘Come with me, Ellery.’
    ‘For a week?’ she said, and Larenz paused.
    ‘Yes.’ He spoke steadily, flatly. ‘That’s all I have to offer.’
    So those were his terms. A week, take it or leave it. A week, and then he would leave her for ever and she would return here, to the half-life she’d made for herself. Ellery knew she should say no. Agreeing would be opening herself up to all sorts of pain, hurt, sorrow. A week of being used, because surely that was all it was? A week was not a relationship.
    She opened her mouth and yet still she didn’t speak. The definite no didn’t come. For, despite every logical reason to refuse, she still wanted to go. She wanted to escape this house and her life, and she wanted to be with Larenz.
    ‘Ellery?’ Larenz prompted gently, and she remembered how he’d let her decide last night. He’d waited then, and he was waiting now.
    What if it didn’t have to be like that? she wondered suddenly. What if she made these terms hers, instead of just Larenz’s? She wasn’t interested in love. She didn’t even want a relationship; she’d kept herself from such things on purpose, out of self-protection.
    What if she decided on a week’s fling? What if she was in control?
    The thought was powerful. Persuasive. Her mother had been at her father’s whim, waiting hopelessly for his return, for his careless favour. Yet Ellery didn’t have to be like that. She could take this week, enjoy it to the full, and when it was over she could be the one to walk away, her heart intact.
    This, she thought suddenly, could be just what she needed. In so many ways.
    She squeezed Larenz’s fingers. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I’ll go with you.’
    Larenz waited in the kitchen as Ellery went to pack. He felt restless, edgy and even a little hopeful. A strange mix. He had no idea why he’d asked Ellery to come with him to London. He’d had no intention of doing so; he’d been coming to say goodbye.
    And then he’d found himself saying something else instead, and wanting it. Wanting her.
    The thought was just a little bit alarming.
    Of course, it didn’t have to be. He’d made it very clear to Ellery what his terms were, what this week would mean—and especially what it wouldn’t mean. And even if he’d broken all of his rules—bedding a virgin and mixing business with pleasure—he wouldn’t break that one.
    After a week, it was over. After a week, he would leave.
    They left right after breakfast. It felt strange to pack a single case—she had few dressy clothes left over from her London days—and then to lock up the Manor, leaving it emptier than ever.
    Larenz waited by his car; Ellery sensed his impatience, even though he didn’t say anything or even glance at his watch. He was ready to go. To move on. And in another week, he’d be ready again. Well, so would she.
    ‘Do you need to notify anyone?’ he asked as Ellery slid into the front passenger seat of his car. ‘I suppose things will just tick over for a few days?’
    Ellery nodded. ‘I was just planning on doing some maintenance around the house this week.’ She smiled wryly. ‘But I suppose it can wait.’
    ‘Good,’ Larenz said firmly and started the engine.
    ‘It feels strange,’ she admitted with a little laugh, as Larenz drove down the Manor’s sweeping lane, ‘to leave, even for just a little while.’ She wanted to be clear that she understood the rules. That they were hers, too.
    Larenz slotted her a quick sideways smile. ‘It will do you good.’
    Ellery stiffened. That was the second time