by Maisey Yates
Her face heated, but not from embarrassment this time. “That’s disgusting.”
“You’re the one who made the rules of the arrangement, Elaine.”
“I hardly imagined you bringing another woman back to our shared hotel room.”
“Give me a bit more credit than that,” he said, sounding darkly amused. “It isn’t as though I’ve slept with every woman I’ve been photographed with. My bedpost actually remains pretty sturdy.”
She didn’t know why, but the knot of tension that had settled in her chest loosened a fraction. “I guess we’re both victims of false press.”
He shrugged. “It’s all part of having ambition. There are a lot of people who want to get to the top. They want fame and fortune, and if they have to take others down in the process they’re more than willing. Your downfall opened doors for more than one person at your firm, didn’t it?” She nodded in the affirmative. “It’s probably why your colleagues latched onto it with so much glee. Your descent from grace was the secret to their success.”
“I guess I lack the killer instinct. Maybe I should have spread some gossip of my own.”
“I sincerely doubt you lack the killer instinct.” He reached over and took her left hand, lifting it so that her engagement ring and newly acquired wedding band caught the sunlight. “This is proof.”
“What does it say about you, then?” she huffed.
He laughed. “No one has ever accused me of being a soft touch.”
Not outside the bedroom. He didn’t have to add that last part, her imagination did it all by itself. She imagined that in bed he could be a soft touch, or a demanding touch—whatever his lover desired.
She slammed the brakes on her runaway imagination and concentrated instead on the lush scenery that surrounded them. The water was clear and brilliant. Spinner dolphins swam alongside the coastline, seeming to follow them as they drove down a road that was slowly winding up the heavily forested green mountainside.
The road dead-ended at the top of the mountain, ending at a heavy wrought iron gate with a number pad and intercom mounted on it. Marco leaned in and entered a series of numbers with his long tanned fingers. She couldn’t stop herself from enjoying his hands again.
The gates opened and they continued up the steep drive.
The hotel was built into the side of the mountain, the balconies for each room segmented and private, overlooking an impossibly gorgeous bay with surreally bright water and a luxuriant natural landscape, with an abundance of vibrant tropical blooms.
Everything on the island seemed like a sensory overload to her. The air was thick with salt from the ocean; mist was rising from the fresh rainfall and the perfume of flowers. The colors were overly saturated. The blanket of green that covered the mountain was thick and dense, a shocking contrast to the ever-brownish haze of smog that blanketed the city of New York. It was like having a veil ripped from her eyes and having her five senses fully realized for the first time.
Not necessarily a good thing, since her awareness of the man who was her temporary husband had also gone up several notches.
Marco slipped his arm around her waist and led her to the front entrance of the hotel. Pink and orange sunset vines clung to the stone exterior. Far from giving it a rustic appearance, the invasion of nature upon the man-made structure made it look all the more exclusive.
A small crew of sharply dressed men exited the hotel and greeted them with broad smiles. A young man with blond hair shook Marco’s hand firmly. “Aloha, Mr. De Luca. Mr. Preston is in a meeting, and is regretful he is not able to greet you and your new bride. My name is Jonathan, and I would love to take care of any needs you might have. The Ano Lani villa has been reserved for you. It’s nearly half a mile up the coastline. If you like, myself or one of the other men can drive you and assist in the unloading of your luggage.”
“Thank you, but it won’t be necessary. Perhaps just a map of the resort?”
Jonathan reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a sleek brochure. “If there is anything else in particular you need, the concierge will be pleased to see to it.”
“I don’t think the charger for my BlackBerry made it into my luggage,” Marco said. “I would like to have one delivered to the villa as soon as possible.”
After receiving the make and model information Jonathan and crew went back into the hotel to complete their mission.
It was amazing the kind of service money could buy. Her family were well off by most standards, but they would hardly have been able to aspire to be guests at a place like this. Marco only had to sign a check and he would own it. The intensity of that amount of wealth, that amount of power, was staggering. She understood why he was concerned with guarding his assets. Even the most scrupulous of people would be tempted to try a taste of what Marco enjoyed so freely.
She wondered if he even realized just how incredible it was that he was in such a position. He probably didn’t. He had been born into wealth, and from it had fashioned almost immeasurable riches. No wonder he was so arrogant. Asking him to understand her position was like asking Zeus to step down from Mount Olympus to play cards.
“You didn’t forget your charger,” she said accusingly as she got back into the small sleek car. As if he would forget any detail—no matter how small.
He shrugged. “No. But I will be keeping Jonathan on as an employee if he manages to show up with one in the villa in the next couple of hours.”
“Testing the staff?”
“Why not? I’m not an easy boss to please, Elaine. I don’t coddle employees. At a resort of this level I will expect nothing less than impeccable service from those who work here. I would like to keep the passing of the hotel’s ownership as smooth as possible. Keeping the same staff would help immensely. However, I’m not running a charity here, which means I expect perfection or they don’t have jobs.”
Marco glanced over at her. Her expression was disapproving. A little line creased her alabaster forehead, and her mouth was pursed into an ungenerous pucker.
“You have a problem with this?” he asked, entertained by her show of humanity.
“It doesn’t really seem fair to just fire someone if they don’t get a BlackBerry charger to you in time.”
“If you’re going to run a company you’re going to have to adopt the same mindset I have. Time is money—clichéd, but very true. When people on your staff waste time, they waste your money. When they leave a client dissatisfied, they cost you money. You have good ideas, but if you can’t execute them, if you can’t hire a team to help you execute them, you won’t get anywhere.”
The crease between her brows deepened. “I guess I’m a walking example of the lows one has to stoop to in order to make it in the business world.”
He laughed darkly. “Just treat everyone the way you treat me and you’ll have no trouble being ruthless.”
“There’s a thought.”
Marco watched as Elaine’s expression changed from one of recalcitrance to one of wonder.
The car eased around the last curve and the villa came into view.
The Ano Lani villa was made secluded by dense native foliage, and a pond had been built to encircle the house, with a small wooden bridge granting the only access into the grand structure. Floor-to-ceiling windows exposed the villa to billion-dollar views of the crystalline water and the surrounding mountains. It was obvious that the villa itself, no matter how stunningly luxurious, was only a part of what the guests were paying for. The real star was the serene natural beauty of the bay.
“This is…I suppose people pay a lot of money to stay in a place like this?”
He nodded. “Thousands of dollars a night. And with the proper marketing they would pay more than that.”
“I can see why you want it.”
“It will be a nice addition. Normally I build my resorts from the ground up, but the Hanalei Bay area is essentially full, and new construction wouldn’t be practical.”
They got out
of the car, and Marco pulled their luggage out of the trunk of the small vehicle.
Elaine followed, the sight of her temptingly long legs stretching from the McLaren almost more temptation than his starved libido could handle.
“Did you always know you wanted to get into real estate? Your father did manufacturing, didn’t he?” she asked.
Coldness invaded his chest—that chill that always pervaded his being when he thought of his bastard of a father. “My father had no bearing whatsoever on my chosen field.” His voice was hard, clipped, and he could tell by the wounded doe look in her eyes that it had shocked her. He didn’t really care at that moment. “I’ve built my business from nothing. It was pure accident that I got work at a real estate office, but not accidental at all that I chose to excel at it—and everything else my corporation has ventured into over the past thirteen years.”
He’d figured she would pry further. It was inevitable. Women always wanted to know what a man was thinking. Instead she averted her eyes and began a closer inspection of the villa.
She hurried across the little wooden bridge, running a slender, elegant hand over the rail in a movement so unconsciously seductive that all thoughts of his father were driven straight from his mind. The way her delicate fingers caressed the wood was symbolic in ways he did not need to dwell on.
She walked up the stairs and onto the wraparound deck. He didn’t even try to keep his eyes from lingering on her curvaceous figure, on her pert little bottom and her narrow waist.
He noticed that her shoulders visibly sagged with relief when she walked into the expansive living room. “Plenty of places to sleep,” she said softly.
He should have had them remove everything but the bed, so that she was forced to choose between the bamboo floor or a night in his arms. Although he’d told her the honest truth when he’d said he’d never had to coerce a woman into his bed. Women usually went all too willingly. But something about her resistance was enticing in a way he hadn’t imagined it could be. Of course, something different and new when it came to sex was a rarity for a man of his experience. It was no wonder he found her so intriguing.
He was used to blatant women. Women who stared openly with hungry eyes and practically begged him to take them before they even made it to dinner on the first date. He was a man who enjoyed sex, and had a healthy appetite for it, but lately the game had started to turn him off. It had all started to seem vaguely distasteful. Which was why he’d put off finding an available woman to take the edge off his desire. And probably why Elaine looked as tempting as original sin.
“We’d better get ready for dinner.”
Elaine jumped when Marco’s husky voice penetrated her thoughts. She turned to look at him and her heart did that weird flipping thing it did whenever she was caught off-guard by his sheer masculine beauty. Which was every time she looked at him.
She might need to get ready for dinner, but he looked as perfect as ever. Not a dark, gleaming hair out of place, his white shirt unbuttoned at the collar, the sleeves pushed up, revealing those delicious forearms again. His black trousers didn’t have a wrinkle. With her blond hair frizzing from the humidity, and her blouse and pants showing every hour of the long journey, she felt like one big crease standing next to his perfectly pressed beauty.
She gratefully escaped to the luxurious bathroom. Standing there with him, in a space that was made for lovers, had probably housed hundreds of them, had seemed much too intimate. And, if she was honest, too tempting. She suddenly knew why it had been so hard for all the girls in high school and college—why so many of them had made fools of themselves over boys. It had been easy for her to act above it all, but the simple fact was that she’d never desired a man in a sexual way before—not truly. Now that she did, she understood the struggle.
There was something about attraction that she’d missed before. She’d liked men, had felt little bouts of butterflies in her belly when the object of her affection had walked by. But this…this was different. There was something primitive about it. A physical response that was unrelated to any of the finer feelings she possessed. She might not have any experience with sex, but her body knew what it wanted. And its demands were getting louder with each passing minute spent in her husband’s company.
She pulled her make-up case out of her luggage and set it on the marble countertop. She turned the handle on the basin sink and splashed cold water on her face and her pulse points in an effort to cool her heated hormones down to a low simmer.
There was no curtain for the shower, only a thick, clear panel of glass. So no privacy—although she had a feeling that she’d have to shower in a sweater and pants to feel comfortable with Marco so near. Especially given what had happened the last time she’d gotten naked with him nearby. The memory of him walking in on her in the tub made her feel hot with embarrassment. At least that was what she was pretending the heat was from.
She stripped quickly and stepped into the shower, not minding that the water was cool. She rinsed as quickly as possible and ran a razor over all the necessary places before hopping out and dressing in the simple, figure-hugging coral cocktail dress that had been pre-selected by Marco for the all-important dinner.
In a rare moment of honesty she admitted to herself that it wasn’t the prospect of being walked in on by Marco that had made her cut her shower short. The pulsing spray of the water on her sensitized skin had been too much for her already fired-up hormones to handle. It had made her think of his hands, his fingertips, gliding over her body, and the heavy ache of her breasts and the dull pulsing between her thighs had reached a nearly unbearable level.
She finished getting ready as quickly as possible, tying her frizzing hair into a loose bun and applying a thin layer of make-up before putting on the ridiculous high heels that Marco had chosen for her to pair with the dress. She hurried back into the living room, still fastening the clasp on her delicate silver necklace.
“Ready?” Marco looked as though he’d also just stepped out of the shower, his dark hair damp and curling at the nape of his neck.
She closed her hands into fists, letting the bite of her nails on the tender skin of her palms ground her in reality as she fought the urge to cross the room and sift her fingers through his damp curls. Her heartbeat quickened its pace and a surge of longing washed over her.
She licked her suddenly dry lips. “Yes.” Her shaking fingers slipped and she missed the clasp on the necklace.
“Need any help?”
Her heart pounded harder. She was sure, absolutely sure, that he could hear it. “Yes…No…”
He chuckled. “You aren’t sure if you need help?”
I’m certain I do need help.
But not the kind he meant. If she were even the tiniest bit sane she would have refused his offer. But it had been one temptation too many.
He moved behind her, his warm, moist breath fanning across her neck. She felt an answering wetness building between her thighs. He put his hand on her nape, his fingers lightly massaging her in small circles, and pleasure radiated from his touch and spread through her body. Her knees started to feel unsteady.
“You’ll have to let go, Elaine.”
Oh, she was. She was letting go of everything. Of everything she’d ever believed to be true about herself—of every conviction, every tightly held belief. There was no room for anything but this moment, and everything else—all the fear and the doubt—had to go unheeded.
“Elaine, let go of the necklace.”
Her fingers released their hold on the dainty silver chain and a hot flush stole across her cheeks.
His skillful fingers moved against the sensitive skin, and far too soon he’d finished fastening the clasp for her. He pulled his hands away, and the loss of his touch left her feeling bereft somehow.
Slowly the fog of her arousal, the fog that had descended the moment they’d entered this tropical paradise, began to lift. She couldn’t let this happen. He was the kind of man who used and discar
ded women with all the ease that most people had changing socks—definitely not the kind of man to get involved with. Even if he hadn’t been the absolute wrong man, it was absolutely the wrong time for her to get involved with someone. But that didn’t stop the restless ache of desire that left her feeling hollow and unsatisfied.
“Thank you,” she murmured, hoping he didn’t notice the throaty tone her voice had suddenly adopted. She stepped away from him, hoping that distance would bring some sort of relief from the intense, unconscionable attraction that she felt for him.
He reached out and took her hand, drawing her back into the warmth of his body. “Ready for dinner, amore mia?”
Chapter Seven
MARCO couldn’t help but be impressed with Elaine’s performance over dinner. She came across as bright, confident and witty. James Preston was eating from the palm of her hand in a matter of minutes. The older man was completely taken in by her charm and intelligence. Which Marco knew should please him. Instead, primal possessiveness surged through him.
He moved closer to Elaine, wrapping his arm around her delicate waist and drawing her to him, smoothing his fingers along her silk-covered flesh. He felt a slight tremor race through her body at the light contact.
“So, Marco,” James said, sliding nearer to his own wife, “I understand you find it old-fashioned of me to have a vested interest in what will become of the resort when I retire and sell out. But I built it up from the ground. This was my first great success and it has sentimental meaning to me. I want to be sure that I’m passing it on to someone who will preserve the integrity of the property.”
“And I intend to. I will be keeping it privately owned, so that I retain total control of what goes on. My vision is to keep it exclusive—perhaps even make it more so.” Marco began to outline his plan for creating an even more exclusive clientele base for the hotel, while increasing profits and improving the local economy.
“And your lovely wife will be involved in the process?” James gave Elaine a glowing look, and Marco tightened his hold on her.