Mediterranean Men Bundle

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  He had stationed himself in the doorway to the interior of the suite, blocking her way. She faced him. ‘Is this your normal routine? Shower your prey with pretty gifts, promise marriage and access to untold wealth, then walk away when you get bored!’ She took a deep breath, her tone as icy as she could make it. ‘Let me pass.’

  Dusk was deepening to night but she could see the slight flare of his nostrils, denoting anger. Well, tough. No man—especially a man as all-fired self confident and proud as Cesare Saracino—liked to have his faults rammed down his throat.

  ‘I don’t need a routine and I don’t recall asking you to marry me,’ he sliced back at her. His hands shot out to fasten on her forearms. ‘And there are a few things we ought to straighten out as it seems I’m to be cast as the bad guy,’ he announced grimly. ‘First and foremost, since it seems to be your priority, your twin was traced to a nightclub in this city. Where she worked as a so-called hostess, not a receptionist—no mention of that dubious occupation was made in her CV. No one had heard from her since she left, and the consensus was that no one cared. She was not well liked. Enquiries were made at the London store—supposedly the last full time job she held before she came to Italy—and again blanks were drawn. Her former colleagues hadn’t cared enough about her to want to keep in touch. Since then the investigation has returned to Italy. I’m sorry,’ he added more temperately as he felt the fight drain out of her. ‘Jilly may attract a certain type of man, but among women she is far from popular.’

  Trying to get her head round what he was telling her, that her dazzling, outgoing sister was actively disliked by her female colleagues, she failed to resist when Cesare slipped an arm around her waist and walked her back into the living room.

  Settling her into one of the armchairs, he sat on the arm of the adjacent one, the light from the overhead chandelier burnishing his raven-dark hair, throwing the sculpted bones of his spectacularly handsome face into hard masculine relief.

  Milly averted her eyes. He was so beautiful, so tempting. She hated what he was implying about her twin and yet she still wanted him and she had to find some way of defending Jilly, but—

  ‘There can be no doubt about the signatures on the cheques she cashed,’ Cesare said flatly. ‘A handwriting expert confirmed what I believed. They were forgeries.’ Forcing himself to ignore the way her delicate skin lost all colour, he stated, ‘And, just for the record, I was never her lover.’

  At that Milly straightened her spine. ‘You as good as admitted it,’ she reminded him thickly. ‘Once, early on, I addressed you as Signor Saracino and you made some snide comment about my not being so formal when I came to your bed!’ Her eyes defied him but she felt sick inside. If he’d lied about that he could have been lying about everything else.

  ‘True.’ A strong hand cupped her chin, forcing her to keep looking at him, and his voice softened. ‘I will not repeat the crude words she used when she appeared uninvited and unclad in my bedroom. That is what I was referring to when I still believed you were your twin. But I will tell you that I told her to get out of my sight in double quick time or she was out of a job—regardless of how Nonna had come to rely on her company. I was heartily sick of her coming on to me. I was not, and never could be, interested. Soon after that, no doubt realising she was on a loser, she disappeared. And a few days later, while doing Nonna’s accounts I noticed a couple of large withdrawals to cash. The rest you know.’

  Milly closed her eyes to hide the sudden sting of tears. Her emotions were all over the place. She had been fighting it but now she knew she had to believe him. He had no need to lie.

  But Jilly—it hurt her immeasurably, but she had the horrible feeling that everything he’d said to her twin’s detriment was no less than the truth.

  Seeing her sister through unblinkered eyes, she had no option but to acknowledge that Jilly had taken their mother’s nest-egg, her only safety net, and had lost every penny and much more. Then those careless, airy promises to pay it back, something that had never even begun to materialise, her thoughtlessness in rarely contacting them, as if they didn’t matter, as if their having to live in a mean rented flat in severely reduced circumstances because they’d had to pay off the huge debts she’d incurred was nothing to do with her.

  How she had always boasted that she could get any man she wanted. No problem.

  But not this man!

  The words echoed through her mind like an anthem of thanksgiving. And this man was stroking away an escaping tear with the ball of his thumb and she was choking with emotions she couldn’t put a name to, but they were real and shatteringly strong.

  ‘I’m sorry to have upset you, cara. But for my own sake it had to be said.’

  For his sake? Too fraught to resist or even think about doing so, Milly found him standing over her, drawing her to her feet, into his gently enfolding arms.

  She could have moved away if she’d wanted to. But she didn’t. She felt safe.

  ‘You’ve always hero-worshipped your sister,’ Cesare guessed astutely, marvelling at his self-restraint in the way he was holding her when he ached to kiss every wonderful inch of her. But for her sake he knew he had to wait until she came to terms with her relationship problems with her sister.

  ‘Yes, I suppose I have.’ She held her bright head back to meet the warm concern in his eyes, her own cloudy, he noted on a tide of protective warmth. ‘She was always the stronger character.’

  Bossy, he mentally translated.

  ‘She looked out for me when we were growing up and told me to always go to her if there were problems with other kids—like bullying—and she’d sort it.’

  Thereby ensuring she was the dominant one, making sure she stayed that way, he assessed, pretty sure that the selfish Jilly wouldn’t do anything without an ulterior motive, his hands taking on a will of their own and softly caressing her slim back.

  ‘She could stand up to Dad,’ Milly remembered quietly. ‘He was a bit of a control freak and she couldn’t always get her own way with him. But she could with Ma—she could twist her round her little finger.’ Much to their mother’s financial impoverishment, she thought with a stab of anger as she remembered the way they’d had to scratch and scrape to pay the rent and buy food.

  Then, as if to make up for the ferocity of that thought, she confided shakily, ‘When you appeared threatening prosecution I had to go ahead with—’ her voice faltered, then gathered strength ‘—I had to do what I could to help her. We are twins and, believe me, whatever her faults there’s a very strong bond.’

  A bond that went one way only, Cesare amended savagely, but held his tongue, promising instead, ‘When she’s found, and she will be, I won’t drag her through the courts, if it will please you. But I’ll give her such a fright that never again will she be tempted to develop sticky fingers.’

  Milly closed her eyes on a rush of relief. She trusted him to keep his word. Jilly might be careless with other people’s money, careless when it came to keeping in touch with her family, dishonest—but maybe she’d been really desperate. It didn’t excuse what she’d done—but she was her sister and she still couldn’t bear to think of her having to face a prison sentence.

  ‘Just one other thing—’ She felt the warm brush of his lips on first one eyelid and then the other and she whimpered low in her throat in weakening response and dragged in a jerk of breath as he told her, ‘I had those clothes delivered because I knew you weren’t comfortable in the sort of gear your sister wore. And I didn’t bring you here to seduce you, though I do admit to being very tempted.’

  Her eyes flew open at that admission and locked on to the undisguised hot desire in his. She was shaken to the core as she realised that only this man had ever, could ever, awaken such a hunger in her that she would be trembling on the brink of taking everything he could offer, giving back everything she was, and to hell with the consequences.

  ‘And you, too, are tempted.’ His seductive hands caressed her swollen breasts with b
reathtaking tenderness and her breath fluttered in her throat as she fought to control her desperate craving for him, snatching at a fast receding memory of the way she used to be—the glamorous Jilly’s out-of-focus, boringly sensible shadow—just to get her feet back down to earth again.

  ‘I think this shouldn’t be happening,’ she managed, almost disintegrating as fire burned low in her pelvis, mortified by her almost manic need to drag his clothes off. Her face glowed scarlet at the novel wanton thought. He touched his mouth to hers, his lips brushing hers lightly as he murmured, ‘Feel with your heart; don’t think with your head.’

  Exactly where the danger lay! She felt light-headed, her entire body aching with powerful sexual awareness, and she had to scratch around for something to bring her back to her senses and finally managed unevenly, her breath melding with his as his mouth continued to tease and torment her, ‘You forget, I am not my sister.’

  His head came up, his stunning eyes holding hers as he denied, ‘I forget nothing, cara mia. If you were your sister I would not be here. I would not be wanting you as I have never wanted any woman.’

  His hands slid down to her narrow waist as he eased her closer to make her discover for herself exactly how much he wanted her and, ignoring her gasp, he elaborated, his voice thickening, ‘Stop comparing yourself unfavourably to her. ‘You are beautiful in a way she could never be. It comes from within you. She is base metal, you are pure gold. Remember that.’

  His words filled her head until she felt dizzy. All of her life people had rated Jilly above her. She didn’t think anyone had meant to, but when her sister walked into a room, a flash of bright colour, a stream of animated chatter, she dominated the space, all attention fixed on her.

  Without a jealous bone in her body, Milly had always accepted her subordinate position as a fact of life that had no hope of changing. But now—now this fantastically charismatic, sexy man actually put her first!

  Something twisted tightly inside her. She trembled violently and coiled her arms around his neck, knowing she had fallen in love with him and not afraid, now, to recognise that fact. It was a glorious, heady feeling and she would never regret it, even though she knew he would never feel the same way.

  Both his hands snaked up to the back of her head, his fingers deep in the soft brightness of her silken hair as he bent his mouth to hers, lightly at first, a mere brush of butterfly wings against her quivering lips, and then as those lips parted the pressure increased and his tongue sought and found hers. He felt her body go up in flames as she kissed him back with all the fervour of an addict and he was lost, he who never lost himself, was drowning in this perfect woman.

  He drew back, closing his eyes as her body squirmed with wanton eagerness against his, and said thickly, ‘I burn for you.’

  Her response was a mew of pleasure, the exploration of her small hands beneath the shirt that had somehow become unbuttoned. A shudder of driven need raked through him as he lifted her in his arms and strode with her to the bedroom beyond.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  THE ARRIVAL OF Room Service woke Milly from the scant two hours of slumber she’d managed; she had fallen asleep with the dawn in Cesare’s strong arms.

  She knew instantly that she was alone in the wildly rumpled bed and she could see morning sunlight behind her closed eyelids but was reluctant to acknowledge the waiter, to face the day that would surely have Cesare making arrangements for her return to England because, without doubt, Filomena would not waste time in seeing the back of her.

  And much as he might have preferred her to stay on at the villa, available until he decided he wanted to hunt in pastures new, he would always bow to his beloved grandmother’s wishes. Much as that reminder turned her sick inside, she knew a swift departure, a clean break and no regrets on her part would be for the best. The thought of leaving him now was pretty near unendurable. How much worse would it be if she stayed on as his lover for weeks, maybe even months?

  So she would remain in her drowsy state for just a little while longer and blissfully relive every ecstatic moment of the most wonderful night of her life with Cesare, the man who had lodged himself firmly in her heart for all time.

  She would never regret a single precious moment of their closeness, she vowed as she turned over and buried her face in the pillow and she would never forget him, what he meant to her.

  She’d been an obvious novice to start with but Cesare had been so patient, his tenderness bringing tears to her eyes and making her love for him assume massive proportions. When he’d turned away to use protection it had given her pause as she’d wondered if he’d been that sure of making a conquest.

  But that small doubt had vanished like morning mist, blown away by her sensible thought that he was simply being careful. He wouldn’t want a pregnancy, though she wouldn’t mind having his child. In truth she would welcome his child with all of her being. The difficulties of being a single parent would be as nothing beside the joy of having part of him with her for always.

  Then even that thought had been blasted into orbit as he’d turned back to her, parting her thighs and trailing tiny kisses up the quivering length of them until her mind had been blown to pieces as he’d found the secret, damp heart of her femininity.

  Her entire body glowed beneath the thin covering as she recalled how, after that first shatteringly magical time, she hadn’t been able to get enough of him, all untutored eagerness that she recalled now with a secret catlike smile, had seemed to drive him wild.

  ‘Cara.’ A kiss on her naked shoulder had her snaking round to feast her eyes on him, her sleep-flushed features wreathed with a smile of loving welcome.

  His midnight hair was wet from the shower, his bronzed skin spangled with water droplets and his only covering was a towel hooked around his lean hips.

  Her eyes limpid with adoration, Milly raised her arms to him, marvelling at the way daylight did nothing to dispel the intoxicating intimacy of the night hours as the sheet fell away to reveal breasts that were tight and swollen, aching for his touch.

  Dark colour banded his sculpted cheekbones as he sank down on the bed beside her, took her hands and muttered raggedly, ‘You are an invitation that’s hard to resist! However,’ he released her hands and reached to the night table, handing her a bowl-like cup of coffee and announced prosaically, ‘I need to head back to the villa, speak with my PA and call a meeting of all heads of department in New York for next week.’

  Instead of offering her hot coffee he might just as well have doused her with icy water, Milly mourned, regretful that something that had been so wonderful for her was, for him, obviously an interlude that could be so easily blanked out, his world-spanning business empire uppermost in his mind, everything back to normal. The earth-shattering intimacies of the night were forgotten in the light of day with a single-minded masculine drive to get on with the important things of his life.

  Was that what happened after a one night stand?

  With her free hand she tugged the sheet up to conceal her nakedness. How was she to know? She had never played that game before and didn’t know the rules. At least she had more pride than to whine and cling, and ‘back to normal’ raised a knotty problem.

  Avoiding his stunning eyes because they always robbed her of her dwindling reserves of common sense, she asked, ‘What do I tell Filomena? She’ll be so upset to know she’s been the victim of a con-trick. I don’t want to go on deceiving her—I’ve felt truly bad about it.’ Distress flooded her voice. ‘But I will, just for a week or two, if you think we should keep the truth from her until she’s properly well again.’ She raised her eyes at last. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘I think…’ he said slowly, lush ebony lashes not hiding the warm golden gleam in the eyes that could reduce her to a quivering state of absolute longing in the space of a single millisecond. A smile played now on his beautiful sensual mouth. ‘I think that we should tell her that you are to be my wife.’

  In a state of deep shock,
her soft mouth fell open and her skin crawled with hot colour. ‘Be serious,’ she demanded unsteadily. As a joke it wasn’t funny; it wasn’t funny at all!’

  In reply Cesare took the untouched coffee from her nerveless fingers, replaced it beside his on the night table, then took her hands in his. ‘I have never been more serious in my entire life, amore,’ he vowed softly, lifting her hands, his lips grazing her knuckles. ‘I want you. Your exquisite body, your gentle heart. I want it all—the whole package. To be able to care for you, protect you, adore you, cherish you and spoil you. To be your husband, to give you my children.’

  Her eyes widening, Milly shook her head slightly. Was she dreaming? How could the most wonderful man in the whole world want her to be his wife?

  She put out an unsteady hand to touch his face, her fingers trailing over one high proud cheekbone, the hollow beneath, the corner of his so sexy mouth, trying to convince herself that this was real and not some fantasy born of her overwhelming love for him.

  ‘Say yes!’ His voice was demanding, his accent thickening, yet there was a trace of uncertainty there and it astonished her more than anything and sent her heart racing.

  Then his mouth was on hers and his kiss ravished her until she was incandescent with need and her, ‘Yes, oh yes! Cesare, I love you—so much, so very much!’ brought his head up, his chin at a proud angle. He promised, ‘You will never regret this, amore mia.’ His hands on her slim shoulders he held her away from him. ‘And now, much as I regret it, we have to dress. Stefano will be here in thirty minutes to drive us back to the villa.’

  Bestowing one swift slashing smile on her, he stood up, dropped the towel and strode in his glorious nakedness to a chest of drawers, pulling out garments at seeming random. His physique was so perfect it took her breath away and, unable to move a muscle, filled with such excitement that she thought she might explode from an overdose of happiness, she excused his ability to snap back in an instant to the business at hand.