His Merciless Marriage Bargain

“She’d been on the hunt for a rich man for years, and she used you fairly frequently for introductions—”

“It may have happened once or twice, but it was by chance. I never set out to introduce her to any of my customers. It was always by accident.”

“You expect me to believe that?” He crossed the room, closing the distance in long livid strides. “Come on. Be serious. Tell me how it really worked. Did you get a percentage? Were you ever offered a piece of the action?”

She backed up into a bookshelf, and then could go no farther. “How can you say such a thing? What is wrong with you?”

“It struck me just now that you are part of the game. I suspected it—”

“You’re wrong. I’m not playing a game. There is no game. There is just a baby boy that needs our help.” She drew a short sharp breath, face hot, her heart hammering so hard she felt like throwing up. He was awful. Beyond awful. “Good night,” she choked, putting down her glass and racing from the room to climb the white Carrera marble stairs as quickly as she could.

She heard Gio’s oath as he followed.

She ran faster, but his legs were longer and he reached her just before she reached the next floor, his hand circling her wrist, stopping her progress. She teetered on her heels.

He put his hand on her waist, turning her around. “Where are you going? What are you doing?” he growled.

She was out of breath and close to tears. “I’m not going to stand there and listen to you make ugly accusations. You have a twisted view of the world, and I refuse to be dragged into—”

His head dropped, his mouth covering hers, silencing the words. She stiffened, but he pulled her closer. Her lips parted to protest and she tasted the warm sweet wine on his breath and could smell his fragrance and the mixture was delicious. He smelled delicious.

Funny how she disliked Giovanni so much and yet she loved his kisses…

He made her feel beautiful and desirable, and in his arms, with his mouth on hers, his body pressed against her, she felt wonderfully alive. Almost too alive. Fire streaked through her veins, making her hum.

She’d always felt this way on the inside, deep down, but no one had ever brought it out in her, or seen her as anything but practical and pragmatic. And cold.

But she wasn’t cold. Her feelings were strong and they went so deep. She’d spent her life trying to hide the intensity of those emotions, but Giovanni had somehow discovered them and he knew just how to use them against her.

She didn’t know if he felt her shudder, but he drew her even closer, his lips parting hers, his tongue caressing the softness of her lower lip, and then stroking deeper, sweeping her mouth, electrifying her nerve endings, making them dance.

Was it terrible that she liked the way he touched her? That she welcomed his arm around her waist and his hand sliding low on her hip?

She welcomed the crush of his chest and the sinewy strength of his legs. He was hard and commanding, and nothing had ever felt so exciting, or quite so right.

No kiss had ever felt so good. She felt good. Brilliant, and beautiful, and fiercely alive, tingling everywhere. It wasn’t real; it couldn’t be real. Men loved Juliet, not her. Juliet fascinated men with her physical perfection. And Rachel was so far from perfect…

The thought stopped her, ending the magic, reminding her of who she was, and who he was, and why he was here.

She pulled back, breathing heavily, body still exquisitely sensitive, to look up at Gio. “We shouldn’t do this.” She struggled to speak, her voice low and hoarse. “It won’t help.”

He stared down at her, his brilliant eyes studying her intently, taking in every inch of her face before reaching out to trace one of her eyebrows and then the other. “Bella donna.”

She blinked, unable to think of anything but the stroke of his finger along the arch of her brow. It felt good to be touched. Everything inside her was warm and aching, tingling with need. She’d forgotten that she could feel need. And desire.

Maybe that’s why the desire was so strong. Maybe she’d gone too long without feeling anything, and now she was feeling, and it was intense. Her entire body trembled. Her lashes closed as he caressed her jaw, his thumb stroking along the jawbone and then over the fullness of her mouth. Waves of pleasure rippled through her and she couldn’t suppress the shudders. It was embarrassing, feeling so much, wanting to be kissed and touched and pleasured.

She swallowed hard and opened her eyes, her gaze locking with Gio’s. His eyes were hot, bright, and the intensity in the depths burned her. He wanted her, too.

It was a heady realization and it rocked her, bumping up against her confidence, or lack of. She could maybe pass as a decent kisser but she wasn’t experienced, and she didn’t have the first idea how to please a man.