Tempted by Desire

by Carole Mortimer

  ‘Calm down, Suzanne,’ Cesare broke into her angry mutterings. ‘I am not in that much of a hurry.’ He sat forward, taking the bra back out of the case. ‘Very nice, but I prefer you without it. You do not need it, your body is young and beautiful.’

  She snatched it out of his hand, burying it deep at the bottom of her case. ‘I just have to go and say goodbye to Robert.’

  ‘Is that necessary?’

  She flushed. ‘I believe so.’

  ‘Very well.’ He stood up in one fluid movement, picking up her securely locked suitcase. ‘I will wait for you outside.’

  Robert’s door stood open, as had her own. Patsy was sprawled across the bed and Robert sat on the floor, but he stood up as she entered the room. ‘What did he want?’

  Suzanne explained the situation to him, not quite able to meet his searching eyes. ‘He’s waiting for me now,’ she added.

  ‘I see,’ Robert said slowly. ‘Do you have any idea when you’ll be back?’

  She shrugged. ‘None at all, although I don’t suppose it will be long. The wedding’s tomorrow, so I could possibly be back in the evening.’

  Robert scoffed. ‘I don’t think so, love. In fact, I don’t think we’ll be seeing you back here at all.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ she asked sharply.

  ‘I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Suzanne. I would say that at the first opportunity he’ll have you in his bed—and not let you out for a week.’

  ‘Robert!’

  He laughed softly. ‘Frightened? But a little excited too, I bet?’

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ she evaded.

  ‘You’d better go now.’ He came forward and kissed her softly on the lips. ‘Good luck, love. I hope you’ll always be happy in your life.’

  She looked at him searchingly. ‘You make it sound like goodbye.’

  He gently touched her cheek. ‘I have a feeling that’s exactly what it is.’

  ‘You’re wrong, Robert. You have to be.’ She sounded almost desperate. Would she be able to leave Cesare again? It had been difficult enough the first time, she wasn’t sure she would be able to do it again. She kissed Robert quickly and ran out of the room before she broke down. She had a feeling of dread, a feeling of inevitability, that he was right, that this was goodbye.

  After a quick word with Mrs Holmes she went out of the house to find Cesare leaning casually against a sleek black Lamborghini, although he moved swiftly enough to open the door for her. He saw her comfortably seated before climbing into the driver’s seat.

  ‘Everything all right?’ he queried softly.

  ‘Fine.’ She couldn’t look at him, it would be her undoing. She was so much aware of him, of the closeness of his warm body, of his firm strong hands so sure on the wheel.

  ‘You are very quiet,’ he remarked about half an hour later.

  ‘I have nothing to say,’ she said primly.

  Cesare laughed softly, a husky sound deep in his throat. ‘Why are you sulking? You did not expect me to let you go so easily, did you? To meekly give up? But this is not my way, you must know that.’

  ‘I—I—I don’t know what you mean.’

  ‘Yes, you do,’ he contradicted gently. ‘I want you, Suzanne, and I want you to say you will come to me.’

  ‘I can’t—I won’t say that, because it wouldn’t be true. I’m not suited to the type of life you described for us.’

  ‘Have you considered seriously what I am offering you? A life free from any monetary problems—oh yes, Celeste has told me you both have no money, that the stay at the hotel was pure luxury for you. She has held nothing back, your hardship as a child, the way you have supported yourself the last few years. Does complete luxury not compare favourably with all that?’

  ‘You must know it does, but I—I don’t want to see you again once we reach the hotel!’ she cried desperately.

  ‘But we are not going to the hotel,’ he told her calmly.

  ‘We—we aren’t? But—why aren’t we?’

  ‘Because I do not wish to go there. We are going to a house in Guildford. You know the town?’

  ‘I’ve heard of it. But why are we going there?’

  Cesare looked at her, raising one eyebrow mockingly. ‘Why do you think?’

  She turned in her seat to look at him. ‘You—you can’t mean it!’

  ‘Oh, but I do.’

  Another quick glance at his set face told her that he would not be moved by tears. But did she want to fight him any more? Didn’t she want to give in, place her future in his hands, no matter what the outcome?

  By the time they reached Guildford Suzanne was going alternately hot and cold, her legs felt shaky and she felt sure they wouldn’t support her when she had to get out of the car. Cesare finally halted the car outside a well-lit detached house on the outskirts of the town, turning in his seat to look at her.

  His arm moved along the back of her seat, his hand moved to caress her tense nape under her soft blonde waves. ‘Will you come into the house with me, give yourself freely and with love, with no recriminations?’

  Suzanne felt as if she were drowning in deep grey pools, was being tempted by eyes that compelled and cajoled at one and the same time. ‘Yes,’ she agreed huskily, feeling as if all this were happening in a dream. Was this really her casually agreeing to become Cesare’s mistress?

  He lifted one of her hands and kissed her fingers one by one, his eyes never leaving her face. ‘Thank you, Suzanne,’ was all he said.

  Cesare let himself into the house, although at their entrance a woman of about forty-five came bustling into the reception area. ‘Mr Cesare!’ she greeted with a beaming smile in their general direction.

  ‘You have prepared for us, Molly?’ he asked after the preliminary greetings were over.

  Again she smiled. ‘Of course, sir. As it’s so late would you like me to take you straight upstairs?’

  ‘I think I can find my own way, thank you, Molly. We will want breakfast not later than eight-thirty—Vidal is marrying at eleven o’clock.’

  ‘I know, sir. Isn’t it exciting?’

  ‘Yes, I suppose it is. Well, goodnight, Molly.’

  ‘Goodnight, sir, madam.’

  Suzanne mumbled some form of goodnight before slowly following Cesare as he mounted the stairs. ‘Are you nervous, cara?’ He turned to look at her.

  Her eyes darkened. ‘You must know I am. I don’t do this sort of thing every day of the week.’

  ‘So I would hope.’ He took her arm, leading her towards a closed door. ‘Come, Suzanne, no one is going to hurt you, least of all me.’ He opened the door and pushed her gently inside.

  Suzanne’s eyes opened wide with shock. This was certainly the expected bedroom—but it wasn’t empty! Propped up in the huge double bed was an old lady of between seventy and eighty years of age, with hair that had once been as fair as the man’s who stood at her side, now gone gracefully grey, but the face still remained beautiful, the grey eyes piercing.

  Cesare moved forward, lifting one of the fragile white hands to kiss the fingertips. ‘Grandmama,’ he murmured, confirming Suzanne’s half guessed at conclusion. He held out his other hand to Suzanne, and she walked forward as if in a dream to take it. ‘Grandmama, I want you to meet Suzanne. She is to be the future Contessa Martino.’

  CHAPTER TEN

  ‘I KNOW who she is, Cesare,’ his grandmother said, her frail appearance belied by the strength of character in her voice. ‘Now run along,’ she dismissed. ‘I’ll send Suzanne along to her bedroom in a few minutes.’

  To Suzanne’s surprise the voice appeared to be as English as her own. But why surprise? This must be the mother of the English mother Cesare appeared to despise. Strangely enough her brain seemed to be functioning normally—strange, because she felt completely numb. Had Cesare really introduced her as his future wife? She felt sure he had, and yet it couldn’t possibly be true.

  ‘Run along, Cesare,’ his grandmother repeated. ‘I’m not going t
o eat the girl, just have a little chat with her.’

  Cesare bent to kiss one powdered cheek. ‘All right, Grandmama. But do not keep her long, it has been a long day for both of us.’

  ‘Very well, Cesare,’ she frowned at him impatiently. ‘The sooner you leave the quicker Suzanne will be able to go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.’

  Suzanne was still watching them as if in a dream. She felt Cesare bend and kiss her lips. He touched her cheek gently. ‘We will talk tomorrow, Suzanne,’ he promised.

  His grandmother patted the bed for Suzanne to sit down, which she thankfully did, feeling almost as if she were falling down. ‘I—’ her voice came out in a squeak. ‘I didn’t know Cesare was bringing me here to meet you, Mrs—’ she halted as she realised she didn’t know her name. It wouldn’t be the same as Cesare’s, that was certain.

  ‘You will call me Grandmama as Cesare and Vidal do.’ The old lady searched Suzanne’s face. ‘You’re very beautiful, my dear.’

  Suzanne blushed. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘You appeared surprised when Cesare introduced you,’ his grandmother said shrewdly. ‘Is everything all right between the two of you?’

  Suzanne gave an uncertain smile. ‘I think so. What I mean is, I—I’m not sure.’

  The older woman laughed. ‘As usual Cesare has been arrogant. He hasn’t even asked you to marry him, has he?’

  ‘Well, no, but—’

  ‘Isn’t that just like Cesare?’ his grandmother chuckled softly. ‘You must try to understand that his arrogance is completely unrealised. I’m sure he’ll get round to asking you some time. And your answer?’

  ‘Answer?’ Suzanne repeated vaguely.

  ‘Will you be marrying my grandson?’

  ‘If he asks me,’ she nodded.

  ‘Oh, he’ll ask you, when he realises that he hasn’t yet done so.’ The old lady sat back with satisfaction. ‘I met your stepmother today.’

  ‘Celeste?’

  ‘Yes. She and Vidal came to obtain my blessing on their marriage. I think they will be happy together. She will certainly keep Vidal on his toes.’

  Suzanne felt herself beginning to relax. This woman wasn’t half as frightening as she at first appeared. ‘I think so too, although Cesare didn’t feel too happy about them at first.’

  ‘That was because of you. He believed you to be in love with Vidal, and if Vidal was what you needed to make you happy then he was going to make sure you got him. You would not have been happy with Vidal, Cesare will make you a much better husband.’

  ‘I—’

  ‘I know,’ the old lady patted her hand reassuringly. ‘You’re rather bewildered by it all at the moment. Off you go to bed now, I just wanted to meet you and perhaps try to explain why Cesare is—well, as he is. You know about his mother?’

  ‘Yes, he told me.’

  ‘Mmm, Margaret was always irresponsible. That was probably my fault, I spoilt her terribly. Ah, well, that’s water under the bridge now. He was very lonely as a child, I tried to be a mother to him, but—well, I wasn’t used to little boys, Margaret was an only child. Then Marco, Cesare’s father, married Vidal’s mother. I moved out of the Palazzo, of course, finally thinking that Cesare had found someone to love him and be the mother he needed. And for a while it worked, then Maria died giving birth to Vidal. You can imagine the upheaval this caused to a child of five, to lose two women he loved so early in life.’

  ‘Yes.’ And Suzanne could. No wonder Cesare could be so aloof at times, almost as if he were shutting emotion out of his life. That was because that was exactly what he was doing.

  ‘He had. to grow up too soon,’ his grandmother continued. ‘He was never allowed to be a little boy as Vidal was. Marco left it up to me to bring up the two boys, and I’m afraid Vidal was always more easy to understand and love than the more complex Cesare. I’m only telling you all this to help you understand that Cesare will never be an easy person to live with.’

  ‘I think I already know that.’

  His grandmother smiled. ‘Good. I’m glad we’ve had this little chat. Off you go now. Your room is two doors up on the right.’

  It was a lovely room, overlooking the sizeable garden, but of course it was too dark to see any of it now. There was a huge double bed in the room, covered by a thick gold bedspread. The furniture was white and delicate, the carpet deep brown with a lovely thick pile that Suzanne sank her bare feet into. The adjoining bathroom was in matching brown and gold, and after a quick shower she climbed into the huge double bed, glad to relax her body, although her mind was too active for her to sleep.

  She had entered this house this evening expecting to leave it after a night spent in Cesare’s arms. But she had misjudged him. He had introduced her to his grandmother as his future contessa! Did he really mean to marry her? Did he love her? Hundreds of questions beseiged her and she knew she wouldn’t sleep.

  She turned sharply as the door handle slowly turned and a shadowy figure entered the room. ‘It is only me, Suzanne,’ Cesare said softly.

  She sat up in the bed, her eyes searching the gloom. ‘Cesare!’ she breathed huskily.

  He came to sit on the side of the bed, leaning forward to switch on the bedside lamp. He was clothed in grey trousers and a black silk shirt, and she felt her breath catch in her throat at the expression in his eyes. Had he come here to claim the admission she had made? Had he lied to his grandmother about making her his wife?

  ‘Your eyes are very expressive, cara. I have come here for no other reason that to tell you I love you.’

  ‘You—you love me?’

  ‘So much.’ He touched her parted lips. ‘I did not come to Manchester today to bring you back for the wedding, I came because I could not believe you had dared to leave without saying goodbye to me.’

  ‘I dared.’

  ‘I know that,’ his mouth tightened angrily. ‘But why did you dare?’

  ‘You must know why.’ She looked away.

  ‘Because of what I said to you. I was wrong to do that to you. I was punishing you, I suppose.’ He stood up to walk up and down the room. ‘Even tonight, on the Way here, I could not stop hurting you, testing you.’ He stopped his prowling to look at her. ‘I am sorry for that, but it did tell me what I wanted to know.’

  ‘And what was that?’ Suzanne was almost afraid to put the question to him, fearing the answer and that he might still be testing her.

  ‘You love me too,’ a smile lit his features. ‘I want to hear you say it, Suzanne. Tell me. Please.’

  She looked away. ‘I can’t—I can’t tell you anything. I—I don’t trust you. You could be testing me again just to taunt me.’

  A look of pain crossed his face. ‘Oh, God, what have I done to you!’ He came back to sit on the bed, grasping her arms to pull her roughly against him. ‘I love you, Suzanne. I love you! I have not meant to hurt you, I love you too much to ever want to do that again.’

  ‘Then why did you do it?’ It was an anguished cry.

  ‘Because I have never learned trust, I realise that now. I need proof all the time. You see, even now I cannot be sure you love me. You have not said it, but I have to tell you of my own feelings anyway. It no longer matters that you love me in return. I went back to Venice in the hope of forgetting you, I threw myself back into my work and a hectic social life. After a week I was ready to come back, after two weeks I was almost going insane.’

  Suzanne put a hand to stop his words. ‘No more, Cesare. You don’t have to say any more.’

  He removed her hand, turning away. ‘I want to. I want you to know how badly I felt when I came back to find you in Robert Thompson’s arms, how it made me cruel with you. But even then I could not leave you alone, I had to insult you by asking you to be my mistress. I was in the wrong earlier,’ his face was haggard. ‘I should not have introduced you to my grandmother as my future wife. Why should you want to marry me?

  I’ve never been kind to you, have never acted in a way to evoke your so
fter feelings towards me.’

  ‘Please, Cesare, stop this self-torture!’ she begged, jumping out of the bed and running into his arms. ‘I love you, I want you, J need you. If you really want to marry me I’ll willingly say yes. Do you want to marry me?’

  ‘So much, it hurts,’ he groaned.

  ‘Oh, Cesare!’ She stood on tiptoe to part his lips with her own. Darling Cesare, usually so arrogant and superior, now as vulnerable as herself when it came to falling in love.

  Her surrender was all he needed to mould her against him with a savagery that hurt her, but it was a pain she would willingly stand for the rest of her life. He crushed her to him until she found it almost impossible to breathe, plundering her mouth until she felt breathless, her head spinning.

  He cradled each side of her face, his smile for her alone. ‘Oh, my darling, you have made me so happy.’ He searched her face. ‘You are sure about this? I will not let you go once I have you.’

  She laughed huskily, tears of happiness slipping slowly down her cheeks. ‘I just want to be with you—always.’

  Cesare strained her to him again. ‘And so you shall be,’ he promised huskily. ‘Oh, cara, tell me again that you love me.’

  ‘I love you, I love you, I love you!’ she cried happily.

  He kissed her temple, his hands moving expertly over her body. ‘I will want to hear it every minute of the day,’ he warned.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ she laughed unsteadily. ‘You probably will. I can’t seem to stop saying it now I’ve started.’

  He looked down at her scantily clad body. ‘You must get back into bed, my darling. You are hardly dressed to receive visitors.’

  She clung to him. ‘You, I am. Don’t go, Cesare. Don’t leave me.’

  A nerve pulsed erratically at his jawbone. ‘I have to, Suzanne. I only came in here to tell you of my feelings for you. I certainly could not sleep until I had done so, and I doubt if you could also.’

  ‘I couldn’t,’ she admitted. ‘I was totally confused. Your grandmother didn’t seem at all surprised when you called me—when you said I was—’