The Italian's Trophy Mistress. Diana Hamilton
having the temerity to ignore his dangerously tempting, shock proposal of marriage?
Her body held immobile by the weight of his knowledge, her lips moved with awkward stiffness as she forced out, ‘How the hell do you know all this?’
‘Simple.’ He had the gall to smile; the slow curving of his passionate mouth that had once had the power to enslave her now filled her with a wave of disgust that sent shivers shuddering down her spine. ‘Through a private investigator. Blakely’s the head of his sphere. A phone call, a name, an address, and he came up with a wad of interesting information.’
Anger brought her spine to attention, thrusting her breasts tight against the silky fabric. Flushing, she saw his gaze drop, fastening on the pouting globes, lingering, exactly like a caress.
Determinedly ignoring the way her skin fluttered, the sudden and definitely unwanted pooling of heat at the juncture of her thighs, she said as frostily as she could manage, ‘Well, bully for you! Though I can’t imagine what satisfaction you could hope to gain from digging the dirt on my family.’
‘No?’ His smile was pure menace.
Bianca had heard it said that Cesare Andriotti was the most ruthless bargainer on the planet. She had never seen that side of him before, and now that she had she felt her blood run cold. And her mouth trembled as she listened to the slow, self-assured pace of his next words.
‘I get complete satisfaction. Does that answer your question? You see, cara mia, I have not yet grown tired of our affair, and until I’m sated—I, not you—it will continue.’
‘No!’ The instinctive and vehement repudiation was wrested from her. It wasn’t going to happen! With each day that had passed she had fallen more and more in love with him. Ending their affair had been the hardest thing she’d ever had to do. To continue with it until he decided to say goodbye and move on would do even more damage to her already battered heart.
‘In return—’ he deliberately ignored the sheer anguish of that single word, steeling himself to discount the wretchedness in her golden eyes, eyes that had once glowed with incandescent pleasure on seeing him ‘—in return I will make your problems go away. I have already spoken to Professor Vaccari. Marco is an expert in the field of the addictive personality and he has agreed to give Helene the counselling she so obviously needs. Also, I will renew the lease on this property so that after two or three months on the island a fit and balanced Helene will have a home to return to.’
‘You can’t!’ Her head was spinning so wildly it was all she could think to say. Even a short-term lease would cost many thousands. It was unthinkable—
‘On the contrary.’ His dark eyes slid to the way she was clutching the arms of her chair, her fingers white with the pressure she was exerting, as if she was desperate to find something real and solid to cling onto. ‘I can do what I want to do. Before, when you shared my bed so willingly, you went against what I wanted. You refused to move in with me, refused my gifts.’
His lips pulled back against his teeth as he remembered. He’d seen her refusals as statements of independence, of distance, and he could barely admit, even to himself, how they’d hurt, how he’d experienced a crazy sense of loneliness. Ridiculous, of course.
‘You can refuse again, naturally. That is your choice. But think about it for a moment,’ he slid in when her eyes widened as they winged to his. ‘Your problems will remain. And do you honestly think Helene will go to her GP and ask for the help she needs? Or isn’t her well-being your first priority?’
Of course it was! How dared he imply otherwise? She loved her mother and felt deeply sorry for her, understanding only too well what had made her the woman she was. Suddenly her eyes stung with tears and she blinked furiously and gritted her teeth to stop her mouth trembling.
Watching her, Cesare felt an iron band tighten around his heart. Was she stubborn enough, so determined to keep him out of her life, that she would refuse to consider his offer?
Was he, for the first time in his life, about to be denied something he’d set his mind on having? The thought that he might lose what he most wanted—Bianca Jay in his life and in his bed for as long as he wanted her there—gave him a hitherto unknown sensation of panic.
He rigorously quelled the feeling he refused to admit to, and his voice was silkily seductive as he brushed his own emotions aside and worked on hers with the skill of a master. ‘Think of an island in the sun, a beautiful villa, expert professional care for Helene. You and I together, staying close by. And we’re good together, you know we are. Keeping your part of the bargain shouldn’t be too much of a problem.’
But it would! He could have no idea how big the problem would be!
It was almost too tempting. To be where she most longed to be, a longing that went far beyond the wonder of feeling the length of his body against the arching eagerness of hers, skin against skin, mouth against mouth, a longing that went so much further, encompassing a need to be loved, a need for the total commitment he obviously couldn’t or wouldn’t give.
Unconsciously she shook her head. That deep longing belonged in the past. She couldn’t want to be loved by a man who would use blackmail to get what he wanted. She wasn’t that crazy, was she? Gathering her wandering thoughts, she forced herself to return to what he had said.
‘You talk about an island, about treatment. Where? For how long?’
She knew her voice sounded flat. Deliberately speaking in a careful monotone was the only way to stop herself railing at the man who had been her lover and who now came in the guise of an enemy. For only an enemy could make demands that would leave her heart in ruins. ‘And how do I know this professor whatever-his-name-is could help my mother?’
It all sounded too far-fetched to be believable. He was playing cruel games, he simply had to be, and how could she ever have imagined herself sinking fathoms deep in love with a man who would stoop to such measures? Nervous energy suddenly coursing through her, Bianca got to her feet and fled to the door, flinging it open. ‘Please go.’
Cesare didn’t move, but his eyes followed her every enticingly fluid movement.
She was angry now, sensationally so, her head flung proudly back on her slender neck, her glorious hair a dark and silky tangle, her eyes flashing amber warnings, her fabulous body taut, every curve lovingly highlighted by the sheen of her flimsy robe. His heart jumped in his chest and his body hardened. He had never wanted her as much as he did at this moment.
He ached to take her in his arms, rediscover every inch of her with hot masculine pleasure, to kiss her until neither of them knew where they were, to stamp his brand of ownership on her until she took back the icy statement she’d made on the night of Claudia’s birthday dinner.
It took a supreme act of will-power to get the wayward instincts of his body back under control and an act of cool determination to regain mastery of the situation. Levering himself slowly to his feet, he leant back against the delicate table, his legs crossed at the ankles, his hands deep in his pockets, facing her across the length of the room.
‘In answer to your questions, Professor Vaccari is the best there is. I would not have retained his services for an unspecified length of time had that not been the case. And my island is off the coast of Sicily—a few acres only, but beautiful. The villa will supply all the luxury Helene could want, with the added benefit of being isolated from the temptations of the dubious pleasures of city nightlife. Helene will receive expert and sympathetic counselling, on that you have my word. You and I will be close at hand. You will see her every day to judge her progress back to full health and ensure that she doesn’t feel entirely cut off amongst strangers. And you will come to my bed whenever I call,’ he taunted softly.
Bianca ground her teeth together until her jaw ached. She was seeing a side of Cesare Andriotti she didn’t like at all, a side she had never guessed at during the time she had been slowly but only too surely falling in love with him. Arrogance was too tame a word to describe the way he was backing her into a corner.
Dimly