The Heat Of Passion

'You'll miss me,' Carlo asserted with teeth-clenching conviction.

He slid into bed beside her and tugged her into his arms with determination. His lean, muscular frame felt surprisingly tense. 'Something occurred to me earlier.' He lifted bis head. 'Are you on the Pill?'

It was Jessica's turn to tense. 'No.'

Carlo expelled his breath in a hiss. 'I didn't protect you this time... I'm sorry.'

She flushed, made some feverish calculations and decided that the risk of pregnancy was so small as to be most unlikely. 'There isn't very much chance—'

'Russian roulette,' Carlo groaned. ‘I have never been that careless.'

Jessica was stiffening. 'I really don't think you have anything to worry about.'

since seeing her with Carlo. Over breakfast the next morning, Marika had informed her that Sunny had flown to Miami on one of her regular shopping trips.

'Do you want something?' she asked drily, infuriated by the fashion in which Sunny simply walked in without knocking.

Green eyes glittered coldly over her. Sunny uttered a brittle laugh. 'All of a sudden you're very sure of yourself, aren't you?'

Jessica looked back at her, refusing to be discomfited. Calmly, she stood up and crossed the room to slide her feet into shoes but behind the cool front, her nervous tension was running at an all-time high. Physically Sunny had an impact that took even Jessica's breath away. Carlo was undeniably aware of this woman's beauty. Could he really be quite untouched by her desire for him?

'You saw us together the other night,' Sunny murmured with faintly patronising amusement. 'Didn't that bother you at all?'

With a not quite steady hand, Jessica lifted a silver-backed brush that belonged to Carlo from the dressing-table and ran it through her hair slowly. 'I saw nothing that bothered me,' she lied.

'You're in love with him too, aren't you? Poor Jessica. I can imagine what he's told you. I can also imagine just

how much you wanted to believe him '

Jessica took a deep breath. 'If you don't mind, I'd like to finish getting ready,’

'If you don't mind...you're so polite!’ Sunny scanned her with wide, wondering eyes. 'He won't have told you the truth. The truth is that neither of us matters a damn to him right now. Carlo's one priority is keeping his darling daddy happy.’

'Why shouldn't it be?' Jessica said defensively. 'He hasn't got much time left with him.'

'And his inheritance is conditional on his marriage ... did you know that?' Sunny prompted gently.

'Right now, Carlo has to play you along and keep you happy. He needs a bride and it seems he's found one, dumb enough to shut her eyes to reality.'

The floor rocked under Jessica's feet. She turned pale. ‘I don't believe you,’ she said shakily.

'You are naive... and you haven't a clue how the men in this family operate.' Sunny's exquisite face twisted with derisive amusement. 'I understand Carlo. You don't understand him at all. Carlo wants me and he fully intends to have me... but he won't put a foot wrong while his father is still alive. All that keeps Carlo from me now is Lukas... and of course, the money...'

As the door shut on Sunny's exit Jessica closed her eyes tightly in anguish. She felt physically sick. Carlo had lied to her. He was not marrying her purely to please his father. He was marrying her for entirely mercenary motives. And yet be had fooled her brilliantly into believing everything he had told her!

In a wild passion of despair and turmoil, Jessica hauled her cases out of a closet in the dressing-room and began dragging her clothes out and packing them. She refused to be used like that... she absolutely refused!

'What the hell are you doing?'

On her knees beside the cases, Jessica glanced up. Carlo was a big dark silhouette filling the doorway. Hooded ebony eyes dug into her like aggressive question marks as he stared down at her in disbelief.

'I'm not going through with the wedding!' she gasped.

CHAPTER NINE

CARLO scanned the wildness in her amethyst eyes for a fulminating ten seconds, a muscle jerking tight at his hard jawline. 'I don't know what the hell you think you're playing at but the wedding goes ahead tomorrow... even if I have to drag you through it by

the hair!'