His Merciless Marriage Bargain

Slowly she turned to face him. “Did you go through my luggage?”

“They weren’t in your hotel room. The hotel keeps them, remember? The front desk always takes your passport when you check in, and then returns it when you check out.”

He was right. She’d forgotten all about her passport when she’d unpacked. She should have remembered before now. “You can’t keep me here against my will. You assured me, promised me, that I was free to come and go.” She was shocked that her voice managed to be so calm when her heart was thudding like mad. “But apparently your word means nothing. Apparently you have no integrity.”

“Careful, cara,” he said softly, rising from his chair to walk toward her. “Scandal is one thing. Slander is another.”

Her eyes burned, hot and gritty. She drew a quick, furious breath, hands clenched at her sides. “But you did promise. You know you did.”

“You are free to leave.”

“You’ll give me my passport?”

“I’ll give you yours, yes. Of course. Do you want it?”

“Yes.” Her chin notched up, eyes stinging from unshed tears. “I’ll figure out another way. Michael and I don’t need a lot. I’ll leave my job and look for something else, a job where I can take him with me. Maybe I can be a nanny for another family and they’ll let me bring Michael—”

He cut her off with a kiss, a hard, punishing kiss. Rachel’s hands moved to his chest to push him away and yet she could feel his warmth through his cashmere sweater and her fingers curled into the softness, clinging to the material and him. She hated him and yet loved his smell and taste.

There was little tenderness in Gio’s kiss. His lips parted hers, and he took her mouth with a fierceness that made her head spin. His tongue stroked the inside of her mouth, devastating her senses, sending rivulets of fire through her veins and creating an insistent ache low in her belly, an ache that made her thighs press, trying to stifle the need and how it coiled and curled within her, mocking her self-control.

She’d never felt longing until now.

She’d never wanted anyone as much as she wanted Giovanni.

She was breathless and dazed when he lifted his head. He stroked her flushed cheek, her skin so sensitive that his touch burned all the way through her, breasts tightening, nipples pebbling.

“You can go, bella, but my nephew stays,” he said, lightly running his thumb over her swollen mouth, making it quiver beneath his touch. “You are an American. I have no claim over you. But Michael is, as you said, a Marcello, and he, as you said, belongs here, with his family.”

His head dropped and his lips brushed hers and brushed again before he bit at her soft lower lip, sending a spark of pain through her, the pain immediately followed by pleasure. “But there is no need for you to go,” he added. “There is no need for you to worry about anything. You can remain here as my wife and Michael’s mother. It would solve many logistical problems, as well as protect the Marcello business and name.”

Blinking back furious tears, Rachel gave him a hard shove. He didn’t move. He didn’t even sway on his feet. She yanked free instead, taking several steps back to put distance between them. “You can’t do this,” she choked. “You can’t. I won’t let you.”

“And how will you stop me?”

“I’ll go to the police—”

“You think they’ll take your word over mine?”

“I’ll go to the consulate. I’ll ask for help.”

“And you’ll tell them what? That you came here with my nephew and summoned the media and attempted to blackmail me?”

“I never blackmailed you. I never threatened you in any way.”

“No? Then you didn’t summon the media? You didn’t release a press statement?” He must have seen her surprise because he nodded. “I have a copy of the information you sent your media contacts. You have not behaved in an ethical manner. You will not look innocent or sympathetic to anyone.”

“You can’t take Michael from me!”

“I didn’t take him. You abandoned him here.”

“I never abandoned him!”

“You handed him to my servant and walked away. If I hadn’t stopped you, you would have climbed in your water taxi and disappeared.”

“You are turning this around. You are making me out to be someone I’m not. I only did what I did because I desperately needed help—”

“Obviously. And you’re getting my help, because your desperation is jeopardizing a baby’s welfare.”

“No—”