The Italian's Mistress (HQR Presents) Read online

  She was all too familiar with those needs!

  ‘But what about Sammy and Jenny?’ she asked, searching desperately for a way out. ‘I can’t move in with you and leave them.’

  ‘I have leased a large property in South Yarra; it will be available in a couple of days. Your sister and son shall join us there until such time as I cease to…’ he hesitated slightly over the word, drawing out her pain ‘…need you.’

  ‘Moving house can be very unsettling for a child…’

  ‘So, I imagine, is dying.’

  She blenched at the blunt cruelty of his statement. ‘How can you do this?’ She glared at him. ‘You’re bargaining with a child’s life!’

  He stepped towards her and, grasping her upper arms, pulled her against him, his eyes spitting fire at her as he ground out, ‘He could have been my child but you denied me that privilege. Do you know the hell I have been through, thinking of the way you seduced my brother in my absence? Do you?’

  She squeezed her eyes shut against the bitterness of his tone.

  ‘I have died a thousand deaths to think of you with him. I have heard your cries of pleasure in my dreams, cries of pleasure that belonged to me.’

  ‘Don’t…’ She tried to escape his iron hold. ‘Let me go!’

  ‘No.’ He hauled her even closer, his chest now pressing against her breasts, reawakening a host of memories in her. ‘Don’t tell me “don’t” when you said yes to Carlo. You will say yes to me and mean it.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I will not take no.’

  ‘I don’t want you.’

  ‘I can make you want me,’ he stated with a confidence that terrified her.

  ‘Please don’t ask this of me.’

  ‘I’m not asking you—I’m telling you. You will be mine for the period of three months; otherwise your son will not receive the help he needs.’

  She wanted to call his bluff, how she wanted to! Sammy was his nephew, he knew that now. How could he turn his back on his own flesh and blood if she refused to do as he asked?

  He would turn his back as his pride would not allow him to do otherwise. Her betrayal had destroyed his feelings for her and now his only motivation was revenge.

  She could hardly blame him.

  What she had done, albeit inadvertently, had been unforgivable. She’d slept with his brother and, if Carlo’s detestable photographs were any indication, she had enjoyed each and every damning minute.

  She bowed her head in defeat, her voice empty as she asked, ‘When do you want me to…start?’

  ‘I want you to start now.’

  Her head snapped back and her wide eyes met his. ‘Now?’

  ‘Why not now?’ he asked with implacable calm. ‘We are here and we are alone.’

  She had to think on her feet. ‘I’m supposed to be working.’

  ‘Your job ended ten minutes ago.’

  ‘I can’t afford not to work!’ she protested.

  ‘Did I forget to mention?’ His lip curled. ‘I will pay you for your…services.’

  Her shame knew no bounds. Hot colour went from her head to her feet and back again. ‘You can’t do this to me.’

  ‘I can and I will,’ he said.

  ‘Do you hate me this much?’

  His dark eyes bored into hers. ‘Suffice it to say I have waited a long time for this moment.’

  ‘You’re so bitter…’

  ‘Does that surprise you?’

  ‘No, but…I would’ve thought you would’ve forgotten by now. I was just a fleeting episode in your life.’

  ‘You were my life!’ he ground out. ‘I wanted to give you the world but you threw it in my face.’

  There was nothing she could say in her defence. ‘I’m sorry…’

  ‘I don’t want your apology.’ His harshly delivered words cut the air like a knife.

  ‘What do you want?’ She raised her agonised features to his. ‘Do you want me to beg?’

  ‘No,’ he said heavily. ‘I want you to feel what I felt when I looked at you. I want you to writhe with desire for me the way I did when I saw you.’

  His words totally shocked her. ‘Lucio, this is all wrong…Surely you can see that?’

  ‘No.’ His hands were like twin vices on her upper arms. ‘I want you on any terms. You can either come to me out of gratitude or out of hate; I am indifferent. I will have you no matter what you feel.’

  She opened her mouth to protest but it was too late. His head came down and his mouth crashed against hers, her senses reeling at the feel of his lips on hers once more.

  His tongue drove through the trembling shield of her lips, drawing from her a response she didn’t want to give but couldn’t stop herself from giving. With his first branding kiss she was transported back four years to a time when he had only to look at her for her to squirm with red-hot desire.

  She felt his hand searching for her breast and leaned into him to give him the access he craved, her limbs loosening when his thumb found her nipple, the tantalising touch so exquisite she felt as if she were floating on a sea of need, each great wave threatening to consume her.

  She felt the wall at her back, his hard body at her front, the heated trajectory of his desire so arrantly male against her she had trouble establishing where he ended and she began.

  She fought against her response, unwilling to communicate her need but unable to control it. Her body craved the domination of his, each and every nerve singing with delight as his hands moved over her, shaping her, caressing her…subduing her.

  His mouth moved from hers to the upper curve of her breasts, his nimble fingers freeing them from the tight restraint of her uniform, his hungry eyes consuming her in heated anticipation.

  ‘You are so beautiful,’ he groaned as he bent his mouth to one pert bud. ‘I have dreamt of this moment…ached for this…’

  His words both thrilled and terrified her. She wanted him but there was the issue of his brother lying between them. She had no memory of what had occurred in Carlo’s bed but she knew it had resulted in a child—her child. How could she go from his brother’s arms to his without calling her morals into account?

  ‘Lucio…’ She pushed against his chest with a will she hardly recognised as her own.

  ‘What?’ His one word was sharp.

  ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’

  ‘You baulk at sharing my bed after sharing my brother’s?’

  She flinched at his harsh tone. ‘This has nothing to do with…Carlo; this is about you and…me.’

  ‘It has everything to do with Carlo,’ he said. ‘You had his child. You rejected me for him.’

  ‘I did not reject you for him,’ she countered. ‘I left you both.’

  ‘Is that supposed to be some consolation?’

  ‘No, but I thought—’

  ‘You thought!’ he spat in derision. ‘When, pray tell, did you think? You seduced my brother, thinking you would get away with it because I was out of town, but you seriously underestimated Carlo.’

  Oh, how she had underestimated him!

  ‘Carlo saw through your innocent façade,’ he said. ‘I, on the other hand, was blinded by love.’

  ‘You never loved me,’ she said in a hollow tone.

  ‘I loved you with every fibre of my being. You destroyed that love by enticing Carlo when his guard was down.’

  She stared at him incredulously. ‘Is that what he told you?’

  He met her look with steely eyes. ‘I know my brother would never betray me willingly.’

  She wasn’t sure how to answer such a statement. Carlo had planned his seduction so well even she hadn’t seen it coming.

  ‘Your loyalty to your brother is admirable but I would’ve thought you might have spared a thought for what we had shared.’

  ‘It’s a pity you didn’t do likewise when you bribed my brother into your bed.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Wasn’t that your goal?’ he asked.

  ‘I don
’t know what you mean…’

  ‘Oh, come on, Anna.’ His tone was scathing. ‘Surely you don’t expect me to spell it out for you? Carlo and I are joint inheritors of the Ventressi Corporation. On the birth of an heir, a lump sum will be allocated to the child when he turns twenty-one.’

  ‘An heir?’ She stared at him blankly.

  ‘Your son is your ticket to wealth,’ he said. ‘As a Ventressi he stands to inherit a veritable fortune. Why haven’t you told Carlo the good news?’

  She felt sick to her stomach.

  ‘You have denied him his child for three years,’ he said. ‘Don’t you think it’s time you told him?’

  She inspected her nail-bitten hands. ‘I didn’t see the need to.’

  ‘No—’ his breath came out forcibly ‘—you wouldn’t. You’d rather bide your time and wait for the moment when revenge would be sweetest.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t play the innocent with me,’ he snarled at her. ‘Carlo is married with a child on the way. What were you hoping for? To step in now and announce Sammy’s existence?’

  Anna stared at him without speaking.

  ‘I can see how your mind works,’ he continued. ‘You have needs that need to be met. What better way than presenting Carlo with a child he had no idea existed so you could twist the screws.’

  She was so totally gob-smacked by his revelation she could barely think.

  Carlo? Married? A child on the way?

  ‘I had no intention of ever telling Carlo,’ she said through bone-white lips.

  ‘No?’ His look was sceptical. ‘Don’t play me for a fool, Anna. I’ve seen how women like you work. Blackmail is second nature to get what you want, but think again if you imagine you’ll succeed in hauling yourself a fortune. I won’t allow it.’

  ‘I don’t want anything to do with Carlo,’ she insisted.

  ‘Good, because from now on you’ll be dealing exclusively with me.’

  The burning heat of his gaze scorched her wherever it touched her, making her aware of her body in a way she hadn’t been for such a long time. She felt the stirring of her breasts, their weight increasing, and the tightening of her nipples, aching for his touch. Her mouth felt sensitive, her lips swollen by his savage kiss, and she realised with a sickening arrow of shame that she wanted him.

  ‘Where are your normal clothes?’ he asked bluntly.

  ‘In my locker in the staff room.’

  ‘Go and get changed and be back here in ten minutes,’ he instructed her. ‘I will speak to your employer and inform him of your new position with me.’

  Her face drained of all colour as she stood uncertainly before him. ‘You’re going to tell him I’m to be your mistress?’

  He gave a careless shrug. ‘Why shouldn’t I? It’s the truth, is it not?’

  ‘Can’t you tell him I’m your secretary or something? Anything would be preferable to…’

  ‘You will not only be my mistress, Anna, you will give every outward appearance of enjoying it, do you understand?’

  She threw him a resentful glance. ‘What about Jenny and Sammy? What am I supposed to tell them?’

  He looked at her for a long moment before speaking. ‘Sammy is too young to understand. Your sister, however, need only be told we are resuming our relationship indefinitely.’

  ‘Indefinitely?’ The word flew from her startled mouth. ‘But you said it was only to be for three months!’

  His eyes glinted with dark purpose. ‘I’m the one calling the shots here, Anna. You’d do very well to remember.’

  She swung from the apartment with her fury around her like an aura as she stomped towards the service lift. She stabbed at the call button as if it were a part of his hateful anatomy instead, hatred seething within her until she was sure she would explode with it.

  What trick of fate had led her to that café?

  What force was at work to make her path cross with his after all these years?

  The first time she’d met him he’d offered her help, but back then his help had come without a price tag. He’d taken her and Jenny to his mother’s house, where they were made to feel very welcome in spite of the language barrier.

  Her thoughts drifted back to that time, a deep pang of regret assailing her at how things had gone from such happiness to such despair so quickly.

  Lucio’s mother had been an elegant, diminutive woman, her natural grace and charm making the girls feel at home right from the start. Anna’s earlier intention of leaving within the week was put back at the Ventressis’ insistence. They wanted to show her and Jenny more of Rome and the outlying sights of interest.

  So Anna had extended their visit and they’d spent glorious summer days visiting Naples and Pompeii and the Amalfi coast.

  A trip had been planned to Tivoli, thirty-one kilometres northeast of Rome, but on the morning of their departure Jenny had announced she was unwell with a headache so Jovanna, Lucio’s mother, had insisted on staying home with her to look after her. Carlo had still been away on business, so it had been just Lucio and Anna who drove the short distance to Villa d’Este.

  She had barely contained her excitement at the thought of a day in his company. Her awareness of him had grown continuously over the past two weeks, her heart tripping over itself every time his dark gaze slid to hers across the dinner table or across the room.

  She was too inexperienced to know for sure if he were interested in her, but she liked the way he listened to her when she told him something of interest, his dark eyes warm with amusement as they rested on her up-tilted face.

  ‘You like our country, Anna?’ he asked as he drove towards the Benedictine convent.

  ‘I love your country,’ she answered, glancing at him shyly. ‘I love everything—the food, the wine, the climate…’

  ‘And the people?’ His dark brow lifted expressively.

  ‘I adore the people.’ She turned back to face the front of the car, her cheeks suddenly warm.

  His soft rumble of laughter sent delicious shivers along the entire length of her spine and she had to press her knees together to stop the rush of warmth from her lower body. She felt his glance but didn’t look his way.

  ‘There is so much I want to show you, Anna.’ He drew the car to a halt and smiled across at her.

  She smiled back, her heart swelling in her chest at the warmth of his gaze.

  ‘You don’t mind it’s just us today?’ she asked as he helped her out of the car.

  His eyes flicked to the soft curve of her mouth before coming back to her shining gaze.

  ‘I adore the fact that we are finally alone,’ he said and lowered his mouth to hers.

  Anna was lost from that moment. His kiss was exquisitely gentle, drawing from her a response she had no control over. She had been kissed occasionally in the past but nothing came close to the feel of Lucio’s mouth on hers. His lips were firm and dry, his tongue when it entered her mouth determined but controlled, as if he were aware of her limited experience.

  Later, all Anna could remember of the Villa d’Este was the sound of water running in the background and the chirruping birds in the terraced gardens interspersed with the distant tolling of bells. She was lost in the dreamy sensation of walking arm in arm with Lucio, hardly even taking in what he told her about the villa.

  ‘This estate was established by Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, son of Lucrezia Borgia. The terraced gardens and fountains were laid out by Liggorio and Giacomo della Porta,’ he informed her. ‘See this avenue here?’ He pointed ahead of them. ‘This is the Terrace of One Hundred Fountains.’

  Anna’s gaze swept over the moss-encased shapes of eagles, ships, grotesques and obelisks with eyes shining with love, not interest.

  She was in love with Lucio.

  ‘You are not listening, cara,’ he chided her gently.

  She tilted her head at him. ‘Yes I am, test me.’

  ‘All right.’ He pushed up her chin with one finger. ‘Tell me how many fountai
ns are in the Viale delle Cento Fontane.’

  She ran her tongue over the sensitive surface of her lips and smiled up at him vacantly. ‘I give up. How many?’

  ‘Dio,’ he growled playfully, pulling her back into his arms. ‘What am I going to do with such an inattentive tourist?’

  She laughed at the mock severity of his tone. ‘I would be more attentive if you hadn’t completely distracted me by kissing me as soon as we arrived.’

  ‘I wanted to kiss you.’ He stared at her smiling mouth. ‘I have been dreaming of doing so from the first time I saw you comforting your sister on the street.’

  ‘Have you really?’

  ‘Have you not seen the way I cannot take my eyes off you?’ he asked. ‘How my fingers long to touch you and my body to claim you?’

  She felt the growing heat of his lower body against the softness of hers, felt too the leap of her own pulses in response to his nearness.

  ‘I…I’m not used to feeling like this,’ she confessed shyly.

  ‘You are inexperienced, cara?’ he asked gently.

  She found it hard to hold the intensity of his gaze. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Sorry?’ he gasped. ‘Do not be sorry! Do you realise how I have longed to meet someone like you? Someone who hasn’t slept with dozens of men before me?’

  ‘That’s rather an old-fashioned view, Lucio,’ she couldn’t help pointing out.

  He laughed. ‘Yes, I know, but I am an Italian so I am allowed to be traditional in my views, yes?’

  ‘If you’re really an Italian traditionalist you must have some Italian maiden already picked out for your partner in life.’

  ‘I will choose my own wife,’ he said. ‘And I have decided she will be you.’

  ‘Me?’ she squeaked.

  ‘Why not you?’ He glinted down at her. ‘I am besotted with you. I want you so much my body aches with it.’

  ‘But I’m only twenty-one,’ she said.

  ‘So? I am thirty, only nine years older.’

  ‘But I’m Australian.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘I should go home—I’ve got a job to go back to and—’

  ‘As my wife you will be able to travel the world, your sister too. I will not tie you to my country. I have some interests in Australia anyway, some members of my family emigrated years ago. We could live between both countries.’