The Ruthless Billionaire’s Virgin

by Susan Stephens

  Listening to her beating time with her voice to the music of their pleasure, he knew he had never known such extremes of sensation. Gathering her into his arms to stare into her eyes, he brought her to the brink and tipped her over, staying with her through the ecstasy as she enjoyed the release she had been searching for. When she quietened and snuggled in to him, he felt sure as he gazed into her drowsy face that time was playing tricks on them and that they had known each other much longer than one night. It was a short step from there to knowing Savannah should be with someone who could give her the kind of life she deserved.

  ‘Ethan, where are you?’ she murmured, reaching up to touch his face.

  ‘I’m still with you,’ he murmured.

  ‘No, you’re not,’ she argued softly, with barely the strength to open her eyes.

  She was right. He was in a dark place he wouldn’t take her. Dipping his head, he kissed her deeply, and before she had a chance to question him further he made love to her again.

  Savannah lay awake for the rest of the night, pretending to be asleep in the early hours when Ethan left her. She didn’t know him well enough to call him back. That struck her as funny and a little embarrassing, because she might not know him but she loved him. And loving him meant she understood his need for space. What had happened between them, what they’d shared, had been so much more than either of them could have expected. Of course, Ethan would need space to consider the changes this must make to his world. The changes to her world were immeasurable. Ethan was her man and her mate, and she had welcomed him inside her body with triumph and excitement. Ethan knew everything about bringing her pleasure, and they had been as one until pleasure had consumed them.

  Only one worrying incident had tarnished the night. Ethan had drifted off to sleep after they’d made love, but after a few minutes he had thrown up his hands, as if to ward off a blow. It was some buried memory he couldn’t bring himself to share, she guessed, and it hurt her to think of him locked in a nightmare where she couldn’t reach him. She had to believe there was a key to breaking that destructive cycle, and that she held that key.

  Turning her face into the pillows, Savannah inhaled Ethan’s scent. Exhaling softly in the darkness, she turned on her back as contentment consumed her. Her whole being was drenched in a warm, happy glow. She had expected to feel different when she gave herself to a man, but she hadn’t expected to feel quite so complete. She couldn’t wait to see the same look of happiness in Ethan’s eyes, and, as the lilac light of dawn was stealing through the heavy curtains, there was no reason why she shouldn’t go and find him.

  Stretching her arms, Savannah welcomed the new day with a heart full of joy. It was a new and better world with Ethan in it. She had never believed in love at first sight, but now she did. She’d heard that opposites attracted, and she’d proved that to be right. She was deeply in love, of that there was no doubt, and after last night it couldn’t be long before Ethan told her that he loved her too.

  He had left Savannah sleeping, and now he was avoiding her at breakfast, choosing instead to start the day with a dawn jog around the extensive grounds surrounding the palazzo. But even after that he craved more exercise to clear his mind. He moved on to the gym and after taking an icy shower he swam. As he powered down the Olympic-sized swimming pool there was one thing on his mind: Savannah. He could not get her out of his head.

  Did he love her?

  The thought was too fantastic to contemplate. He wasn’t entitled to love anyone. His stepfather had drummed that into him from the start, and over the years he had come to see that it was the one thing the man had said to him that made sense.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  HE DRESSED in the changing rooms just off the swimming pool rather than return to his private suite of rooms where Savannah would still be sleeping. Snapping his watch into position, he prepared to face the day. Heading out of the leisure facility, he made straight for his office. This wasn’t a relaxing room where he could watch sport in comfort, but a cold, flickering world where he kept a handle on his business empire. He had this same facility in all his houses. No one was welcome to join him, because this was his techno-version of an ivory tower. He sat in the swivel chair absorbing a blizzard of information, and realised immediately he’d been away too long. He had to go to Savannah now and update her on the current situation. Of course he’d take legal measures to protect her from the braying paparazzi, but the sooner she could leave Italy the sooner she could break free of his shadow and get on with her life.

  Savannah ran down the magnificent staircase, consumed by excitement at the thought of seeing Ethan. She could see his servants bustling about in the hallway, and knew that one of them would be able to tell her where he was. She didn’t even try to hide her beaming smile, and was half-afraid everyone would guess she was in love with their gran signore, and half-afraid they wouldn’t. She approached the first young man who smiled back at her to ask him where she could find Signore Alexander.

  Signore Alexander was in his office as usual, the young man told her, adding that if she would like to wait out on the terrace he would make sure breakfast was served there, and that Signore Alexander would be told she was asking for him.

  ‘Thank you!’ Savannah exclaimed happily. She must look such a sight, she realised as the young man smiled back at her, but she hadn’t wanted to waste a single moment on make-up or drying her hair. After her shower she had quickly thrown on her jeans and a casual top, and left her hair hanging loose and damp down her back. This was a whole new world to her. Catching sight of the housekeeper, she waved, and when the older woman came over to see if Savannah needed anything she took the chance to ask a few discreet questions about the paintings on Ethan’s walls. As she expected, the housekeeper told her that Ethan had indeed painted them, but they had never been exhibited as far as the housekeeper could remember.

  She’d expected that too, and asked if it would be possible to open more windows. ‘And I’d like to pick some flowers, if that’s all right. I’d love to fill the palazzo with flowers—if I’m allowed to.’

  ‘Signorina, we have a hothouse full of flowers—and that’s before you even start on the garden—but no one ever picks them.’

  ‘Oh, perhaps I shouldn’t.’ It wasn’t her house, after all, and she’d made enough changes.

  ‘Perhaps you should,’ the housekeeper encouraged. ‘Why don’t I show you where the vases are kept?’

  ‘Are you sure Signore Alexander won’t mind?’

  ‘I’m sure the palazzo can only benefit from your attentions, signorina.’

  With her fresh flowers newly arranged in the centre of the table, Savannah settled herself at the breakfast table on the terrace to wait for Ethan. Last night was still framed in a rosy glow. Her world had been turned upside down over the past twenty-four hours, and it was a very beautiful world indeed, Savannah thought as she gazed across the emerald parkland. There was a lake at the palazzo, as well as formal gardens, and with wooden shutters framing the sparkling windows and vivid bougainvillea tumbling down the walls, the ancient palace was like something out of her most romantic fantasy.

  Savannah’s gaze returned to the floral arrangement on the table. She had picked the flowers herself and had placed them in a vase. It wasn’t much of a gift, on the scale of the things Ethan owned, but it was a love token given with sincerity.

  ‘It’s good to see you’ve made yourself at home.’

  ‘Ethan!’ In her euphoric state it seemed to Savannah she only had to think of Ethan for him to appear. ‘You startled me,’ she admitted, still clutching her chest. She sank down in her chair again, not wanting him to think her too excitable—or, worst-case scenario, too much in love with him. If he thought that it might prompt the unwanted opinion that she was too young to know what she wanted yet.

  ‘I didn’t mean to startle you. Perhaps you were daydreaming?’

  ‘Perhaps I was,’ she admitted shyly.

  ‘No reason why you shoul
dn’t. I want you to enjoy your short stay here.’

  Savannah paled at Ethan’s mention of a short stay. So last night had meant nothing to him. Of course it hadn’t meant anything to him, Savannah realised, breaking up inside. Ethan was a sophisticated man, and she was…

  What? A fool?

  She was a farm girl from the depths of the country. And perhaps that was where she should have stayed.

  She had jumped to so many conclusions, and all of them wrong. This man was not the tender lover from last night, but a stern and formidable stranger who was currently staring back at her as if she were a visitor he barely knew, and whom he was kindly putting up for the night.

  ‘Do you have everything you need?’ he said.

  Not nearly, Savannah thought, following Ethan’s gaze to her empty plate. ‘I was waiting for you.’

  ‘There’s no need.’ He appeared restless, as if he didn’t even want to sit down.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ she asked him.

  ‘I need to speak to you.’ His voice, his manner, was a return to their former, professional relationship.

  ‘It’s not my parents, is it?’ That at least would make a horrible sort of sense.

  ‘No. They’re both well,’ he reassured her. He reached out a hand that didn’t quite make it to her shoulder. ‘Do you mind if I sit down, Savannah?’

  Did she mind? It was the wrong question from the right mouth. ‘Of course I don’t mind.’ Her heart squeezed tight. She was tense all over. ‘Would you like some tea? Can I pour it for you?’

  ‘I don’t want anything, thank you.’

  Normal, everyday things should make a crisis manageable, shouldn’t they? It didn’t work for her. Ethan hadn’t even glanced at the flowers she’d picked for him. and now she braced herself, certain there was worse to come.

  ‘The paparazzi are at the gates, Savannah.’

  How right she was! ‘Here at the palazzo?’ She couldn’t believe it. The stab of distress she felt at the thought that Ethan’s privacy had been breached, and that it was all her fault, was terrible.

  ‘You mustn’t be alarmed,’ he said, misreading her expression.

  ‘Alarmed? I’m concerned for you.’

  Ethan wasn’t listening. ‘If you stay in the grounds and let me handle them, you’ll be safe. Savannah,’ he said, staring at her intently, ‘Trust me. I won’t let them near you.’

  All the ground she’d gained had been lost. Ethan thought she couldn’t handle it. He was going to mop up the mess she’d created without her help. No wonder he’d cooled towards her. He’d had time to think, and had concluded she was a liability. A man who guarded his privacy as Ethan did must be eager to be rid of her. ‘I can’t tell you how sorry I am.’

  ‘Sorry?’ he cut across her. ‘Please don’t be. You have nothing to apologise for, Savannah. You’ve done nothing wrong.’

  Other than to fall in love with him. Ethan was all concern for her—not because he loved her, but because she was under his protection—and he would do anything it took to keep her safe. Savannah knew she shouldn’t want more than that, but she did. ‘What can I do to help?’

  ‘Stay out of the way?’ Ethan suggested.

  So she was to be compliant, invisible and ineffectual? She had never longed for the farm more. At least there she could have shown Ethan another side of her. It seemed now that was a side of her he would never see.

  ‘The only problem, as I see it,’ he observed, thoughtfully thumbing his stubble, ‘Is that you’ll have to stay here a little longer.’

  He couldn’t have made it clearer. There never had been any long-term plans where Ethan was concerned. That was the price she must pay for playing the game of love without the necessary credentials. ‘But I can’t just sit here. I have to do something.’

  ‘The best thing you can do,’ he said, ‘is stay out of my way.’

  Ethan was right; what did she know? Life on a working farm was great, but it wasn’t the best apprenticeship for this world of celebrity. Whatever Ethan did now would be swift and decisive. He’d deal with the press and then he’d come back for her, by which time she must be ready to leave.

  He returned to his office where he immediately contacted his legal team. He wanted them to draft an injunction to keep Savannah safe and free from harassment by the press when she left him, which must be soon now. She preoccupied his thoughts, and he missed her already. He’d noticed the softening touches she’d made—the dust sheets had all been removed and the palazzo had been thoroughly aired. There were flower arrangements in many of the rooms, punctuating the ancient artefacts and imbuing the palazzo with fresh life, he reflected, tapping his pen on the table top as he waited for his call to connect.

  He had to stop this! He was relieved when his call connected, and he heard the cool, impersonal voice of his lawyer on the other end. Savannah was a real danger to the status quo in his life. She had made him look at things that had never mattered to him before—frescoes, carvings, and all the incredible paintings he’d inherited when he’d bought the palazzo. She was a Salome of the arts, he concluded, whilst firing instructions at his lawyer. Savannah had beguiled him with her voice, and then enchanted him with her innocence and naivety, tempting him beyond the logical and factual to appreciate the beauty and emotional wealth locked in the treasures he owned. Raking his hair into a worse state of disorder than before, he signed off, determined that Savannah’s qualities would never be compromised. Thank goodness he’d recognised in time the imperative of putting a stop to this fantasy of loving her, and had brought cool legal minds to bear on the problem instead.

  A few short words and his lawyer had got the picture. In fact, his lawyer had seen all the pictures. As he stowed the phone, he relaxed. Back in a familiar world without emotion, he could focus on the facts. Savannah’s welfare meant everything to him. His feelings towards her might have muddied the water for a short time, but that was over now.

  Over…

  He still had her music. Picking up the remote-control, he turned on her CD. As Savannah’s voice floated around him he found it impossible to remain tense—impossible to forget how very special she was, and how at all costs he must protect her.

  At all costs, he reminded himself, as he left the room to make sure that Savannah had the chance to live her dream.

  She wasn’t good with make-up. In fact, she was useless, Savannah concluded as she peered into the mirror. She was back in her room and, having packed, she supposed putting on make-up before she left was all about pride. She was going to leave the palazzo with her head held high, and not looking like some washed-out waif. But a good technique with make-up took more skill than she had. Professional make-up artists had worked on her for the photo shoot for her album, though when she appeared on stage she could pile on the slap with the best of them; no subtlety required. But she hardly ever wore make-up off-duty. It would frighten the animals, she concluded wryly.

  Well, she would just have to do, Savannah decided, having pulled her face this way and that. With no outfits to choose from, she was wearing jeans and flip-flops. But at least she had combed her hair, and she was wearing the pretty, lacy cardigan she always packed to wear over her evening gown to keep her warm in the wings while she was waiting to sing.

  Moistening her lips, she attempted a pout and quickly gave up. You could put the glitz into the farm girl, but you could never take the farm girl out of Savannah Ross.

  And thank goodness for it. She’d need every bit of grit she had to part from Ethan and act as if it didn’t hurt like hell.

  After instructing his lawyers, Ethan went outside and issued a statement to the press. He went back to the office, and had barely walked through the door when he saw Savannah’s face staring out of one of the monitors. It was so unexpected, he stood transfixed, and then realised one of the reporters had somehow managed to elude his security staff and had accosted Savannah as she was coming out of the bedroom on her way across the courtyard. She was going to say goodbye to h
is staff in a typical act of kindness, he realised. His eyes narrowed as he took in the scene. Far from running scared, Savannah had the news hound by the elbow and was showing him the door. From the tilt of her chin he gathered she was about to send the man off with a flea in his ear. But were more opportunists hanging around? He was already through the door, this time with a look of murder in his eyes.

  One reporter she could handle, but a jostling crowd…

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  HE WAS mobbed the moment he stepped outside the door by the paparazzi. Now that they’d seen Savannah leaving his private rooms, he would struggle to deny that anything was going on between them. Whatever Savannah had told them must have been good, he concluded as the reporters formed an arc around him. He gave them a look and they went scattering back. They had agreed to leave, and had been caught out. The photographers remained a safe distance away from him, hovering like slavering hyenas as they bumped each other shamelessly in an attempt to capture both him and Savannah in the same frame. He hadn’t looked at her directly yet, but he was deeply conscious of her standing close by him. He made no attempt to close the gap. He had no intention of compromising her, and would keep his distance until he’d had his say.

  ‘Is it true you and Ms Ross are an item?’ one of them asked. ‘I thought you told us that Ms Ross’s welfare was your only concern.’

  So, what had she told them? He had no way of knowing. His only concern was to protect Savannah and prevent scandal blighting her career. They had spent the whole day avoiding just this situation—but when she gave him a look that said her brave act of ejecting the reporter from the palace grounds had gone badly wrong, and she was sure she had just shot her reputation to hell and back, he moved swiftly into damage-limitation mode. He had two options: he could deny a relationship, and make Savannah look like a fool if she had said something different, or confirm one and bring her firmly under his protection. There was really no decision to be made. As he strolled over to her an air of expectancy swept the reporters, and as they fell back he put his arm around Savannah’s shoulders.