Bought: Destitute Yet Defiant

He hadn’t mentioned what had happened, but she’d thought about nothing else. Although she’d been alone in the bed when she’d woken up, she knew he’d stayed beside her for the rest of the night.

Something else she was supposed to feel grateful for, Jessie thought moodily, staring in disbelief at the perfect arch of a woman’s eyebrows as she hurried past on her way to somewhere important. Her image of him as a cold-hearted monster was becoming uncomfortably distorted.

Cringing at the memory of how frightened she’d been once he’d left the flat, Jessie scolded herself silently. She was pathetic. She just hoped his fancy apartment didn’t have CCTV or he’d be treated to some embarrassing footage of her checking under the bed and inside the wardrobes before finally allowing herself to sleep.

As Silvio guided her into a lift Jessie stared in front of her, determined not to look at the mirrored walls. She knew what she’d see. A woman who wasn’t supposed to be there.

‘I’ve been thinking about this suggestion of yours.’

‘The one where you get to stay alive?’ His gaze flickered to hers, his dark eyes so compelling that it was impossible to look away.

‘It isn’t that simple.’ With effort she averted her gaze and sucked in some air. ‘I need to pay back the rest of the money Johnny owed them or this is never going to end. You said you’d give me a job, which is great, but I’m still not going to earn it fast enough.’ She had to force the words through the tiny chink in her pride. ‘I know you have contacts—I wondered if you knew anyone I could go to for a loan. I think it would be safer to owe money to a stranger.’

‘You don’t owe money to anyone.’ Silvio pressed a button on the lift. ‘I’ve repaid the debt.’

‘You paid them?’ Shocked, Jessie turned to look at him. ‘When?’

‘Last night.’

Last night, when he’d left her alone. Stunned, it took her a moment to respond. ‘I didn’t want you to do that. I was paying them myself—’

‘Piece by piece,’ he drawled contemptuously, his disparaging glance surprisingly hurtful.

It was obvious that she couldn’t sink any lower in his opinion, and Jessie wondered why that should matter to her.

She wasn’t supposed to care what he thought, was she?

Feeling the humiliating sting of tears behind her eyes, Jessie lifted her chin. ‘I will pay you back.’

‘I’ll speak to my finance department and they can work something out.’ Silvio dismissed the subject as if it were nothing and she stood stiffly, slowly digesting the fact that the debt was finally paid.

All those years of worry. Years of slog, terror and sheer bone-numbing exhaustion.

She felt as though a heavy object had finally been lifted away from her.

She just wished that he hadn’t been the one who had lifted it.

Why had he done that?

‘Thank you,’ she said huskily, finally managing to say the words. She’d never thought she’d be thanking him for anything. ‘I—I don’t understand why you bothered bringing me here in that case. You don’t have to go to all this trouble.’ The lift doors opened and she reached out to press the button for the ground floor.

‘Maledezione, what are you doing?’ His hand closed over hers and he intercepted her movement.

‘You said you’d paid off the debt.’ This close to his body it was hard to breathe and Jessica’s face flamed as she felt the now embarrassingly familiar burn low in her pelvis. ‘It’s over.’

‘It isn’t over,’ he growled. ‘Come on, Jess. You’re not that naïve. The money was only part of what they wanted from you and you know it.’

She did know it.

And the knowledge had terrified her. The thought of stepping out there again had terrified her. Every night she’d wondered whether this was going to be the night they won.

‘You’re right, of course.’ Her voice was calmer than it should have been. ‘I’d like my knife back.’

‘I have no intention of giving you the knife. If they’d found that they would have used it on you. The only way to stop them claiming what they want is for them to think you’re with me. At the moment they do think that. As long as we don’t give them any reason to doubt it, you’ll be safe.’

Feeling intensely vulnerable, Jessica stared at the centre of his chest. ‘So basically the choice is that I take my chances with them, or I take my chances with you.’

‘I’m not dangerous. ’