Page 28 of The Housekeeper and the Brooding Billionaire

What was it with this woman and ladders? Hadn’t she had enough of heights in the library?

He opened his mouth to order her down, then stopped. No need to startle her. Instead he stalked across the room, vaguely aware of heads turning, but he didn’t stop till he reached the base of the ladder. Even then she didn’t notice him. Slowly she descended, one hand on the ladder as she cradled precious crystal to her chest. It wasn’t until she reached him, his hand braced on the ladder where she was about to put hers, that she stopped.

‘Alessio!’

She sounded breathless, and as her gaze caught his he read more than surprise. It was the same expression he’d seen the day he’d held her in his arms. Yearning. Excitement. Arousal.

His heart leapt.

Thatwas why his feelings for her ate him up. Because he knew he wasn’t the only one attracted.

He’d told himself that day in the library that he’d imagined it and she’d only wanted comfort. But he was a man who knew women and desire. Charlotte desired him, though she tried to hide it behind a facade of professionalism.

And he, a man used to indulging his desires, found it pure torture, holding back.

Because she was his employee.

Because he had a duty of care.

Because he was ultimately responsible for his wife’s death, and he had no right to enjoy the delights of a sexual liaison when Antonia lay dead in the cold earth.

He drew a slow, shuddering breath and stepped back.

He was tainted, and he couldn’t spread that miasma to an innocent woman.

‘Are you all right?’ she murmured.

That was another thing he hated. Her perceptiveness. Charlotte saw things in him no one else did. Emotions. Weaknesses.

Alessio couldn’t get his head around it. He was used to being controlled, contained and unreadable.

Even Anna, who’d known him from birth, knew better than to prod about his well-being. But this woman who gave the impression of being the perfect employee, competent, efficient and adept at anticipating his needs, crossed vital personal boundaries.

He abhorred that. It made him feel...vulnerable.‘With me. Now.’

He spun on his heel and marched from the room. He didn’t pause until he was on the flagstone terrace on the west side of the building, where water lapped below the balustrade.

Even here Charlotte Symonds had made her mark. Last time he’d been here, the great stone urns had been empty. Now they were planted with bright red flowers, so vivid in the sunlight they made him think of days long ago when parties had spilled out here, the air filled with laughter and music.

The memory hurt.

Damn it, everything hurt. Surely life had been easier when there’d been nothing to interrupt his solitude, or make him yearn for things he couldn’t have.

Alessio stalked to the edge, sparing a glance for the deep, still water that hemmed in his world.

Finally he turned, leaning against the balustrade to survey the woman who’d followed him, mastering the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her. It was too tempting. He couldfeelher body against his, the waft of her breath on his face, the softness of her mouth as she pressed close and begged for more.

His head cleared, and he saw her face was unreadable. It struck him that Charlotte, like he, had practice at hiding thoughts. Because of her work? Or because of something else? What secrets did she conceal?

‘What’s going on?’ he asked.

‘Going on?’ Behind that bland expression, he read something in her eyes. Turmoil. Guilt?

‘Yes, going on.’ Alessio gestured to the pieces of crystal she clutched to her breast. ‘That’s not the usual dusting you’re doing. I didn’t give you permission to open up the ballroom.’

Charlotte stiffened, and despite his annoyance, he admired the way her chin came up and she looked down that unremarkable nose at him, undaunted. Inevitably, his admiration took the form of a burst of heat low in his body. He shifted his weight, planting his feet wider.

‘I wasn’t aware I needed your permission to enter the room. You and Anna said I had free access to the whole building, apart from your study when you’re working.’

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