The virgin’s scandalous request: a hot one-week fling!

Alejandro Corderó was told two things: entertain Sienna Thornton-Rose for one night, but don’t touch her! A simple task from his closest friend, until the guarded playboy realises how dangerously tempting she is.

Set aflame by Alejandro’s touch, Sienna does the unthinkable and travels to Barcelona to propose a secret week of sensual surrender! After years spent in her beautiful sister’s shadow, it’s her chance to feel bold and free. Only suddenly seven nights of incredible passion in Alejandro’s arms don’t feel like they could ever be enough…

‘ALEJANDRO, I NEED your help.’

Luca beamed like a newly married man despite the fact his actual wedding had taken place months earlier, and this was a ‘do over’, to celebrate his matrimonial happiness with everyone he’d ever met—by the looks of the humming crowd, at least. And in the midst of all the exquisitely dressed wedding guests, Alejandro stood out like a sore thumb.

Not because he was dressed any differently—like most of the male guests, he wore a tuxedo. No, Alejandro stood out because of who he was, his bearing a testament to the man who’d dragged himself out of extreme poverty by his wits alone, a man who was the definition of having come from the wrong side of the tracks—and wasn’t ashamed of that. Rather than hiding his heritage, he wore it like a badge of honour, a flicker of derision shaping his lips when confronted with Europe’s elite—old money, who wouldn’t have any idea how cruel life could be. They were his antithesis, and he relished that fact, their wealth and privilege something he despised—all the more so for knowing it was a part of his heritage too—a heritage—parentage—that had never wanted him, never acknowledged him.

‘It’s Olivia’s sister, Sienna.’

Alejandro narrowed his arctic-blue eyes, following his friend’s gaze until it landed on a woman in the distance, standing off to the side, alone, separate from the party swirling around them. She was as different from Olivia as was possible. Where Luca’s bride was willow thin with pale blonde hair, Sienna was short, curvaceous, with pale skin and titian-red hair. Alejandro’s gaze travelled the length of her body before he realised what he was doing.

‘Stop that,’ Luca growled. ‘Before I change my mind.’

Alejandro shifted his attention back to his friend with surprising reluctance. ‘What is it you want from me?’

‘Olivia adores Sienna. She’s very protective of her.’

Alejandro lifted a brow. ‘She seems like a big girl, capable of handling herself.’

‘Perhaps.’

‘You don’t sound convinced.’

‘What I’m convinced about is wanting my bride to enjoy her second wedding more than her first. She can’t do that when she’s worried about Sienna.’

Once again, Alejandro regarded the red-haired woman, something like curiosity sparking inside his chest. He hadn’t looked properly before. He’d simply run his eyes over her. But now, he studied her, an alabaster face with eyes that were so green they were like polished emeralds. She smiled, but Luca was right—there was something discordant behind her eyes, sadness and hurt. Alejandro had known enough of both emotions to recognise them instantly.

Alejandro’s lips formed a grim line. ‘What can I do about it?’

‘I’m glad you asked. I want you to entertain Sienna.’

Alejandro turned back to his friend. ‘Do you mean…?’

‘Absolutely not.’ Fierce rejection tightened Luca’s eyes. ‘What do you take me for? A pimp?’ He lifted a hand, palm towards Alejandro. ‘In fact, I’m forbidding you from so much as touching her. She’s not suitable to be one of your one-night stands, so don’t go getting any ideas. She’s not your type.’

Alejandro stroked his jaw. ‘You’re forbidding me?’ he murmured aloud, fighting an urge to point out that forbidden fruit always tasted so much sweeter.

‘Yes. All I’m asking is that you rescue Sienna from their godawful mother.’

Alejandro’s smile was cynical. ‘And what is so awful about her?’ His eyes landed on the woman across the party, stunningly beautiful, far younger in appearance than her age, and utterly aware of that fact.

‘That would take far longer than we have.’

‘And you’re anxious to get back to your bride.’

‘My wife,’ Luca confirmed with a beaming grin. ‘Yes.’ He considered his best friend, as though weighing something up delicately, then leaned a little closer, lowering his tone despite the fact they were quite separate from the other guests. ‘Angelica, their mother, has spent the day berating Sienna. Olivia has held her tongue, but just barely, and I am truly concerned that if there is one more incident, my lovely, kind wife will turn into a dragon and breathe fire over everyone.’

‘Would that be a bad thing?’

‘Actually, it would probably be a very good thing: Angelica could do with being put in her place, if you ask me.’ He sighed. ‘But Olivia is too sweet, and she would hate herself almost immediately. Which is why I need you to stay between Sienna and Angelica so Olivia doesn’t have to lose her cool.’

There was no one on earth who meant more to Alejandro than Luca. No one he could rely on, no one he trusted. Those feelings were mutual. Luca was the only person who understood what Alejandro’s life had been like before. He knew about Alejandro’s mother, he knew about her profession, her life, her death, and he knew what home life had been like—why Alejandro was an expert at street fighting, because he’d had to become one, in order to survive. There was no one else on earth Alejandro had allowed to see and understand those parts of him, and Luca had shared the same depth of himself with Alejandro. Theirs was a friendship Alejandro would never jeopardise.

‘Fine,’ Alejandro agreed, though not without misgivings. He wasn’t a babysitter.

‘Thank you.’ Luca flicked a relieved smile at his friend. ‘I think I can remember how to play that part.’ After all, it was just one night, just one woman. What could go wrong?

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