Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire Read Online Free Page A

of no concern to her.
    “No, it doesn’t matter.”
    Luc pulled out into the traffic once more and shortly afterward, they turned into an underground garage. The car stopped briefly at a security check only to be waved through by the uniformed guard.
    Luc got out, came around, and held the door for her, but Lia managed to scramble out before he could reach in to help her. She followed him to a bank of elevators but hesitated as he gestured for her to enter, some inner sense screaming that this was a huge mistake.
    “It’s only an elevator, Lia,” he said smoothly.
    She stepped forward reluctantly and closed her eyes as the elevator doors slid shut. When she opened them, Luc was watching her, a glint of amusement in those beautiful eyes.
    “Would you like to contact someone, let them know where you are? Your mother perhaps?”
    “I’m not a child.”
    “I’m aware of that,” he said, his eyes sliding over her body, “but it’s a sensible precaution.”
    Lia shook her head. “No,” she muttered. “You think I’m naïve, don’t you?” For some reason, she hated the idea, but it was hardly surprising—she’d acted like a complete idiot. Her only excuse was that she hadn’t been thinking straight.
    “Either that or a very good actress. I haven’t decided which yet.”
    “Glad to have made such a good impression.”
    Luc laughed, but before he could say anything further, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.
    “Let me take your jacket.”
    “I’ll keep it, thank you.” The occasional tremor still shivered through her body, and she hugged the jacket to her like a safety blanket.
    The office was enormous, bigger than the club they’d just left, and ultramodern with sleek steel and black leather furniture, and a huge desk with so much equipment it looked like the console of a space ship. One whole wall was made up of floor-to-ceiling windows, giving a breathtaking view over the city of London sprawled out below them.
    “Is this your office?”
    He nodded, and it occurred to her again that if he was a criminal, he must be an extremely successful one. The thought was not particularly comforting, and she did her best not to dwell on it. After all, he’d gotten her out of that horrible club, away from that horrible man. Taking a deep breath, she managed to relax a little.
    “So, Lia…” Luc said, his tone dangerously gentle. “Tell me, why did you really go and see Harley Watson?”
    Lia’s gaze shot to his face. “What?”
    “You didn’t want to work at the club.”
    It was a statement, not a question, and Lia swallowed. She’d always been a horrific liar, but at least Luc Severino wouldn’t know the telltale signs. He wouldn’t know that beneath the fall of her carefully straightened hair, the tips of her ears were bright red, a dead giveaway to anyone who knew her that she was about to tell a whopper.
    “Oh yes, I did.”
    He quirked an eyebrow in disbelief. “Why?”
    “I wanted to get away from home. I live with my family in a small village outside London, and it’s so boring.” And if she ever got back there in one piece, she would never leave again. “I wanted a little excitement and I needed a job. I remembered Mr. Watson from when we stayed in London. It seemed such a glamorous idea.” She sighed, deciding it was time to inject a little much needed honesty. “But once I got there, it didn’t seem quite so glamorous anymore.” She shuddered at the understatement. “And I…well, I just didn’t seem to have the right…” she cast a surreptitious glance at her chest, “…qualifications for the job.”
    Luc intercepted the look. “Not all men are obsessed with enormous breasts,” he said.
    She risked a quick glance at his face and found his eyes lingering on the long length of her legs beneath the hem of her dress. Lia resisted the urge to tug it down—she was beginning to hate that dress. It was going straight back to Kelly when she got home.
    “Anyway, thank you for