Di Sione's Virgin Mistress

by Sharon Kendrick

  The stewardess did her best to conceal it, but the look of disappointment on her face was almost comical.

  ‘Certainly, sir,’ she said gamely. ‘And the woman is?’

  ‘Her name is Willow Hamilton,’ Dante ground out. ‘I need her number and her address. And I need that information by the time this plane lands.’

  * * *

  There were four missed calls on her phone by the time Willow left the Tube station in central London, blinking as she emerged into the bright July sunshine. She stepped into the shadow of a doorway and looked at the screen. All from the same unknown number and whoever it was hadn’t bothered to leave a voicemail. But she knew who the caller must be. The sexy stranger. The man she’d kissed. The blue-eyed man whose carry-on she had picked up by mistake.

  She felt the race of her heart. She would go home first and then she would ring him. She wasn’t going to have a complicated conversation on a busy pavement on a hot day when she was tired and jet-lagged.

  She had already made a tentative foray inside, but the bag contained no contact number, just some photos of an amazing Spanish castle, a book which had won a big literary prize last year and—rather distractingly—several pairs of silk boxer shorts which were wrapped around a leather box. She’d found her fingertips sliding over the slippery black material of the shorts and had imagined them clinging to Dante Di Sione’s flesh and that’s when her cheeks had started doing that Scarlet Pimpernel thing again, and she’d hastily stuffed them back before anyone on the Heathrow Express started wondering why she was ogling a pair of men’s underpants.

  She let herself into her apartment, which felt blessedly cool and quiet after the heat of the busy London day. She rented the basement from a friend of her father’s—a diplomat in some far-flung region whose return visits to the UK were brief and infrequent. Unfortunately one of the conditions of Willow being there was that she wasn’t allowed to change the decor, which meant she was stuck with lots of very masculine colour. The walls were painted bottle-green and dark red and there was lots of heavy-looking furniture dotted around the place. But it was affordable, close to work and—more importantly—it got her away from the cloying grip of her family.

  She picked up some mail from the mat and went straight over to the computer where she tapped in Dante Di Sione’s name, reeling a little to discover that her search had yielded over two hundred thousand entries.

  She squinted at the screen, her heart beginning to pound as she stared into an image which showed his haunting blue eyes to perfection. It seemed he was some sort of mega entrepreneur, heading up a company which catered exclusively for the super-rich. She looked at the company’s website.

  We don’t believe in the word impossible.

  Whatever it is you want—we can deliver.

  Quite a big promise to make, she thought as she stared dreamily at photos of a circus tent set up in somebody’s huge garden, and some flower-decked gondolas which had been provided to celebrate a tenth wedding anniversary party in Venice.

  She scrolled down. There was quite a lot of stuff about his family. Lots of siblings. Snap, she thought. And there was money. Lots of that. A big estate somewhere in America. Property in Manhattan. Although according to this, Dante Di Sione lived in Paris—which might explain why his accent was an intriguing mix of transatlantic and Mediterranean. And yet some of the detail about his life was vague—though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. She hadn’t realised precisely what she’d been looking for until the word single flashed up on the screen and a feeling of satisfaction washed over her.

  She sat back and stared out at the pavement, where from this basement-level window she could see the bottom halves of people’s legs as they walked by. A pair of stilettos tapped into view, followed by some bare feet in a pair of flip-flops. Was she really imagining that she was in with a chance with a sexy billionaire like Dante Di Sione, just because he’d briefly kissed her in a foreign airport terminal? Surely she couldn’t be that naive?

  She was startled from her daydream by the sound of her mobile phone and her heart started beating out a primitive tattoo as she saw it was the same number as before. She picked it up with fingers which were shaking so much that she almost declined the call instead of accepting it.

  Stay calm, she told herself. This is the new you. The person who kisses strangers at airports and is about to start embracing life, instead of letting it pass her by.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Is that you, Willow?’

  Her heart raced and her skin felt clammy. On the phone, his transatlantic/Mediterranean twang sounded even more sexy, if such a thing was possible. ‘Yes,’ she said, a little breathlessly. ‘It’s me.’

  ‘You’ve got my bag,’ he clipped out.

  ‘I know.’

  The tone of his voice seemed to change. ‘So how the hell did that happen?’

  ‘How do you think it happened?’ Stung into defence by the note of irritation in his voice, Willow gripped the phone tightly. ‘I picked it up by mistake...obviously.’

  There was a split-second pause. ‘So it wasn’t deliberate?’

  ‘Deliberate?’ Willow frowned. ‘Are you serious? Do you think I’m some sort of thief who hangs around airports targeting rich men?’

  There was another pause and this time when he spoke the irritation had completely vanished and his voice sounded almost unnaturally composed. ‘Have you opened it?’

  A little uncomfortably, Willow rubbed her espadrille toe over the ancient Persian rug beneath the desk. ‘Obviously I had to open it, to see if there was any address or phone number inside.’

  His voice sounded strained now. ‘And you found, what?’

  Years of sparring with her sisters made Willow’s response automatic. ‘Don’t you even remember what you were carrying in your own bag?’

  ‘You found, what?’ he repeated dangerously.

  ‘A book. Some glossy photos of a Spanish castle. And some underpants,’ she added on a mumble.

  ‘But nothing else?’

  ‘There’s a leather case. But it’s locked.’

  At the other end of the phone, Dante stared at the imposing iron structure of the Eiffel Tower and breathed out a slow sigh of relief. Of course it was locked—and he doubted she would have had time to get someone to force it open for her even if she’d had the inclination, which he suspected she didn’t. There had been something almost otherworldly about her...and she seemed the kind of woman who wouldn’t be interested in possessions—even if the possession in question happened to be a stunning diadem, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

  He could feel the strain bunching up the muscles in his shoulders and he moved them slowly to release some of the tension, realising just how lucky he’d been. Or rather, how lucky she had been. Because he’d been travelling on a private jet with all the protection which came with owning your own plane, but Willow had not. He tried to imagine what could have happened if she’d been stopped going through customs, with an undeclared item like that in her possession.

  Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and for a moment he cursed this mission he’d been sent on—but it was too late to question its legitimacy now. He needed to retrieve the tiara as soon as possible and to get it to the old man, so that he could forget all about it.

  ‘I need that bag back,’ he said steadily.

  ‘I’m sure you do.’

  ‘And you probably want your swimwear.’ He thought about the way his finger had trailed over the gusset of that tiny scarlet bikini bottom and was rewarded with another violent jerk of lust as he thought about her blond hair and grey eyes and the faint taste of champagne on her lips. ‘So why don’t I send someone round to swap bags?’

  There was a pause. ‘But you don’t know where I live,’ she said, and then, before he had a chance to reply, she started ta
lking in the thoughtful tone of someone who had just missed a glaringly obvious fact. ‘Come to think of it—how come you’re ringing me? I didn’t give you my phone number.’

  Dante thought quickly. Was she naive enough not to realise that someone like him could find out pretty much anything he wanted? He injected a reassuring note into his voice. ‘I had someone who works for me track you down,’ he said smoothly. ‘I was worried that you’d want your bag back.’

  ‘Actually, you seem to be the one who’s worried, Mr Di Sione.’

  Her accurate tease stopped him in his tracks and Dante scowled, curling his free hand into a tight fist before slowly releasing his fingers, one by one. This wasn’t going as he had intended. ‘Am I missing something here?’ he questioned coolly. ‘Are you playing games with me, Willow, or are you prepared to do a bag-swap so that we can just forget all about it and move on?’

  In the muted light of the basement apartment, Willow turned to catch a glimpse of her shadowed features in an antique oval mirror and was suddenly filled with a determination she hadn’t felt for a long time. Not since she’d battled illness and defied all the doctors’ gloomy expectations. Not since she’d fought to get herself a job, despite her family’s reluctance to let her start living an independent life in London. She thought about her sister Clover’s wedding, which was due to take place in a few days’ time, when she would be kitted out in the hideous pale peach satin which had been chosen for the bridesmaids and which managed to make her look completely washed out and colourless.

  But it wasn’t just that which was bothering her. Her vanity could easily take a knock because she’d never really had the energy or the inclination to make her looks the main focus of her attention. It was all the questions which would inevitably come her way and which would get worse as the day progressed.

  So when are we going to see you walking down the aisle, Willow?

  And, of course, the old favourite: Still no boyfriend, Willow?

  And because she would have been warned to be on her best behaviour, Willow would have to bite back the obvious logic that you couldn’t have one without the other, and that since she’d never had a proper boyfriend, it was unlikely that she would be heading down the aisle any time soon.

  Unless...

  She stared at her computer screen, which was dominated by the rugged features of Dante Di Sione. And although he might have been toying with her—because perhaps kissing random women turned him on—he had managed to make it feel convincing. As if he’d really wanted to kiss her. And that was all she needed, wasn’t it? A creditable performance from a man who would be perfectly capable of delivering one. Dante Di Sione didn’t have to be her real boyfriend—he just had to look as if he was.

  ‘Don’t I get a reward for keeping your bag safe?’ she questioned sweetly.

  ‘I’ll buy you a big bunch of flowers.’

  ‘Flowers make me sneeze.’

  ‘Chocolates, then.’

  ‘I’m allergic to cocoa.’

  ‘Stop playing games with me, Willow,’ he snapped. ‘And tell me what it is you’re angling for.’

  Willow stared at the piercing blue eyes on the computer screen. His thick black hair looked as if he had been running his fingers through it and she remembered how it had felt to have his lips brushing over hers. It was now or never. It was all about seizing the moment and doing something you wouldn’t normally do. Because what was the point of sitting back and moaning about your fate as if it was set in stone, instead of trying to hammer out something new for yourself?

  And here was a chance staring her straight in the face.

  She drew in a deep breath. ‘What I want won’t cost you anything but your time. I’m being a bridesmaid at my sister’s wedding next weekend and I’m fed up with people asking me why I don’t have a boyfriend. All you have to do is pretend to be that man. For one day only, you will be my fictitious but very convincing boyfriend, Mr Di Sione. Do you think you could manage that?’

  CHAPTER THREE

  HE SHOULD HAVE told her no. Should have told her that he hated weddings. Because marriage stood for everything he despised and distrusted. Lies and deception and manipulation.

  Dante straightened the silver-grey tie which complemented his formal charcoal suit and stared at his reflection in the hotel mirror.

  So why hadn’t he said no? Why had he agreed to accompany Willow Hamilton to her sister’s wedding, where she was being a bridesmaid? It was true that she had his grandfather’s tiara in her possession and she had been demonstrating a not-very-subtle form of blackmail to get him to be her plus one. But Dante was not a man who could be manipulated—and certainly not by a woman. If he’d really wanted that tiara back he would have gone straight round to her apartment and taken it—either by reason or seduction or quiet threat—because he nearly always got what he wanted.

  So why hadn’t he?

  He gave his tie one final tug and watched as his reflected face gave a grim kind of smile.

  Because he wanted her? Because she’d interested and intrigued him and awoken in him a sexual hunger he’d been neglecting these past weeks?

  The reflected smile intensified.

  Well, why not?

  He picked up his car keys and went outside to the front of the hotel, where the valet was opening the door of the car he’d hired for the weekend. It was an outrageously fast car—a completely over-the-top machine which would inevitably attract the attention of both men and women. And while it wouldn’t have been Dante’s first choice, if Willow wanted him to play the part of a very rich and super-keen lover, then it followed that he ought to drive something which looked like everyone’s idea of a phallic substitute.

  He drove through the streets of central London and tooted the horn as he drew up outside Willow’s basement apartment. She appeared almost immediately and he watched her walk towards him, narrowing his eyes with instinctive appraisal—because she looked... He swallowed. She looked incredible. Gone was the big pashmina which had shielded her from the airport’s overzealous air conditioning and hidden most of her body. In its place was a pale dress which skimmed the tiniest waist he’d ever seen, its flouncy skirt swirling provocatively around her narrow knees. Her blond hair was plaited and Dante felt his mouth dry. As she grew closer he could see that the collar of her dress was embroidered with tiny daisies, and it made her look as if she’d been picked fresh from a meadow that morning. She looked ethereal and fragile and he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from her.

  He shook his head slightly as once again he acknowledged her fey beauty and the realisation that she didn’t seem quite part of this world. Certainly not his world. And then he noticed that she was carrying nothing but a small suitcase.

  ‘Where’s my carry-on?’ he demanded as he got out of the car to take the case from her.

  There was a pause as she met his gaze. ‘It will be returned to you after the deal is done.’

  ‘After the deal is done?’ he echoed softly.

  ‘When the wedding is over.’

  He raised his eyebrows at her mockingly, but made no attempt to conceal the sudden flicker of irritation in his voice. ‘And if I insist on taking it now? What then?’

  He saw a momentary hesitation cross her fragile features, as if she had suddenly realised just who it was she was dealing with. But bravado won the day and she shot him an almost defiant look which made him want to pin her over the bonnet of the car and kiss her senseless.

  ‘You’re not in a position to insist, Dante,’ she said, sliding inside with a graceful movement which made him wish she could do it again, in slow motion. ‘I have something you want and you have to pay for it.’

  He switched on the engine and wondered if she was aware that she had something else he wanted, and that by the end of the day he would have taken it... ‘So where are we going?’
he said.

  ‘My family home. It’s in Sussex. I’ll direct you.’

  ‘Women are notoriously bad at directions, Willow—we both know that. So why don’t you just give me the postcode and I can program it into the satnav?’

  She turned to look at him, a frown creasing her brow. ‘Are you for real, or did you just complete a crash course in being patronising? I think I can just about find my way to my family home without needing a robot to guide me.’

  ‘Just don’t fall asleep,’ he warned.

  ‘I’ll do my best. But you’re not exactly an aid to relaxation, are you?’ Settling back in her seat, she gave him a clear list of instructions, then waited until he had negotiated his way out of London towards the south, before she asked, ‘So what’s in the bag which makes you want it so much?’

  ‘Boxer shorts.’ He shot her a look. ‘But you already know that.’

  Willow didn’t react, even though the mention of his boxer shorts was threatening her with embarrassment, which she suspected was his intention. Because this was the new Willow, wasn’t it? The woman who had decided to take control of her own destiny instead of having it decided by other people. The woman who was going to live dangerously. She studied his rugged profile as he stared at the road ahead. ‘A few items of underwear wouldn’t usually be enough to get a man like you to take a complete stranger to a family wedding and pretend to be her boyfriend.’

  ‘Let’s get a couple of things straight, shall we, Willow? Firstly, I have no intention of discussing the contents of that bag with you,’ he said as he powered the car into the fast lane. ‘And secondly, I intend to play your lover—not your damned boyfriend—unless your looks are deceiving and you happen to be fifteen.’

  ‘I’m twenty-six,’ she said stiffly.

  ‘You look much younger.’

  ‘That’s what everyone says.’