Against Elyse's will, every single one of Alessandro's compliments hit home. They stirred up foreign, unfamiliar emotions. Emotions—that Elyse didn't know she was capable of feeling. No man had ever spoken to her this way. Hell, it had been so long since she experienced any kind of meaningful connection with another human being. Elyse didn't realize how lonely her existence had been until now.
Standing only a few feet away, Alessandro watched her through a hooded gaze, observing her, always observing her, as though he could read her thoughts, as though she could hide nothing from him.
Elyse frowned. "You claim to know and admire me. But you didn't have the balls to approach me. Why did you contact me through Mr. Schmid instead of offering the job yourself?"
Alessandro smirked. "Would you have accepted if you knew that I would be your employer?"
Her bluster faltered. "I—"
"Exactly."
She sighed. "People who play games make me nervous. I want to trust you, but—"
"Then," he urged, "trust me."
If only it was so easy.
Elyse couldn't let go of her doubts about him, about this job, about staying in this remote chalet with a supposed member of Cosa Nostra...
She felt torn.
On one hand, she trusted Alessandro Vitale no more than she trusted Stefano Russo. On the other hand, he seemed to be the lesser of evils at the moment. For the time being, Elyse decided to hope for the best and plan for the worst. She would use him to her advantage until a better opportunity arose.
Or signs of danger forced her to flee.
Haltingly, Elyse mumbled, "I suppose I don't have to resign right this moment."
He beamed in approval. "This is pleasing to hear."
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to give this job a real shot?
Elyse figured she had nothing to lose by sticking around for a month or two. She had no desire to return to New York. To her old life. To Stefano's constant death threats. Maybe it was time to lease her soul to a new devil. A beautiful brown-and-blue-gray-eyed devil.
Stay at my side, angelo, and I promise you will not regret your decision.
Elyse prayed his promise wouldn't prove false. She bit her lower lip with uncertainty.
Did Alessandro actually care about her well-being?
Or was there another reason why he wanted to keep her close?
Elyse didn't know where she stood with him.
Why did he go through so much trouble to hire her?
She attempted to find out, "If I decided to resign from my post in the future, would you stop me from leaving?"
Alessandro's response was immediate, "Yes."
His honesty surprised her. It also alarmed her.
She challenged, "Why? Is it because you hope to retain me as an employee? Or as a... hostage?"
Alessandro scowled at the word "hostage," but he didn't address it.
"It is because," he stated simply, "you're mine to protect."
As though this explained everything.
She pressed, "Would you force me to stay against my will?"
"I would do everything in my power to convince you to stay," Alessandro confessed, "but I would not hurt you. If that is what weighs on your mind."
Elyse tried to read his face, searching for signs of deceit or fuckery, but he wore an impenetrable expression.
She decided to throw him a curveball. "May I ask you one more question?"
Alessandro bowed his head in a nod. "Of course."
Elyse lowered her lashes prettily. He eyed her warily.
"Did you lure me all the way to Switzerland," she murmured, "to fuck me?"
Surprisingly, a faint blush warmed his cheeks. He shifted his weight from his right foot to his left. Elyse smiled. It was good to know that she wielded this power over him.
He chuckled, soft and low. "I believe any red-blooded male would want to fuck you, angelo. I am certainly no exception, but, sadly, the answer to your question is 'no.' I did not bring you here solely to fuck you. I have other reasons."
Other reasons?
"I do not believe you," she taunted.
Elyse intended to uncover these "other reasons."
Slowly and surely, like a playful feline, she sauntered toward Alessandro with light, fluid steps. Elyse didn't stop until her breasts came teasingly close to him, close enough to brush against the solid wall of his muscled chest. She tilted her face toward him. Like a flower toward the sun. He gazed down at her with unmasked desire. Mere inches separated their lips. His jaw clenched. Unclenched.
The air between them whispered with want and need.
Elyse knew she was playing with fire, but she was ready to employ every weapon in her arsenal until, at least, she got to the bottom of Alessandro's true intentions. At present, he held too much power over her. The playing field needed to be leveled, and it was suddenly quite clear that his lust could be used in her favor.
Elyse rested a hand on his shoulder, rose up on her tiptoes, and whispered in his ear, "Play your cards right, Mr. Vitale, and maybe I can be persuaded to take on... a few more responsibilities... and positions... in the future."
Without any warning, Alessandro dipped his head to nuzzle the crook of her neck. He groaned happily. "You are being very agreeable, and I am a blessed man."
Elyse gasped as she felt the warmth of his lips brush against her jaw, her neck, her collarbone. His hands claimed the small of her waist. Desire unfurled within Elyse as he pulled her closer. He lifted his head, and his hungry gaze fell upon her lips as though he intended to kiss her.
Worst of all, she wanted him to kiss her, too.
She quickly scrambled away from him. "Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm not as agreeable as you think."
His expression darkened with displeasure, but he let her go.
"A word to the wise, angelo, do not parade yourself in front of a starving creature. Unless you are prepared to get eaten."
Elyse took his warning to heart. She decided to abandon her plans to control him with sex. Her attraction to him was too strong for this strategy to be effective. The bastard seemed to wield as much sway over her as she did over him. Elyse fell back to square one. She would need to find another way to uncover his "other reasons."
With a sheepish look, she grumbled, "I apologize for my behavior. I don't know what came over me."
"Never apologize for such behavior," he said. "Just know—next time you decide to be agreeable around me, I will not hesitate to take a bite."
His words made her feel self-conscious and foolish. They also made her somewhat hot and bothered. Awkwardness mingled with anticipation.
As Elyse tried to brainstorm a halfway decent response, Alessandro's phone began to ring.
He picked it up and started talking very rapidly in Italian. After he hung up, his entire demeanor changed. Gone was the teasing, charming womanizer who had kept her company for the past twenty minutes. His posture grew taut and rigid like a soldier. His beautiful eyes became bleak and soulless.
The shift was frightening.
Swiftly, Alessandro excused himself from her room. Elyse didn't pry, but she made a mental note, a reminder to herself: At the end of the day, Alessandro Vitale was a dangerous, cold-blooded criminal, and she would be an idiota to forget it.
Once Alessandro disappeared from sight, Elyse fell under Malina's care for the next few hours. Her new employer didn't show his face again for the rest of the night. Malina told her that he was tending to "business affairs" in his study.
Again, Elyse didn't pry. She was too exhausted and overwhelmed to care. At this point, Elyse only wanted to eat, bathe, and sleep. She would worry about everything else tomorrow.
Later that night, the chalet's private chef served her a very hearty Swiss dinner menu. Elyse sampled Luzerner Chügelipastete, a vol-au-vent filled with sausage meatballs in a white sauce, and Häfelichabis, pork and cabbage stew, for the first time.
Around seven o'clock in the evening, Elyse could hardly keep her eyes open. She retired to her room and locked the door. Just to err on the side of caution. Then, Elyse jumped into the shower for a quick rinse and finally succumbed to jet lag, passing out on her king-sized mattress wearing nothing except an oversized T-shirt and a pair of underwear.
Elyse awoke the next morning feeling amazing. Faint rays of sunlight kissed her skin. Her green eyes fluttered open on their own. For the first time in years, Elyse slept blissfully through the night without the fear of Stefano blowing up her phone or banging down her door with one of his emergencies. There had been no beeping alarm to disturb her, either. No need to rush out of bed for a shift at the hospital.
She smiled and stretched like a lazy cat. In her sweet, hazy, not-quite-awake state, Elyse suddenly heard a loud rattle and click from across the room. Someone was unlocking the door. The door swung open. Her muscles froze as she heard footsteps padding through the doorway.
Was it Malina?
No, the housekeeper would have the courtesy to knock before—
"Good morning, angelo."
With a gasp, Elyse's eyelids flicked open. She sat up in bed and, through a narrowed gaze, honed in on her tall, masculine intruder: The black hair. The brown and blue-gray eyes. The tats.
It was Alessandro. Of course. He stood before her, completely at ease, as though she had welcomed him into her room with open arms. Instantly, Elyse's once-blissful, sleepy stupor popped like an irritated balloon. The bastard looked like perfection in his black dress shirt and navy-blue trousers. She felt severely underdressed in his presence. Alessandro didn't have any right to look so damned fine when she felt damned annoyed with him.
Sharply, she demanded, "What are you doing here?"
His lips curved into an innocent smile. "In case you have forgotten, I live here, too."
Yet, the devilish look Alessandro gave Elyse sent a wicked, little flip through her heart. Her attraction to him kept flaring up at the most inopportune times.
Bristling at her own runaway hormones, Elyse protested, "But Malina told me that this room was going to be my—"
He interjected, "She brought you to our room."
Our room?
Elyse's brow creased with more annoyance. At him. At Malina, too. The housekeeper's sweet, grandmotherly appearance had betrayed her. She would never trust the two-faced abuela again.
Firmly, Elyse ground out, "If I continue working for you, Mr. Vitale, then we must sleep in separate rooms and separate beds. This is non-negotiable."
Alessandro remained unfazed as he drawled, "My house has many rooms and many beds. You may sleep wherever your heart desires. With or without me. But—"
He gave a pause as his brown and blue-gray eyes locked onto her green ones. His amusement faded away. An entirely different kind of tension took its place. Slowly, Alessandro's gaze fell from Elyse's face to the thin fabric of her T-shirt, specifically, the outline of her braless breasts, before darting up again. The air caught in her throat. All of a sudden, Elyse felt transfixed under a spell.
In low, intimate tones, Alessandro continued, "That will not stop me from wanting you. Or you from wanting me. Why deny the pleasure we could give each other?"