But there he was, stepping out of the driver’s side of the car and taking her bag to put it in the trunk. Too weary to be anything but grateful, Emma slid inside the passenger seat and practically melted into the leather.

“How’d it go?” he asked, pulling forward.

“As well as could be expected,” she said, leaning back against the headrest. “My mother admitted she has a huge problem and wanted help. All I had to do was mention a treatment facility and she jumped at the opportunity.”

“Good. She’s lucky to have you as her daughter,” he said.

Emma closed her eyes. “It’s crazy, but when I was little, I always wondered if she had this problem because of me. Maybe if I hadn’t been born or if I was different or—”

“None of that,” Damien said with a hint of ruthlessness in his voice. “You’re the best thing your mother has. I bet she would say the same thing.”

Emma took a deep breath at the same time her heart fluttered. She didn’t want to be under Damien’s spell. She wanted, no needed, to be in control. “Thank you for picking me up at the airport.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. “Do you need anything to eat?”

Emma shook her head at the same time her stomach growled. “Kids’ meal takeout would be great.”

“Can do,” he said and within minutes placed an order at a drive-thru window.

Emma opened her eyes when Damien paid. The fast food server gawked at the Ferrari.

She smiled. “I guess he doesn’t see these every day.”

“Guess not,” Damien said, sliding a sideways glance at her as she dug into a kids’ meal cheeseburger with mustard and pickles. “How is it?”

“Not quite the level of Allister’s, but ambrosia at the moment,” she said.

“I’m taking you back to my condo tonight. Your place is further from the airport and since tomorrow is Sunday, I thought you could sleep in.”

Too weary to argue, she moved her head in a circle. “I’m sure I’ll fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow.”

In fact, Emma must have fallen asleep as soon as she finished her burger and a few fries. She awakened to being carried in Damien’s armsinside a dimly lit room where she’d never been.

Shaking her head, she glanced around. “What—”

“Shh, you’ll wake up the baby,” he said.

Emma blinked.Baby? Then she realized Damien was referring to her. She couldn’t swallow a soft laugh. “Already done. The baby’s awake and wants to brush her teeth and wash her face before she goes into a coma again.”

He allowed her to slide down his body until her feet touched the floor. “Master bath is to the right. My housekeeper keeps a basket of toiletries underneath the sink.”

After a stressful trip and a day of harsh travel, Damien’s voice soothed her nerves and his strength felt like a warm blanket. “Thank you for bringing me upstairs.”

“No problem,” he said. “Do you want a bath?”

“That sounds wonderful,” she said. “Tomorrow.” Emma padded into the luxurious bathroom and quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth. Realizing she needed her gown, she remembered it was in her bag. She returned to the bedroom. “My ba—” She broke off when she saw Damien standing in nothing but lounge pants. His gleaming broad shoulders and bare chest captured her attention.

“You needed something?” he prompted.

Despite the fact that she should be too tired to keep her eyes open let alone gawk at Damien’s body, she couldn’t fight a ripple of awareness that ran throughout her body. She cleared her throat. “My bag. I need my gown.”

He nodded toward the side of the room where she stood. “There.”

She glanced in the same direction he had, sheepish that the bag had been positioned right beside her. Pulling her gown from her carry-on, she scooted back into the bathroom and put it on. Moments later, she returned to find Damien already in bed with the covers folded back.

Feeling a strange twist of nerves, she climbed into bed, hugging the opposite side. Three heartbeats later, she felt his hand wrap around her belly, and he pulled her back against the front of him. “Relax,” he said in a low voice against her ear. “Go to sleep.”

Seconds later, she did.

The next morning she awakened to the delicious sensation of being in his arms. He nuzzled the back of her neck and she held her breath in anticipation of him making love to her. Instead, he got out of bed. “Be lazy,” he instructed her. “I’ll be reading the paper outside on the terrace.”

Surprised that he hadn’t taken sexual advantage of sharing a bed with her, she stared after him for a moment. Then she decided to follow orders and fell back asleep.

After a leisurely bath, she joined him and sunned on the terrace wearing a pair of his shorts and a cutoff black T-shirt. They snacked on sandwiches prepared by his housekeeper. He touched her frequently, stroking her hair, sliding his hand over the bare skin of her torso.

The intermittent contact put her in a state of perpetual awareness. She felt as if a low hum of arousal buzzed inside her. He almost made her forget that they had made a deal, and she had practically sold herself to him.

He surprised her by preparing dinner. “All the Medici men cook. My father taught us at a young age. His father taught him and so on.”

Emma watched him as he prepared a sauce with plum tomatoes, spinach, olive oil, spices. “That smells delicious.”

“It will be,” he said.

“Did your father ever live in Italy? Or was he raised here?”

Damien’s jaw tightened. “He moved to the States when he was seventeen. His family went through a rough time in Italy and his father lost the family home in a business deal where he was cheated. Pretty much ruined them.”

“That’s terrible,” she said.

He nodded. “Yeah. Things were looking up for my father right before he died, and everything fell apart again.”

“You miss him,” she said, sensing his grief.

“Yes. It was ironic. He and his brothers and sisters were torn apart and the same thing happened to my brothers and me.”

“I bet he would be proud of how well you’ve done,” she said.

“Maybe,” he said. “He was from the old school where if someone hurt a member of your family, it was your duty to pay them back.”

“He wasn’t Mafia, was he?” she asked, his dark tone making her wary.

Damien laughed. “No. Just very Italian. Here, try the sauce.” He lifted a spoonful and blew on it before he extended it to her lips.

Emma tasted the spicy sauce and nodded. “Delicious.”

“Yes, you are,” he said, intently meeting her gaze.

They shared dinner on the terrace. Afterward, he coaxed her into taking a nude dip with him in the Jacuzzi surrounded by a teak lattice privacy screen. She’d thought all her tension from the trip was gone, but the velvet darkness and hot massaging water relaxed her even more.

“This is wonderful. It’s a good thing I don’t have one of these. I’d never get out,” she said, feeling decadent and languid as she sipped the champagne he’d poured for her. “How often do you use it?”

“A couple of times since I arrived,” he said, watching her from beneath a hooded gaze as he slid one of his legs between hers. “I’ve been too busy.”

She felt another rush of arousal ooze through her. She watched his gaze linger on her lips. Taking her hand, he lifted it to his mouth.

He was suddenly too far away and she suddenly couldn’t wait a minute longer to be close to him. She moved closer and he immediately pulled her onto his lap. Skimming his hands over her naked, wet body underwater, he lowered his head and took her mouth in a sensual kiss that made her breathless.

He touched the tips of her br**sts and kissed her again. “I’ve been thinking,” he said.

“Oh, no,” she said, her brain muddled by his effect on her.

“It’s not so bad. I’ve been thinking that you and I should make our arrangement permanent.”

Confusion warred with arousal. She frowned. “Permanent,” she echoed.

He played with her ni**les again, short-circuiting her thought process. “I think we should get married.”

Shock raced through her and she gawked at him. “Married? I—I—”

He shot her a half grin before he took her mouth again, his hands distracting her. “Think it over,” he murmured against her mouth. “Later.”

Awakening the next morning to the sound of Damien in the shower, Emma stretched, feeling the aftereffects of Damien’s repeated lovemaking. She covered her face with the sheet when she thought of how uninhibited she’d been.

Shaking off her self-consciousness, she rose from his bed and pulled on the nightgown she’d never worn last night and went into the kitchen to make coffee. The scent of fresh coffee in a timed maker told her she was too late for that.

She poured herself a cup and added sugar and milk, then gingerly sipped the hot liquid. Hearing the scream of a fax machine, she walked down the hallway and opened the door to an office. A large cherry desk dominated the room lit by three-quarter length windows covered with linen shades.

The fax machine continued to scream and she heard a rustle of paper. Emma rearranged the paper in case it was jammed. Seconds later, several sheets flew onto the floor. Although she wasn’t trying to read the fax, her gaze snagged on the name Max De Luca. Quickly scanning the document, she gleaned that it was a report with references to Max’s late half brother.

Damien appeared in the doorway, already dressed in black slacks, his shirt not yet buttoned. He lifted a dark eyebrow of inquiry.

“I heard a strange noise from the fax machine. It sounded jammed, so I tried to clear it. What is this about Max De Luca?”

Damien walked toward her and she handed him the papers. “It’s a report. I had him investigated. It’s not unusual.”

Tags: Leanne Banks Billionaire Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net