A Marriage Fit for a Sinner

Her terse words made his eyes narrow. But his expression cleared almost immediately. ‘No, you’re loyal. You’ll give me what I want.’

‘No—’

‘Yes,’ he breathed.

He closed the gap between them slowly, as if taunting her with the knowledge that she couldn’t escape the inevitability of his possession.

His mouth claimed hers—hot, demanding, powerfully erotic. Eva moaned as her emotions went into free fall. He feasted on her as if he had all the time in the world, taking turns licking his way into her mouth before sliding his tongue against hers in an expert dance that had her desperately clutching his waist.

Wild, decadent heat swirled through her body as he lifted her onto the cabinet, tugged up the hem of her dress and planted himself between her thighs. Her shoulders met the wall and she gasped as one hand gripped her thigh.

Push him away. You need to push him away!

Her hands climbed from his waist to his chest, albeit far slower and in a far more exploratory fashion than her screeching brain was comfortable with. But she made an effort once she reached his broad shoulders.

She pushed.

And found her hands captured in a firm one-handed hold above her head. His other hand found her breast and palmed it, squeezing before flicking his thumb over her hardened nipple.

Sensation pounded through her blood. Her legs curled around his thickly muscled thighs and she found herself pulled closer to the edge of the cabinet, until the powerful evidence of his erection pushed at her core.

Zaccheo gave a deep groan and freed her hands to bury his in her hair. Angling her head for a deeper invasion, he devoured her until the need for air drove them apart.

Chests heaving, they stared at each other for several seconds before Eva scrambled to untangle her legs from around him. Every skin cell on fire, she struggled to stand up. He stopped her with a hand on her belly, his eyes compelling hers so effortlessly, she couldn’t look away.

The other hand moved to her cheek, then his fingers drifted over her throbbing mouth.

‘As much as I’d like to take you right here on my boardroom cabinet, I have a dozen meetings to chair. It seems everyone wants a powwow with the newly emancipated CEO. We’ll pick this up again at dinner. I’ll be home by seven.’

She diverted enough brainpower from the erotic images it was creating to reply. ‘I won’t be there. I’m working tonight.’

A tic throbbed at his temple as he straightened his tie. ‘I see that I need to put aligning our schedules at the top of my agenda.’

She pushed him away and stood. ‘Don’t strain yourself too much on my account,’ she responded waspishly. She was projecting her anger at her weakness onto him, but she couldn’t help herself. She tugged her dress down, painfully aware of the sensitivity between her unsteady legs as she moved away from him and picked up her handbag and the folder containing the prenup. ‘I’ll see you when I see you.’

He took her hand and walked her to the door. ‘I guarantee you it’ll be much sooner than that.’ He rode the lift down with her to the ground floor, barely acknowledging the keen interest his presence provoked.

Romeo was entering the building as they exited. The two men exchanged a short conversation in Italian before Zaccheo opened the door to the limo.

When she went to slide in, he stopped her. ‘Wait.’

‘What is it?’ she demanded.

His lips firmed and he seemed in two minds as to his response. ‘For a moment during the meeting, you took my side against your father. I’ll factor that favourably into our dealings from now on.’

Eva’s heart lifted for a moment, then plunged back to her toes. ‘You don’t get it, do you?’

He frowned. ‘Get what?’

‘Zaccheo, for as long as I can remember, all I’ve wished was for there to be no sides. For there not to be a them against us. Maybe that makes me a fool. Or maybe I’ll need to give up that dream.’

His eyes turned a shade darker with puzzlement, then he shrugged. ‘Sì, bellissima, perhaps you might have to.’

And right in front of the early lunch crowd, Zaccheo announced his ownership of her with a long, deep kiss.

* * *

Eva could barely hear herself think above the excited buzz in Siren’s VIP lounge as she cued the next song.

She was sure the unusually large Monday night crowd had nothing to with Ziggy Preston, the famous record producer who’d been coming to watch her perform on and off for the past month, and everything to do with the pictures that had appeared in the early-evening paper of her kissing Zaccheo outside his office this afternoon. Avoiding the news had been difficult, seeing as that kiss and a large-scale picture of her engagement ring had made front-page news.