“Boa noite, Senhor Diogo!”
The restaurant was full, and yet somehow they immediately got the best table, set outside on the veranda with a view of the red sunset sparkling across waves crashing against the shore. She could see the shadows of the cragged mountains of Rio rising from the mist of sunset.
“You are right,” she said quietly, looking out at the view. “The city is like nothing I've ever seen before. Dangerous and beautiful.” She looked at him from the corner of her eyes. “Impossible to resist.”
He took a sip of his Sapphire martini, then set the sleek blue glass back down on the table. “I'm glad you feel that way.”
She glanced down at her plate. Diogo had ordered a classic Brazilian dish for her: camarão na moranga, a thick seafood stew with large shrimp with potatoes cooked in coconut milk, served in a small carved pumpkin. It was delicious. She savored every bite. It was truly an experience unlike anything she'd ever had in her life. She looked up.
And so was he…
She took a deep breath as she came to a sudden decision.
“I will stay until the babies are born,” she whispered. “I give you my word.”
“Tá bom.” His eyes swiftly met hers. “That will be best for everyone.”
As they left the restaurant after their leisurely dinner, she caught herself in a sigh. “It's been a wonderful day, Diogo.” She gave a wistful little laugh. “I'm almost sorry it's over.”
He pulled her into his arms, looking down at her with a wicked gleam in his eye. “Nothing is over, querida.”
“But it's getting so late.”
“The night is just beginning.”
The old concrete building held the hottest club in Rio—in the most dangerous favela in town. Diogo didn't seem worried, but Ellie knew his bodyguards had insisted on waiting outside. Especially his personal bodyguard, Pedro Carneiro.Ellie shivered. She always got nervous around Pedro, probably because he looked so much like his brother who'd attacked her in the favela. But Diogo trusted him. And against her will, she was starting to trust Diogo….
He pulled her onto the crowded dance floor. The building was full of gorgeous young Cariocas, all dancing provocatively. The women wore tiny little dresses and little else to hide their curves; the men were strong and brutish, swaying their hips with blatant sensuality. The red lamps illuminated the sweaty, cavernous room as the live musicians began to play an Argentinean tango.
Diogo kissed her hand. But it was no gentlemanly gesture. He kept his eyes leveled on hers, holding her fingers against his own as his lips hotly caressed her skin, and it was a promise of what the night held.
A shiver racked her body.
He won't try to seduce me, she told herself desperately. He promised.
But as he pulled her closer into his arms, pressing his hand against the back of her neck, she could not resist him. In rhythm to the music, surrounded by the red light and steam, he held her in continuous contact with his body. Moving against her. Feeling his hard-muscled thigh between her legs, a moan escaped her lips.
He bent his head until it was just inches from her own. Almost close enough to touch. And she wanted him to kiss her. Wanted it badly.
At the last moment, he turned away.
By the time the dance ended, Ellie's body was on fire from her fingertips to her earlobes to her toes. Was it possible to die from wanting a man like this? Could she literally burst into flame, being held against his hard body—but having him not kiss her?
“Just friends,” she whispered aloud, closing her eyes. Her breath came in little gasps. “Friends…”
He lifted her chin with a muscular finger, forcing her to meet his eyes.
“I've never wanted to be your friend, querida.” He ran his hand along the side of her breast to her swelling belly, causing her to shudder from her nipples to her womb. “You are far more to me than a friend.”
“I am?” she whispered.
He leaned forward with the sway of the seductive music.
“Marry me, Ellie,” he said in a low voice. “I will treat you like a goddess for all your life.”
Marry Diogo?
Staring at him, she was tempted more than she could bear. How long had she dreamed of this—of being cherished by Diogo Serrador, the handsome, powerful billionaire she'd admired from the moment she'd become his junior secretary?
It hadn't been a joke yesterday. He truly wanted her as his bride. Ellie Jensen from Flint, Pennsylvania. Of all the women in the world, he'd chosen her to be his love…
His love?
The thought was like a slap in the face.
He didn't love her.
He just wanted to possess her. He wanted the babies to stay in Rio, and he wanted Ellie at his beck and call, in his bed for as long as he wanted her.