by Lucy Monroe
“I’m so sorry.” It was inadequate, but she didn’t know what else to say.
Some things were just too big for mere words.
“It’s been ten years.”
“And it still eats at you.”
“But not for much longer.”
“You plan on getting revenge against the guy who did it?”
His gaze became shuttered. “You know me well. Yes.”
Somehow, she wasn’t surprised he’d waited so many years to get the guy back. Angelo was a heck of a businessman and that meant he left nothing undone. Any revenge plot he devised would have every angle covered.
“You’re Sicilian. It’s in your nature,” she tried to say lightly, but it came off flat and she sighed. “I hope it gives you the satisfaction and closure you need.”
Angelo’s jaw could have been hewn from granite. “It will.”
She bit back an argument. Vengeance wasn’t going to bring his mother back or restore his family company to him, but maybe it would allow Angelo to move on. She was surprisingly unconcerned by the fact the man who wanted to marry her was caught up in a revenge plot.
A dedicated businessman, she was sure he’d choose that avenue for retribution. His empire was built on saving failing companies and she didn’t see him destroying an empire and all of its employees to crush a single man. More likely, he’d take it over. And considering what kind of man Angelo would be taking it from, she had no trouble thinking the unscrupulous toad deserved it.
Then Angelo turned toward her and the sensual predator was back gleaming at her from those indigo eyes.
She sucked in a breath at the swift change. “Angelo?”
“Old grief has no place in our present, stellina.”
She would have replied but he was pressing her back to the carpet, his lips applying pressure to hers, while sexual intensity rolled off of him in palpable waves. It was so overwhelming, she was shocked by the gentle way his mouth explored hers.
She could not imagine what kind of training he had gone through to learn this kind of self-control, but it awed her.
So did his sexual expertise. She thought she’d known all there was to know from a man experienced in the art of seduction, but Baron didn’t have a patch on Angelo.
He built her desire with caresses that touched everywhere and lingered nowhere. The fire crackled in the hearth beside them, the wind blew in the scent of the ocean to wash over their heated bodies and every nerve ending she possessed came to life with stunning power. Surge after surge of electric desire rushed through her until she panted and shook with need.
He palmed her breast, his big hand engulfing the swollen flesh. Her nipple, already beaded, now ached with the need for more stimulation. Only, the careful pressure of his hand muted by the layers of her top and bra was not enough. She arched up into his hand anyway, striving to increase the friction.
He rotated his palm. Sensation shot from her nipple straight to the core of her and she pressed upward, moaning.
“I want to touch your skin,” he whispered in an erotic growl.
“Yes.”
He unbuttoned her bodice, one small button at a time. He paused between each one to place a baby kiss on the skin revealed.
“Oh, Angelo…” Her fingers scrabbled in the carpet beneath, vainly trying to find purchase—something to anchor herself to with the storm of emotions raging through.
“This is a very sexy dress, sweetheart.” He spoke against her chest, the hot air from his mouth making her shiver in a response as far removed from being cold as possible.
“Thank you.”
“You may wear it again.”
She laughed at the sheer arrogance of his statement, the sound strangled.
Finally, he peeled the front of her bodice away from her body to reveal her white lace bra that conveniently hooked in the front. Had she worn this particular bra and panty set on purpose? Had she subconsciously hoped he would do exactly what he was doing, which was unlatching the bra with one-handed dexterity she couldn’t hope to emulate?
He took his time peeling back the bra cups, using each movement of the fabric to increase her arousal, while teasing her with what was to come.
Oh, gosh…this man knew exactly how to touch her.
He looked down at her naked torso framed by the white fabric of her dress with blatant male appreciation burning his gaze. “Bellisima, cara.”
“You sound so sexy when you speak Italian,” she said on a sigh. “What are you saying?”
“Most beautiful. And you are that, Tara.”
He hadn’t translated the cara, but even she knew what that meant. Darling. Was she darling to him?
She hoped so because the more time she spent with Angelo Gordon, the more she felt for him.
His fingertip traced circles on her breasts, first one and then the other…back and forth…first left…then right…but never touching the hard nubs that ached for his attention.
“Please, Angelo.”
“What do you want, cara? Tell me.” His voice was thick with passion, the subtle Italian accent coming out.
“I need you to touch me.”
“I am touching you.”
“More. I need more.”
“What more?”
“You know.”
“Perhaps I do, but just to be sure, I want to hear you say it.”
“No.” Suddenly she felt all too vulnerable. He was wringing a response from her that was greater than anything she’d ever known. “Don’t make me say the words.”
He lifted his hand away from her and met her gaze square on. “Why not?”
She had to suck in air before she could speak. “It gives you all the power.”
“No, it does not. Whatever you ask for, I will give. That puts the power directly in your corner.”
“You won’t make me beg?”
A feral grin slashed across his gorgeous face. “Only if you want me to.”
And he was just the man that could make her want such a thing.
“How could you possibly know I want you to?” Even Angelo was no mind reader.
“You won’t ask directly for something. You’ll say words like more and please and make me guess what more it is you want.” His voice was every bit as devastating as his touch—so rich and smooth and full of erotic promise.
“So, anything I ask for you will give me?”
“Anything.”
Baron had never given her that kind of power in bed. She couldn’t think of any other man who would. It took a tremendous amount of confidence and consideration to make the offer.
“Even if I ask you to stop?” she pressed.
“Especially if you ask me to stop.”
He really was putting the control in her hands. No man had ever done such a thing. He might seduce her body, but he wanted her to give permission with her mind before he did it. It was such a tantalizing concept, she shuddered in renewed need.
“I want you to touch my nipples.” Heat that had nothing to do with sexual arousal flooded her cheeks, but excitement at saying the words out loud also coursed through her body.
“Your wish is my command.” He rotated his fingertip on the very tip of her hardened peak.
Excitement crashed over her in wave after wave of incredible pleasure, but it still wasn’t enough.
“Harder, please.” Then remembering what he’d said, she husked, “Pinch it.”
He did, gently and then more firmly and she couldn’t help the soft animalistic sounds rasping out between her parted lips. He tortured her with soft then firm touches until the sensitive flesh throbbed with aching intensity and her breath was coming out in hitched little gasps. Then he moved to her other breast and did the same thing while her head thrashed back and forth on the plush carpet.
“You look like a sensual fantasy in the firelight.”
The words shocked her, so lost was she to her feelings. “I feel like a woman on the verge of ecstasy,” she breathed out.
H
is hand moved to the remaining buttons on her dress and started undoing them with the same enticing kisses between each button until her lace panties were revealed. He stopped then and brushed across the front of the lace and she jumped from the sensation.
He smiled. “Nice. They match your bra.”
“Yes.” Was that her voice—so husky it was practically a whisper?
He finished unbuttoning the dress, baring her completely to him but for the scrap of lace covering the heart of her.
Her legs parted of their own volition from the heat of his gaze.
He took the silent invitation with a speed that made her cry out as his fingers slid between the lace and her skin to dip into the warmth of her feminine center. His mouth moved down her body until it closed over one distended nipple and this time her cry was so harsh it made her throat ache.
He sucked and she whimpered.
His fingers did magical things to her sensitive flesh. She started gyrating against them, her hands gripping the back of his head and keeping him pressed to her breast in frenzied strength. A tension she hadn’t known in two years built and built until it broke over her like a tsunami wave.
There was no way she could contain it and she bucked against Angelo, crying out his name and demanding more with an abandon she had never felt before.
He kept up the nerve-racking touches until her body jerked with each light caress and shook from an overdose of pleasure.
She grabbed his wrist. “Stop!” she begged.
He did, cupping her with possessive tenderness that made her eyes sting.
CHAPTER SEVEN
SHE didn’t know how long they lay together like that before it occurred to her what she had just experienced had been very one-sided. And he hadn’t said a thing…had not demanded entry to her body or anything!
What kind of amazing man was he? Certainly, he was unlike any other she had known or heard about.
She reached down with the hand closest to him and brushed the back of her fingers along the rigid length of his erection.
A low sound of pleasure rumbled in his chest. “Mmm…that feels good, cara.”
“Do you want to make love, Angelo?”
“We are already making love, but if you are asking if I want to have intercourse…” He paused and she waited with bated breath for him to go on.
“Without a doubt, I want you, but I promised you. No seduction. After what just happened between us, it could be nothing but.”
He was right, but… “Maybe I’ve changed my mind…maybe I want to be seduced.”
“I don’t break my word, Tara.” Despite the obvious arousal of his body, his tone was absolutely firm.
She respected that. A lot. Only that didn’t mean he had to lay here like a statue in sexual agony.
She brushed her hand back and forth, loving the way his big body jerked from the small caresses. “I c…could please you in other ways.”
Angelo’s only response was a very primitive growl deep in his throat. Taking it as acquiescence, she turned on her side, pleased with the way he kept his protective and highly erotic hold on the apex of her thighs. It felt like they were connected intimately.
She undid his trousers and slipped her hand inside. He was big and hard against the silk of his boxers, tenting the fabric significantly. She gulped at the thought of making love completely, but sensed he would never hurt her, not this man who had been so careful to keep his word even when she tempted him not to.
She caressed him and he went even more rigid.
She reluctantly pulled his hand away from her and sat up to kneel beside him. She grabbed the waistband of his trousers.
He rolled onto his knees and then stood so she could slide his trousers down and then the boxers, taking care not to catch his hard length on the waistband.
Her breath expelled from her lungs in a long whoosh at the sight of his hard flesh so close to her face. “You’re um…very prepared.”
He chuckled. “I’ve never heard it put that way before.”
She leaned forward, but he reared back. “Please don’t. If you put your mouth on me, my good intentions are going to take a vacation and not come back until I’m buried deeply inside you.”
She nodded her understanding and stood. She let her dress slide from her body completely.
His eyes glowed his appreciation.
She smiled. “I want you to take off your shirt, too.”
“Hot?”
“You don’t know how much.”
She choked on a laugh before joining him on the carpet, this time with him on his back and her snuggled up beside him.
“That feels good.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“You don’t have to. Just having your body beside mine is a turn-on.”
No beautiful Italian speech there, but she appreciated the sentiment and curled her fingers around him in reward. “Amazing. You’re so soft.”
“Soft?” he choked out.
“I mean your skin…like silky velvet. Can there be such a thing?”
“If you say it is, I believe you. Right now, I would believe anything you want me to.”
She laughed. “I doubt it, but you just keep saying stuff like that.”
He didn’t laugh. He moaned as she started stroking him. She listened to the hitches in his breathing pattern to determine how he liked to be touched. It was the most incredible experience she’d ever had, having this powerful man put himself at her mercy.
“Tara…”
“Yes, cara, yes! Don’t stop.”
She didn’t and he erupted with a masculine shout that rang in her ears. Her body went stiff against him as if sharing an echo of his ecstasy. She’d never felt anything like it and collapsed against his side as if she’d found her own completion.
Eventually, they snuggled in front of the fire for a long time before he got up and carried her into the bedroom. As she had suspected, they ended up sharing a bed.
Tara saw Angelo off at the airport with the promise to have an answer to his proposal by the following weekend.
She couldn’t believe she was making him wait, even harder to believe he was letting her.
He’d made it clear he wanted her decision now, but he hadn’t pushed for it. It had to be obvious she wanted him enough to risk pretty much anything…even marriage. But he had agreed to wait for her decision and that made her feel really good.
Baron had always insisted on having his own way, so had most of the men her mother had lived with.
Angelo wasn’t like that. He wanted her compliance sure, but not at the cost of her self-respect and that meant the world.
Not wanting to make the same mistake with Angelo, she had with Baron, she spent a good portion of her off-hours that week researching him. Everything she found, which wasn’t much…the man was very private, pointed to him being the opposite of Baron.
He was absolutely ruthless when taking over a company and making it profitable, but he was also known for his ability to turn all a company’s assets to a profit, including its current workforce. He gave regularly to charities, was honest as far as she could tell, and as Ray had told Danette, Angelo was not a playboy.
In fact, there was almost nothing that she could find about him in the social columns. He didn’t have much of a personal reputation at all.
Everything she could find on him was related to his almost supernatural ability to make money and turn a dying company into something great.
She’d searched for information on his father’s company, but without knowing its name, she’d had no luck. And its loss was never referred to in the articles written about him now. Except for what he’d told her, his past was shrouded in mystery.
His present was filled with business, but his life was not littered with people he’d used and discarded once he’d gotten what he wanted from them.
The turnover rate in his corporate headquarters was very low. Another good sign, if she needed one. He was a trustworthy man.
>
Thursday evening, she stood in the grocery checkout line, tiredly waiting for her turn. It had been a long day, an even longer week. She’d missed Angelo more than she’d thought possible. How could someone become so necessary in such a short time? She’d lain awake every night wrestling with her inexplicable desire to acquiesce to his marriage proposal. It made no sense and yet, her heart told her she needed the man.
She didn’t trust that organ, but found its promptings impossible to ignore…thus her sleep deprived exhaustion.
She yawned behind her hand while the checkout clerk argued with the man in front of her over the sale price on a can of chili. Someone had to be sent to verify the price listed on the shelf.
Knowing that nothing was going to happen until the matter had been resolved, she let her gaze roam over the magazines and weeklies displayed at the check stand. Her eyes skimmed the headlines, noticing two Elvis sightings and one alien baby claim before she was arrested by a picture that looked like…no it couldn’t be.
But it was.
A full color image of Angelo kissing her in an obviously heated embrace in Danette’s pool filled the front of one of the weekly tabloids. The headline read, Tempting Tara Takes Another Rich Lover…
Would she never be rid of that awful nickname? Darn it, she wasn’t the one who had done the tempting in her relationship with Baron, or the one with Angelo for that matter.
The tag line under the photo was worse. Will going to bed with the boss put this former model on the fast track to success in corporate America?
She grabbed the tabloid with a jerk that almost tore its front cover and yanked it open. She flipped the pages with angry flicks until she found the article. It was a two page spread with more pictures. Lots of them. Every one insinuated sexual intimacy between her and Angelo.
One showed them coming out of their hotel room at the coast. Angelo’s arm was around her, his body language and expression possessive. The implication was unmistakable, but the editorial copy spelled it out anyway.
Like two years before, she was painted as a money-grubbing whore, only this time with her eye to the main chance at Primo Tech. An unnamed source in the management training department was quoted as saying it looked like Tara was hoping to gain her promotions via an avenue even older than hard work and perseverance.
