High Stakes Seduction - Book 1

by LeCoeur, Ami

  Had an iron been pressed to my cheeks, I don’t think they would have burned as hot as they did in that moment. I turned to walk away and saw Janet watching the both of us. She must have seen the interaction. She waved me over again, but I shook my head apologetically. Naomi was a horrible person to say such things, but as much as I wanted to blame her for the angry tears that threatened, I knew she was right. These games Antonio was playing, this whole lifestyle, I didn’t fit anywhere in it.

  I mustered what little dignity I could as I walked back into the hallway, trying my best to ignore Naomi’s tinkling laughter at my back. As luck would have it, when I turned the corner, there was Antonio. The last person I wanted to see at the moment.

  I pivoted quickly, before he had a chance to see me and stepped back around the corner. Just as I made it to safety, his words caught me and I paused to listen.

  "Let me help, Gisele," he said in his soft voice. "I know you want to do this on your own, but there’s nothing wrong with a little help."

  "I owe you so much already, Antonio," said a female voice, thick with emotion. "You’ve been so kind to me and my family. I could never repay you."

  "You know that isn't necessary," he said. "Don’t consider this a loan, Gisele. You have an incredible talent, and I want to see you succeed. Accept the offer from the academy. I will arrange payment. You can pay me back by inviting me to your first recital, and every single one thereafter."

  The woman made a choking sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a cry. I hurried away, curious, confused, and more than a little upset by the day's events. But for the moment, at least, not wanting to intrude further on such a private conversation.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Back in my room, I lay in the bed, tossing and turning under the luxurious sheets. I felt the anger and frustration boil up, wanting to scream. I wanted to slap Naomi across her perfect face. I wanted to find Antonio and demand to know who this Gisele woman was, to tell him how much I hated him for these games he was playing. I wanted to pack my bags and leave. I wanted to—

  I wanted to feel Antonio’s arms around me. I wanted to feel his lips on mine. I wanted him to tell me what he was thinking when he'd gazed at me tonight with that strange look in his eyes. The one that made me feel beautiful. Sexy. The look that made me want him even more.

  I heard the muffled sound of a door closing on the other side of the wall. I looked over at the clock to see that it was well past midnight. I strained my ears, trying to hear whatever sounds might be coming from the other side of that door.

  Was he alone?

  Did I really want to know if he wasn’t?

  Why was I torturing myself about this man who so obviously held all the cards? I choked back a sob as I realized how tightly I was wound in his web—excited by his nearness, his touch; but terrified at what the consequences might be for me and Maria if he ever did let me get any closer. I drew the covers up over my head, and cried myself sleep.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  I stared at my plate, pushing the food around with my fork.

  "You don’t like it?" Antonio asked.

  "It’s fine," I replied in my best non-committal voice.

  Our dinner conversation hadn’t been much more scintillating than this. I wracked my brain, trying to determine the best way to broach the subject of—of what? I was still so confused by everything that had happened yesterday that I had no idea where to begin.

  "Did you see anything you liked today?" he asked as my silence stretched out.

  I looked up at him, not quite understanding the question. Oh, the artwork, our supposed reason for being here.

  "Some of the sculptures were lovely. But they deserve a gallery." Do people really have those kinds of things in their homes? We had several of Maria's earlier paintings on our walls, but I couldn't imagine having a full-sized sculpture in my home. Garden, maybe, but not inside. "I just wish I'd brought my camera. Maria would have enjoyed seeing some of the paintings."

  He smiled. "Feel free to do that next time. You don't have to feel like you are always on duty at these events."

  I looked down at my plate, my cheeks warm and flushing. I was sure he meant well, but it was still a subtle reminder that I was there as his employee.

  "I apologize for Naomi," he said suddenly.

  I looked up from the designs I was making with my rice pilaf to find him staring at me. I wish I could say I’d gotten used to the many ways his dark eyes studied me, but whether he was looking at me with the piercing stare or the cool appraisal, it still set me on fire.

  And something told me that he was already quite aware of his effect on me.

  I dropped my eyes back to my plate. "Please stop toying with me like this, Antonio. Our… arrangement leaves me indebted to you, but I’m not your play thing, regardless of what your... Naomi… may think about this."

  I heard a low chuckle and looked up from my fuming to see that implacable smile on the corner of those sensuous lips. Damn, why did he have to be so gorgeous?

  My jaw clenched and my anger came rushing back, just thinking about her. I slammed my fork down on the table. "And you’re not doing anything to make her think otherwise," I snapped. A few of the other diners glanced over at us. I ignored them, but silently cursed myself for being so easily baited into losing my temper.

  He sat back, folding his arms. "She is a very possessive woman. I suppose I should have warned you about her."

  "You suppose?" I hissed through gritted teeth.

  "She can be very… difficult."

  I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to dial back my anger. "I can deal with a woman like her, Antonio," I said slowly. "It’s you who’s making this difficult. And you know it."

  "There's a lot you don’t understand," he said, leaning forward to rest his arms on the table. "And it isn’t your place to know the details."

  "Not my place," I repeated, leaning in as well, trying to keep my voice low and our conversation as private as I could manage around my anger. "That’s just it. I don’t know my place! I’m supposed to be your associate, but you keep—"

  "This isn’t the time or place to discuss these matters," he said, his tone so low it was a growl, signaling the end of the conversation.

  I ignored that tone. "When is the time and place? When do you plan to explain why you keep playing hot and cold with me? If you don’t want me, then let me go."

  His brow furled and his lips curved downward into a frown. "You have a debt to repay."

  I narrowed my eyes, refusing to back down from his warning glare. "One that you could easily forgive." I paused and took a deep breath. "Like you did for Gisele."

  His eyes flashed with surprise that quickly turned into anger. "I told you this wasn’t the place to talk about these things, Angela. I meant it."

  "You’re the boss," I said. With as much dignity as I could muster, I set down my fork, stood up and walked rapidly out of the dining room.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  I stared out the window as the scenery rushed by, sitting as far away from Antonio as I could in the limo. I tried not to think about all the times I’d seen him with Naomi over the rest of the weekend, witnessed her claws firmly wrapped around his arm.

  During the Monte Carlo games before the final auction, I had wandered through the crowd, watching people gambling with monopoly money as though they were high rollers. Sure, it cost real money to buy in, but I couldn't get excited about any of it. I guess I just don't have the gambling gene, thank goodness. It didn't appeal to me at all, even though everyone else seemed to be having a great time. Especially Naomi and Antonio.

  I’d purposely avoided them as much as Antonio seemed to avoid me. Until we were forced together again for the long, tension-filled drive home.

  The sun had almost fallen below the horizon by the time Thompson pulled the limo onto my street.

  "Angela."

  At the sound of his voice I turned, wondering what he would say after the weekend we'd ha
d together.

  "I want you to know that I've been thinking about what you said at dinner the other night. Our conversation about indebtedness. I am a man of my word. A man of honor. Gisele is the daughter of one of my mother's friends. Things have not gone well for her family. Not that it's your business to know or understand."

  I watched his face as he continued. "I would be willing to consider forgiving your father’s debt… if you would..." He paused, letting the words trail off. Then he looked away for a moment. I heard him inhale slowly before he began again.

  "Loyalty and trust are very important to me," he said. "You are an attractive woman, and you have proven yourself as a competent associate. Moreover, your personality and style suit my needs."

  My heart had begun pounding the moment he mentioned the debt. I turned away, unable to look at him in that moment. I didn’t trust myself to respond, uncertain which of my emotions would control my words.

  I held my breath in silence, waiting for him to continue. What he said next shocked me to my core and literally left me speechless.

  "I would be willing to free you from your mortgage debt permanently if you could agree to be... if we could make arrangements for… a solution where you become… more than just my associate."

  I put a hand to my mouth, my eyes wide as the car pulled up in front of my house. Was he asking what I thought he was asking of me? Just exactly what did "more than his associate" mean? Was this one of those "girls for hire" things? My heart pounded in my ears, the sound echoing through my body. I was shocked, realizing this seemed to be some kind of paid escort arrangement. Just how far would it go? And what would he expect in exchange for releasing me from the debt?

  I shuddered. Had I been wrong about my feelings for this man? Certainly he could have any woman he wanted. And now he was asking me to become his plaything? To work off this debt by being at his beck and call? Professionally and personally?

  I couldn't move, my body rooted in the seat. The entire concept went against everything I believed in. I turned away, gazing out the window at my little house. Knowing that Maria was inside waiting for me. Waiting for me to tell her stories about what a wonderful weekend I’d had with the man of my dreams. What was I going to tell her now? That as far as Antonio was concerned, I was just another acquisition?

  I shook my head. No. No, I couldn’t do this anymore. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. And I couldn’t lie to Maria. Not about that. Not about any of this. Not any longer.

  And no matter the circumstances, no matter how good looking he was, I certainly wouldn’t be Antonio’s… play thing… his… call girl.

  "I'm sure you mean well, Antonio." As shocked as I was, I still couldn't be rude to this man. "But there's a line I simply won’t cross."

  I opened the door and walked to where Thompson stood on the stoop with my bags. My shoes seemed suddenly heavier as I struggled to put one foot in front of the other. My body started shaking but I wasn't sure exactly why. Was it fear, relief or panic? It was all too confusing. In the middle of my turmoil I realized I’d probably just lost any possibility of paying off Dad's debt and saving our mortgage.

  I heard the limo pull away from the curb, the sound of its fading engine carrying away the last shred of my hope. I stood there for a moment, steeling myself before facing Maria.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Maria was on the phone when I got inside. After getting my bags into my room and thanking the nurse, I pasted on my best smile, one that would have even impressed Naomi. But when Maria ended the call and turned to me, my smile melted away.

  "What’s the matter?" I asked.

  "That was Dr. Quesh," she said, her eyes full of tears and her voice barely a whisper. I rushed to the couch, wrapping my arms around her shaking shoulders. "He got the results from my last tests. He said…” She paused, lifting her hands to cover her face. Great, heaving sobs wracked her shoulders.”

  I just held her, praying harder than I ever had, the tormenting shaking through my sister also vibrating through me. Finally, she calmed enough to tell me, “He said it doesn’t look good. I really did a number on my back with that fall, Ange."

  "Oh honey." I held Maria, smoothing her hair.

  "But, Sis. It's not all bad news. There's something else," she said, then took a deep breath and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "He said… apparently there’s an experimental surgery… something that could maybe help me. It’s just in trials. But so far, it’s all been very successful." She looked up at me a mixture of hope and pain in her eyes. "He said… there’s a chance… Oh, Ange, maybe I could walk again."

  "That’s fantastic!" I said, giving her hand a squeeze, relief flooding through me. “We should be celebrating, not crying.”

  "No, Ange, you don’t understand."

  I leaned back, puzzled. "Isn’t the chance to walk again good news?"

  "Dr. Quesh can get me into the trials, but it’s going to cost a ridiculous amount of money. More money than we could ever imagine."

  "Oh," I said, my eyes dropping, my heart and stomach dropping too. I stared down, considering our options. Antonio’s words came back to me and my insides knotted. Maybe there was a way. Maria meant everything to me. She’d been through so much, and she never complained about any of it. The question was, did I have that much courage?

  Then Maria laughed. "Where’s Uncle Benito when we need him, huh?"

  Uncle Benito? Yeah, right. Might as well ask Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. I took a deep breath, trying not to let my voice shake. "It’s all right, Maria. I’m going to get you into those trials."

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Hilary gave me a startled look when I marched right into Antonio’s office the next morning. Antonio glanced up, but didn’t seem surprised to see me.

  "I want to discuss your offer," I said, leaning over his desk. The words came out in a rush as I forced them out before I lost my nerve. In fact, it had taken monumental effort to drag myself into the elevator, press the button and come up here at all. But I kept thinking about the look on Maria’s face, and hearing her quiet sobs in the night.

  "My sister—my sister needs an operation that we can’t afford. I know we owe you already, but this… she…" The emotions that I had been trying to keep buried pressed against me and I felt the hot tears burn my skin as they fell. I stepped back, turning away from him.

  He spoke my name and I heard him rise from his chair. I moved toward the door, but I felt his hand on my arm, stopping me.

  "Angela," he said again, as he stepped around to face me. "I’ve already offered to erase your mortgage debt—"

  "I don’t care about the mortgage," I said, unable to look him in the eyes. "My sister needs this operation. I—I would be… willing… " I took a deep breath, pushing through my own resistance, "willing to accept your offer, if you could help us with this. If you could help my sister."

  "Come away with me."

  I blinked up at him, not understanding.

  "I'm scheduled on a cruise in a few days. Come with me, and I will make the arrangements for your sister’s operation. Once we return."

  I stared up at him, searching his face. His eyes didn't have the usual cool appraisal or even the strange, hungry look he sometimes gave me. In fact, I couldn't read his face at all.

  "And… your conditions?" I couldn't help but ask.

  "You know the conditions. Our arrangement hasn't changed. Hilary will give you the details," then he waved me out the door as he buzzed his secretary.

  Hilary looked up from the phone as I stepped back into the foyer. I was a little dazed at the suddenness of it all. I'd accepted the challenge. It was done. Just that quickly.

  But as I stood there at the desk, waiting for information about the cruise, the cold hard knot in my stomach made me wonder if I'd just given my sister salvation or signed my own ticket to purgatory.

  >>>>End Book 1<<<<

  Release ScheduleBook 2

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US

  Click Here to Purchase from UK

  Book 3 - due out October 24, 2014

  Book 4 - due out November 7, 2014

  Book 5 - due out November 21, 2014

  Thank You - You Have My Deepest Appreciation

  Thank you for purchasing this book. I sincerely hope you enjoyed discovering the characters as much as I did while writing their story.

  If you enjoyed this book, I'd love for you to leave a review on Amazon (link) or Goodreads (link).

  Please feel free to contact or friend me on facebook at Ami LeCoeur Books and to follow me on twitter @AmiLeCoeur.

  To be notified as soon as the next book is available, sign up on my mailing list. You can find out more about my books at http://AmiLeCoeur.com.

  As a new writer I don't have a lot of books to offer you at this time, but don't let that stop you from contacting me with your feedback and ideas!

  xoxox

  Ami

  About the AuthorLike most romance writers, Ami LeCoeur is a romantic at heart, but in her heart it's the classic Romanticism of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

  She is also a painter, glass artist, and award winning poet, as well as a writer.

  When she isn't traveling, she lives on California's Redwood Coast with her husband and two kitties. She loves her wonderful ocean view, and when the fog comes in—as it always does—she's either curled up with a good book, or busy writing.

  If you like Ami's stories, please let your friends know.

  Contents

  ***

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven