“Two months?” she repeated, frowning. “Why two months?”
“I have my reasons,” he said in a clipped tone.
“What if we get tired of each other before that? What then?”
The grim set of his face betrayed no emotion. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
For several moments, Alexa mulled the idea around in her head. “Two months?” she asked. “That’s it—nothing more?”
“Unless you want more?”
“You wish.” Alexa turned her back on him to think clearly.
Two months. Sixty days. Not an eternity, but it could seem like it if she moved back in with Leonardo and was subjected to whatever his demands were. There was no telling how many ways he had conjured up to punish her for what she did. She knew he would be merciless because she’d seen how he handled business opponents who crossed him.
“Come now, Alexa,” he crooned, directly behind her now.
She could feel his warm breath fan across the nape of her neck. She shut her eyes briefly and wished she didn’t enjoy it, wished she didn’t want more than that featherlight sensation. She shouldn’t. She needed his help, but he was still the enemy, and her body refused to acknowledge that. Instead, a tingling sensation crept along her inner thighs.
“Even if we were not compatible in other areas of our marriage, we never had problems satisfying each other in bed.”
Alexa’s pulse quickened at the intimate tone of his voice, the way it dropped several octaves and whispered across her skin like a caress.
“That’s beside the point.”
She swallowed past the lump that formed out of nowhere in her throat. She didn’t want to admit how correct he was. They had always been great together. She had always found him irresistible, with his strong jaw, smooth, beautiful bronzed skin, and a perfect, muscular male body that could put any Greek god to shame.
“The choice is yours, Alexa. You came here for a reason, to get money for your brother. I’m willing to give you the money.”
She whirled around, drawing a sharp breath at his close proximity. She made an impulsive step back.
“You’ll do it, but for a price. There’re strings attached.”
“Did you think you could come here and charm me into handing over such a large sum of money—for nothing?”
She hadn’t really thought that, but she’d hoped it was a possibility. She wouldn’t admit it, though. It was ludicrous for her to even have considered coming here, much less asking for money. If she hadn’t been so desperate to help her brother, she would have never needed to step foot in Leonardo’s opulent office again. She decided to try one more time to reason with him.
“Are there any other terms you’d consider? We could pay you back, Leo. It would take time, but—”
“You couldn’t afford the interest,” he interrupted in a brusque tone. His chiseled face became as hard as stone. There was no softness in him at all toward her or her predicament. “Your brother’s a high risk. Besides, that’s not what I want. I told you what I want. Now you need to make a decision.”
Chapter Two
“I know I do.” Alexa clenched her fist. “Why don’t we just call it what it really is? Revenge. Pure and simple. You want to take your revenge on me because I dared walk out on you, and no one walks out on Leonardo da Silva!”
She was talking too much, being reckless. This was not the way to convince Leonardo to help her. Yet she couldn’t stop the rush of words. She and Xander had exhausted every possibility before she came here, and she wished she didn’t have to ask him for anything.
His demeanor changed. Where he was cold before, he was now fuming, hot anger rolling off him in waves, a palpable entity that reached the few feet between them to warn her she was treading on dangerous ground.
His eyes narrowed to slits so thin all she could see was the glitter of his pupils as he looked down at her with ill-concealed anger.
“Don’t flatter yourself into thinking that abandoning our marriage mattered more to me than it did.”
The cutting words were an effective slap in the face, meant to put her in her place and remind her of how little she meant to him. She didn’t need reminding, though. She recalled very well the nights she spent alone in their vast bed while he traveled or worked late. Or the nights he claimed to work late and came home exhausted, never touching her and falling asleep, only to awaken and leave again in the morning before she awoke.
She would never forget how other women clamored for his attention, as if she weren’t in the room. Did he ever turn them away, or stop the behavior? No. Her presence did nothing to stop the women or him from their flirtations, and it hurt. It hurt more than she would like to admit right now.
“Then why ask me back, if I’m so unimportant? If it’s not revenge, then what is it?” Fool that she was, she held her breath with the hope that his answer would contain a modicum of kindness. Of course it didn’t.
“Because you need to be taught a lesson, and I’d like to think of myself as a good teacher. You see, there are consequences for one’s actions, and to expect to walk in here and not have to do anything in return—well, that’s simply ridiculous. I’m a businessman, and I would never agree to that kind of deal.”
“I didn’t expect to not have to do anything. As I told you, you would get your money back. I didn’t think you would just give it to me and it wouldn’t have to be repaid. Let’s discuss the terms, and we can draw up a contract.”
Leonardo shook his head. “How could you possibly afford my terms? Because of course, I would set the terms, not you.” He tapped a finger on his desk. “Trust me, Alexa, I’m doing you a favor. You’re learning a valuable lesson, and I’m getting a much better return on my investment than if I gave you the option of paying me back.”
How he managed to convince himself he was doing her a favor was beyond her.
“There has to be another way.”
“There is. Get your brother to dig himself out of the hole he’s dug for himself.”
He knew there was nowhere else for them to turn. She’d basically told him that, and her presence in his office was a clear indication they lacked other options. He had to know he was the last person she would ever seek assistance from if there were another avenue to pursue to resolve Xander’s financial problem.
“There’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”
“Nothing,” he said with finality.
He was not going to let her back her way out of the corner into which he’d squeezed her. His expectant dark eyes remained focused on her face.
“Then I have no choice,” Alexa said. There was obvious resignation in her voice. She finally accepted he wouldn’t budge. It was his way or nothing.
She tried not to think about what she was agreeing to. To return to the mansion and live as Leonardo’s wife again was difficult to accept. Most women would love the life of luxury she had lived, but she hated it. She hated the mansion, which she viewed as nothing more than a gilded cage.
Although she couldn’t tell her brother what she planned to do, she hoped he appreciated the sacrifice she made in coming here in the first place.
“Then we have a deal.”
His voice was filled with the satisfaction of a man who’d gotten the upper hand. Alexa watched Leonardo walk over to a file cabinet, unlock it, and pull out a large checkbook. He moved back to the desk and flipped to a blank check.
“What should I tell people when they ask—about our reconciliation?”
“Tell them we decided to try again. People love the idea of a reunion.” He didn’t seem particularly interested in the conversation or the explanations that would be required of them.
He leaned over the desk, his long, dark fingers gliding along the page as he wrote out the sum. With each stroke of the pen, Alexa felt as if a noose were tightening around her neck. Once she took the money, she was as good as his.
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” she asked. Although s
he’d never known Leonardo to renege on a promise, she had to be sure. It would be so easy for him to put a stop payment on the check and endanger her brother’s future and make her into a liar. “Should there be some kind of contract?”
His fingers paused in the midst of endorsing the check.
“If anyone should ask for a contract, it’s me,” he said. He finished his name and then lifted his eyes from the book. “I’ve never had a problem with keeping my word. You, on the other hand”—he straightened, staring her down—“can’t be trusted. Till death do us part. Remember that? You didn’t exactly stick to your side of the deal, now did you?”
She should have just kept her mouth shut. Take the money and run.
“I had good reason,” she said defensively.
“Is that right? What reason was that?”
It was foolish to engage in verbal sparring with Leo, but Alexa found she couldn’t resist. She needed to answer his mocking questions, even if it didn’t matter to him. “Our marriage wasn’t what it should be. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll agree neither of us got what we wanted out of it.”
She didn’t waver from his piercing appraisal, though it took monumental strength to maintain eye contact with him. He was used to making his opponents cower, but that particular intimidation tactic wouldn’t work today. She’d had four months to rebuild her self-esteem, and she’d had plenty of time to brace herself for this meeting with him once she and Xander decided it was a necessity.
“Was it because I was working hard making millions of dollars to maintain our lifestyle and make sure you had the security most women could only dream of? Or was it because you could no longer go gallivanting around town with your friends, flitting from party to party because suddenly you had to behave like a wife instead of a woman with no responsibilities?”
His words couldn’t have been farther from the truth. She’d never gallivanted in her life. She was the opposite of a social butterfly and resented that he made the few times she went out with her friends sound as if she were some kind of immature party girl. When she’d ventured out, it was because he was unavailable to join her. She spent more evenings out and about as his wife than she ever did as a single woman. There was always some party, charity function, or business dinner that required his presence.
If she didn’t need the money so badly, she would tell him exactly what she thought of him, his hard work, and his erroneous claims about her social life.
Forcing herself to remain calm, Alexa took a deep breath and held out her hand. “I think you’ve insulted me enough for one day. If you hand me the check, I’ll get out of your hair.”
Leonardo just looked at her hand, the slim wrist, the delicate fingers. She thought he would ignore her. Just as she was about to pull back, he enveloped her small hand in one of his.
The warm clasp was like an electric shock to her system. The immediate effect of his touch left her breathless, dizzy. How could he still have this effect on her?
Leonardo lifted her hand to his lips, heating her flesh with the pressure of his mouth against the sensitive skin of her palm. It was impossible not to react, not to tremble as her breasts tightened and the intimate core of her body throbbed as if he’d pressed the kiss there instead.
He flicked the tip of his tongue against her hand, and she tried to pull back as tiny shivers trickled up her arm. He only tightened his grip.
“Let go,” she whispered. She was fighting him as much as her body’s reaction to his touch.
“Not yet.”
Leonardo tugged, and she fell into him, her breasts crushed against his hard chest. He clamped his arm around her waist so she couldn’t move. His eyes darkened as he felt her soft, supple body. That wasn’t the only physical manifestation of his desire for her.
Alexa felt him harden against her stomach, and she was swamped with feelings that she hadn’t felt in so long, her knees weakened.
He lowered his head to her neck and inhaled in deep appreciation of the flowery scent of her skin. The tip of his tongue traced a sensuous arch along the shell of her ear.
Alexa closed her eyes and felt her body melt into his, his heart thumping beneath her palms.
“I can’t wait to get you back into bed,” he said huskily.
His hand lowered to her bottom and squeezed the flesh with possessive fingers, kneading it in a way that brooked no argument that it was his right to do so.
Alexa resisted the urge to grind against him. Her body was on fire with unrestrained need that she’d locked away and held behind a façade of cool indifference.
“Maybe this time I won’t let you leave.”
Alexa’s startled brown eyes locked with Leonardo’s hard black ones. She tried to wrench herself from his grasp, but he wouldn’t have it. He held her fast in an iron grip.
“You said two months,” she reminded him. “You can’t force me to stay with you indefinitely.” She successfully disengaged herself from his arms. He coolly looked down at her from his superior height, as if the heated response of their bodies pressed against each other had never taken place. “It was a mistake for me to come here.”
She grabbed her purse and rushed toward the door.
“You can have the check, Alexa,” Leonardo called before she could make it to the door.
When she turned to face him, she saw he held the check in his outstretched hand. Her stomach was in knots, thinking about her brother and what she would say to him if she showed up without it.
“Two months, Leo, that’s it.” She spoke in a firm voice, disguising how upset she was.
“Two months, Alexa, and then you’re free of me.”
With as much dignity as she could muster, Alexa bumped up her chin and took the few strides back to Leonardo. She slipped the check from his fingers and moved to escape.
His voice halted her at the door. “No ‘thank you’?” he taunted.
“We both know that’s not how you expect me to show my appreciation,” Alexa said woodenly. She stared at the dark oak door instead of turning to face him.
“Well, at least thank Xander, for getting my wife back for me, even if it’s only temporary. By the way, he gets the check today, and you move back in tomorrow. I’ll have my assistant call you to make the arrangements to have you move back into the house.”
So soon. Of course he wouldn’t waste any time, but still…
Alexa twisted the knob and hastily exited Leonardo’s office.
* * * *
Looking out over the Atlanta skyline, Leonardo’s eyes narrowed.
He’d done it. That was how badly he wanted her. It didn’t matter that it was unethical. He’d achieved the desired result—Alexa would be back in his home and back in his bed.
He applied pressure to his nape, to ease the tension from having her in his office. Despite his intention to do otherwise, he’d been incapable of making it through the brief meeting without touching her. She’d been too close. Her creamy skin, the color of café au lait, proved too much of a temptation. Her almond-shaped brown eyes had surveyed him with anger, but her displeasure did little to quench the hunger in his loins.
Leonardo compressed his teeth. Even now the fragrant scent of her skin along the slope of her neck lingered in his nostrils. He liked her new short haircut. He liked the way the full, bouncy curls curved into her neck. He couldn’t wait to take a handful of her hair and feel the silken tresses slip through his fingers as he devoured her luscious, pouty mouth. That mouth.
Abruptly, Leonardo turned from the window to quell the arousing thoughts. He still wanted her to the point of distraction, and despite acting as if she were being sentenced to the guillotine, he knew she wanted him, too. There was no mistaking the way her body softened against his.
Sooner or later they would enjoy each other’s bodies. As far as he was concerned, the sooner the better.
Chapter Three
Downstairs, Alexa hailed a taxi and made her way over to her brother’s apartment. She was suffering
through a multitude of emotions. She was excited to tell him the good news, but she was bone weary from her trying ordeal with Leonardo. It had sapped more of her strength than she realized it would.
In the cab, she rested her head back and closed her eyes.
“Maybe this time I won’t let you leave.”
Alexa drew a shaky breath. She began to tremble, tremble because she suddenly longed to resume their marriage and give him what he wanted. Seeing him again had been jarring. She had felt the tug of physical attraction that had roped her in from the first day she met him. Being intimate with him was not something she expected would ever happen again, but the thought of it caused a longing in her body that was not only difficult to understand, it posed an unsettling distraction.
Alexa rummaged through her purse for her makeup. She would have to give the performance of an award-winning actress to convince Xander everything was fine, that she and Leonardo had decided to reconcile. Maybe it was because they were twins, but she and her brother had a sixth sense where each other was concerned. They could take one look at each other and determine if there was something wrong.
She reapplied the reddish-bronze color to her lips and ran her fingers through her wind-tousled ebony curls to tame them. She needed to look her best to convince her brother that all was right with the world. She didn’t want him to feel guilty about how she came to get the money from Leonardo. Now he could pay his creditor and resume concentrating on the bakery instead of worrying about how he would take care of his wife and children.
Using her key, Alexa entered the townhouse Xander shared with his wife and four children. R & B music blared from the back, and that meant Xander was hard at work on one of his culinary creations.
“Xander!” she called out.
She made her way down the carpeted hall to the back, where the kitchen was. He looked up and smiled, hesitantly, when she entered. Just as she expected, he was leaning over the marble countertop of the island in the big kitchen, kneading a mountain of dough, his shirtsleeves rolled up and his forearms dusted with flour. The wait had taken its toll on him, as well, because he always baked when he was stressed.
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