Bedded and Wedded for Revenge Page 14

  ‘She didn’t say. Besides, I didn’t get the time to ask as she cut the call short when you arrived at her house for dinner.’

  ‘I had dinner in my office.’

  ‘Nice try, Andreas,’ Gemma said with her hands on her hips. ‘But I’m not so gullible. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the least bit jealous. You can see whomever you like, but I would appreciate it if you would at least be discreet about it.’

  ‘What sort of man do you think I am?’ he growled.

  Gemma met his brooding gaze. ‘I don’t really know, do I? I thought you were a man of principles, an honest, decent man, and yet you apparently think nothing of carrying on an affair behind my back.’

  ‘I am not carrying on an affair behind your back.’

  ‘No,’ she said, scooping up the casserole with pot holders to take it through to the dining room, ‘you’re doing it right under my nose.’

  Andreas let out a rough curse and followed her through to the dining room. The table was set beautifully and he felt himself backing down. It was clear Gemma had gone to a lot of trouble in spite of what she believed he had done to betray her.

  He couldn’t make her out. Why tell him she was developing feelings for him only to insist she wasn’t jealous?

  Unless she had an ulterior motive…

  He took the seat she had assigned him and picked up the bottle of red wine she’d corked and allowed to breathe and poured out a glass.

  ‘I have some rather unfortunate news to relay to you,’ he said once she had dished out their meal.

  ‘Oh?’ She gave him a glittering glance. ‘Is this where you finally confess to me how you paid Michael not to marry me?’

  He met her fiery look without flinching. ‘I was going to leave that until later, but now that you have mentioned it perhaps I should explain my motives.’

  ‘I would appreciate it, late though it is,’ she returned with a diamond hard flash of her blue eyes.

  ‘You were on a pathway to destruction. I wanted to counteract it.’

  ‘Well, thank you so much for stepping into the breach like that,’ she said with heavy sarcasm. ‘I really don’t know how to thank you.’

  ‘He was not the right husband for you.’

  ‘And you are?’ She gave him an incredulous look. ‘Please, I might have lost part of my memory, but I’m not completely brainless.’

  ‘I did not want you to throw your life away on a man your father did not feel confident would have your best interests at heart.’

  ‘I hardly see that you are any improvement on Michael,’ she said bitterly. ‘You’ve already betrayed me, not once, but twice.’

  ‘Your father did not trust Michael Carter.’

  ‘My father was bigoted about Michael’s lifestyle. He didn’t stop and think for a moment about how Michael had stood by me when everyone else had left me to cope with my injuries alone.’

  ‘Guilt has a habit of doing that.’

  Gemma frowned. ‘What do you mean by that?’

  Andreas let out a long-winded sigh. ‘You have so readily accepted the blame for the accident, but have you ever considered you might not have been responsible for what happened that night?’

  She stared at him for what seemed like endless seconds. ‘I—I don’t know what you mean…They did DNA testing. It was my car, I was driving…my fingerprints were all over the steering wheel.’

  ‘You remember nothing of that night. How do you know it was as it was reported?’

  She lowered her gaze to the food on her plate. ‘I just do. It makes sense in a way—call it karma or whatever, but I had it coming to me. I deserved it.’

  ‘I do not think you deserve to punish yourself indefinitely with something you have no memory of. We are our memories. If you wipe the slate of someone’s brain they cease to be the person they once were.’

  She frowned as she took in his words. Could it be true? Could you really change the past in such a way?

  ‘So…what you’re saying is the Gemma Landerstalle of ten years ago no longer exists?’ she ventured.

  ‘Who knows?’ he asked. ‘What do you think? You are the only one who can really answer that truthfully.’

  She looked down at her plate once more. ‘You said you had some unfortunate news to relay to me. What did you mean?’

  ‘It is bad news.’

  She looked up at him. ‘You’re having more than one affair?’

  He gave her a rolled-eyed look. ‘No, much worse than that I am afraid.’

  Gemma felt her stomach free fall. ‘Wh-what sort of bad news?’

  He met her worried gaze across the width of the table. ‘Your stepmother is contesting your father’s will.’

  She swallowed convulsively. ‘But I’ll still get my money in the next couple of days, won’t I?’

  Andreas was privately amazed at her naivety. Surely she knew enough about the legal system to realise these things were not always clear-cut. But then, he reminded himself, she wanted that money and had gone to rather desperate means to access it. She hadn’t factored in any last-minute hiccups once the marriage her father had insisted on had been achieved.

  ‘It is very unlikely,’ he informed her. ‘I sought legal advice this morning. It could take months if not years to gain full access to your father’s estate.’

  Gemma’s fork clattered against her plate as it fell from her fingers. ‘Months? But I have to have it now! I need it this week, or at least before we leave for Italy!’

  ‘I can pay off your debts in the meantime,’ he offered. ‘Just tell me the amount and I will arrange for the amount to be deposited in your bank account.’

  Gemma lowered her eyes to the food on her plate, her appetite completely disappearing. How could she tell him she needed a hundred thousand dollars, possibly more? Sure he was a billionaire, but it was still a huge amount of money. She considered telling him the truth, but wondered if he would believe her. Besides, she had to keep Rachel and Isabella safe for as long as she could. If the press got wind of this their lives could be in danger. She’d have to wait until Rachel and her daughter were safely in the States before she told him why she needed that money.

  ‘It’s very generous of you,’ she mumbled.

  ‘I am a rich man, Gemma. I am sure you have not accumulated enough bills to ruin me.’

  She gave him a weak smile. ‘Don’t bet on it.’

  ‘How much do you need?’

  She took a steadying breath. ‘A hundred thousand dollars…to start with…’

  His brows rose slightly but he answered in an even tone. ‘I will see that you have the money tomorrow.’

  She compressed her lips to control the flood of relief that threatened to consume her.

  ‘You are being honest with me, aren’t you, Gemma?’ he asked with a probing look cast her way. ‘What we are talking about here are simple debts, not an out-of-control gambling or drug habit?’

  She forced herself to meet his eyes, but her stomach felt as if a nest of large prickling ants had just been stirred up inside it. ‘I am being honest with you. I have some debts, more than I’d like, but they have absolutely nothing to do with any vices other than an addiction to shopping.’

  ‘Then I must say there is little evidence of your addiction,’ he remarked wryly as his eyes ran over her simple, shapeless casual wear.

  ‘I’ve got it under control now.’

  ‘I have two sisters who will no doubt undo your rehabilitation in one shopping expedition,’ he said with a little smile that indicated his great fondness for his family.

  ‘I will try and restrain myself.’

  ‘You have no need to do so. I am, as I said earlier, a rich man. I can afford to dress you in whatever designer clothes you like. In fact I would prefer it if you would dress a little more extravagantly.’

  ‘I don’t like drawing attention to myself.’

  ‘You have to let the past go, Gemma. You are a beautiful woman who should not be hiding behind a nun’s habit or thereabo
uts.’

  ‘Does your mistress dress flamboyantly?’

  His mouth tightened. ‘My relationship with Estella Garrison ended several months ago. We have remained business associates. I have just purchased a property on the central coast from her. She had no right to inform you of my dealings with Michael. I cannot think how she came by the knowledge. She may have overheard a conversation or something. But believe me you have no need to be threatened by her.’

  ‘I’m not the least bit threatened. You can have your dalliances, see if I care.’

  ‘But you do care, mia piccola,’ he said softly. ‘I can see the hurt in your dark blue eyes even though you try so hard not to show it.’

  ‘I’m not really in love with you,’ she said, keeping her head well down. ‘I was just pathetically grateful that you were able to unlock my…er…frigidity, that’s all.’

  ‘Glad to be of service.’ He picked up his wineglass and took a leisurely sip before adding, ‘But do not forget our agreement.’

  ‘I haven’t forgotten.’

  ‘I want a child. We may well have conceived one already.’

  Gemma felt the crush of her guilt press against her chest but she refused to meet his eyes in case he picked up on it. ‘What is it about the arrogance of men who think that one sexual encounter will do the trick?’

  ‘I am not intending there to be only one encounter,’ he said in a low, sexy drawl that made the hairs on the back of her neck lift in awareness. ‘I am planning on many encounters, all of them passionately fulfilling. You will be pregnant before the six months is up, I am sure. In fact I would hazard a guess that it will not even take that long.’

  It will take for ever and a miracle besides, Gemma thought with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  ‘Come now, Gemma, eat up,’ he said. ‘This is a wonderful meal. You have done well. Where did you learn to cook like this? I had no idea you were so talented.’

  Gemma picked up her cutlery even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to eat much more than a mouthful. ‘I did a course a couple of years ago. It was run by a chef who taught the basics. I’ve worked on from there. I enjoy it…fiddling with ingredients. After a lifetime of having food prepared for you in a hotel it’s kind of nice to taste something home-cooked.’

  ‘I applaud you for taking the time and trouble to do so,’ he said. ‘I am afraid I have been rather spoilt. I can manage a boiled egg but little else.’

  ‘I can teach you, if you like.’

  He smiled at her. ‘Only if you let me teach you my language.’

  She gave him a tremulous movement of her lips. ‘It could take a long time, don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

  He gave her another one of his long, thoughtful looks, but didn’t respond. Gemma buried her head and began to eat almost mechanically in order to escape that penetrating gaze that continued to disturb her so much.

  She knew she was being a fool for accepting his explanation about the woman who had called, and an even bigger fool for not taking him further to task over his bribery of Michael. Why had he done it? Was it just to get his hands on the hotel or was this his carefully orchestrated plan for revenge, to have her fall in love with him and then walk away as she had done to him?

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  ONCE their meal was cleared away Gemma made a move towards her room, but Andreas stalled her with a hand on her arm.

  ‘We do not sleep alone in this marriage, cara. Not any longer.’

  She looked down at his tanned hand on the creamy skin of her arm and suppressed a tiny shiver. ‘Jealousy issues aside, I’m not the sharing type.’

  He forced up her chin with his other hand, making her eyes mesh with his. ‘I will say it again. I am not being unfaithful. I have wanted you for ten years and I still want you. There is no one else and will not be unless one or both of us calls an end to this marriage.’

  Gemma wanted to trust him; everything in her insisted she put her pride aside and take what was on offer from him. After all, he had come to her rescue, even though he had coerced Michael to do it, marrying her, doing his best to secure her inheritance, even going so far as to step into the breach with this last distressing hiccup in proceedings.

  Yes, she wasn’t entirely sure of his motives for doing so, but so far he had not been unkind to her in any way, and if he said he wasn’t involved with anyone else she should at least give him the benefit of the doubt, as indeed he had given her over her memory loss.

  ‘I know you want me too,’ Andreas said. ‘There is no point trying to hide behind that wall of coldness you have erected around yourself for so long. I broke through it the other night and found a passionate young woman with needs and feelings that should not be denied any longer.’

  ‘I didn’t realise until the other night how terribly lonely I’ve been,’ she confessed, surprising herself at her sudden candidness.

  He pulled her up close, burying his head into the fragrant cloud of her hair. ‘You have no need to be lonely now. We are in this together.’

  But for how long? she wondered as his mouth settled on hers, but within seconds she was lost to the heady sensation he was evoking within her. His tongue curled around hers, drawing a response from her that she had no hope of controlling. Within the space of minutes she was breathless and begging for the release his body promised in its heated trajectory as it pulsed against her.

  There was no time for travelling to the bedroom; the huge leather sofa in the lounge was all the comfort they needed to revel in each other’s bodies in a primitive coupling that was both urgent and tender at the same time.

  Gemma sobbed her release, their breaths mingling with an intimacy she had not thought she would ever experience.

  Within minutes he began stroking the slim length of her thighs and she was awakened again for his possession, her body craving his so much she reached for him with a boldness she had no idea she contained, her fingers stroking his length, marvelling at the way his body responded.

  Shaking off her shyness, she shimmied down his body and caressed him with her mouth and tongue, relishing in the power she had over him, demonstrated by his deep, guttural groans.

  ‘No…’ he said, grasping her head in his hands. ‘I cannot control myself.’

  ‘Let me pleasure you.’

  ‘Everything you do pleasures me. You do not have to…Dio Mio.’

  Gemma rejoiced in the pulse of his body under her command, the intense intimacy of the contact beyond anything she had ever experienced.

  ‘You are a goddess,’ he said, pulling her back up to his chest after it was over. ‘A bewitching goddess who is totally unforgettable.’

  Gemma nestled up against him, her head on his chest where his heart was still thumping unevenly. ‘I like the sound of that…..’ She sighed as her eyelashes closed over her eyes, the deep softness of the leather beneath her and the desire for sleep gradually drawing her away from her conscious attempt to separate the truth from her lies. ‘You are totally unforgettable too.’

  The flight to Naples was to Gemma unlike the last time she had travelled overseas. Although she had flown first class when she had flown with her father and stepmother when she was a teenager, the private jet Andreas had waiting for him at the airport surpassed anything she had ever dreamed of.

  They were swiftly waved through Customs and met at the gate by one of the Trigliani staff members who doubled as a chauffeur.

  He greeted Gemma with a type of warmth she found reassuring, hoping the reception Andreas’s family gave her was equally friendly.

  The picturesque villa Andreas owned was in the little village of L’Annunziata, perched on a summit of a hill overlooking the Island of Capri and the Gulf of Naples. The village was situated ten kilometres from Sorrento, giving you access to both Naples and Capri, and eighteen kilometres from Positano, Andreas informed her proudly on the journey.

  Gemma couldn’t hold back her pleasure at seeing Andreas’s family holiday residence. The gardens p
ositively spilled over their beds with glorious colourful blooms and the air was scented with the sea far below as well as the sweet, heady lemon blossoms from the surrounding hills.

  ‘It’s so…beautiful…’ she breathed in wonder, taking the hand he offered her as he guided her up the steps leading to the front entrance. ‘It’s the most wonderful place I’ve ever seen.’

  Andreas smiled down at her and led her forward to where his mother and two heavily pregnant sisters were waiting with open arms and a rush of staccato Italian that left her ears ringing.

  She was enveloped in a crushing hug by each woman in turn, and then kissed on both cheeks by Andreas’s two brothers-in-law who patiently waited their turn.

  ‘My mother speaks a little English, but I will interpret for you if things prove too difficult for you or her,’ Andreas explained. ‘Lucia and Gianna and Paolo and Ricardo are fluent, or at least as much as me.’

  The barrier of language didn’t appear to be a problem as Gemma was treated like a princess from the moment she stepped inside the ancient villa.

  The next few days passed in a blur of sunshine, good food and gentle exercise in the pool situated at the back of the villa where the sun drenched the garden in heady, healing rays.

  Andreas seemed intent on showing her everything, the towns of Sorrento and Positano were explored in detail, exquisite food eaten at the restaurants and cafés, and his sisters promised that if they were not so close to delivering their babies they would have whipped her away to Rome or Milan for a shopping trip to make her holiday all the more perfect.

  ‘I’m not really much of a shopper,’ Gemma had laughingly replied, feeling relaxed and happy in a way she hadn’t in years, perhaps had never felt, until she glanced at Andreas and saw his frown, and the questioning look that crossed his face.

  Andreas had been as good as his word and deposited the funds she’d requested in her bank account, and within minutes she had used her telephone banking service to transfer the full amount to Rachel’s account. She’d also organised the flights so all Rachel had to do was pick up the tickets from the local travel agent. The comfort she drew from knowing Rachel and Isabella were now well on their way to the States to receive the help Isabella needed had placed Gemma in a state close to euphoria. So too had the tender and sensuous attention Andreas bathed her in, leaving her senses in an almost constant state of physical alert when he was anywhere nearby.