Dante shrugged. “I want you.”
Paige stared at him, dumbfounded by his simple statement. She held the papers up. “You honestly think these entitle you to have me?”
“It is your own fault that I had to resort to such measures,” Dante informed her. “When you attempted to cut me out of your life I decided I needed to do something that would persuade you to change your mind.”
“This is not persuading me,” she waved the papers in front of him, “this is nothing more than blackmail, and for what reason? Because I turned you down when other women practically throw themselves at you? Because I bruised your ego? Or was it because I wasn’t sufficiently impressed by your vast wealth and you wanted to prove what all that money could buy?”
Dante’s expression hardened. “I told you why. I wanted you and was willing to do anything to get you.”
“Including blackmail.”
“If that is what you choose to call it.”
“There’s no other name for it,” she said resentfully. “The only reason you bought my loan for the daycare center from the bank is so I’d sleep with you. So what are you planning on doing, calling in the note if I refuse?”
Dante met her hostile glare without a stitch of remorse. “Yes, but I do not think it will come to that.”
“Really? Well I have news for you, Dante Vittorio. I have enough money in the bank to cover this note so go ahead and call it in if you want.”
“You underestimate me, cara. I am aware of your financial status and agree that you could pay off the loan, but it would seriously cripple you and leave next to nothing for you to fall back on.”
“You’re a cold-hearted bastard,” Paige said, her voice shaking with fury.
“I have been called worse,” he replied evenly. “Now, would you care to hear the terms of the agreement? I think you will find my offer is more than generous and that you actually have more to gain from this than I do.”
More than anything, Paige wanted to tell Dante to take his offer and go to hell, but he was right about how crippling it would be to her finances if she had to pay off the loan right now. She could take her chances and hope no unexpected expenses came up, but it was a scary thought when she had Daniella’s welfare to consider. Even if she decided the risk was worth it, what would she do if the daycare center didn’t flourish as she anticipated? She could lose everything.
Paige swallowed what little pride she had left. “I’m listening. What are your terms?”
Dante’s expression remained impassive, not an easy feat considering the enormous sense of relief that washed over him when she hadn’t turned him down flat. She’d considered it though, he could see it in her face, but she was smart enough to realize he was in a position to seriously injure her financially. He wasn’t proud of the method he was using, but it was the fastest, easiest route to getting what he wanted.
“It is very straight forward,” he told her. “There is no fine print, no escape clauses, no tricks. You will be my mistress for one month, which means you will be at my disposal whenever, wherever I want you. You do not have to worry about this interfering with your job because I have the same responsibilities to my business, but in the evenings you belong to me.”
“You said I had more to gain from this than you,” Paige said bitterly. “So far, I fail to see where this benefits me.”
“If you adhere to the terms and fulfill your role as my mistress, I will sign over the deed to the daycare center along with a financial statement showing you have paid the loan off. You will own it free and clear.”
“What if you get tired of me and call it off in a few weeks? According to your terms, if I’m not at your disposal for a full month, you can call in the note.”
“Whether I take advantage of you being at my disposal or not does not negate the agreement. As long as you remain available to me, it does not matter if I spend one night with you or all thirty, you will still get the deed to the center.”
Paige shoved back the rising panic. She had no choice, not really, but how could she agree to his terms when she had Daniella to consider? She gnawed at her bottom lip, acutely aware that Dante was watching her closely as he waited for an answer. She also knew he wasn’t going to leave until he had one.
“I will consider it only if you agree to negotiate a few minor things.”
Dante arched a brow. “Such as?”
“My day doesn’t end when the daycare closes. I still have the next day’s curriculum to work out and that usually takes at least a couple of hours.” She licked her lips nervously. “That means I couldn’t possibly be available to come to you until after eight o’clock.”
“I can accept that.”
“There’s…a few more things. I don’t want anyone but you and me to know about this…arrangement.”
“I cannot promise that. There may be times when I want you to accompany me to a social event. People will see us together and speculate. It is unavoidable.”
“Let them think what they want,” she snapped. “I don’t care if they think we’re sleeping together but I don’t want them knowing the sordid little details as to why.”
“Very well,” he conceded. “Is that all?”
“No. I don’t want any of this to touch my personal life here or at the daycare center. I will meet you anywhere you want but you will not come to my home or to the park.”
Dante’s smile was triumphant as he moved closer. “Does this mean you agree to my proposition?”
Paige’s eyes flashed with undisguised anger. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
“I gave you a choice, carissima, and you wisely took the one that provided the most rewards for both of us.” He took the papers from her hand and let them drop to the ground then slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her up hard against his body. “We will meet with my attorney on Monday to sign the contracts. But for now,” he lowered his head, “we will seal our agreement with a kiss.”
****
Paige would have struggled, but what was the use? She’d already made a deal with the devil and there was no backing out of now so why not enjoy what little of himself Dante was offering her? Dante’s mistress. That simple phrase repeated itself over and over in her head like a mantra, sending ripples of excitement coursing through her veins.
She lost herself in the taste of his mouth and the feel of his strong arms binding her to his muscular frame, lost herself in the heady sensation of kisses that grew more bold and demanding by the second until Paige was afraid she’d lose her very soul if she let it go on. She tore her mouth away from his, gulping in air for a few seconds before she was able to speak.
“Not here,” she rasped out.
Dante’s eyes darkened. “You want me to make love to you,” his voice sounded as grainy as hers. “Say it, cara mia. Say the words and we will go to my house and share an unforgettable night of passion.”
There was no hesitation on her part; Paige was too far gone to deny him anything. “I want you, Dante. I want to feel your hands and your lips on my skin and the heat of you pulsing inside of me. I don’t want to sleep tonight…”
A low growl rumbled deep in Dante’s chest. “Get an overnight bag. I will be waiting in the car.” He wanted to kiss her again but the sultry look in her eyes was more than he could take. “Go get your things. Now,” he ground out harshly, “unless you want a repeat of what happened outside.”
Dante forced himself not to follow Paige when she whirled around and scampered out of the foyer. His insides were shaking as he strode from the house and made the short walk down the driveway and across the street where he’d parked his car. He eased the vehicle up to the house making a futile attempt to control his impatience. Being around Paige had always stirred some deeply primal desire inside of him but he’d never lost control as he had tonight.
Even now he had to clutch the steering wheel to keep himself from bolting back into the house and taking what he wanted, what he needed. If she hadn’t appeare
d in the doorway at that moment, Dante was certain he wouldn’t have lasted more than few more seconds before his raw nerves snapped.
She didn’t say anything as she climbed into the seat next to him, nor did she look at him. She merely sat there staring straight ahead and clinging to the small overnight bag as if it was a lifeline. Dante leaned over and gently pried the bag from her hands and tossed in the back seat. Curling his fingers around the back of her neck, he gently pulled her close enough to capture her lips in a long, seductive kiss.
When he finally felt the tension leave her body, Dante reluctantly let her go and headed towards his house. It wasn’t more than a twenty minute drive this time of night but each second that ticked by was agonizing. He didn’t waste any time putting his car in the garage as he normally did but parked instead right in front of the house then hurried around to Paige’s door to help her out. At least that’s what he’d intended to do.
The moment she stood up and faced him, Paige was in his arms. There was a desperation in her kisses that touched his heart and set his soul on fire, and for a few self-indulgent moments Dante let himself forget she was only here because he’d blackmailed her.
“Take me to bed,” Paige said in a breathless whisper when Dante’s lips began a slow, heated descent down the side of her neck.
The next few minutes were a whirlwind of giddy excitement for Paige. Dante’s head snapped up. He gave her one hard, fierce kiss then grabbed her hand and all but ran up the front steps and through the great hall, and together they made a mad dash up the stairs that led to his bedroom. The second the door closed behind them, there was a flurry of activity as they frantically fought to get each other’s clothes off.
They fell across the bed, too consumed by the need to join their bodies to delay it any longer. Dante sank into her with a grunt of male satisfaction at the same time Paige thrust her hips upwards. She sobbed out his name, clinging to his broad shoulders as he filled her again and again and again.
It didn’t last any longer than their brief encounter on the porch but Paige didn’t think she would have survived if it had. She closed her eyes, drawing air into her lungs even as Dante snatched it away again with feathery kisses that started at her neck and worked their way down to her quivering belly.
The night was endless, and if Dante seemed insatiable then Paige could only blame it on her own lack of inhibitions. Four years of dreaming about him, of fantasizing about the things she wanted to do and experience if she ever got to sleep with him again had given her the courage to let go. She explored every inch of his beautiful body and found a great deal of pleasure in watching his reaction when she discovered a particularly sensitive spot.
It was the most erotic experience of her life and when Paige finally fell into an exhausted sleep with their arms and legs still entwined after a prolonged session of love making, she did so with a smile on her lips and a heart that was filled with love. This was where she belonged, and for the first time in four years she dreamed of a building a life with Dante instead of being plagued with the nightmare of living without him.
Dante lay awake listening to the sound of Paige’s soft, even breathing as she drifted off to sleep. So much for his plan to keep her at arm’s length and slowly seduce her over the course of the next month. He wasn’t even going to try and convince himself he could revert back to the original plan after tonight. It would be torturous enough to be separated from her during the long days of the week but to deprive himself of Paige’s delectable body at night was too cruel to even contemplate.
Dante closed his eyes when Paige threw one slender leg over his thighs. All he could think was thank God he’d have to revise his plan.
Chapter 6
After the night of decadence they’d spent indulging in every sexual fantasy imaginable, Paige would have bet her life that Dante didn’t have it in him for another round. She also would have doubled that bet and sworn with undying certainty that she wouldn’t have the slightest interest in sex for the unforeseeable future. But the moment she woke to find him watching her with such a look of stark hunger in those dark eyes of his, Paige was instantly aroused.
She pulled his mouth down onto hers, smothering the groan that rose to her throat when he buried himself deep inside of her. Pleasure mixed with pain as he stretched her swollen inner muscles until the slow rhythm of his love making finally eased the tenderness and she was once again lost in the glory of being Dante’s lover. Afterwards, she lay in his arms with a contented smile on her lips while Dante absently stroked her hair just as he used to do.
“What would you like for breakfast, carissima? Waffles perhaps with strawberries?”
Paige tilted her head back. “I’d almost forgotten it was you who first tempted me with that odd combination.”
Dante feigned a look of indignance. “There is nothing odd about it. My mother would be insulted to hear you say such a thing, especially since it was a tradition she started years ago when we were just children.”
“I know the story,” she laughed. “Your mother is a horrible cook and always has been. The only thing she managed to make without burning or mutilating was waffles and that was only because she discovered the waffle maker had a timer on it.”
Dante chuckled. “She was so proud of her waffles she always made ten times more than any of us could ever eat. We used to stuff what we could into our backpacks when she wasn’t looking and dispose of them in the trash bins at school.”
“Ah, so you admit there was a time in your life when you were thoughtful and sweet,” she teased.
“I am still thoughtful and sweet, and to prove it I will make you breakfast myself.”
“I’m certain it’s closer to lunch time than breakfast, but I’m intrigued by the idea that you’ve developed some culinary talents over the past few years.”
Dante swept aside the resentful thought that it was one of the ways he’d filled the empty hours after she’d left him. “I coerced my cook into teaching me so I could manage by myself on her days off. When you spend as much time as I do wining and dining clients, restaurant food quickly loses its appeal no matter how fine the establishment is.”
“In that case, I would be honored to have you serve as my chef.”
“Shall we shower first?”
“Is it safe?” Paige said with a grin. Showering with Dante had always been an experience in eroticism all its own that inevitably led to making love.
Dante heaved a regretful sigh. “The mind is willing, mio bello, but the body is not able. Like a starving man, I am afraid I have gorged myself and now require a little time to recuperate from my feeding frenzy.”
“Do you mind if I use the restroom first?”
“The bathroom is that way,” he nodded to a door off to his left. “I will run down to the car and retrieve your bag and join you in a few minutes.”
Paige waited until he’d pulled on the jeans he’d worn the night before and left the room before slipping out of bed. The bathroom, like the rest of the house, was proof that Dante’s success in the business world had made him a very wealthy man. After relieving herself, she stood in the middle of the room and did a slow pirouette, fascinated by everything her eyes encountered.
Double sinks with sparkling gold taps and handles were inlayed on marble topped counters adorned with matching gold cups for each sink. A sunken tub that was large enough to qualify as a small pool took up one corner of the bathroom while a shower that could easily hold a party of five had been built on the opposite side. Encased in etched glass and equipped with showerheads mounted into the ceiling, Paige almost groaned with anticipation as she stepped inside and spied the dials for massaging jet streams.
Dante stood in the doorway for several minutes, his labored breath growing more ragged by the second as he watched Paige while she showered. Well, she wasn’t exactly showering which was the reason why a certain part of his anatomy had sprung to life long after he’d declared it down for the count. She’d discovered the jet stre
ams and had adjusted them so her back and shoulders received the massaging relief they were designed to give. Her arms were extended in front of her, palms planted against the tiled wall to brace herself while her delightful derriere wiggled slowly back and forth.
It had been a long time since he’d enjoyed the intimacy of sharing a shower with a woman; four years to be exact. It seemed strange to him now that he’d never even considered inviting any of the women he’d slept with since then to join him, especially when he’d found so much pleasure in showering with Paige. He supposed if he put some thought into it, he’d discover there were a lot of pleasurable things he’d cut out of his life because they were painful reminders of his time with Paige. But he had her now and Dante intended to enjoy every minute with her.
Paige turned around when the shower door opened. “I could stay in here all day,” she sighed as he gathered her in his arms. “Are you going to kiss me now?”
“Greedy woman, have I not kissed you enough?”
VITTORIO'S MISTRESS Page 7