‘Luca, what are you doing?’

But the defensive tartness was gone out of Serena's voice.

He pulled her in closer. The darkness wrapped around them but failed to hide that bright blue gaze or the gold of her hair. The slant of her stunning cheekbones.

She wasn't pulling away.

Luca's body was on fire. From somewhere he found his voice and it sounded coarse, rough. ‘What am I doing?’

This …

And then he pulled her right into him and his mouth found hers with unerring precision. Her breasts swelled against his chest—in outrage? He didn't know, because he was falling over the very thin edge of his control.

When he felt her resistance give way after an infinitesimal moment triumph surged through his body. He couldn't think any more because he was swept up in the decadent darkness of a kiss that intoxicated him and reminded him of only one other similar moment … with her … seven years before.

BILLIONAIRE BROTHERS

One raised in luxury in Brazil, the other on the streets of Italy …

Luca Fonseca lives with the shame of his father's unethical dealings and his own mistake of falling for a beautiful face. Now this cold-hearted Brazilian is determined to restore his family's reputation—with or without his twin brother's help.

Embittered Max Fonseca Roselli has shunned his heritage and his brother, and despite raising himself on the streets of Rome has carved out his own successful life. He, too, wants respectability—but he has a very different plan …

Two women will bring these brothers together—but is it enough to restore their brotherly bond?

Fonseca’s Fury

Abby Green

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABBY GREEN spent her teens reading Mills & Boon® romances. She then spent many years working in the film and TV industry as an assistant director. One day, while standing outside an actor's trailer in the rain, she thought: There has to be more than this. So she sent off a partial manuscript to Mills & Boon. After many rewrites they accepted her first book and an author was born.

She lives in Dublin, Ireland, and you can find out more here: www.abby-green.com

This is for Helen Kane—thanks for going to Dubai and letting me rent out your house and possibly the most idyllic office space in Dublin. And I do forgive you for leaving me behind in Kathmandu (on my birthday!) while you went off and romanced your own Mills and Boon hero! x

Contents

Cover

Introduction

BILLIONAIRE BROTHERS

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

EXTRACT

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

SERENA DEPIERO SAT in the plush ante-room and looked at the name on the opposite wall, spelled out in matt chrome lettering, and reeled.

Roseca Industries and Philanthropic Foundation.

Renewed horror spread through her. It had only been on the plane to Rio de Janeiro, when she'd been reading the extra information on the charity given to her by her boss, that she'd become aware that it was part of a much bigger organisation. An organisation run and set up by Luca Fonseca. The name Roseca was apparently an amalgamation of his father and mother's surnames. And Serena wasn't operating on a pay grade level high enough to require her to be aware of this knowledge before now.

Except here she was, outside the CEO's office, waiting to be called in to see the one man on the planet who had every reason to hate her guts. Why hadn't he sacked her months ago, as soon as she'd started working for him? Surely he must have known? An insidious suspicion took root: perhaps he'd orchestrated this all along, to lull her into a false sense of security before letting her crash spectacularly to the ground.

That would be breathtakingly cruel, and yet this man owed her nothing but his disdain. She owed him. Serena knew that there was a good chance her career in fundraising was about to be over before it had even taken off. And at that thought she felt a spurt of panic mixed with determination. Surely enough time had passed now? Surely, even if this was some elaborate revenge cooked up by Luca Fonseca as soon as he'd known she was working for him, she could try to convince him how sorry she was?

But before she could wrap her head around it any further a door opened to her right and a sleek dark-haired woman dressed in a grey suit emerged.

‘Senhor Fonseca will see you now, Miss DePiero.’

Serena's hands clenched tightly around her handbag. She felt like blurting out, But I don't want to see him!

But she couldn't. As much as she couldn't just flee. The car that had met her at the airport to deliver her here still had her luggage in its boot.

As she stood up reluctantly a memory assailed her with such force it almost knocked her sideways: Luca Fonseca in a bloodstained shirt, with a black eye and a split lip. Dark stubble shadowing his swollen jaw. He'd been behind the bars of a jail cell, leaning against a wall, brooding and dangerous. But then he'd looked up and narrowed that intensely dark blue gaze on her, and an expression of icy loathing had come over his face.

He'd straightened and moved to the bars, wrapping his fingers around them almost as if he was imagining they were her neck. Serena had stopped dead at the battered sight of him. He'd spat out, ‘Damn you, Serena DePiero, I wish I'd never laid eyes on you.’

‘Miss DePiero? Senhor Fonseca is waiting.’

The clipped and accented voice shattered Serena's memory and she forced her feet to move, taking her past the unsmiling woman and into the palatial office beyond.

She hated that her heart was thumping so hard when she heard the door snick softly shut behind her. For the first few seconds she saw no one, because the entire back wall of the office was a massive window and it framed the most amazingly panoramic view of a city Serena had ever seen.

The Atlantic glinted dark blue in the distance, and inland from that were the two most iconic shapes of Rio de Janeiro: the Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer high on Corcovado. In between were countless other tall buildings, right up to the coast. To say that the view was breathtaking was an understatement.

And then suddenly it was eclipsed by the man who moved into her line of vision. Luca Fonseca. For a second past and present merged and Serena was back in that nightclub, seeing him for the first time.

He’d stood so tall and broad against the backdrop of that dark and opulent place. Still. She’d never seen anyone so still, yet with such a commanding presence. People had skirted around him. Men suspicious, envious. Women lustful.

In a dark suit and open-necked shirt he’d been dressed much the same as other men, but he’d stood out from them all by dint of that sheer preternatural stillness and the incredible forcefield of charismatic magnetism that had drawn her to him before she could stop herself.

Serena blinked. The dark and decadent club faded. She couldn’t breathe. The room was instantly stifling. Luca Fonseca looked different. It took her sluggish brain a second to function enough for her to realise that he looked different because his hair was longer, slightly unruly. And he had a dark beard that hugged his jaw. It made him look even more intensely masculine.

He was wearing a light-coloured open-necked shirt tucked into dark trousers. For all the world the urbane, civilised businessman in his domain, and yet the vibe coming from him was anything but civilised.

He crossed his arms over that massive chest and then he spoke. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing here, DePiero?’

Serena moved further into the vast office, even though it was in the opposite direction from where she wanted to go. She couldn’t take her eyes off him even if she wanted to.

She forced herself to speak, to act as if seeing him again wasn’t as shattering as it was. ‘I’m here to start working in the fundraising department for the global communities charity.’

‘Not any more, you’re not,’ Fonseca said tersely.

Serena flushed. ‘I didn’t know you were...involved until I was on my way over here.’

Fonseca made a small sound like a snort. ‘An unlikely tale.’

‘It’s true,’ Serena blurted out. ‘I had no idea the charity was linked to the Roseca Foundation. Believe me, if I’d had any idea I wouldn’t have agreed to come here.’

Luca Fonseca moved around the table and Serena’s eyes widened. For a big man, he moved with innate grace, and that incredible quality of self-containment oozed from every pore. It was intensely captivating.

He admitted with clear irritation, ‘I wasn’t aware that you were working in the Athens office. I don’t micro-manage my smaller charities abroad because I hire the best staff to do that for me—although I’m reconsidering my policy after this. If I’d known they’d hired you, of all people, you would have been let go long before now.’

His mouth twisted with recrimination.

‘But I have to admit that I was intrigued enough to have you brought here instead of just leaving you at the airport until we could put you on a return flight.’

So he hadn’t even known she was working for him. Serena’s hands curled into fists at her sides. His dismissive arrogance set her nerves even more on edge.

He glanced at a big platinum watch on his wrist. ‘I have a spare fifteen minutes before you are to be delivered back to the airport.’

Like an unwanted package. He was firing her.

He hitched a hip onto the corner of his desk, for all the world as if they were having a normal conversation amidst the waves of tension. ‘Well, DePiero? What the hell is Europe’s most debauched ex-socialite doing working for minimum wage in a small charity office in Athens?’

Only hours ago Serena had been buoyant at the thought of her new job. A chance to prove to her somewhat over-protective family that she was going to be fine. She’d been ecstatic at the thought of her independence. And now this man was going to ensure that everything she’d fought so hard for was for naught.

For years she had been the enfant terrible of the Italian party scene, frequently photographed, with reams of newsprint devoted to her numerous exploits which had been invariably blown out of proportion. Nevertheless, Serena knew well that there was enough truth behind the headlines to make her feel that ever-present prick of shame.

‘Look,’ she said, hating the way her voice had got husky with repressed emotion and shock at facing this blast from her past, ‘I know you must hate me.’

Luca Fonseca smiled. But his expression was hard. ‘Hate? Don’t flatter yourself, DePiero, hate is a very inadequate description of my feelings where you are concerned.’

Another poisonous memory assailed her: a battered Luca, handcuffed by Italian police, being dragged bodily to an already loaded-up van, snarling, ‘You set me up, you bitch!’ at Serena, who had been moments away from being handed into a police car herself, albeit minus the handcuffs.

They’d insisted on everyone being hauled in to the police station. He’d tried to jerk free of the burly police officers and that had earned him a thump to his belly, making him double over. Serena had been stupefied. Transfixed with shock.

He’d rasped out painfully, just before disappearing into the police van, ‘She planted the drugs on me to save herself.’

Serena tried to force the memories out of her head. ‘Mr Fonseca, I didn’t plant those drugs in your pockets... I don’t know who did, but it wasn’t me. I tried to contact you afterwards...but you’d left Italy.’

He made a sound of disgust. ‘Afterwards? You mean after you’d returned from your shopping spree in Paris? I saw the pictures. Avoiding being prosecuted for possession of drugs and continuing your hedonistic existence was all in a week’s work for you, wasn’t it?’

Serena couldn’t avoid the truth; no matter how innocent she was, this man had suffered because of their brief association. The lurid headlines were still clear in her mind: DePiero’s newest love interest? Brazilian billionaire Fonseca caught with drugs after raid on Florence’s most exclusive nightclub, Den of Eden.

But before Serena could defend herself Luca was standing up and walking closer, making her acutely aware of his height and powerful frame. Her mouth dried.

When he was close enough that she could make out the dark chest hair curling near the open V of his shirt, he sent an icy look from her face to her feet, and then said derisively, ‘A far cry from that lame excuse for a dress.’

Serena could feel heat rising at the reminder of how she’d been dressed that night. How she’d dressed most nights. She tried again, even though it was apparent that her attempt to defend herself had fallen on deaf ears. ‘I really didn’t have anything to do with those drugs. I promise. It was all a huge misunderstanding.’

He looked at her for a long moment, clearly incredulous, before tipping his head back and laughing so abruptly that Serena flinched.

When his eyes met hers again they still sparkled with cold mirth, and that sensual mouth was curved in an equally cold smile.

‘I have to hand it to you—you’ve got some balls to come in here and protest your innocence after all this time.’

Serena’s nails scored her palms, but she didn’t notice. ‘It’s true. I know what you must think...’

She stopped, and had to push down the insidious reminder that it was what everyone had thought. Erroneously.

‘I didn’t do those kinds of drugs.’

Any hint of mirth, cold or otherwise, vanished from Luca Fonseca’s visage. ‘Enough with protesting your innocence. You had Class A drugs in that pretty purse and you conveniently slipped them into my pocket as soon as it became apparent that the club was being raided.’

Feeling sick now, Serena said, ‘It must have been someone else in the crush and panic.’

Fonseca moved even closer to Serena then, and she gulped and looked up. She felt hot, clammy.

His voice was low, seductive. ‘Do I need to remind you of how close we were that night, Serena? How easy it must have been for you to divest yourself of incriminating evidence?’

Serena could recall all too clearly that his arms had been like steel bands around her, with hers twined around his neck. Her mouth had been sensitive and swollen, her breathing rapid. Someone had rushed over to them on the dance floor—some acquaintance of Serena’s who had hissed, ‘There’s a raid.’

And Luca Fonseca thought... He thought that during those few seconds before chaos had struck she’d had the presence of mind to somehow slip drugs onto his person?

He said now, ‘I’m sure it was a move you’d perfected over the years, which was why I felt nothing.’

He stepped back and Serena could take a breath again. But then he walked around her, and her skin prickled. She was acutely aware of his regard and wanted to adjust her suit, which felt constrictive.

She closed her eyes and then opened them again, turning around to face him. ‘Mr Fonseca, I’m just looking for a chance—’

He held up his hand and Serena stopped. His expression was worse than cold now: it was completely indecipherable.

He clicked his fingers, as if something just occurred to him, and his lip curled. ‘Of course—it’s your family, isn’t it? They’ve clipped your wings. Andreas Xenakis and Rocco De Marco would never tolerate a return to your debauched ways, and you’re still persona non grata in the social circles who fêted you before. You and your sister certainly landed on your feet, in spite of your father’s fall from grace.’

Disgust was etched on his hard features.

‘Lorenzo DePiero will never be able to show his face again after the things he did.’

Serena felt nauseous. She of all people didn’t need to be reminded of her father’s corruption and many crimes.

But Luca wasn’t finished. ‘I think you’re doing this under some sort of sufferance, to prove to your new-found family that you’ve changed... In return for what? An allowance? A palatial home back in Italy, your old stomping ground? Or perhaps you’ll stay in Athens, where the stench of your tarnished reputation is a little less...pungent? After all, it’s where you’ll have the protection of your younger sister who, if I recall correctly, was the one who regularly cleaned up your messes.’

Fire raced up Serena’s spine at hearing him mention her family—and especially her sister. A sense of protectiveness overwhelmed her. They were everything to her and she would never, ever let them down. They had saved her. Something this cold, judgmental man would never understand.

Serena was jet-lagged, gritty-eyed, and in shock at seeing this man again, and it was evident in her voice now, as she lashed back heatedly, ‘My family have nothing to do with this. And nothing to do with you.’

Luca Fonseca looked at Serena incredulously. ‘I’m sure your family have everything to do with this. Did you drop a tantalising promise of generous donations from them in return for a move up the career ladder?’

Serena flushed and got out a strangled-sounding, ‘No, of course not.’

But the way she avoided his eyes told Luca otherwise. She wouldn’t have had to drop anything but the most subtle of hints. The patronage of either her half-brother, Rocco De Marco, or her brother-in-law, Andreas Xenakis, could secure a charity’s fortunes for years to come. And, as wealthy as he was in his own right, the foundation would always need to raise money. Disgusted that his own staff might have been so easily manipulated, and suddenly aware of how heated his blood was, Luca stepped back.

He was grim. ‘I am not going to be a convenient conduit through which you try to fool everyone into thinking you’ve changed.’

Serena just looked at him, and he saw her long, graceful throat work, as if she couldn’t quite get out what she wanted to say. He felt no pity for her.

She couldn’t be more removed from the woman of his memory of seven years ago, when she’d been golden and sinuous and provocative. The woman in front of him now looked pale, and as if she was going for an interview in an insurance office. Her abundantly sexy white-blonde hair had been tamed into a staid chignon. And yet even that, and the sober dark suit, couldn’t dim her incredible natural beauty or those piercing bright blue eyes.

Those eyes had hit him right in the solar plexus as soon as she’d walked into his office, when he’d been able to watch her unobserved for a few seconds. And the straight trousers couldn’t hide those famously long legs. The generous swell of her breasts pushed against the silk of her shirt.

Disgust curled through him to notice her like this. Had he learnt nothing? She should be prostrating herself at his feet in abject apology for turning his life upside down, but instead she had the temerity to defend herself: ‘My family have nothing to do with this.’

His clear-headed focus was being eroded in this woman’s presence. Why was he even wondering anything about her? He didn’t care what her nefarious motivations were. He’d satisfied whatever curiosity he’d had.

He clenched his jaw. ‘Your time is up. The car will be waiting outside for your return to the airport. And I do sincerely hope to never lay eyes on you again.’

So why was it so hard to rip his gaze off her?

Anger and self-recrimination coursed through Luca as he stepped around Serena and stalked back to his desk, expecting to hear the door open and close.

When he didn’t, he spun round and spat out tersely, ‘We have nothing more to discuss.’

The fact that she had gone paler was something that Luca didn’t like to acknowledge that he’d noticed. Or his very bizarre dart of concern. No woman evoked concern in him. He could see her swallow again, that long, graceful throat moving, and then her soft, husky voice, with that slightest hint of an Italian accent, crossed the space between them.

‘I’m just asking for a chance. Please.’

Luca’s mouth opened and closed. He was stunned. Once he declared what he wanted no one questioned him. Until now. And this woman, of all people? Serena DePiero had a less than zero chance of Luca reconsidering his decision. The fact that she was still in his office set his nerves sizzling just under his skin. Irritating him.

But instead of admitting defeat and turning round, the woman stepped closer. Further away from the door.

Luca had an urge to snarl and stalk over to her, to put her over his shoulder, physically remove her from his presence. But right then, with perfect timing, the memory of her lush body pressed against his, her soft mouth yielding to his forceful kiss, exploded into his consciousness and within a nano-second he was battling a surge of blood to his groin.

Damn her. Witch.

She was at the other side of his desk. Blue eyes huge, her bearing as regal as a queen’s, reminding him effortlessly of her impeccable lineage.

Her voice was low and she clasped her hands together in front of her, knuckles white. ‘Mr Fonseca, I came here with the best of intentions to do work for your charity, despite what you may believe. I’ll do anything to prove to you how committed I am.’

Anger surged at her persistence. At her meek Mr Fonseca.

Luca uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on the table in front of him, leaning forward. ‘You are the reason I had to rebuild my reputation and people’s trust in my charitable work—not to mention trust in my family’s mining consortium. I spent months, years, undoing the damage of that one night. Debauchery is all very well and good, as you must know, but the stigma of possessing Class A drugs does tend to last. The truth is that once those pictures of us together in the nightclub surfaced I had no defence.’

It almost killed Luca now to recall how he had instinctively shielded Serena from the police and detectives who had stormed the club, which was when she must have taken the opportunity to plant the drugs on him.

He thought of the paparazzi pictures of her shopping in Paris while he’d been leaving Italy under a cloud of disgrace, and bitterness laced his voice. ‘Meanwhile you were oblivious to the fallout, continuing your hedonistic existence. And after all that, you have the temerity to think that I would so much as allow your name to be mentioned in the same sentence as mine?’

If possible, she paled even more, displaying the genes she’d inherited from her half-English mother, a classic English rose beauty.

He straightened up. ‘You disgust me.’

Serena was dimly aware that on some level his words were hurting her in a place that she shouldn’t be feeling hurt. But something dogged deep inside had pushed her to plead. And she had.

His eyes were like dark, hard sapphires. Impervious to heat or cold or her pleas. He was right. He was the one man on the planet who would never give her a chance. She was delusional to have thought even for a second that he might hear her out.

The atmosphere in the office was positively glacial in comparison to the gloriously sunny day outside. Luca Fonseca was just looking at her. Serena’s belly sank. He wasn’t even going to say another word. He’d said everything. He’d just wanted to see her, to torture her. Make her realise just how much he hated her—as if she had been in any doubt.

She finally admitted defeat and turned to the door. There would be no reprieve. Hitching up her chin in a tiny gesture of dignity, she didn’t glance back at him, not wanting to see that arctic expression again. As if she was something distasteful on the end of his shoe.

She opened the door, closed it behind her, and was met by his cool assistant who was waiting for her. And who’d undoubtedly been privy to the plans of her boss well before Serena had been. Silently she was escorted downstairs.

Her humiliation was complete.

* * *

Ten minutes later Luca spoke tersely into his phone. ‘Call me as soon as you know she’s boarded and the plane has left.’

When he’d terminated the call Luca swivelled around in his high-backed chair to face the view. His blood was still boiling with a mixture of anger and arousal. Why had he indulged in the dubious desire to see her face to face again? All it had done was show him his own weakness for her.

He hadn’t even known she was on her way to Rio until his assistant had informed him; the significance of her arrival had only come to light far too late to do anything about it.

Serena DePiero. Just her name brought an acrid taste of poison to his mouth. And yet the image that accompanied her name was anything but poisonous. It was provocative. It was his first image of her in that nightclub in Florence.

He’d known who she was, of course. No one could have gone to Florence and not known who the DePiero sisters were—famed for their light-haired, blue-eyed aristocratic beauty and their vast family fortune that stretched back to medieval times. Serena had been the media’s darling. Despite her debauched existence, no matter what she did, they’d lapped it up and bayed for more.

Her exploits had been legendary: high-profile weekends in Rome, leaving hotels trashed and staff incandescent with rage. Whirlwind private jet trips to the Middle East on the whim of an equally debauched sheikh who fancied a party with his Eurotrash friends. And always pictured in various states of inebriation and loucheness that had only seemed to heighten her dazzling appeal.

The night he’d seen her she’d been in the middle of the dance floor in what could only be described as an excuse for a dress. Strapless gold lamé, with tassels barely covering the top of her toned golden thighs. Long white-blonde hair tousled and falling down her back and over her shoulders, brushing the enticing swell of a voluptuous cleavage. Her peers had jostled around her, vying for her attention, desperately trying to emulate her golden exclusiveness.

With her arms in the air, swaying to the hedonistic beat of music played by some world-class DJ, she had symbolised the very font of youth and allure and beauty. The kind of beauty that made grown men fall to their knees in wonder. A siren’s beauty, luring them to their doom.

Luca’s mouth twisted. He’d proved to be no better than any other mortal man when she’d lured him to his doom. He took responsibility for being in that club—of course he did. But from the moment she’d sashayed over to stand in front of him everything had grown a little hazy. And Luca was not a person who got hazy. No matter how stunning the woman. His whole life was about being clear and focused, because he had a lot to achieve.

But her huge bright blue eyes had seared him alive, igniting every nerve-ending, blasting aside any concerns. Her skin was flawless, her aquiline nose a testament to her breeding. Her mouth had fascinated him. Perfectly sculpted lips. Not too full, not too thin, effortlessly hinting at a dark and sexy sensuality.

She’d said coquettishly, ‘It’s rude to stare, you know.’

And instead of turning on his heel in disgust at her reputation and her arrogance, Luca had felt the blood flow through his body, hardening it, and he’d drawled softly, ‘I’d have to be blind not to be dazzled. Join me for a drink?’

She’d tossed her head and for a second Luca had thought he glimpsed something curiously vulnerable and weary in those stunning blue eyes, but it had to have been a trick of the strobing lights, because then she’d purred, ‘I’d love to.’

The wisps of memory faded from Luca’s mind. He hated it that even now, just thinking of her, was having an effect on his body. Seven years had passed, and yet he felt as enflamed by anger and desire as he had that night. A bruising, humiliating mix.

He’d just left Serena DePiero in no doubt as to what he thought of her. She’d effectively been fired from her job. So why wasn’t there a feeling of triumph rushing through him? Why was there an unsettling, prickling feeling of...unfinished business?

And why was there the tiniest grudging sliver of admiration for the way she had not backed down from him and the way that small chin had tipped up ever so slightly just before she’d left?

CHAPTER TWO

THE HOTEL WAS a few blocks back from Copacabana beach. To say that it was basic was an understatement, but it was clean—which was the main thing. And cheap—which was good, considering Serena was living off her meagre savings from the last year. She took off her travelling clothes, which were well creased by now, and stepped into the tiny shower, relishing the lukewarm spray.

Her belly clenched minutely when she imagined Luca’s reaction to her not leaving Rio but she pushed it aside. She’d been standing in line for the check-in when her sister had phoned her. Too heartsore to admit that she was coming home so soon, and suddenly aware that Athens didn’t even really feel like home, Serena had made a spur-of-the-moment decision to tell a white lie and pretend everything was okay.

And, even though she’d hated lying—to her sister, of all people—she didn’t regret it now. She was still angry at Luca Fonseca’s easy dismissal of her, the way he’d toyed with her before kicking her out of his office.

It had been enough to propel her out of the airport and back into the city. She scrubbed her scalp with unnecessary force, not liking how turbulent her emotions still were after meeting him again, and she certainly didn’t like admitting that he’d roused her to a kind of anger she hadn’t felt in a long time. Angry enough to rebel...when she’d thought she’d left all that behind her.

When she emerged from the bathroom she had a towel hitched around her body and another one on her head, and was feeling no less disgruntled. She almost jumped out of her skin when a loud, persistent knocking came on her door.

Scrambling around to find something to put on, Serena called out to whoever it was to wait a second as she pulled on some underwear and faded jeans and a T-shirt. The towel fell off her head so her long hair hung damply down her back and over her shoulders.

She opened the door and it was as if someone had punched her in the stomach. She couldn’t draw breath because Luca Fonseca was standing there, eyes shooting sparks at her, looking angrier than she’d ever seen him.

‘What the hell are you doing here, DePiero?’ he snarled.

Serena answered faintly, ‘You seem to be asking me that a lot lately.’

And then the fright he’d just given her faded and the anger she’d been harbouring swelled back. Her hand gripped the door.

‘Actually, I might ask the same of you—what the hell are you doing here, Fonseca?’ Something occurred to her. ‘And how on earth did you even know where I was?’

His mouth was a tight line. ‘I told Sancho, my driver, to wait at the airport and make sure you got on the flight.’

The extent of how badly he’d wanted her gone hit her. Her hand gripped the door even tighter. ‘This is a free country, Fonseca. I decided to stay and do a little sightseeing, and as I no longer work for you I really don’t think you have any jurisdiction here.’

She went to close the door in his face but he easily stopped her and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him and forcing her to take a step back.

His arctic gaze took in her appearance with derision and Serena crossed her arms over her braless chest, self-conscious.

‘Mr Fonseca—’

‘Enough with the Mr Fonseca. Why are you still here, Serena?’

His use of her name made something swoop inside her. She crossed her arms tighter. It reminded her bizarrely of how it had felt to kiss him in the middle of that dance floor. Dark and hot and intoxicating. No other man’s kiss or touch had ever made her feel like that. She’d pulled back from him in shock, as if his kiss had incinerated her, right through to where she was still whole. Herself.

‘Well?’

The curt question jarred Serena back to the present and she hated it that she’d remembered that feeling of exposure.

‘I want to see Rio de Janeiro before going home.’ As if she would confide that she also wanted to delay revealing the extent of her failure to her family for as long as possible.

Luca snorted indelicately. ‘Do you have any idea where you are? Were you planning on taking a stroll along the beach later?’

Serena gritted her jaw. ‘I was, actually. I’d invite you to join me, but I’m sure you have better things to be doing.’

His sheer animal magnetism was almost overwhelming in the small space. The beard and his longer hair only added to his intense masculinity. Her skin prickled with awareness. She could feel her nipples tighten and harden against the barrier of her thin T-shirt and hated the unique way this man affected her above any other.

Luca was snarling again. ‘Do you realise that you’re in one of the most dangerous parts of Rio? You’re just minutes from one of the worst favelas in the city.’

Serena resisted the urge to point out that that should please him. ‘But the beach is just blocks away.’

Now he was grim. ‘Yes, and no one goes near this end of the beach at night unless they’re out to score some drugs or looking to get mugged. It’s one of the most dangerous places in the city after dark.’

He stepped closer and his eyes narrowed on her speculatively.

‘But maybe that’s it? You’re looking for some recreational enhancement? Maybe your family have you under their watch and you’re relishing some freedom? Have you even told them you’ve been fired?’

Serena’s arms fell to her sides and she barely noticed Luca’s gaze dropping to her chest before coming up again. All she felt was an incredible surge of anger and hatred for this man and his perspicacity—even if it wasn’t entirely accurate.

Disgusted at the part of her that wanted to try and explain herself to him, she spat out, ‘What’s the point?’

She stalked around Luca and reached for the door handle, but before she could turn it and open the door an arm came over her head, keeping the door shut. She turned and folded her arms again, glaring up at Luca, conscious of her bare feet and damp hair, trying desperately not to let his sheer physicality affect her.

‘If you don’t leave in five seconds I’ll start screaming.’

Luca kept his arm on the door, semi caging Serena in. ‘The manager will just assume we’re having fun. You can’t be so naive that you didn’t notice this place rents rooms by the hour.’

Serena felt hot. First of all at thinking of this man making her scream with pleasure and then at her own naivety.

‘Of course I didn’t,’ she snapped, feeling vulnerable. She scooted out from under Luca’s arm and put some space between them.

Luca crossed his arms. ‘No, I can imagine you didn’t. After all, it’s not what you’re used to.’

Serena thought of the Spartan conditions of the rehab facility she’d been in in England for a year, and then of her tiny studio apartment in a very insalubrious part of Athens. She smiled sweetly. ‘How would you know?’

Luca scowled then. ‘You’re determined to stay in Rio?’

Never more so than right now. Even if just to annoy this man. ‘Yes.’

Luca looked as though he would cheerfully throttle her. ‘The last thing I need right now is some eagle-eyed reporter spotting you out and about, clubbing or shopping.’

Serena bit back a sharp retort. He had no idea what her life was like now. Clubbing? Shopping? She couldn’t imagine anything worse.

Her smile got even sweeter. ‘I’ll wear a Louis Vuitton bag over my head while I go shopping for the latest Chanel suit. Will that help?’

That didn’t go down well. Blood throbbed visibly in Luca’s temple. ‘You leaving Rio would be an even bigger help.’

Serena unconsciously mimicked his wide-legged stance. ‘Well, unless you’re planning on forcibly removing me, that’s not going to happen. And if you even try such a thing I’ll call the police and tell them you’re harassing me.’

Luca didn’t bother to tell her that with far greater problems in the city the police would no doubt just ogle her pale golden beauty before sending her on her way. And that such a stunt would only draw the interest of the paparazzi, who followed him most days.

The very thought of her being spotted, identified and linked to him was enough to make him go cold inside. He’d had enough bad press and innuendo after what had happened in Italy to last him a lifetime.

An audacious idea was being formulated in his head. It wasn’t one he particularly relished, but it seemed like the only choice he had right now. It would get Serena DePiero out of Rio more or less immediately, and hopefully out of Brazil entirely within a couple of days.

‘You said earlier that you were looking for another chance? That you’d do anything?’

Serena went very still, those huge blue eyes narrowing on him. Irritation made Luca’s skin feel tight. The room was too small. All he could see was her. When she’d dropped her arms his eyes had tracked hungrily to her breasts, and he could still recall the jut of those hard nipples against her T-shirt. She was naked underneath.

Blood pooled at his groin, making him hard. Damn.

‘Do you want a chance or not?’ he growled, angry at his unwarranted response. Angry that she was still here.

Serena blinked. ‘Yes, of course I do.’

Her voice had become husky and it had a direct effect on Luca’s arousal. This was a mistake—he knew it. But he had no choice. Damage limitation.

Tersely, he said, ‘I run an ethical mining company. I’m due to visit the Iruwaya mines, and the tribe that lives near there, to check on progress. You can prove your commitment by coming with me, instead of the assistant I’d lined up, to take notes. The village is part of the global communities network, so it’s not entirely unrelated.’

‘Where is the village?’

‘Near Manaus.’

Serena’s eyes widened. ‘The city in the middle of the Amazon?’

Luca nodded. Perhaps this would be all it would take? Just the thought of doing something vaguely like hard work would have her scrambling back. Giving in. Leaving.

As if to mock his line of thought, Serena looked at him with those huge blue eyes and said determinedly, ‘Fine. When do we go?’

Her response surprised Luca—much as the fact that she’d chosen this rundown flea-pit of a hotel had surprised him. He’d expected her to check into one of Rio’s five-star resorts. But then he’d figured that perhaps her family had her on a tight leash where funds were concerned.

Whatever. He cursed himself again for wondering about her and said abruptly, ‘Tomorrow. My driver will pick you up at five a.m.’

Once again he expected her to balk, but she didn’t. He swept his gaze over the minor explosion of clothes from her suitcase and the toiletries spread across the narrow bed. The fact that her scent was clean and sweet, at odds with the sultry, sexy perfume he remembered from before, was not a welcome observation.

He looked back to her. ‘I’ll have an assistant stop by with supplies for the trip within the hour. You won’t be able to bring your case.’

That gaze narrowed again. Suspicious. ‘Supplies?’

Luca faced her squarely and said, with only the slightest twinge to his conscience, ‘Oh, didn’t I mention that we would be trekking through the jungle to get to the village? It takes two days from the farthest outskirts of Manaus.’

Those blue eyes flashed. ‘No,’ she responded. ‘You didn’t mention that we would be trekking through the jungle. Is it even safe?’

Luca smiled, enjoying the thought of Serena bailing after half an hour of walking through the earth’s largest insect and wildlife-infested hothouse. He figured that after her first brush with one of the Amazon’s countless insect or animal species she’d give up the act. But for now he’d go along with it. Because if he didn’t she’d be a loose cannon in Rio de Janeiro. A ticking publicity time bomb. At least this way she’d have to admit defeat and go of her own free will.

He made a mental note to have a helicopter standing by to extract her and take her to the airport.

‘It’s eminently safe, once you have a guide who knows what they’re doing and where they’re going.’

‘And that’s you?’ she said flatly.

‘Yes. I’ve been visiting this tribe for many years, and exploring the Amazon for a lot longer than that. You couldn’t be in safer hands.’

The look Serena shot him told him that she doubted that. His smile grew wider and he arched a brow. ‘By all means you can say no, Serena, it’s entirely up to you.’

She made a derisive sound. ‘And if I say no you’ll personally escort me to the airport, no doubt.’

She stopped and bit her lip for a moment, making Luca’s awareness of her spike.

‘But if I do this, and prove my commitment, will you let me take up the job I came for?’

Luca’s smile faded and he regarded her. Once again that tiny grudging admiration reared its head. He ruthlessly crushed it.

‘Well, as I’m almost certain you won’t last two hours in the jungle it’s a moot point. All this is doing is delaying your inevitable return home.’

Her chin lifted and her arms tightened over her chest. ‘It’ll take more than a trek and some dense vegetation to put me off, Fonseca.’

* * *

The early-morning air was sultry, and the dawn hadn’t yet broken, so it was dark when Serena got out of the back of the chauffeur-driven car at the private airfield almost twelve hours later. The first person she saw was the tall figure of Luca, carrying bags into a small plane. Instantly her nerves intensified.

He barely glanced at her as she walked over behind the driver, who carried the new backpack she’d been furnished with. And then his dark gaze fell on her and her heart sped up.

‘You checked out of the hotel?’

Good morning to you too, Serena said silently, and cursed her helpless physical reaction. ‘Yes. And my suitcase is in the car.’

Luca took her small backpack from the driver and exchanged a few words with him in rapid Portuguese. Then, as the driver walked away, Luca said, ‘Your things will be left at my headquarters until you get back.’

The obvious implication of you—not we—was not lost on Serena, and she said coolly, ‘I won’t be bailing early.’

Luca looked at her assessingly and Serena was conscious of the new clothes and shoes she’d been given. Lightweight trousers and a sleeveless vest under a khaki shirt. Sturdy trekking boots. Much like what Luca was wearing, except his looked well worn, faded with time. Doing little to hide his impressive muscles and physique.

She cursed. Why did he have to be the one man who seemed to connect with her in a way she’d never felt before?

Luca, who had turned back to the plane, said over his shoulder, ‘Come on, we have a flight slot to make.’

‘Aye-aye, sir,’ Serena muttered under her breath as she hurried after him and up the steps into the small plane. She was glad that she’d pulled her hair up into a knot on top of her head as she could already feel a light sweat breaking out on the back of her neck.

Luca told her to take a seat. He shut the heavy door and secured it.

As Serena was closing her seatbelt she saw him take his seat in the cockpit and gasped out loud, ‘You’re the pilot?’

‘Evidently,’ he said drily.

Serena’s throat dried. ‘Are you even qualified?’

He was busy flicking switches and turning knobs. He threw back over his shoulder, ‘Since I was eighteen. Relax, Serena.’

He put on a headset then, presumably to communicate with the control tower, and then they were taxiing down the runway. Serena wasn’t normally a nervous flyer, but her hands gripped the armrests as the full enormity of what was happening hit her. She was on a plane, headed into the world’s densest and most potentially dangerous ecosystem, with a man who hated her guts.

She had a vision of a snake, dropping out of a tree in front of her face, and shivered in the dry cabin air just as the small plane left the ground and soared into the dawn-filled sky. Unfortunately her spirits didn’t soar with it, but she comforted herself that at least she wasn’t arriving back in Athens with her tail between her legs...just yet.

Serena was very aware of Luca’s broad-shouldered physique at the front of the plane, but as much as she wanted to couldn’t quite drum up the antipathy she wanted to feel for him. After all, he had good reason to believe what he did about her—that she’d framed him.

Anyone else would have believed the same...except for her sister, who had just looked at her with that sad expression that had reminded Serena of how trapped they both were by their circumstances—and by Serena’s helpless descent into addiction to block out the pain.

Their father had simply been too powerful. And Siena had been too young for Serena to try anything drastic like running away. By the time Siena had come of age Serena had been in no shape to do anything drastic. Their father had seen to that effectively. And they’d been too well known. Any attempt to run would have been ended within hours, because their father would have sent his goons after them. They’d been bound as effectively as if their father had locked them in a tower.

‘Serena.’

Serena’s attention came back to the small plane and she looked forward, to see Luca staring back to her impatiently. He must have called her a couple of times. She felt raw from her memories.

‘What?’

‘I was letting you know that the flight will take four hours.’ He pointed to a bag on the floor near her and said, ‘You’ll find some information in there about the tribe and the mines. You should read up on them.’

He turned back to the front and Serena restrained herself from sticking her tongue out at him. She’d been bullied and controlled by one man for most of her life and she chafed at the thought of giving herself over to that treatment again.

As she dug for the documents she reiterated to herself that this was a means to an end. She’d chosen to come here with Luca, and she was going to get through it in one piece and prove herself to him if it was the last thing she did. She’d become adept in the past few years in focusing on the present, not looking back. And she’d need that skill now more than ever.

* * *

Just over four hours later Serena was feeling a little more in control of herself, and her head was bursting with information about where they were going. She was already fascinated and more excited about the trip, which felt like a minor victory in itself.

They’d landed in a private part of the airport and after a light breakfast, which had been laid out for them in a private VIP room, Luca was now loading bags and supplies into the back of a Jeep.

His backpack was about three times the size of hers. And there were walking poles. Nerves fluttered in Serena’s belly. Maybe she was being really stupid. How on earth was she going to last in the jungle? She was a city girl... That was the jungle she understood and knew how to navigate.

Luca must have caught her expression and he arched a questioning brow. Instantly fresh resolve filled Serena and she marched forward. ‘Is there anything I can do?’

He shut the Jeep’s boot door. ‘No, we’re good. Let’s go—we don’t have all day.’

A short time later, as Luca navigated the Manaus traffic, which eventually got less crazy as they hit the suburbs, he delivered a veritable lecture to Serena on safety in the jungle.

‘And whatever you do obey my commands. The jungle is perceived to be a very hostile environment, but it doesn’t have to be—as long as you use your head and you’re constantly on guard and aware of what’s around you.’

A devil inside Serena prompted her to say, ‘Are you always this bossy or is it just with me?’

To her surprise Luca’s mouth lifted ever so slightly on one side, causing a reaction of seismic proportions in Serena’s belly.

That dark navy glance slid to her for a second and he drawled, ‘I instruct and people obey.’

Serena let out a small sound of disdain. That had been her father’s philosophy too. ‘That must make life very boring.’

The glimmer of a smile vanished. ‘I find that people are generally compliant when it’s in their interests to gain something...as you yourself are demonstrating right now.’

There was an unmistakably cynical edge to his voice that had Serena’s gaze fixed on his face. Not liking the fact that she’d noticed it, and wondering about where such cynicism stemmed from, she said, ‘You offered me a chance to prove my commitment. That’s what I’m doing.’

He shrugged one wide shoulder. ‘Exactly my point. You have something to gain.’

‘Do I, though?’ Serena asked quietly, but Luca either didn’t hear or didn’t think it worth answering. Clearly the answer was no.

They were silent for the rest of the journey. Soon they’d left the city behind, and civilisation was slowly swallowed by greenery until they were surrounded by it. It gave Serena a very real sense of how ready the forest seemed to be to encroach upon its concrete rival given half a chance.

Her curiosity overcame her desire to limit her interaction with Luca. ‘How did you become interested in these particular mines?’

One of his hands was resting carelessly on the wheel, the other on his thigh. He was a good driver—unhurried, but fast. In control. He looked at her and she felt very conscious of being in a cocoon-like atmosphere with nothing but green around them.

He returned his attention to the road. ‘My grandfather opened them up when prospectors found bauxite. The area was plundered, forest cleared, and the native Indians moved on to allow for a camp to be set up. It was the first of my family’s mines...and so the first one that I wanted to focus on to try and undo the damage.’

Serena recalled what she’d read. ‘But you’re still mining?’

He frowned at her and put both hands on the wheel, as if that reminder had angered him. ‘Yes, but on a much smaller scale. The main camp has already been torn down. Miners commute in and out from a nearby town. If I was to shut down the mine completely it would affect the livelihoods of hundreds of people. I’d also be doing the workers out of government grants for miners, education for their children, and so on. As it is, we’re using this mine as a pilot project to develop ethical mining so that it becomes the standard.’

He continued. ‘The proceeds are all being funnelled into restoring huge swathes of the forest that were cleared—they’ll never be restored completely, but they can be used for other ends, and the native Indians who were taken off the land have moved back to farm that land and make a new living from it.’

‘It sounds like an ambitious project.’ Serena tried not to feel impressed. Her experience with her father had taught her that men could be masters in the art of altruism while hiding a soul so corrupt and black it would make the devil look like Mickey Mouse.

Luca glanced at her and she could see the fire of intent in his eyes—something she’d never seen in her father’s eyes unless it was for his own ends. Greedy for more power. Control. Causing pain.

‘It is an ambitious project. But it’s my responsibility. My grandfather did untold damage to this country’s natural habitat and my father continued his reckless destruction. I refuse to keep perpetuating the same mistake. Apart from anything else, to do so is to completely ignore the fact that the planet is intensely vulnerable.’

Serena was taken aback at the passion in his voice. Maybe he was genuine.

‘Why do you care so much?’

He tensed, and she thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he said, ‘Because I saw the disgust the native Indians and even the miners had for my father and men like him whenever I went with him to visit his empire. I started to do my own research at a young age. I was horrified to find out the extent of the damage we were doing—not only to our country but on a worldwide scale—and I was determined to put an end to it.’

Serena looked at his stern profile, unable to stem her growing respect. Luca was turning the Jeep into an opening that was almost entirely hidden from view. The track was bumpy and rough, the huge majestic trees of the rainforest within touching distance now.

After about ten minutes of solid driving, deeper and deeper into the undergrowth, they emerged into a large clearing where a two-storey state-of-the-art facility was revealed, almost completely camouflaged to blend with the surroundings.

Luca brought the Jeep to a halt alongside a few other vehicles. ‘This is our main Amazon operational research base. We have other smaller ones in different locations.’ He looked at her before he got out of the Jeep. ‘You should take this opportunity to use the facilities while we still have them.’

Serena wanted to scowl at the very definite glint of mockery in his eyes but she refused to let him see the flicker of trepidation she felt once again, when confronted with the reality of their awe-inspiring surroundings.

She was mesmerised by the dense foliage around them. She had that impression again that the forest was being held back by sheer will alone, as if given the slightest chance it would extend its roots and vines and overtake this place.

‘Serena?’

Frowning impatiently, Luca was holding open the main door.

She walked in and he pointed down a corridor.

‘The bathroom is down there. I’ll meet you back here.’

When Serena found the bathroom and saw her own reflection in dozens of mirrors, she grimaced. She looked flushed and sweaty, and was willing to bet that if she made it to the end of the day she’d look a lot worse.

After throwing some water on her face and tying her hair back into a more practical plait she headed back, nerves jumping around in her belly at the prospect of the battle of wills ahead and her determination not to falter at the first hurdle.

When Serena joined Luca back outside he handed her the backpack. There was a long rubber hose coming from the inside of it to sit over one shoulder. He saw her look at it.

‘That’s your water supply. Sip little and often; we’ll replenish it later.’

She put the pack on and secured it around her waist and over her chest. She was relieved to find that it didn’t feel too heavy at all. And then she saw the size of Luca’s pack, which obviously held all their main supplies and had a tent rolled up at the bottom.

Her eyes widened when she saw what looked suspiciously like a gun in a holster on his waist. He saw her expression and commented drily, ‘It’s a tranquilliser gun.’ He sent a thorough glance up and down her body and remarked, ‘Tuck your trousers into your socks and make sure your shirtsleeves are down and the cuffs closed.’

Feeling more and more nervous, Serena did as he said. When she looked at him again, feeling like a child about to be inspected in her school uniform, he was cocking a dark brow over those stunning eyes.

‘Are you sure about this? Now would be a really good time to say no, if that’s your intention.’

Serena put her hands on her hips and hid every one of her nerves behind bravado. ‘I thought you said we don’t have all day?’

CHAPTER THREE

A COUPLE OF hours later Serena was blindingly aware only of stepping where Luca stepped—which was a challenge, when his legs were so much longer. Her breath was wheezing in and out of her straining lungs. Rivers of sweat ran from every pore in her body.

She was soaked through. And it was no consolation to see sweat patches showing on Luca’s body too, because they only seemed to enhance his impressive physicality.

She hadn’t known what to expect, what the rainforest would be like, but it was more humid than she’d ever imagined it could be. And it was loud. Screamingly loud. With about a dozen different animal and bird calls at any time. She’d looked up numerous times to see a glorious flash of colour as some bird she couldn’t name flew past, and had once caught sight of monkeys high in the canopy, loping lazily from branch to branch.

It was an onslaught on her senses, and Serena longed to stop for a minute to try and assimilate it all, but she didn’t dare say a word to Luca, who hadn’t stopped since he strode into the jungle, expecting her to follow him. He’d sent only the most cursory of glances back—presumably to make sure she hadn’t been dragged into the dense greenery by one of mythical beasts that were running rampant in her imagination.

Every time the undergrowth rustled near her she sped up a little. Consequently, when Luca stopped suddenly and turned, Serena almost ran into him and skidded to a halt only just in time.

She noticed belatedly that they were on the edge of a clearing. It was almost a relief to get out of the oppressive atmosphere of the forest and suck in some breaths. She put her hands on her hips and hoped she didn’t look as if she was about to burst a blood vessel.

Luca extracted something from a pocket in his trousers. It looked like a slightly old-fashioned mobile phone, a little larger than the current models.

‘This is a satellite phone. I can call the chopper and it’ll be here in fifteen minutes. This is your last chance to walk away.’

On the one hand Serena longed for nothing more than to see the horizon fill up with a cityscape again. And to feel the blast of clean, cool water on her skin. She was boiling. Sweating. And her muscles were burning. But, perversely, she’d never felt more energised, in spite of the debilitating heat. And, apart from anything else, she had a fierce desire to show no weakness to this man. He was the only thing that stood between her and independence.

‘I’m not going anywhere, Luca.’

A glimpse of something distinctly like surprise crossed his face, and a dart of pleasure made Serena stand tall. Even that small indication that she was proving to be not as easy a pushover as he’d clearly expected was enough to keep her rooted to the spot.

He looked down then, his attention taken by something, and then back up at her. A very wicked hint of a smile was playing about his mouth as he said, with a pointed look towards her feet, ‘Are you absolutely sure?’

Serena looked down and her whole body froze with fear and terror when she saw a small black scorpion crawling over the toe of her boot with its tail curled high over its arachnid body.

Without any previous experience of anything so potentially dangerous, Serena fought down the fear and took her walking pole and gently nudged the scorpion off her shoe. It scuttled off into the undergrowth. Feeling slightly light-headed at what she’d just done, she looked back at Luca.

‘Like I said, I’m not going anywhere.’

Luca couldn’t stem a flash of respect. Not many others would have reacted to seeing a scorpion like that with such equanimity. Men included. And any woman he knew would have used it as an excuse to hurl herself into his arms, squeaking with terror.

But Serena was staring him down. Blue eyes massive. Something in his chest clenched for a moment, making him short of breath. In spite of being sweaty and dishevelled, she was still stunningly beautiful. Helen of Troy beautiful. He could appreciate in that moment how men could be driven to war or driven mad because of the beauty of one woman.

But not him.

Not when he knew first-hand just how strong her sense of self-preservation was. Strong enough to let another take the fall for her own misdeeds.

‘Fine,’ he declared reluctantly. ‘Then let’s keep going.’

He turned his back on the provocative view of a flushed-faced Serena and strode back into the jungle.

Serena sucked in a few last deep breaths, relishing the cleared space for the last time, and then followed Luca, unable to stem the surge of triumph that he was letting her stay. And as she followed him she tried not to wince at the way her boots were pinching at her ankles and toes, pushing all thoughts of pain out of her head. Here, she couldn’t afford to be weak. Luca would seize on it like a predator wearing its quarry down to exhaustion.

* * *

Serena felt as if she was floating above her body slightly. Pain was affecting so many parts of her that it had all coalesced into one throbbing beat of agony. Her backpack, which had been light that morning, now felt as if someone had been adding wet sand to it while she walked.

They’d stopped only briefly and silently for a few minutes while Luca had doled out a protein bar and some figs he’d pulled from a nearby tree—which had incidentally tasted delicious. And then they’d kept going.

Her feet were mercifully numb after going through the pain barrier some time ago. Her throat was parched, no matter how much water she sipped, and her legs were like jelly. But Luca’s pace was remorseless. And Serena was loath to call out with so much as a whisper.

And then he stopped, suddenly, and looked around him, holding up a compass. He glanced back at her and said, ‘Through here—stick close to me.’

She followed where he led for a couple of minutes, and then cannoned into his backpack and gave a little yelp of surprise when he stopped again abruptly. He turned and steadied her with his big hands. Serena hadn’t even realised she was swaying until he did that.

‘This is the camp.’

Serena blinked. Luca took his hands away and she didn’t like how aware she was of that lack of touch.

Afraid he might see something she didn’t want him to, she stepped back.

‘Camp?’

She looked around and saw a small but obviously well-used clearing. She also noticed belatedly that the cacophony that had accompanied them all day had silenced now, and it was as if an expectant hush lay over the whole forest. The intense heat was lessening slightly.

‘It’s so quiet.’

‘You won’t be saying that in about half an hour, when the night chorus starts up.’ He was unloading his backpack and said over his shoulder, ‘Take yours off too.’

Serena let it drop from her aching body and almost cried out with the relief. She felt as though she might lift right out of the forest now that the heavy weight was gone.

Luca was down on his haunches, extracting things from his bag, and the material of his trousers was drawn taut over his powerful thighs. Serena found it hard to drag her gaze away, not liking the spasm of awareness in her lower belly.

He was unrolling the tent, which looked from where Serena was standing alarmingly small. Oblivious to her growing horror, Luca efficiently erected the lightweight structure with dextrous speed.

When the full enormity of its intimate size sank in, Serena said in a hoarse voice, ‘We’re not sleeping in that.’

Luca looked up from where he was driving a stake into the ground with unnecessary force. ‘Oh, yes, we are, minha beleza—that is unless you’d prefer to take your chances sleeping al fresco? Jaguars are prevalent in this area. I’m sure they’d enjoy feasting on your fragrant flesh.’

Tension, fear and panic at the thought of sharing such a confined space with him spiked in Serena as Luca straightened up. She put her hands on her hips. ‘You’re lying.’

Luca looked at her, impossibly dark and dangerous. ‘Do you really want to take that chance?’ He swept an arm out. ‘By all means be my guest. But if the jaguars don’t get you any number of thousands of insects will do the job—not to mention bats. While you’re thinking about that I’m going to replenish our water supplies.’

He started to leave and then stopped.

‘While I’m gone you could take out some tinned food and set up the camping stove.’

When he walked away Serena had to resist the cowardly urge to call out that she’d go with him. She was sure he was just scaring her. Even so, she looked around nervously and stuck close to the tent as she did as he’d instructed, muttering to herself under her breath about how arrogant he was.

* * *

When Luca returned, a short while later, Serena was standing by the tent, clearly waiting for his return with more than a hint of nervousness. He stopped in his tracks, hidden behind a tree. His conscience pricked him for having scared her before. And something else inside him sizzled. Desire.

His gaze wandered down and took in the clothes that were all but plastered to her body after a day of trekking through the most humid ecosystem on earth. Her body was clearly defined and she was all woman, with firm, generous breasts, a small waist and curvaceous hips.

The whole aim of bringing her here had been to make her run screaming in the opposite direction, as far away as possible from him, but she’d been with him all the way.

He could still recall the terror tightening her face when she’d seen the scorpion and yet she hadn’t allowed it to rise. He’d pursued a punishing pace today, even for him, and yet every time he’d cast a glance back she’d been right there, on his heels, dogged, eyes down, assiduously watching where she stepped as he’d instructed. Sweat had dripped down over her jaw and neck, making him think of it trickling into the lush valley of her breasts, dewing her golden skin with moisture.

Damn her. He hated to admit that up to now he’d been viewing her almost as a temporary irritation—like a tick that would eventually fall off his skin and leave him alone—but she was proving to be annoyingly resilient. He certainly hadn’t expected to be sharing his tent with her.

The Serena DePiero he’d pegged as a reckless and wild party girl out only for herself was the woman he’d expected. The one he’d expected to leave Rio de Janeiro as soon as she’d figured she was on a hiding to nothing.

But she hadn’t left.

So who the hell was the woman waiting for him now, if she wasn’t the spoiled heiress? And why did he even care?

* * *

Serena bit her lip. The light was fading fast and there was no sign of Luca returning. She felt intensely vulnerable right then, and never more aware of her puny insignificance in the face of nature’s awesome grandeur and power. A grandeur that would sweep her aside in a second if it had half a chance.

And then the snap of a twig alerted her to his presence. He loomed out of the gloom, dark and powerful. Sheer, abject relief that she wasn’t alone made her feel momentarily dizzy, before she reminded herself that she really hated him for scaring her earlier.

Luca must have caught something of her relief. ‘Worried that I’d got eaten by a jaguar, princess?’

‘One can but hope,’ Serena said sweetly, and then scowled. ‘And don’t call me princess.’

Luca brushed past her and took in the camping stove, commenting, ‘I see you can follow instructions, at least.’

Serena scowled even more, irritated that she’d done his bidding. Luca was now gathering up wood and placing it in a small clearing not far from the tent. Determined not to let him see how much he rattled her, she said perkily, ‘Can I help?’

Luca straightened from dumping some wood. ‘You could collect some wood—just make sure it’s not alive before you pick it up.’

Serena moved around, carefully kicking pieces of twigs and wood before she picked anything up. One twig turned out to be a camouflaged beetle of some sort that scuttled off and almost made her yelp out loud.

When she looked to see if Luca had noticed, though, he was engrossed in building up an impressive base of large logs for the fire. It was dusk now, and the massive trees loomed like gigantic shadows all around them.

Serena became aware of the rising sound of the forest around them as the night shift of wildlife took over from the day shift. It grew and grew to almost deafening proportions—like a million crickets going off at once right beside her head before settling to a more harmonious hum.

She brought the last of the wood she’d collected over to the pile just as Luca bent down to set light to the fire, which quickly blazed high. Feeling was returning to her feet and they had started to throb painfully.

Luca must have seen something cross her face, because he asked curtly, ‘What is it?’

With the utmost reluctance Serena said, ‘It’s just some blisters.’

Luca stood up. ‘Come here—let me see them.’

The flickering flames made golden light dance over his shadowed face. For a second Serena was too transfixed to move. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. With an effort she looked away. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing. Really.’

‘Believe me, I’m not offering because I genuinely care what happens to you. If you have blisters and they burst then they could get infected in this humidity. And then you won’t be able to walk, and I really don’t plan on carrying you anywhere.’

Fire raced up Serena’s spine. ‘Well, when you put it so eloquently, I’d hate to become more of a burden than I already am.’

Luca guided her towards a large log near the fire. Sitting her down, he went down on his knees and pulled his bag towards him.

‘Take off your boots.’ His voice was gruff.

Serena undid her laces and grimaced as she pulled off the boots. Luca pulled her feet towards him, resting them on his thighs. The feel of rock-hard muscles under her feet made scarlet heat rush up through her body and bloom on her face.

She got out a strangled, ‘What are you doing?’

Luca was curt. ‘I’m trained as a medic—relax.’

Serena shut her mouth. She felt churlish; was there no end to his talents? She watched as he opened up a complicated-looking medical kit and couldn’t help asking, ‘Why did you train as a medic?’

He glanced at her swiftly before looking down again. ‘I was on a visit to a village near a mine with my father when I was younger and a small boy started choking. No one knew what to do. He died right in front of us.’

Serena let out a breath. ‘That’s awful.’

A familiar but painful memory intruded before she could block it out. She’d seen someone die right in front of her too—it was seared onto her brain like a tattoo. Her defences didn’t seem to be so robust here, in such close proximity to this man. She could empathise with Luca’s helplessness and that shocked her...to feel an affinity.

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