Page 103 of Worth Every Penny

Nico gives me a professional smile. Our secret swells within me like a balloon about to pop. I bite my tongue to stop myself jumping up and yelling that we’ve had sex. Repeatedly. But even if I spoke the words aloud, I’m not sure anyone would believe me.

Nico takes his seat right next to me, so close I can feel the heat of him. He turns to me and whispers, “You look fantastic.”

I try to repress the pleasurable shiver that rolls through me as the warm breath of his words caresses my ear.

“Kate?” David asks.

“Yes. Right.” I shuffle my papers in front of me.

Something touches my thigh, and I jerk in my chair. It takes me a second to realise the touch is deliberate. I glance at Nico, but he’s staring at me with an expression of complete respect, his eyes communicatingGo ahead. You’ve got this.

David draws his chin in, one bushy white eyebrow arching. “Are you quite all right, Kate?”

“Yes.” I place a hand on my heart and clear my throat. “Absolutely.”

I begin talking, running through the projections, the details, the architectural plans for the site. David listens attentively, but I’m finding it hard to concentrate with Nico right beside me. His professional mask doesn’t slip an inch, but even so, my body is tingling right beneath the surface, and I swear my underwear is wet.

All the while, Nico keeps his entire focus on David, and when David directs a question to him, Nico answers as though nothing in the world could distract him.

I focus doubly hard on what I’m here to do, managing — almost — to ignore the fact that the man I fucked all weekend is mere inches away from me.

When I finish, Jack smiles at me, silently telling me that I pulled it off.

Nico gives my thigh a reassuring squeeze, and then places both his hands on the table and interlinks his fingers.

Maybe it’s the relief of my presentation being over, or Nico’s general proximity, or that final touch beneath the table, but arousal floods my system like water rushing through a broken dam. Heat pools in my core, and I want nothing more than to have Nico fuck me on the table, just the way he did in Paris. I have to resist reaching out and kissing him, right here in the meeting room. As ridiculous as it sounds, I’m not that far from orgasm and my brother is sitting on my other side in complete ignorance.

I’m breathing far too heavily for a casual project meeting, and the humiliating realisation crashes down on me thatI did this to myself. I’m so obsessed with Nico that I can’t sit next to him without thinking about sex.

I press the back of my hand against my cheek. It’s boiling. I glance around the table to check if anyone has noticed my lack of composure.

No one has. Thank God.

When my heartbeat calms, I tune back into the conversation.

Nico is talking to David. “Is there anything else?” Nico asks. “Do you have any questions for us?”

“Not a question as such, but an announcement of sorts.” David’s expression tightens. “I’ve faced unforeseen health issuesand been advised to decrease my workload. I’m handing over the reins of Argentum and the spa project.”

I frown at the suggestion of health issues.What could be wrong?I know you can’t see every issue from the outside, but David looks healthy and trim for a man in his sixties, even with his rosy Father Christmas cheeks and white beard, and I know from our client lunches he’s careful about what he eats and drinks. And he ran the London marathon this year, so he’s fit too.

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Nico says. Jack echoes the sentiments.

“Nothing serious?” I ask.

David grumbles a little, clearly uncomfortable with the question. Jack throws me a look like I shouldn’t have asked.

“Oh, you know, you get to a certain age and the body isn’t as robust as it used to be. It’ll blow over,” David replies, but he keeps his eyes on the table and I immediately suspect he’s not being entirely truthful. “Bit of strain on the old ticker, that’s all.”

Nico frowns. “So you won’t be able to see the project through?”

“Not personally. I’ll still be on the board. Martin Brooks is stepping in to take over. And given his experience, and his relationship with your father”—he looks at Jack and me—“I can’t think of a better fit.”

A dark look passes over Jack’s face at the mention of my father’s ex business partner.

Beside me, Nico’s shoulders tense. His interlinked fingers squeeze down on the tabletop before he forcibly relaxes them and lays his palms flat.

My heart drops and all thoughts of sex and Nico fall away.What the hell is going on?Everyone around me is suddenly as taut as a high rope.

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