One Month with the Magnate

by Michelle Celmer

  Sick bastard. If Isabelle had a concussion and bruised ribs, he couldn’t even imagine what he must have put her mother through.

  Emilio felt sick to his stomach, sick all the way to his soul. “Did he force you to marry Betts?”

  “Not exactly. Usually he was good about hiding the marks, but this time he didn’t even try. My parents had been friends with Lenny for years. Long story short, he happened to stop by and saw the condition we were in. He was horrified. He’d suspected that my father was abusive, but he had no idea how bad it was. He wanted to call the police, but my mom begged him not to.”

  “Why? They could have helped you.”

  “Because she tried that before. My father was a very powerful man. The charges had a way of disappearing.”

  Alejandro had said as much.

  “Lenny figured if he couldn’t help my mother, he could at least get me out of there. He knew my father would agree to a marriage.”

  “A marriage between his nineteen-year-old daughter and a man in his forties?”

  “My father saw it as a business opportunity. He had debts, and Lenny promised to make them go away.”

  The gambling Alejandro had mentioned. Just when Emilio didn’t think he could feel more disgust, her father sank to a whole new level of vile. “He sold you.”

  She shrugged. “More or less.”

  “So what was the going rate for a nineteen-year-old virgin?”

  She lowered her eyes. “Lenny wouldn’t tell me. Hundreds of thousands. Maybe millions. Who knows.”

  “If you had told me then, I would have taken you away. You and your mother. I would have killed your father if that’s what it took to keep you both safe. I would kill him now if he wasn’t already dead.”

  “And that’s exactly why I couldn’t tell you. If you only knew how many times she tried to leave. But he always found us and brought us back. He would have hurt you if you had tried to help. Look what he did to your mother just to spite me. At least Lenny had been able to take me away from it. And you were safe and free to live your life.”

  It was hard to fathom that Izzie’s husband, a man that Emilio had despised for so many years, had really saved her life.

  Only to turn around and ruin it again, he reminded himself.

  “The sad fact is, I never should have come to see you that day on campus,” Izzie said. “I should have known he would never let it happen, not if there wasn’t something in it for him.”

  “I’ve never said this about another human being, but I’m glad your father is dead.”

  Her smile was a sad one. “No more than my mother and I.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk.”

  She shrugged. “I hurt you.”

  “That doesn’t make it right.”

  She reached up, stroked his cheek. “Emilio, not a day has gone by when I didn’t miss you, and wished it were you I had married. It’s going to sound silly, but I never stopped loving you. I still haven’t.”

  A sudden surge of emotion caught him completely by surprise. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her against him, pressed his face against the softness of her hair. He wanted to hold her close and never let go, yet he couldn’t help thinking he didn’t deserve her love. He’d failed her, and all because he couldn’t see past his own wounded pride. He should have trusted her. When he read in the papers that she was marrying Betts, he should have known something was wrong, that she would never willingly betray him.

  He had promised to take care of her, to protect her and he’d let her down when she needed him most.

  “Isabelle—”

  She put her fingers over his lips to shush him. “No more talking.”

  She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him. And kept kissing him, until the past ceased to matter. All he cared about was being close to her. They would start over today, this very minute, and things would be different this time. He would take care of her and protect her. The way it should have been fifteen years ago.

  Though there was no rush, Isabelle seemed in a hurry to get them both naked. She shoved his jacket off his shoulders, then undid the buttons on his shirt and pushed that off, too. Then she unbuttoned her dress and pulled it up over her head. Her bra was next to go, until all that was left was her panties.

  She took those off, then pulled back the covers and stretched out on the bed, summoning him with a smile and a crooked finger.

  “I like that you’re not shy anymore,” he said rising to take off his pants.

  “There are no bruises or marks to hide now.”

  He hadn’t even considered that. “Is that why you never let me see you undressed?”

  “I wanted to, but I knew there would be questions.”

  “Isabelle.”

  “No more talking about the past. Let’s concentrate on today. On right now. Make love to me, and nothing else will matter.”

  That was by far the best idea she’d had all day.

  Fourteen

  Emilio stripped out of his clothes and climbed into bed with Isabelle. Since Tuesday she hadn’t stopped thinking about making love to him again. Only this time she wasn’t nervous. This time she had nothing to hide. He knew her secrets. She could relax and be herself. Until the weight of everything she had hidden from him was finally gone, she hadn’t realized what a heavy load she’d carried. And when Emilio took her in his arms and kissed her, she knew he was back to being the man he used to be. Sweet and tender and thoughtful.

  Ironically that wasn’t what she wanted now. She was eager to experiment. She wanted it to be crazy and exciting. There were hundreds of different ways to make love and she wanted to try as many as she could before she had to go. She wanted it to be fun.

  “Emilio, I’m not going to break.”

  He gazed down at her, brow furrowed. “I just don’t want to hurt you again. And after what happened to you today…if you want to wait, we can take a few days.”

  They had so little time left, she didn’t want to waste any of it. And she didn’t want him to feel as if he had to treat her with kid gloves. “First of all, if you’re referring to Tuesday night, you did not hurt me.”

  Up went the brow.

  “Okay, maybe it hurt a little, but only for a minute. And it wasn’t a bad hurt, if that makes sense. And after that it was…amazing. And as far as what happened today, yeah it scared the hell out of me, but that has nothing to do with us. I know you would never hurt me.”

  “But I did.” He stroked her hair back from her face, touched her cheek. “I’ve been a total jerk the last couple weeks, and you’ve done absolutely nothing to deserve it.”

  “Except the rug, and the casserole dish, and the pink laundry. And of course the scorched shirt.”

  “That doesn’t count. I put you in a position to fail so I could throw it back in your face.”

  “And I’ve forgiven you.”

  He sighed and rolled onto his back. “Maybe that’s part of the problem. Maybe I feel like I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

  She sat up beside him. “In that case, you have to forgive yourself. You’ve got to let it go. Trust me on this one. If I hadn’t made peace with my father, and Lenny, I would probably be in a padded room by now.”

  “How? How do you let it go?”

  She shrugged. “You just do.”

  “I’m just so…mad.”

  “At yourself?”

  “At myself, and at your father. For what he did to you, and everything he stole from us. Everything that we could have been. If it wasn’t for him, we would be married, we would probably have kids.” He pushed himself up on his elbows. “I’m pissed at Estefan for ratting us out, and Alejandro for prosecuting you when I’m pretty sure he knows damn well that you’re innocent. I’m pissed at every person who suspected your father was abusive and did nothing about it. I feel like I’m mad at the whole damned world!”

  “So let it out.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can.” She reac
hed over and pinched his left nipple. Hard.

  “Hey!” He batted her hand away, looking stunned, as if he couldn’t believe she would do something like that. Sweet, nonconfrontational Isabelle. “What was that for?”

  He was going to have to accept that she had changed. “Did it hurt?”

  “Yeah, it hurt.”

  “Good.” She did the same thing to the right side.

  “Ow! Stop that!”

  She pinched the fleshy skin under his bicep next and he jerked away.

  “Izzie, stop it.”

  She climbed into his lap, straddling his thighs. “Make me.”

  She moved to pinch him again and his hand shot out to manacle her wrist, and when she tried to use her other hand, he grabbed that wrist, too. She struggled to yank free, but he held on tighter, almost to the point of pain. But that was good, that was what she wanted. She didn’t want him to look at her as some frail flower he needed to protect. She wanted him to know how tough she was.

  Since her hands were restrained, she leaned in and bit him instead, on his left shoulder. Not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to cause pain.

  He jerked away. “Isabelle! What’s gotten into you?”

  “Are you pissed?”

  “Yes, I’m pissed!”

  “Good.” She leaned in to do it again, but he’d apparently had enough. Finally. He pulled her down on top of him then rolled her onto her back, pinning her wrists over her head.

  She’d never thought of herself as the type who would be into anything even remotely kinky, but she was so hot for him, she was afraid she might spontaneously combust. Emilio settled between her thighs, holding her to the mattress with the weight of his body, and it was clear that he liked it, too. A lot.

  She hooked her legs around his, arching against him. He groaned and his eyes went dark, breath rasped out. So she did it again, bucking against him.

  “Izzie.” His voice held a warning, stop or else, but she wanted the “or else.”

  Lifting her head, she scraped her teeth across his nipple. She would keep biting and pinching and bucking until he gave her what she wanted. Only this time he turned the tables on her. He dipped his head and took her nipple in his mouth, sucked hard.

  She cried out, pushing against his hands, digging her nails into her palms. “Yesss.”

  “You like this,” he said.

  His eyes said that he’d finally figured it out. He knew what she wanted.

  It was about damned time.

  She knew Emilio liked to be composed at all times, but she wanted him to lose control, to do something crazy.

  He kissed her, like he never had before. A hard, punishing kiss. He started to work his way down, to her neck and her shoulders, kissing and nipping. Then he slipped lower still, letting go of her wrists so he could press her thighs wide. She thought they would make love right away, but clearly he had other ideas.

  She held her breath in anticipation, gasping as he took her in his mouth. Oral sex had been a regular routine for them, and it was always good, but never like this. He was devouring her. She clawed her nails through his hair, so close to losing it…then he thrust a finger inside of her, then another, then a third, slow and deep, and pleasure seized her like a wild animal.

  Emilio rose up and settled between her thighs, thrusting hard inside of her, and the orgasm that had begun to ebb slowly away suddenly picked up momentum again, only this time from somewhere deep inside. Somewhere she’d never felt before. Maybe her soul. It erupted into a sensation so beautiful and perfect, so exactly what she ever hoped it could be, tears welled in her eyes. And she was so utterly lost in her own pleasure she didn’t realize he had come, too, until he flopped onto his back beside her.

  “Wow,” he said, breathing hard.

  “So, are you still mad?”

  He laughed—a genuine honest to goodness laugh. A sound she hadn’t heard out of him in a very long time. “Not at all. In fact, I can’t recall the last time I was so relaxed.”

  She smiled and curled up against his side. “Good.”

  “I didn’t hurt you?”

  “Are you kidding? That was perfect.” And it must have been really good for him, too, because he was still mostly hard. Then she realized something that made her heart drop. “Emilio, you didn’t use a condom.”

  “I know.”

  She shot up in bed. “You know? You did it deliberately?”

  He didn’t even have the decency to look remorseful. “Not exactly. I realized the minute I was inside of you, but I didn’t think you would appreciate me stopping to roll one on.”

  “Did it occur to you that I could get pregnant?”

  “Of course.”

  “What did you think? That me being pregnant with his brother’s baby will stop Alejandro from putting me in prison? They put pregnant women in prison all the time. Are you prepared to raise a baby alone? To be a single dad for the next twenty-to-life? Maybe if I get out early on good behavior I’ll see him graduate high school.”

  “You’re not going to prison.”

  She groaned and dropped her head in her hands. The man was impossible.

  “Do you think you could be pregnant?” he asked.

  “My period is due soon, so I’d say it’s unlikely.”

  He actually looked disappointed. How had he gone from hating her one day, to wanting to have babies with her the next? This was crazy. Even if she didn’t go to prison his family would never accept her.

  “Can I ask you a question?” he said.

  “Sure.”

  “Since you’ve told me everything else, would you explain how you never slept with Lenny? Because I really don’t get it. I can’t go five minutes without wanting to rip your clothes off.”

  “He had a heart condition and he was impotent. Ultimately he did screw me, just not in the bed room.”

  “After your father died you could have divorced him.”

  “There didn’t seem to be much point. There was only one other man I wanted.” She touched his arm. “And I knew he would never take me back, never forgive me.”

  “I guess you were wrong.”

  “It would probably be better if you hadn’t.”

  “You’re not going to prison.”

  “Yes, I am. Nothing is going to stop that now.”

  “I just got you back, Izzie. I’m not letting you go again.”

  But he was going to have to. He couldn’t keep her out of prison by sheer will. He was going to have to accept that they were living on borrowed time.

  “Things are going to change around here,” he said.

  “What things?”

  “First off, I’m calling my housekeeper back.”

  “You can’t do that. You gave her the month off. It’s not fair.”

  “So I’ll hire a temp.”

  “But I like doing it.”

  He raised a brow at her.

  “I do. And it gives me something to do. A way to pass the time, since I doubt all those charities I used to volunteer for would be interested in my services any longer.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Okay, but you’re not allowed to wear the uniform anymore. And I’m buying you some decent clothes.”

  “There’s no point.”

  “There sure as hell is. The ones you have are awful.”

  “And I’ll only need them for another few weeks. Getting anything new would be a waste of money.”

  She could tell he wanted to argue, but he probably figured there was no point. She was not going to budge on this one. Besides, the last thing she wanted was for him to spend money on her. She didn’t deserve it.

  “You’re obviously not staying in the maid’s quarters any longer. You’re moving in here with me. If you want to.”

  “Of course I do.” It was probably a bad idea. The closer they got, the harder it would be when she had to go, but she had the feeling nothing would prevent that now. They might as well spend all the
time they could together.

  “You have a say in this, too,” he said. “Is there anything you’d like to add? Anything you want?”

  There were so many things she wanted. She wanted to marry him, and have babies with him. She wanted to do everything they had talked about before. It’s all she had ever wanted. But why dwell on a future that wasn’t meant to be?

  The phone rang, so she grabbed the cordless off the bedside table and handed it to him. He looked at the display and cursed under his breath. “Well, that didn’t take long.”

  He sat up and hit the talk button. “Hello, Mama.”

  Isabelle winced. Estefan hadn’t wasted any time running to his mother, had he?

  He listened for a minute, then said, “Yes, it’s true.”

  She could hear his mother talking. Not what she was saying, but her tone came through perfectly. She was upset.

  “I know he was drunk. Are you really surprised?”

  More talking from his mother’s end, then Emilio interrupted her. “Why don’t I come over there right now so we can talk about this?”

  She must have agreed, because then he said, “I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

  He hung up and set the phone back on the table. “I guess you got the gist of that.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I shouldn’t be too long.”

  “Take your time.” He wasn’t the only one who needed to talk to their mother. “I was thinking maybe I could go talk to my mother, too. I’d hate for her to hear it from someone besides me.”

  “I think that’s a good idea. I’ll pick up Chinese food on my way home.”

  “Sounds good.” Although after dealing with their parents, she wondered if either of them would have much of an appetite.

  Fifteen

  Emilio parked in the driveway of his mother’s condo. The year he’d made his first million he’d bought it for her. He’d wanted to get her something bigger and in a more affluent part of the city, but she had wanted to live here, in what was a primarily Hispanic neighborhood. Not that this place was what anyone would consider shabby. It had been brand-new when he bought it, and he made sure it had every upgrade they offered, and a few he requested special. After sacrificing so much for Emilio and his brothers, she deserved the best of everything.