The Cost of Her Innocence

‘How can you be so calculating? I’m not surprised she broke off the engagement!’

‘Easily. And I’ve just realised that now you are pregnant my problem is solved. I have no need to look further. I want this child, and I will pay you whatever you want, whatever it takes, for you to have a healthy baby.’

At his mention of money again Beth’s eyes widened in horror as she realised what he really meant. Dante was lounging there, his face enigmatic, as he casually offered to buy her baby—which underscored exactly how little he thought of her as a prospective mother.

‘I am sure we can come to an acceptable arrangement between us that we can both live with comfortably,’ he continued coolly.

‘I very much doubt that. And as I can only be eight weeks pregnant it is far too early even for a ruthless devil like you to suggest buying my baby,’ she said, eyeing him with bitter contempt.

Dante leapt to his feet and his hand shot out. Long, tanned fingers closed round her wrist and he folded her arm around her back to hold her close to his taut body. ‘I never suggested buying the baby. Only you and your twisted mind could think such a thing,’ he snarled.

For a moment Beth could not move, could not speak. All she could do was feel... The warmth of his breath against her face, the surge of heated emotions battling inside her... Angrily, she was aware that not many minutes ago she had almost succumbed to his lethal sex appeal. If anyone had a twisted mind it was Dante, she thought, recognising the disgust in his tone and finding her voice.

‘That is what it sounded like to me—and there is nothing wrong with my mind,’ she said bluntly. ‘Plain common sense tells me it is far too soon to be discussing arrangements for the baby.’

‘Not for me,’ he said between his teeth. ‘I intend to get this settled now. And you should know that I always get what I want in the end.’

Beth refused to be afraid. ‘Yes, I know better than most that with your implications and lies you will stoop to anything to achieve your own ends. If you had taken more care of your own relationship instead of interfering in your brother’s life we wouldn’t be in this mess,’ she told him scathingly.

His face darkened and he held her tighter still to his long body. ‘What i

s done is done—and don’t you ever think of or refer to our baby as a mess.’ He threaded his other hand in her hair and tipped her head back, staring down into her defiant face with black searching eyes. ‘I know you for what you are, Beth—a beautiful woman with a less-than-salubrious past. Not the sort of woman I would have chosen as the mother of my child, I admit, but you are, and I accept that—and I accept that you have succeeded in living down your mistakes. It is time you accept me as the father, stop flinging insults and start thinking of what is best for our unborn child. I have told you I will provide you with everything—a home where you can live in the lap of luxury and devote all your time to looking after our baby. That is how it is going to be. Understand?’

His head dropped and as though compelled he brought his mouth down on hers, his hand sweeping up her back to splay across her bare shoulder blade with a pressure that flattened her against him.

The long, demanding kiss inflamed Beth’s senses, and though she fought to resist her eyes closed involuntarily and she gave in to the persuasive power of his sensuous mouth. When he pulled his head back her arms were wrapped around his waist and her soft lips were parted. Realising what she had done yet again, she dropped her arms, her hands curling into fists at her sides, and stared up at him, trying to read the look in his narrowed gaze. She caught a gleam of desire and some other emotion that she did not recognise.

‘Why did you kiss me?’ Beth broke the taut silence between them, trying to appear nonchalant while battling the force of feelings his kiss had aroused.

‘Because I can’t keep my hands off you,’ Dante responded—and it was the truth. When he should be comforting Beth, reassuring her, all he could think of was stripping her naked and thrusting into her sleek, hot body as fast and deep as he could.... ‘Or maybe to get you to listen,’ he added, trying to ignore the throbbing in his groin.

Surprised by his admission that he could not keep his hands off her, and still held against his hard-muscled frame, Beth was intensely aware of Dante in a basic carnal way. The strength of his erection was very evident, she realised, which made her hot and angry with herself almost as much as she was with him.

‘I did listen.’ She desperately latched on to his last words and added what she hoped were some stinging ones of her own. ‘You said you will take care of everything. Does that include marrying me, I wonder?’ she asked with a sarcastic tilt of a delicate eyebrow. ‘I notice a proposal was not on your list.’

‘Yes, of course I am going to marry you.’ His hands dropped from her, his dark eyes quizzical. ‘I thought I had made that obvious? I told you I would provide everything—money, a house that we can live comfortably in...’

‘No! Never in a million years!’ Beth exclaimed, horrified by his response. Her sarcasm had backfired spectacularly.

She moved away, shaking her head, and sat carefully down on the one armchair in the room, determined to take control of the situation.

‘I only mentioned marriage to make you see sense and face facts. For a cool, staid lawyer you have been acting like a man possessed from the moment you arrived here, and I’ve let you drag me along with you. But the reality is I am not even nine weeks pregnant, and anything can happen in the first twelve weeks. I don’t need this conversation now. I need to get used to the idea of a baby and relax and rest by myself. Get in touch with me in a few weeks’ time, if you must, and we can discuss the situation then. If that inconveniences you, then tough. But I am definitely not marrying you. This is my body, my baby, and that is how it is going to be.’ And it was Beth’s turn to add, ‘Understand...?’

Dante ran his hand distractedly though his hair. He didn’t like hearing it, but she could be right. He had told himself he needed to know she was not pregnant so he could move on. But dashing down here to confront Beth and drive her to a pharmacy was completely out of character. It was important to Dante that he stayed focused on his work and in control of his private life without compromising the first for the second. His father had taught him that at a young age, and he had rigidly adhered to that philosophy. He was not going to change now.

But neither was he going to allow Beth ‘weeks’ on her own. Going by her past behavior, and what he knew now, she wasn’t wealthy by his standards, but she had inherited a healthy amount of money along with this house. She could disappear anytime she liked, and he wasn’t taking that chance.

‘I understand your reasoning, and that you want some time to accept the fact you are about to become a mother.’ He frowned, noting the slight violet shadows beneath the wide eyes she raised to his. The wary expression in the green depths made him grimace. ‘I have to be in Rome tomorrow and I want you to come with me. I will ensure you see the best doctor there is, and you can stay at my place in the country. The house is fully staffed and you will be well looked after. You can rest there.’

After which she was going to marry him whether she liked it or not. A civil ceremony could be arranged in two or three weeks....

‘No, thank you. I have my own doctor and I prefer my own home.’

Dante noted the determined tilt of her chin and his lips twisted. He wasn’t surprised she had refused. In spite of her shady past she was still incredibly naive in some ways. It was obvious the thought of getting pregnant had never crossed her mind until he had mentioned it, and it must have come as a hell of a shock to her when she discovered she was. He had no intention of leaving until he had got her to agree to marry him, but he could wait a while.

‘I can see you have a nice house here, but it is rather isolated for a woman alone.’

‘I am not alone. I have friends, and I am perfectly capable of making my own arrangements without any help from you,’ Beth said bluntly.