Undressed by the Billionaire. Susanne James
their heated exchange. ‘I’ve made enough for two.’
Hmm, Savannah thought, realising Ethan had no other option other than to carry the tray into her room. ‘Let me clear a space for you,’ she said, hurrying ahead of him.
To give her a moment to regroup, she rushed about, hunting for her slippers. Ethan placed the tray down on the low table between the two sofas and remained standing.
This was one consequence she could not avoid.
By the time she had found her slippers and slipped them on, she could hardly breathe, let alone speak as she came to a halt in front of Ethan.
When exactly had he become so hard and unfeeling? She had only turned the lights on, after all, which in the bright world Savannah inhabited was a very small transgression. As she ran her fingers through her still-damp hair, her face naked after her shower, he knew she was also naked under her robe. She looked nervous, apprehensive; fearful. She was certainly braced for a stinging rebuke. ‘We shouldn’t let the supper go to waste. That’s if you don’t mind …’
She looked surprised at his suggestion, as he had expected, but she quickly rallied, saying, ‘Of course I don’t mind. Please, sit down. You must be hungry too?’
‘A little,’ he admitted.
Savannah had to stop audibly sighing with relief as Ethan sat down. Maybe there was a chance, however slender, that she could change things for him before she left; it was all she wanted. But as always in the world of Savannah things never ran according to plan. She remembered that her underwear for the next day, having been rinsed out, was still hanging over the bath—large, comfy knickers included. What if he decided to go in there? ‘D’you mind, if I …?’ Flapping her hands, she glanced anxiously across the room.
‘Not at all. Take your time,’ Ethan invited.
She would have to, Savannah thought, resting back against the bathroom door. She wasn’t leaving this room until her heartbeat steadied, which meant she could be in here quite some time. Ethan was full of surprises. She felt like he was giving her a second chance. But he was so complex, she had no idea what to expect next. But then she hardly knew him, Savannah reasoned. When she emerged from the bathroom, there was music playing.
‘Do you like it?’ Ethan asked as Savannah poked her head self-consciously round the door.
‘Is it what I think it is?’
‘If you think it’s your first CD then, yes, it is.’
Savannah pulled back inside the bathroom, suffused with too many emotions to impose them on Ethan. She felt elated that her teachers’ and parents’ dreams for her had come true, and dread that Ethan only regarded her as a property belonging to his record label.
‘Aren’t you coming out to join me?’ he called. ‘Come and listen to your music.’
She could hardly refuse, since Ethan owned the record company. ‘Do you like it?’ she said anxiously when she returned.
‘Like it? Your singing voice always makes me think of …’
Frogs croaking? Wheels grinding?
‘Birds singing,’ he said, settling back with a blissful expression on his face as Savannah’s voice filled the room. ‘Song birds,’ he added dryly, without opening his eyes.
At least not crows squawking.
She should have more confidence, Savannah told herself, but in many ways she was as happy in the shadows as Ethan. In a different way, of course. But she loved nothing more than the wide-open countryside back home, and the fact that she could walk for miles unnoticed as she soaked up all the glories of nature.
‘I’m glad we signed you.’
Savannah refocused to find Ethan staring thoughtfully at her. ‘Thank you.’ She risked a small smile as her heart drummed wildly.
‘You should eat something. It must be hours since you last ate.’
Probably. She had no idea. But she would have to lean past him to take something, and she was acutely aware that she was naked under her robe.
‘Here,’ he said, offering her the loaded plate. ‘Take one of these delicious ciabatta.’
‘Ethan, if I’ve offended you—’
‘Eat something, Savannah, before you faint.’
‘I didn’t mean to,’ she finished softly. ‘Sometimes my enthusiasm carries me away.’
He hummed at this and angled his stubble-shaded chin towards the plate.
‘Thank you.’ Selecting a delicious-looking, well-filled roll, she bit into it with relish, expressing her pleasure in a series of appreciative sounds. Even now, beneath Ethan’s unforgiving eye, she couldn’t hide her feelings. ‘You’re very lucky to have such wonderful staff.’
‘Yes, I am.’ And when she thought that short statement was it, he added, ‘You were right about the gloom making life difficult for them. And, yes, even dangerous. And, as for artworks, I hadn’t even noticed.’ He paused and then admitted, ‘Who would think turning on the lights could make such a difference?’
She could.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ETHAN realised how much he had misjudged Susannah when his housekeeper, having returned with a fresh plate of food, took him to one side to inform him that she was glad to see how happy the piccola signorina was now the lights were on.
The way the older woman had held his gaze suggested more than the fact that Savannah was a guest with particular tastes to accommodate, or even that his housekeeper liked the young singer and wanted to make her stay as comfortable as possible. It was more the type of look the older generation gave the younger in Italy—and would sometimes be accompanied by tapping the side of the nose. Naturally, the older woman wouldn’t dream of being so familiar with him, but she had got her message across. He’d brushed off her inquisitiveness with a rare smile.
Some time ago he had come to understand and even envy the Italian nation’s fixation with love. And how could he be angry with Savannah, when all it took to make him smile was to watch her sucking her fingers with gusto before devouring another sandwich? Savannah had transformed the palazzo in the short time she’d been here, filling it with good things and raising the spirits of his staff. It wouldn’t last when she’d gone, of course, but she had unlocked one small portion of his heart, which was good news for his staff.
‘It is a beautiful room, isn’t it?’
As Savannah lifted her head with surprise, he realised he was seeing things through her eyes and how different things could be if he decided to make them so.
She’d go mad with grief if she heard that Ethan had returned to his old ways when she went home. And that wasn’t overreaction, it was pure, hard fact, Savannah concluded, blushing when, having held the door for his housekeeper, Ethan remained leaning against the door frame with his powerful arms folded across his chest, watching her.
Her body reacted as if Ethan had just made the most indecent suggestion. His tight fitting T-shirt strained hard across his chest, and his jeans were secured with a heavy-duty belt. She had noticed all this in the space of a few seconds, and started nervously when Ethan moved.
‘More sandwiches?’ he suggested, strolling across the room towards her.
She was as tense as a doe at bay, Savannah realised, sitting straight. ‘No, thank you.’
And then she decided she had better get up and clear some space on the table for all the new food, but being nervous and clumsy she moved erratically, and somehow a chair leg got in her way. Ethan called out, but it was too late, and as he reached out to grab her to stop her falling she ended up in his arms.
‘Suddenly you’ve got more legs than a millipede, and each one of them