The comment only served to spin his anger to an all-time high. “As much as I’d love to have you gone, it’ll be far too late to find a place for both you and Kiko tonight. Tomorrow I’ll get your damn bracelet and find you a hotel or apartment willing to house you both.” He cut her off before she could argue. “Enough, Larkin. This discussion is over. From now on, we do things my way. And my way means you’re out of my life as soon as I can arrange it.”
Rafe didn’t waste any time putting his plan into action. Nor did he give his family the chance to do more than express confused concern before he had the two of them and Kiko packed and loaded and flying down the road toward San Francisco.
The instant they arrived home, Larkin made a beeline for her bedroom. Rafe followed. It wasn’t the smartest move, but he had some final questions he wanted answered. He paused in the doorway, struggling to see through the pretense to the woman she’d revealed herself to be—a woman ruled by greed and avarice and dishonesty.
It was as though she read his mind. “I’m nothing like Leigh.” She threw the comment over her shoulder.
“No? Time will tell.” He stared at her, broodingly. “Once I slipped a ring on your sister’s finger she went from sweet and innocent—like you—to cold and calculating. I have to hand it to her, she put on a great act leading up to our wedding. I guess I’m an easy mark when it comes to the helpless waif type of woman. Leigh was a more sophisticated version, granted, but that changed soon enough. It didn’t take long to realize she wanted what every other woman wants from a Dante, the good life and everything my money could provide. I suppose I could have lived with that. For a while.”
“Then what went wrong?”
“It was the adultery that I refused to tolerate.”
The fluid lines of Larkin’s body stiffened and she slowly turned to face him. “She cheated on you? You?”
He supposed he should be flattered by the way she said that. “Hard to imagine?”
“Yes, it is.”
His eyes narrowed and he approached, swallowing up the narrow bones of her shoulders in his two hands. “How do you do it?”
She stared up at him, eyes huge and startling blue, her expression one of stark innocence. Bambi in human form. “Do what?”
“Look the way you do, so trustworthy and ingenuous, when everything you say is a total lie. How do you do that?”
“I’m not Leigh.” She spoke calmly enough, but a hint of steel and temper washed across her face. “You’re trying to tuck us into the same little box and I refuse to allow it. I am not Leigh!”
“And I might have believed you if you’d been candid about your connection to Leigh from the start. Just out of curiosity, was any of your story true? Were you really abandoned by your mother and raised by your grandmother?”
Exhaustion lined her face, along with a heart-wrenching despair. “I’ve never lied to you, Rafe. I simply didn’t tell you about Leigh and the bracelet. I even told you I had secrets. Omissions. Remember?” She searched his face, probably looking for some weakness she could use to her advantage. “You said lying by omission was part of dating. Everything else I told you was the truth.”
“And I’m supposed to just believe it.”
“You know what, Rafe? I don’t care what you believe. I know it’s the truth and that’s all that matters.” She lifted her chin an inch. “You should be grateful to me, you know that? I’ve given you the perfect excuse for staying emotionally disconnected. I betrayed you. Now you can go back to being independent. The original lone wolf. You should be celebrating.”
“Somehow I don’t feel like celebrating.” She attempted to pull back and he tightened his hold. “I can still feel it. Why is that?”
She didn’t pretend to misunderstand. A hint of panic crept into her gaze, combining with a wealth of longing. “Maybe it really is The Inferno.”
“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”
She hesitated. “I’d love it if it were real,” she admitted with brutal frankness. “But I’m not that thrilled about it given the current circumstances.”
He uttered a humorless laugh. “There’s one good thing that’s come from all this.”
Her breath escaped her lungs in a soft rush. “I’m afraid to ask….”
“Once I explain the facts to my family they’ll finally leave me alone. No more Inferno possibilities paraded beneath my nose. Not only that, but they’ll understand completely why I can’t marry my Inferno soul mate. How could I, when she’s Leigh’s sister?”
Bone-deep temper ignited in Larkin’s eyes, turning the color to an incandescent shade of cobalt-blue. “Half sister. And I’m getting really tired of being hanged for her crimes. You want something to be angry about? I’ll give you something.”
She swept her hands up across his chest and into his hair. Grabbing two thick handfuls, she yanked his face down to hers and took his mouth in a ruthless kiss. Desire roared through him at her aggressiveness. Her mouth slanted across his, hot and damp with passion. Gently she parted his lips with hers. Teasing. Offering. Beckoning him inward. He didn’t hesitate.
He tugged her closer, melding them together. Her thighs, strong and slender, slipped between his while her pelvis curved snugly against him. He could feel the shape and softness of her breasts against his chest, feel the pebbled tips that spoke of her need. And her mouth. Her mouth was as sweet and lush and tasty as a ripe peach.
He staggered forward a step, falling with her onto the bed. The instant they hit the mattress, he shoved his hands up under her shirt and cupped the pert apple roundness of her breasts. He traced his thumbs across her rigid nipples, catching her hungry moan in his mouth. The sound was the final straw.
He lost himself. Lost himself in the fire that erupted every time they touched. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him tighter against her. Her breath came in frantic little gasps and she snatched quick bites of his mouth.
“Tell me this is a lie,” she demanded. “Tell me I’m lying about what happens whenever you kiss me. Tell me this isn’t real.”
It took endless seconds for her words to penetrate. The instant they did, he swore viciously. “Not again.”
“Yes, again.” She wiggled out from underneath him and shot to her feet. “Do you think I want it to happen? You’re Leigh’s husband. I’ve never before wanted anything that belonged to her. But you—” Her voice broke and she turned away.
“I never belonged to her.”
“You were married to her.” She lifted a shoulder in a disconsolate shrug. “There’s not much difference as far as I can tell.”
He stood, aware that nothing he could do or say would restore order to his world. He wanted a woman he didn’t trust, probably would have made love to her again if she hadn’t put a stop to it before it went any further. He’d already had his life turned upside down once, courtesy of his former wife. He wasn’t about to let it happen again.
“I don’t belong to any woman. And I never will.”
“A lone wolf to the end?” she whispered.
“It’s better than the alternative.”
With that he turned and left. And all the while his palm burned in protest.
Ten
Larkin spent the night curled up in the middle of the bed counting the minutes until dawn.
Rafe was right about one thing. She should have told him she was Leigh’s sister—half sister—right from the start. That had been the plan all along. If only she hadn’t gotten distracted. No, time to face the truth. She hadn’t been all that distracted. She hadn’t wanted to reveal her identity to him because living the lie had filled her with more joy than she’d ever before experienced.
She swiped at her cheeks, despising the fact that they were damp with tears. She’d discovered at an early age that feeling sorry for herself didn’t help. Nor did it change anything. Not that she had much to feel sorry about. She’d had Gran, who’d been a wonderful substitute parent.
Even so, she’d be kidding herself if
she didn’t acknowledge that some small part of her felt as though she were always on the outside looking in. That she’d never quite measured up. More than anything, she’d wanted to be loved by her mother. To belong. To have known the love of a father, as well. Instead, what had Leigh called her? A Mistake. Capital A. Capital M. Underlined and italicized. As a result, Larkin had held men at a distance, determined not to visit upon a new generation the same mistakes of her parents. If you didn’t fall in love, you couldn’t create A Mistake.
But her lack of a real family, a “normal” family, one that consisted of more than a loving grandmother, had filled her with an intense restlessness, a need to belong. Somewhere. To someone. To find the elusive dream of hearth and home and family. To finally fit in. But how did you find that when you were too wary to let people approach? Beside her, Kiko whimpered and bellied in closer.
“I know I wasn’t a mistake, any more than you were,” she told the dog. “We just don’t quite fit in anywhere. We’re unique. Special. Caught between two worlds, neither of our own making.”
But no matter how hard her grandmother had tried to convince her of that fact and fill her life with love, there’d always been a part of her that had conceded there was a certain element of truth to Leigh’s words. Bottom line… She wasn’t good enough for her mother to keep. She’d been thrown away. Dispensable.
Until Rafe.
For a brief shining time she’d discovered what it meant to belong to a family, one who’d welcomed her with open arms. Until she’d ruined it. “I should have told him.” Kiko whined in what Larkin took as agreement. “But then he’d never have made love to me. And I’d never have fallen in love with him.”
Tears escaped no matter how hard she tried to prevent them. It was worth it, she kept repeating to herself. No matter how badly it ended, the days she’d had with Rafe were worth the agony to come. If she had to do it all over again, she would.
Without a minute’s hesitation.
Dawn finally arrived, giving Rafe the excuse he needed to give up on pretending to sleep and dress for work. He would have skipped breakfast, but Kiko padded out to join him, and well, damn it. He couldn’t let the poor girl starve, could he?
He didn’t see or hear any sign of Larkin, which was fine by him. The sooner he concluded their remaining business, the sooner he could get his life onto an even keel again. Go back to the way things had been before Larkin had stormed into his life and ripped it to shreds. Avoid further emotional entanglements and just be left the hell alone.
“It’s what I’ve always wanted,” he informed Kiko.
She gave his comment the attention it deserved, which was none at all. Aware he didn’t have a hope in hell of gaining any support from that quarter, he downed the last of his coffee and rinsed the mug. Then, refusing to consider the whys and wherefores of his actions, he started up a fresh pot before heading out the door.
He wasn’t expected at the office, since the entire Dante family was still officially on vacation. He’d also given his assistant the time off, which provided him complete privacy to closet himself in his office, undisturbed. He wasted a couple of hours taking care of business emails and paperwork, knowing full well they were his way of avoiding the inevitable. Finally he shoved back his chair and stared at the display rack that concealed his office safe.
He sighed. Just get it over with!
It took him only minutes to punch in the appropriate code and verify his thumbprint. The door swung open and he sorted through the various gemstones and jewelry samples stored there until he found the plain rectangular box he’d stashed in the farthest recesses.
Removing it, he relocked the safe and carried the box to his desk. Flipping open the lid, he stared down at the bracelet. It was a stunning piece. The setting gave the impression of spun gold, delicate filigree links that appeared to be straight out of a fairy tale. The original stones had been a lovely mixture of modest diamonds of a decent quality, and amethysts that weren’t bad, if a shade on the pink side. Not good enough for Leigh, of course, but then few things were.
She’d insisted he replace the amethysts with emeralds because they were her birthstone, and the smaller diamonds with oversize fire diamonds because they were more impressive, not to mention expensive. He’d never felt either complemented the setting. But since he’d still been in the throes of lust, he’d agreed to her demands. She’d even wanted to have the setting altered, but there he’d drawn the line. It was perfect as is. Instead, she’d gone behind his back and made the adjustments without his knowledge. It wouldn’t take much to return it to its original form, he decided, studying the bracelet. Sev’s wife, Francesca, could do it in her sleep.
A knock sounded at the door and his sister, Gia, poked her head into his office. “Hey, you. Larkin said I could find you here.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Did she, now.”
“Yes, she did.”
Gia entered the room and closed the door behind her. He and his sister had always been dubbed the “pretty” Dantes, identical in coloring, with matching jade-green eyes. While he’d despised the moniker, Gia had simply shrugged it off, neither impressed nor dismayed by the description. He, on the other hand, had been offended on her behalf, since his sister wasn’t merely pretty. She was flat-out gorgeous.
“To be honest, I’m relieved Larkin’s still at your place,” she continued. “When the two of you left the lake I was a little worried you were on the verge of breaking up.”
“So you followed us home?” Her shrug spoke volumes. “It’s none of your business, Gianna.”
“Then you are on the verge of breaking up. Oh, Rafe.” She approached and slid a slim hip onto the edge of his desk. Leaning in, she examined the bracelet. A delaying tactic, no doubt. “Huh. Definitely not Francesca’s work. Almost beautiful. Or it would be if it weren’t so—” she made a fluttering gesture with her hands “—over the top. It also needs softer stones.”
“Amethysts.”
“Exactly.” She nodded, impressed. “Good eye. Whose is it?”
“Leigh’s.” He corrected himself. “Larkin’s, I guess.”
Confusion lined Gia’s brow. “Come again?”
“Leigh and Larkin are sisters. Half sisters.” Though why he bothered to make the distinction he couldn’t say.
Gia’s mouth dropped open. “Is this some sort of joke?”
“I wish.” He gave her the short version. “Now she wants her bracelet. Once she has it, she’ll be on her way. She can use it to try to find her father, or sell it, or do whatever the hell she wants with it.” He flipped the case closed with a loud snap. “And that brings to an end my very brief Inferno engagement.”
“I don’t understand. Why does any of that put an end to your engagement?”
He glared at his sister. “What do you mean, why? Because she’s Leigh’s sister.” He grimaced. “Half sister.”
“So? It’s not like she’s Leigh. You only have to talk to her for five minutes to realize that much.”
“She lied to me.”
“Did she? She claimed she wasn’t Leigh’s sister?”
“Half sister,” he muttered.
“I’ll take that as a no.” She waited for him to say more, blowing out her breath in exasperation when he remained stubbornly silent. “Fine. Be that way. But you can tell Larkin that if she needs somewhere to stay while she searches for her father—”
“Assuming there is a father and she’s actually searching for him.”
Gia inclined her head. “Assuming all that. She’s welcome to crash at my place.” She slipped off the desk. “Larkin loves you, you know.”
He stilled. “She used me.”
Gia shrugged. “It happens. But I’ll tell you one thing…” She paused on her way out the door. For some reason she wouldn’t look at him. “I’d give anything to have what you’re throwing away.”
Rafe returned home to find Larkin perched on the edge of a chair in his living room, dressed in one of her ol
d outfits. Kiko lay at her feet, the dog’s graying muzzle resting on her paws. Her brilliant gold eyes shifted in Rafe’s direction and she watched him with unnerving intensity. He caught a similar expression in Larkin’s gaze. Beside the dog sat her backpack. It didn’t take much thought to add two and two and come up with…Larkin was running. At least she’d done him the courtesy of waiting until he returned home. But then, it wasn’t likely she’d leave without her bracelet.
She drew in a deep breath and blew it out. Rising, she gathered up her backpack, shifting it nervously from hand to hand. “Do you have it?”
He removed the box from his suit-jacket pocket and held it out to her. Without a word she accepted it and turned her back on him, her spine rigid and unrelenting.
“That’s it?” he asked, though he didn’t know what more he expected.
“Thanks.” She threw the words over her shoulder. “But if it’s all the same with you, Kiko and I will be on our way now.”
He let her go. It was better this way. Easier. Cleaner. Safer.
An instant later she slammed her backpack to the ground. Whirling around, she came charging toward him. “Rafaelo Dante, what the hell have you done to my bracelet?” She shook the box he’d given her under his nose. “What are you trying to pull? You were supposed to give me my bracelet. Not this…this…thing.”
“That is your bracelet.”
Larkin popped open the top and held out the glittering spill of gold and gems. “Look at it, Rafe. What happened to it? It’s ruined!”
How was it possible that she could put him on the defensive with such ease? “Leigh had me switch out the stones. Don’t worry—it’s even more valuable than it was before.”
“Valuable? Valuable!” She stared at him as though he’d grown two heads. “What has that got to do with anything?”
“I just thought—”
Larkin’s eyes hardened, filling with a cynicism he’d never seen there before. And something else. Something that twisted him into knots and filled him with shame. It was disillusionment he read in her gaze. It was as though he’d told her there was no Santa Claus. No Easter Bunny. No magic or fairies or wishing on stars. As though he’d taken every last hope and dream and crushed it beneath his heel.
One-Click Buy: September 2010 Silhouette Desire Page 40
