‘Tell me something, Nina.’ He tipped up her chin with one long determined finger. ‘Tell me why you fell in love with my brother.’
She froze at his words, her eyes flaring in panic, her heart ramming against her ribcage as she did her best to hold his hard penetrating look.
‘You did love him, did you not?’ he asked when she didn’t answer.
Nina lowered her gaze to concentrate on the beads of moisture still clinging to the strong column of his neck. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him yet another lie.
‘No,’ she said softly. ‘I didn’t love him.’
Marc’s dark eyes narrowed dangerously as her gaze came back to his. ‘You callous bitch. You callous little money-hungry bitch.’
She closed her eyes to block out his fury.
‘Look at me!’ He grasped her arms roughly and gave her a little shake.
Her eyes sprang open in alarm, her stomach twisting with despair at the hatred shining in his.
‘You destroyed his life!’ His fingers bit into her arms. ‘You hunted him down and destroyed him for what? For what?’ he repeated bitterly.
‘Marc, I need to tell you—’ she began.
‘I do not want to hear anything you have to say,’ he snapped, cutting her off.
‘Marc, please.’ Her eyes misted over and her tone became pleading. ‘You don’t understand—’
‘I understand all right. I understand that you were not happy that Andre left you stranded without money. That is why you twisted the knife by threatening to have Georgia adopted, was it not?’ He gave her a disgusted look. ‘You never had any intention of giving her up. You were just playing a game to get as much money as you could.’
‘I have never wanted money from—’
‘Do not lie to me!’ he shouted. ‘You have played this for all you are worth. Well, I will tell you something, Nina.’ He lowered his voice but it was no less threatening. ‘You can have your money. All of it. I will double your allowance as of tomorrow.’
She blinked up at him in confusion. ‘But—’
‘I have changed my mind about our marriage,’ he said. ‘I’ve decided we will no longer adhere to the rules I set down.’
‘You can’t mean that!’
He smiled a chilling smile. ‘Why so worried, cara? You slept with my brother without loving him. Sleeping with me will not be beyond your capabilities, I’m sure.’
‘I don’t want to sleep with you!’ She wrenched herself out of his hold and stood glaring at him, rubbing her arms where his fingers had been.
‘I think we could more or less say I have paid dearly for the privilege,’ he pointed out ruthlessly.
‘I am not for sale,’ she said. ‘I don’t care how much money you throw at my feet. I will not be bought.’
‘You have been bought, Nina,’ he said. ‘You have already pocketed one instalment.’
‘I don’t want your money, Marc,’ she insisted. ‘I never wanted it.’
She could tell from his expression that he didn’t believe her. His mouth was tight with cynicism and his eyes diamond-hard as they tethered hers.
‘If you did not want it then why is it no longer in your account?’ he asked.
Nina’s eyes flared in anger. ‘You checked?’
He gave a single nod, his expression still unyielding.
‘You had no right to do that!’ Nina could feel the panic beating like an out of time drum in her chest. If Marc was watching her so closely it wouldn’t take him long to find out the truth. She’d only transferred the money less than an hour or two ago. What if he orchestrated a paper trail of her account to see where the money had been deposited?
‘You keep saying you do not want money but what is it you do want, Nina?’ Marc said, breaking the humming silence.
She couldn’t answer. How could she tell him what she really wanted? She wanted him. She wanted him to make her feel alive as a woman. She wanted him to make her feel desirable, irresistible and precious. She wanted to feel him in the throes of uncontrollable passion for her, not for who she was pretending to be, but for her—Nina.
She held her breath as his hands ran down her arms to encircle her wrists.
‘Is this what you really want, Nina?’ he asked, tugging her up against him. ‘Is this what you crave more than money, the thing that I too crave until I cannot think straight for my need of you?’
She moistened her lips with her tongue, her heart doing a fluttery dance in her chest when she saw the way his eyes glittered with purpose.
His head came down, the heat from his mouth storming its way into hers, lighting a fire within her that refused to be banked down. She felt it crawling up her legs to pool in between her thighs, the heavy pulse of her desire for him only fanning the flames even further.
His tongue circled hers sensuously, the thrust and stab movements inciting her responses in a way she had not thought possible. Her teeth nipped at his bottom lip, her tongue delved and her hands clung where they could to hold him to her. She heard him groan, a rough low growl of male primal need that made her feel incredibly feminine and vulnerable and yet strangely powerful at the same time.
She felt herself being carried along on a tide of need so strong she had no way of resisting even if she had wanted to. This scorching physical chemistry had been crackling between them from the very first day and it seemed that, in spite of Marc’s determination to resist her, it was becoming clear he was no longer able to do so. The evidence of his desire for her was breathtakingly unmistakable; she could feel his hard male body pressed tightly against her softer one, his mouth working its magic on hers until she was like warmed honey in his arms.
She felt his hands at her bathing suit straps where they had slipped from her shoulders, and then the rush of air as he pulled the material from her like a sloughed skin. Her legs quivered as she stepped out of the pool of wet fabric at her feet, her mouth still locked with his, her heart thudding with the hectic pace of her fevered blood as he pressed her to the nearest cushioned lounger.
He came down on top of her heavily, his legs entrapping hers, his solid weight a welcome burden. She began to claw at his shorts but he shoved her hand away as he dealt with them himself. She gave a breathless gasp of anticipation when she felt him against her, the length and satin strength of him searching for the entry of her body with a desperation she could feel echoing deep within her.
He drove forward with a deep guttural groan which drowned out the sound of her bitten-off cry as he tore through her tender untried flesh. She sucked in a breath and tried not to cry out again as he thrust deeply, but her body resented the intrusion and made it impossible for her to hold back the sound of her discomfort. She gave one short sharp cry, biting down on her lip as soon as it escaped, but it was too late.
Marc stilled his movements and, easing his weight off her, looked down at her, his frown almost closing the space between his dark-as-night eyes.
Tears sprang to her eyes and her teeth sank even further into her bottom lip.
‘Cristo,’ he groaned and rolled off her in one movement.
Nina closed her eyes, her limbs suddenly feeling cold without the warmth of his.
‘Nina…I—’
‘Please don’t say anything.’ She scrambled to her feet without looking at him and reached for her towel.
‘I am assuming from your reaction that you had rather a difficult delivery with Georgia,’ he said, his voice flat and unemotional.
She wound the towel around her body without looking his way.
‘Nina?’
‘I don’t want to talk about it.’
‘We have to talk, whether you like it or not. I need to know.’
‘What do you need to know?’ She turned on him. ‘Do you want to hear how Georgia was born after fifteen hours of labour without her father present? How her father refused to acknowledge her existence? Is that what you want to know?’
Marc stared at her, all of his carefully rehearsed accusations fad
ing away.
‘You have no right to cast judgement,’ she continued. ‘Do you have any idea of what it’s like to be pregnant and alone? Do you?’
He drew in a breath and let it out on a sigh. ‘No, I do not. You are right. I have no right to judge.’
‘Georgia needed a father and my…I mean I needed someone to help me bring her into the world, but your brother wasn’t interested.’
‘He had not planned on having a child with you.’
‘So what?’ she asked. ‘Whatever the motive when a child is conceived, it’s up to both of the parents to jointly see to its welfare. Besides, accidents can happen.’ She gave him a pointed look and added, ‘I didn’t happen to see you put on a condom just now.’
‘I did not…you know…’ He let his words trail off, a dull flush riding over his cheeks.
She raised her brows. ‘Surely you know better than that? Pre-ejaculatory fluid contains thousands of sperm. You might very well be in exactly the same position as your brother.’
‘If I am, I am prepared to meet my responsibilities. If we have conceived a child I will not walk away.’
‘Even though you loathe me and can barely stand to look at me?’
He met her gaze without flinching. ‘I will put my personal feelings aside if need be.’
Nina felt her heart tighten painfully at his words. He was so unlike his brother, who’d had his fun and had walked away without a backward glance. She knew Marc would stand by his word, even if it cost him dearly. How she wished she could tell him the truth!
She turned away before he could see the longing in her eyes. ‘I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. I have no plans to get pregnant.’
‘If it were to happen…’ He raked a hand through his hair as he considered the prospect. ‘You will tell me?’
She met his eyes for a brief moment. ‘I would owe you that at the very least.’
His eyes fell away from hers first. ‘I will check on Georgia. You should go to bed; you look…exhausted.’
She opened her mouth to deny it but stopped as she realised it was true. ‘Thank you,’ she said softly and moved towards the door.
‘Nina?’
His voice stopped her hand from turning the handle and she slowly turned around to face him. ‘Yes?’
His eyes didn’t quite meet hers. ‘I am sorry.’
Her hand on the doorknob fell away. ‘For what?’
He dragged his gaze up to hers with an effort. ‘I wish I had known the truth about Georgia’s birth.’
She gave him a rueful little grimace and reached for the doorknob again. ‘I wish you had, too. You can’t imagine how much.’
Marc opened his mouth to call her back but the door closed on her exit, locking him inside with his guilt.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE first thing Nina saw when she came down with Georgia the next morning was a personal cheque made out to her lying on the kitchen bench, which was exactly double the allowance he had deposited in the bank the day before.
She wasn’t sure whether to be angry or hurt. Was he paying off the bet out of guilt or to insult her even more? She scrunched it up and threw it at the nearest wall only to hear a reproving hiss behind her. She turned to see Lucia looking at her with her usual contempt, her dark eyes going to the ball of paper lying against the wall before coming back to hers.
‘Do you wish me to clean that up, signora?’
Nina unthinkingly responded in Italian. ‘No. Mi scusi. I will see to it.’
Lucia stared at her, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.
Nina gave her a rueful look. ‘I should have told you earlier. I speak and understand Italian.’
‘Signore Marcello did not tell me,’ Lucia said, her eyes narrowing slightly.
‘Signore Marcello doesn’t know.’
The housekeeper’s dark eyebrows shot upwards. ‘You have not told him?’
She shook her head and a little sigh escaped from her lips. ‘There’s a lot I haven’t told him.’ She turned to look at Georgia, who was sucking noisily on her fist. ‘So very much I haven’t told him.’
Nina became conscious of Lucia’s lengthy, studied look.
‘Signore Marcello told me to tell you that he has some business to see to. He will be home in time for us all to leave for the airport together.’
She gave the woman a faltering smile. ‘Grazie, Lucia.’
‘He will be a good husband,’ Lucia said after another little pause. ‘You must give him time. He is still grieving; he is not himself at all.’
Nina inwardly smiled at the irony of the housekeeper’s statement. Marc wasn’t the only one who wasn’t himself!
‘Georgia is such a beautiful baby,’ Lucia said, gazing down at the child. ‘She has brought joy to Signore Marcello’s life.’
Unlike her fake mother, Nina couldn’t help thinking as she reached to tickle her niece’s tiny fingers. ‘She’s my world, aren’t you, Georgia?’ She kissed each little finger in turn.
‘You are a wonderful mother,’ Lucia said. ‘No one could doubt it for a moment.’
Nina looked around in surprise. The housekeeper had been nothing but hostile towards her for days. What had happened to bring about this sudden change?
Lucia’s gaze was so intent and watchful that Nina had trouble maintaining eye contact. She looked away guiltily, unable to rid herself of the feeling that Lucia was starting to put some pieces of a rather complicated puzzle together in her head.
‘There was a phone call for you while you were in the shower,’ Lucia said into the sudden silence.
‘Oh?’ Nina tensed.
‘I did not want the sound of your mobile phone waking Georgia so I answered it.’ The housekeeper paused for a single heartbeat and added, ‘I hope you do not mind.’
‘No.’ Nina swallowed. ‘No, of course I don’t mind.’ She forced her voice to remain calm. ‘Who…who was it?’
‘She did not say, but for a moment I thought it was you. It was uncanny, really. Her voice sounded so similar.’
‘Did…she leave a message?’ Nina asked, staring at Georgia’s starfish hands with fierce intent.
‘She said she would call back some other time.’
‘Grazie.’
There was another small pause.
‘Signore Marcello has instructed me to help you pack for your trip.’
‘It’s all right, Lucia. I can manage. I haven’t got much to pack anyway.’
The housekeeper gave her one last thoughtful look before moving away to complete her tasks. ‘If I can help you with anything, Signora Marcello, you have only to ask. It will be my pleasure, I assure you.’
‘Grazie, Lucia.’
Nina waited until the housekeeper had left the room before she released her breath. She sighed as she looked down at the chortling baby, muttering in an undertone, ‘I’m in over my head, Georgia, and drowning fast.’
Georgia gave her a toothless grin and stuck her fist back in her mouth.
Marc was well aware of Nina’s reluctance to establish eye contact with him as they prepared to leave for the airport later that day. She spoke politely to Lucia and was openly affectionate to Georgia as she settled her into the car, but each time her gaze swung to him it just as quickly shifted away, her cheeks turning a delicate shade of pink.
He slanted his gaze her way as they drove to the airport, frowning when he saw her hands moving restlessly in her lap and her bottom lip being nibbled by her teeth as she stared anxiously, almost fixedly, in front of her.
The memory of the intimacy they had shared the night before gnawed at him constantly, the feel of her body against his, her soft mouth feeding off his, her flinching cries when he had gone too deep for her.
He had been so confident he would be able to resist her but in the end he had not stood a chance. Even though his brother had walked away from her, Marc knew he was not going to find doing so as easy as Andre had. In spite of everything he knew about her, he still couldn’t get her
out of his mind. His every waking thought was of her and only her; even his restless slumber was haunted by his out of control need for her.
For years he had actively avoided becoming emotionally entangled with anyone. He didn’t like feeling so vulnerable. It made him uneasy that the power balance had subtly shifted, leaving him open to the sort of hurt he had sworn he would never expose himself to again.
He couldn’t make her out. If she was truly the sort of woman his brother had described why was she avoiding his eyes all the time? Andre had described her as a wanton witch who would do anything for his money or his attention. But after last night he was totally confused. It didn’t make sense. She’d supposedly had numerous affairs since the birth of Georgia; the papers had been full of her exploits. Yes, he had rushed things a bit, but she had not given him any indication she wasn’t with him all the way. Unless someone had got their wires very crossed, the Nina Selbourne he was married to was nothing like the woman who had pursued and subsequently destroyed his brother. He was the first to admit that people could change, but the sort of change Nina had supposedly undergone defied all reasonable belief.
‘I am assuming from your continued silence that you are not looking forward to the flight,’ he said after another lengthy silence.
Nina unlocked her hands and, searching in the bag at her feet, silently handed him the cheque he’d left that morning, her eyes communicating her anger.
Marc looked down at the cheque for a moment. Was this a trick?
He met her resentful gaze. ‘I apologised for what happened last night. This trip will become even more unpleasant than it needs to be if you do not accept my remorse.’
‘It’s not your remorse I won’t accept,’ she bit out. ‘It’s your money.’
‘I fail to see what you are so angry about. It was a bet, fair and square. I lost it and have paid up accordingly—or perhaps you are regretting settling for such a small amount.’ His lip curled slightly. ‘Would you like me to treble it to soothe your ire?’
Nina swung her head away from his hateful cynicism, her eyes smarting with angry tears.
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